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The Butterfly House
As a child, Bobbie Lee found refuge from her lonely life at her best friend's house. Rockhaven was a place of magic, colored by the butterflies that Cincy Jaines's mother, Lenora, studied. Here Bobbie found the mothering she longed for and a friend with whom to share her secrets. Her friendship with Cincy and Lenora was the compass by which she navigated the changes of adolescence. But when the tangled intimacies between them began to unravel, Rockhaven became a place of unspeakable tragedy.
Now, a decade later, the long shadows of that night continue to haunt Bobbie, despite her attempts to hide from the past. And when a stranger with ties to Leonora and Cincy arrives at her doorstep, she is forced to confront the memories she has tried to avoid. And as the dark secret at the heart of the tragedy slowly emerges, Bobbie begins to discover a future of possibilities.
Now, a decade later, the long shadows of that night continue to haunt Bobbie, despite her attempts to hide from the past. And when a stranger with ties to Leonora and Cincy arrives at her doorstep, she is forced to confront the memories she has tried to avoid. And as the dark secret at the heart of the tragedy slowly emerges, Bobbie begins to discover a future of possibilities.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
21 people are currently reading
1133 people want to read
About the author
Marcia Preston
18 books28 followersMarcia Preston (M.K. Preston) grew up on a wheat farm in central Oklahoma. From her father she learned the art of storytelling; from her mother, a reverence for books; and from Oklahoma's red earth, a love of wildlife and the outdoors.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
July 21, 2008
It is very, very rare that a book makes me tear up, but this one did. This is a very well-written story about love, friendship, and mother/daughter relationships..
This book is also proof that you can have more than one mother...
This book is also proof that if you love someone, no matter what you go through or how mad they make you, you can find your way back to eachother. Forgiveness is imminent when you are soul mates. Ahh! Such a beautiful story!
This book is also proof that you can have more than one mother...
This book is also proof that if you love someone, no matter what you go through or how mad they make you, you can find your way back to eachother. Forgiveness is imminent when you are soul mates. Ahh! Such a beautiful story!
March 13, 2008
Wow. I've just finished this book after starting it this morning. I think that so far this is the only book I've managed to finish in 1 day. I really couldn't put it down. The author is a fantastic writer, and the book flows really well. The relationships between the characters are well thought out in their complexity and are intriguing. The book as a whole is extremely moving and stirs up a number of emotions that other books don't come close to. The drama that is constantly unfolding makes it compelling reading. Fantastic book - would recommend to everyone. My new favourite book.
November 8, 2014
A dark family drama with two sets of mothers and daughters. A good book, and personally a very powerful reading experience, but when thinking objectively, nothing astronomically special (even though I have to admire her writing which was very good indeed).
A good read that I recommend to all those interested in dark dramas and character driven stories.
A good read that I recommend to all those interested in dark dramas and character driven stories.
June 7, 2023
stole this from the boat i lived on for a week this summer
February 9, 2025
Marcia Preston is excellent at some things. She writes a compelling, insightful and suspenseful story. I was hooked by her vivid descriptions, characterization, use of foreshadowing, and symbolism.
This is a story that parallels how childhood can mangle a personality as much as the butterfly's emergence from the cocoon can damage and warp the creature for good.
We have two actual children growing up in this story, but there are also hints of the adults around them being permanently harmed by their circumstances while growing up.
Roberta, or Bobbie, is an only child, living with her single, alcoholic, close minded mother. Exhausted from her work cleaning hotel rooms, she collapses on the couch and drinks until she passes out. Bobbie is the adult in that run down home.
Cynthia, or Cincy, is also an only child, also growing up in poverty, but she has a loving and educated mother with a fascinating job, but little income. Lenora is a butterfly researcher, living in a magical house perched on a mountain side that overlooks the Columbia River Valley. The front part of the house is glassed in, where the exotic butterflies flit past, resting on the thick foliage also being raised within the conservatory. It's a spectacular site.
But while Bobbie is fascinated by Lenora, and grateful for the comfort she receives in that amazing home, Cincy resents her mother's pre-occupation with "bugs". She grows into a surly teenager, jealous of her mother's seeming preference for Bobbie, who is doing high-school credits in biology class by working with Lenora's butterflies.
All of this should have rewarded this novel with at least four stars, but I couldn't go that far. There are so many strange words, phrases, clumsy sentence structures that I thought the author might have recently learned English as a second language. But no, she was born and raised in Oklahoma. Then I googled the unknown words and phrases, hoping they were colloquialisms common to that part of North America. Nope.
I suspect the editor was either missing in action, or was mad at the author. There were too many awkward passages that could easily have been fixed. At the beginning of the novel I was immediately annoyed by two seven-year-olds behaving as precociously as fourteen-year-olds. Their ability to flirt with, charm and manipulate bullies into doing their chores was unbelievable.
One Christmas Robbie receives a "box of clothes" among a few other things, from her impoverished mother. By this time she is no longer a little girl, instead she's at the stage where clothes matter. Yet there's no description of those clothes.
As this novel flashes forwarded and backward in time, we find Bobbie living somewhere in Alberta, Canada. Oddly, we don't know where. She is apparently 45 minutes from Calgary, yet has to go through a mountain pass to get here. Being from Calgary, that jarred me. We learn that her American husband is employed at the Glenbow Museum, and I'm wondering what kind of visa he got to do that work. Then he stays at a "nearby" motor inn. Trust me, there are no motels within downtown Calgary. The Glenbow Museum is surrounded by glitzy skyscrapers, many of them luxurious hotels. You'd no more find a motel in downtown Calgary than you would in Manhattan.
At one point Bobbie puts on her snowshoes to follow her husband out the back door of their acreage home, also on a mountain side, in a snowstorm. She is behind him by a few minutes. Yet she can't figure out which way he has gone. Apparently his snow shoes left no tracks? If it's a bad storm, some snow could fill up the tracks within a few minutes, but by no means would his tracks be obliterated.
The husband has served her bagels with "creamed" cheese a little earlier. We later see him running around their home in "over-run house shoes."
At one point she is deeply shocked, to the extent she cannot speak, which Preston describes as being caught in a "backwash". She isn't sharing a drink with someone who's let their saliva flow into the beverage. At another point she is "taking a cold". Not a shower, just in the early stages of a cold. And don't talk to me about those "horny" caterpillars.
The error that jumped out at me and sent me reeling is after Bobbie confronts her mother on the family secrets she has kept from her daughter. We learn they are dark and terrible. Then the mom says "Your father, my brother..." I was horrified to learn that poor Robbie was the outcome of brother/sister incest, especially as it's often not consensual. No wonder there was so much talk about the bad genes in the family. Once my head cleared I continued to read. The mom was griping about Bobbie's father, and her own brother and her sister, all who didn't stick around.
Oh.
People moving on with their lives and not catering to a selfish, dysfunctional alcoholic doesn't strike me as that dark and terrible. Preston's sentence structure was certainly dark and terrible, though.
Yes, I am nit-picking, but why wasn't there an editor to clean up these little messes in such an otherwise beautifully written story? Being a gardener, I cried when I learned a buddleia was growing in the area that had once been the butterfly room of Lenora's beautiful home.
When I first started reading this, too many times, I was on the verge of quitting. This author had been a high-school English teacher, but anyone can make these kinds of mistakes if they're in a hurry. Mistakes happens, but not fixing them gives me "backwash".
Regardless, I'm glad I stayed with this story, because it is so vivid, insightful, and fascinating! I hope she's since found another editor.
This is a story that parallels how childhood can mangle a personality as much as the butterfly's emergence from the cocoon can damage and warp the creature for good.
We have two actual children growing up in this story, but there are also hints of the adults around them being permanently harmed by their circumstances while growing up.
Roberta, or Bobbie, is an only child, living with her single, alcoholic, close minded mother. Exhausted from her work cleaning hotel rooms, she collapses on the couch and drinks until she passes out. Bobbie is the adult in that run down home.
Cynthia, or Cincy, is also an only child, also growing up in poverty, but she has a loving and educated mother with a fascinating job, but little income. Lenora is a butterfly researcher, living in a magical house perched on a mountain side that overlooks the Columbia River Valley. The front part of the house is glassed in, where the exotic butterflies flit past, resting on the thick foliage also being raised within the conservatory. It's a spectacular site.
But while Bobbie is fascinated by Lenora, and grateful for the comfort she receives in that amazing home, Cincy resents her mother's pre-occupation with "bugs". She grows into a surly teenager, jealous of her mother's seeming preference for Bobbie, who is doing high-school credits in biology class by working with Lenora's butterflies.
All of this should have rewarded this novel with at least four stars, but I couldn't go that far. There are so many strange words, phrases, clumsy sentence structures that I thought the author might have recently learned English as a second language. But no, she was born and raised in Oklahoma. Then I googled the unknown words and phrases, hoping they were colloquialisms common to that part of North America. Nope.
I suspect the editor was either missing in action, or was mad at the author. There were too many awkward passages that could easily have been fixed. At the beginning of the novel I was immediately annoyed by two seven-year-olds behaving as precociously as fourteen-year-olds. Their ability to flirt with, charm and manipulate bullies into doing their chores was unbelievable.
One Christmas Robbie receives a "box of clothes" among a few other things, from her impoverished mother. By this time she is no longer a little girl, instead she's at the stage where clothes matter. Yet there's no description of those clothes.
As this novel flashes forwarded and backward in time, we find Bobbie living somewhere in Alberta, Canada. Oddly, we don't know where. She is apparently 45 minutes from Calgary, yet has to go through a mountain pass to get here. Being from Calgary, that jarred me. We learn that her American husband is employed at the Glenbow Museum, and I'm wondering what kind of visa he got to do that work. Then he stays at a "nearby" motor inn. Trust me, there are no motels within downtown Calgary. The Glenbow Museum is surrounded by glitzy skyscrapers, many of them luxurious hotels. You'd no more find a motel in downtown Calgary than you would in Manhattan.
At one point Bobbie puts on her snowshoes to follow her husband out the back door of their acreage home, also on a mountain side, in a snowstorm. She is behind him by a few minutes. Yet she can't figure out which way he has gone. Apparently his snow shoes left no tracks? If it's a bad storm, some snow could fill up the tracks within a few minutes, but by no means would his tracks be obliterated.
The husband has served her bagels with "creamed" cheese a little earlier. We later see him running around their home in "over-run house shoes."
At one point she is deeply shocked, to the extent she cannot speak, which Preston describes as being caught in a "backwash". She isn't sharing a drink with someone who's let their saliva flow into the beverage. At another point she is "taking a cold". Not a shower, just in the early stages of a cold. And don't talk to me about those "horny" caterpillars.
The error that jumped out at me and sent me reeling is after Bobbie confronts her mother on the family secrets she has kept from her daughter. We learn they are dark and terrible. Then the mom says "Your father, my brother..." I was horrified to learn that poor Robbie was the outcome of brother/sister incest, especially as it's often not consensual. No wonder there was so much talk about the bad genes in the family. Once my head cleared I continued to read. The mom was griping about Bobbie's father, and her own brother and her sister, all who didn't stick around.
Oh.
People moving on with their lives and not catering to a selfish, dysfunctional alcoholic doesn't strike me as that dark and terrible. Preston's sentence structure was certainly dark and terrible, though.
Yes, I am nit-picking, but why wasn't there an editor to clean up these little messes in such an otherwise beautifully written story? Being a gardener, I cried when I learned a buddleia was growing in the area that had once been the butterfly room of Lenora's beautiful home.
When I first started reading this, too many times, I was on the verge of quitting. This author had been a high-school English teacher, but anyone can make these kinds of mistakes if they're in a hurry. Mistakes happens, but not fixing them gives me "backwash".
Regardless, I'm glad I stayed with this story, because it is so vivid, insightful, and fascinating! I hope she's since found another editor.
April 19, 2010
This was a quick read, and I am really loving Marcia Preston books right now! The whole time I read this book I thought "Wow! These characters could really benefit from reading that Eckhardt Tolle book for some insight on dealing with past events!" I can't remember his exact quote....but it was something like You can't control things that happen to you - only your reaction to them. Butterfly House is a great story about how a "family" doesn't have to be biological. It also gives a glimpse of how many people are hurt by a single person with an addiction or depression.
January 1, 2015
I read this book a while ago but this was one I found it hard to put down or forget. I have been utterly disappointed in the trite I have endured reading recently, that reminiscing about this book makes me appreciate just how good the story was. Everything was so well written and the relationships so emotive that you could not help but to be sucked in. I don't keep many books, but this one is still renting space on my bookshelf.
October 26, 2008
Wow, this book was good, flowed really well and kept me wanting to turn the pages as there were quite a few things happening and I couldn't wait to find out how things panned out. An emotional book about relationships with friends, with mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and daughters. I would definitely recommend this book.
March 3, 2024
Roberta “Bobbie” Lee finds solace during her childhood years in her friend Cynthia’s home at Rockhaven. With a mother who is emotionally distant and struggling with substance abuse, Roberta is drawn to the mother figure she finds in Cynthia’s mother, Leonora.
Full review: https://sincerelyyoursannie.com/2021/...
Full review: https://sincerelyyoursannie.com/2021/...
June 27, 2015
review to follow
July 6, 2015
In clear limousin prose, the book brings you the story of 3 women, connected by friendship, secrets and a single moment that binds them together..
September 29, 2023
Finally - a book that I could give a 5 star rating!!I thoroughly enjoyed this book and was always anxious to get back to it once I had to put it down to do some mundane things like cooking, cleaning, or going food shopping. The first few chapters were confusing as to who was who - and I literally had to re-read some of it and jot down the family trees to understand. But after that, the story became intriguing. I could feel the STRESS that the characters were under when the "catalyst" which I will not explain here, happened. The secrets that bound each character with the other, and the misconceptions each had - wow - I was totally engrossed in the relationships. I, too, had a good friend for many, many years until she did something - so I was invested in this plot.
The court room ending was a bit hokey, and the last few pages seemed too obvious, but enjoyable just the same. I related to the character of Bobbie because she did things like I would have done. A very, strong independent woman acting on her own beliefs and ideas really resonated with me.
The court room ending was a bit hokey, and the last few pages seemed too obvious, but enjoyable just the same. I related to the character of Bobbie because she did things like I would have done. A very, strong independent woman acting on her own beliefs and ideas really resonated with me.
June 5, 2023
I bought this book for two reasons: firstly because I love butterflies and secondly because I used to live in a city with the same name as the author's surname (which also happens to be not far from Lancaster where there is an actual place called the Butterfly House).
Anyway...the book turned out to be awful. It started off not too bad but just got steadily worse - initially I thought it was going to be a 3 star review, which soon became a 2 star and then by the time I got to the last half dozen chapters I realised I couldn't possibly give it any more than a 1 star. It was just so monumentally boring and I couldn't wait to finish it. Also, it was really badly written e.g a passage where six consecutive sentences began with 'I'. The story started out like what I tend to think of as a 'grown up Point Horror story' but soon descended into a baaaaaad Hallmark movie and I just bloody hated it and was wholly cross with myself for wasting a couple of days on the damn thing. Thankfully I know I won't remember anything about this book within a week.
Anyway...the book turned out to be awful. It started off not too bad but just got steadily worse - initially I thought it was going to be a 3 star review, which soon became a 2 star and then by the time I got to the last half dozen chapters I realised I couldn't possibly give it any more than a 1 star. It was just so monumentally boring and I couldn't wait to finish it. Also, it was really badly written e.g a passage where six consecutive sentences began with 'I'. The story started out like what I tend to think of as a 'grown up Point Horror story' but soon descended into a baaaaaad Hallmark movie and I just bloody hated it and was wholly cross with myself for wasting a couple of days on the damn thing. Thankfully I know I won't remember anything about this book within a week.
June 12, 2025
The novel revolves around themes of relationships, both with the self and with other people. Personally, this novel has hit home too hard, having experienced troubles similar to Bobbie's. The difference between me and this fictional character is that she has resolved her issues eventually–something that I may never be able to do for myself anytime soon. Preston wrote such a brave character.
I particularly loved the details given about the butterflies, their life cycles, their unique characteristics, and even when their homes are prepared. Rockhaven felt exactly like how Bobbie found it: a safe haven.
It was overall a good read. Experienced emotional and mental gymnastics, but still digestible.
I particularly loved the details given about the butterflies, their life cycles, their unique characteristics, and even when their homes are prepared. Rockhaven felt exactly like how Bobbie found it: a safe haven.
It was overall a good read. Experienced emotional and mental gymnastics, but still digestible.
December 5, 2018
This book had lots of twists and turns and went backwards and forwards in time. It was interesting exploring the relationship between the two young girls but also the relationships between adults and other adults or the young girls.
A story about growing up and how anyone involved can make 'a mistake' in how things happens.
How people need to talk to each other to work out the problems and work on their relationships.
An enjoyable book that kept me wanting more.
A story about growing up and how anyone involved can make 'a mistake' in how things happens.
How people need to talk to each other to work out the problems and work on their relationships.
An enjoyable book that kept me wanting more.
March 6, 2020
Bobbi relives her past as she is confronted with the loose ends of the tragic events of her childhood. Raised by an alcoholic mother, Bobbie develops a close but sometimes confusing relationship with her friend's mom. And they study butterflies together. Only when the truth comes out can the healing begin, but prior to that, everyone is pretty messed up. The story line is engaging, I was very wrapped up in the characters' lives, and there were plenty of twists to keep things interesting.
April 5, 2020
A wonderful, moderately paced ready that kept me hooked. I love the mystery, the themes and the story. Bobbie was a relatable main character and I found myself rooting for her more and more throughout the book. Would definitely recommend to readers who love a good flashback story with mystery, drama and a touch of romance.
March 31, 2018
A reasonably good novel about mother/daughter/BFF relationships with some twists involved. Butterflies feature as part of the scientific/environmental interest backdrop to what is effectively a criminal mystery.
December 24, 2018
Better than expected this tells the story of Roberta, her alcoholic mother, her best friend Cincy and Cincy’s mom Lenora who becomes her surrogate mom. Some mystery but mostly relationships. Too much butterfly science but readable.
April 21, 2020
A story of three women, connected by friendship, family secrets and a secret that binds them together forever.
The reality of the hardships of mother/daughter relationships, friendships and jealousy.
Beautiful characters and so we'll written; can connect with every female character.
The reality of the hardships of mother/daughter relationships, friendships and jealousy.
Beautiful characters and so we'll written; can connect with every female character.
September 11, 2021
Somewhere between a 4 and a 5 star read. This book brought out emotions happy, sad, mad. It was a lovely story of friendship and love. It was a clean read, there was some predictably but no triggers that I could think of.
August 25, 2022
Timing with death factor (after my own aunts passing), was nicely written. Two young girls both trying to navigate young teenage life without fathers. One girl with an alcoholic mother, the other girl envious of the bond the non-biological child was forming with her own mother.
Both children craving love. With raising butterflies mixed in. It was a nice easy read that kept your attention.
Both children craving love. With raising butterflies mixed in. It was a nice easy read that kept your attention.
July 7, 2025
Kirjassa oli mielestäni loistava juoni; mielenkiinto pysyi lähes koko ajan. Luin tämän parissa päivässä; nopea luettava. Kirja kertoi ystävyydestä, perhesuhteista ja alkoholismista. Ja erityisesti perhosista.
December 20, 2025
The author is from Edmond; definitely secular fiction. While I couldn’t put it down it was filled with atheists, sexual relationships of all kinds, and a lot of hatred between moms and daughters. Reconciliation is probably the one word I’d used to sum it all up.
May 12, 2017
It was hardly Ruth's fault that she left Bobbie Lee's father. I am glad that Bobbie Lee finally realised the truth.
June 17, 2017
Slow and quiet, this is a lovely book about love, familj and loyalty - and about life sometimes dealing you all the wrong cards... or the right ones. And how to handle it, either way.
September 29, 2017
I liked the book. It was a change of pace for me.
March 11, 2018
Good characters and an interesting storyline, though it's not always believable.
March 5, 2019
Decent read; just not my preferred kind of novel. Too predictable, cliched and "fluffy" for me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews