Brenda’s review of Butterfly (Delfosse-Brothers #3) > Likes and Comments

I'm really trying to keep this polite, but giving a book two stars solely because a main character is "whiny" is incredibly unfair and, quite frankly, shows a lack of understanding of the topic being discussed.

And can we please talk about how awful the word whiny is in this context? In many cases, these characters and real humans (!!!!!)are dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, or experiences that have fundamentally changed how they navigate the world. Dismissing that as "being whiny" feels reductive at best and harmful at worst.

You don't have to like the character. You don't have to enjoy the book. But reducing someone's mental health struggles to "they complain too much" completely misses the point of what the story is trying to portray.

Thank you, Magne, you beat me to comment on this. I usually don't comment on reviews and I definitely do not defend my stories.

Many people with mental health issues experience to not be taken seriously, to be too much, to be "too whiny". This still is one of the main reasons, why so many people do not communicate openly about their mental health issues.

No matter if you liked the story or not, it's your right to not like it, but to reduce the inner struggles of a person with severe mental health issues to "too much whining" is hurtful and disrespectful.