The Butterfly Café

Loved it. No desire to visit Japan, but this was a wonderful way to experience it. A sweet romance, heartwarming and heartbreaking issues all combine to make a terrific story. Thanks to the publisher for providing a copy via NetGalley. I am grateful for the opportunity to read and review it. My review is voluntary.

This is an engrossing novel with complex characters and relationships — The story grabbed me from the beginning and I became invested in the characters and their outcome. This book encompasses so many aspects of living in Japan for a foreign woman as well as covering many topics of life in Japan — so I would classify this book as a slice of life book —with a contemporary view of Japan . I could relate to the characters very easily and many of the relationship interactions reminded me of my own childhood and reminded me of people in my own life story . The book was difficult to put down — and I devoured this book in just a couple of sittings . This is a book about overcoming adversity, coming together as a community ( it takes a village ) and second chances . I loved this book and highly recommend it .

This novel, a romantic one if I’d place it in some genre, is set in Japan and was written by an expatriate author with a lifetime of experience there. Instead of the typical Japan clichés, the Zen gardens and Ginza lights etc, Diane Nagatomo describes the somewhat gritty everyday suburban existence with financial woes, bureaucracy, taxes, the oppressing closeness of the rainy season, the social issues, nosy neighbors and other undesirables. But it’s also a story about the importance of taking care of your good friends, kinship, prejudice, old family secrets, and being true to one’s values. While it takes the concept of a stepfamily to a whole new level, expect no major drama: sure, there is death, but there is also new life and there are plenty of chocolate chip cookies and coffee, and they’re all part of the eternal cycle of life.

The Butterfly Café by Diane Hawley Nagatomo. The author reeled in when she used whoop-de-do as a descriptive phrase. The story got better and better. Enjoyed how the blended families and how people from different backgrounds and lifestyles got together and formed bonds. Interesting to read about the Japanese culture and traditions. The second chance romance played out perfectly for Jessie and her children. First book that I have read by Ms Nagatomo and am hoping that she will write more. Highly recommended.

Thank you to Ms Nagatomo, Black Rose Writing and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I enjoyed learning about the Japanese culture from this story. It is a story that will keep you reading late into the night
Many thanks to Black Rose Writing and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.