Girl by day, killer by night: a dark, twisting thriller about a teen assassin’s attempt to live a normal life.
Trained and traumatised by a secret assassin program for minors, Isabel Ryans wants nothing more than a new life as a normal civilian. And she might just be in with a shot when she befriends Emma Westray, because for the first time in her life things are looking up.
But when Isabel blows her cover by impulsively murdering a burglar, she draws the attention of the guilds – the two organisations who control the city of Espera. An unaffiliated killer like Isabel is either a potential asset … or a threat to be eliminated.
Will the blood on her hands cost her everything?
The Butterfly Assassin is a faced paced adrenaline ride that will leave you struggling to put it down. The tone is set from the very first chapter that this is a book that will not pull any punches or sanitise its violence for the sake of its readers, it hits the upper end of dark for the YA bracket
Isabel Ryans is a character that you can’t help but hurt for, the fact that she transforms so effortlessly from student to cold blooded killer is heartbreaking; that her programming is so entrenched her body reacts before her brain can process, she’s like a young black widow. She is so endearing though as she tries so hard, every step of the way, to be a normal teen to try and shield her past life but she just cant catch a break as it catches up with her in the most catastrophic ways
The story works well if you are a visual reader, playing out very much like a movie, character driven by Isabel as she races against the clock, there’s a lot going on and several different players who may or may not be who they seem or to be trusted. The landscape feels very bleak and sterile at times, I read in shades of grey.
I do feel a little torn in that I do love wordbuilding and I felt that there was more to know, i would have liked to have understood more of the history behind the guilds and how they came to exist in parallel with the day to day, and had a more descriptive vision of the world, it could have been anywhere at any time. However, i do have to balance that with the fact that the thriller pacing would have fallen flat if time was taken to explain every little thing, much is left to the reader to connect the dots in the background and i was actually ok with that in the end.
I found the use of esperanto interesting, especially as it’s not a language that really pops up often, I liked the fact that each chapter had both English and Esperanto meanings, like a little lesson each time!
Whilst the story wrapped up in whirlwind, it was a very enjoyable and easy whirlwind to get swept up in and I’m excited to find out where Isabel Ryans may end up next!
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the early review copy
Paperbacks and Pinot 