THE BUTTERFLY PROJECT by EMMA SCOTT :: REVIEW

‘I realized you could get used to anything – even alone for years – right until the moment you touched something better than what you had.’

Emma Scott is such a supremely talented author who is able to deliver emotional and character driven stories that don’t rely on unnecessary drama or angst to engage and captivate her readers. In The Butterfly Project, she has once again brought to life a story with characters we have taken to our hearts.  Zelda and Beckett felt so incredibly true, their plight, and their pain, identifiable and honest, we couldn’t help but become swept up in their story of second chances, redemption and love.

“Do you ever wonder, Zelda, if you’re allowed to be happy?”
“Yes, all the time. Every minute.”
“I hate to hear you say that. I hate that I can’t take that pain from you.”
“Me too,…for you. You carry too much.”
“Maybe we both do. But I don’t know what to do or what is too much to ask for.”

We first met Zelda Rossi, as the tattooist working for Theo in Full Tilt Duet. Zelda has moved to New York from Vegas to pursue her artistic talents and hopefully publish her graphic novel. When we catch up with Zelda she’s contemplating a move back to Vegas after failing to achieve the success she had hoped for. It’s then she meets a friendly, sweet and kind busboy.

Beckett Copeland is a man who exudes kindness, and is such a sweet and tender man, who’s easy on the eye, and shrouded in an aura of sadness. He’s made mistakes and lives and breathes them every minute of every day, and he would quite literally give away his last dollar to someone in need. Beckett is struggling to make his rent when Zelda makes him an offer that could help them both. Beckett is sceptical at first, but decided Zelda’s offer to become roommates could actually work out.

‘He smiled a sad, wistful kind of smile as the tidal was crashed around us, around him. I stood in the shelter of his tall, strong body and the water never touched me at all.’

Both Zelda and Beckett are crumbling over the guilt that plagues them from their pasts, both victims of circumstance, attempting to deal with, yet not believing they have the right to erase the guilty burden that overwhelms them. Zelda’s coping mechanism to deal with the harrowing memoires of her past is to bring to life her graphic cartoon, Mother, May I? seeking her vengeance through her art. Beckett seeks cathartic release through a series of letters he writes to cope with his guilt.

‘I wanted to listen to the sound of someone else’s breathing beside my own I wanted to hold a woman and have her body pressed against mine, her arms and legs wrapped around me tight, our bodies shielding each other from the cold. One person alone against winter was rough. But two people, together…..Together. A word I never used.’

For Zelda and Beckett, life is a series of events culminating in pivotal moments for them both, with Emma Scott exploring how one moment, one action/reaction can change our lives.

“No past. No guilt. Just you and me. Let’s top thinking so much about the past or the future. Stop thinking or talking or wondering what we deserve.”

Emma Scott has written a warm, beautifully textured uplifting and slow building love story whose foundation is the depth of characters and emotion rather than shock tactics or overabundance of angst. Through her words, we are made to feel Zelda and Beckett’s pain and loneliness, and in turn, we care deeply about their healing process. The Butterfly Project is sweet, heart-warming, moving and wonderfully romantic.  It’s a story that made us believe in fate and second chances, redemption and forgiveness……but most of all how love can be the most powerful healer of them all.

‘I felt sleep settle over us both, as if we’d exorcised some of the ghosts that haunted us and now could get a little bit of rest.’