Butterface

The Hartigans, Book 1

By: Avery Flynn

Narrated by: Brian Pallino, Savannah Peachwood

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's Summary

It’s true. I’m not what most people would call “pretty” and, well, high school was rough. Fast forward ten years and life is good....

Until a bunch of jerks think it’s hilarious to put the “butterface” (AKA me) on a wedding Kiss Cam with the hottest guy ever - and that old humiliation hits hard.

I recognize him immediately. The hottest cop in Waterbury and totally out of my league.

But then he kisses me.

And we totally forget the room, the crowd, everything.

Then he tells everyone we’ve been dating for months.

Soon everything starts to feel too real, from adorable fights over “necessary” tools to fix my broken porch to surviving a free-for-all dinner with his six siblings to picking up where our last kiss left off.

But there’s something he’s not telling me about why he’s really hanging around, and I’m pretty sure it has to do with my mob-connected brothers.

Because this is not a make-over story, and Cinderella is only a fairy tale....

©2018 Avery Flynn (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc. This edition is made possible under a license arrangement with Entangled Publishing, Inc.

Save yourself.

I had such high hopes for this book. To say I was disappointed is putting it mildly. I wanted a book that would make her into a hero for regular woman. There are enough stories about the gorgeous woman who get the gorgeous guy. I wanted her to feel proud of who she is in spite of all the jerks and less than human humans around her and I certainly didn't want her to wind up with the man who treated her with such disdain, used her as a stepping stone for his career and finally "saw the light" by seeing beyond her looks. She deserved better and he did not deserve her. I wanted her to kick ass, realize she is better than the rest of them and doesn't need any one of the idiot males represented in this book, particularly the police officers to make her whole or validate her being. Sorry, but this book just made me mad. It was a total waste of time. Also, we get from the book title she is not pretty, but did we need to have it drilled into us on each and every single page? And making him heroic for falling for the ugly girl does not make him a good guy, but just a shallow idiot who wants a pat on the back for "seeing past her looks". Should we throw him a parade because he realized that looks are only skin deep and fell for her because she is a spectacular woman? I say this for regular woman and girls everywhere...we deserve better than this awful representation even if just fiction.

Oh Childhood Memories

I sure can whole heartedly identified with this story. I was one of those kids that at by the age of 12-13 I stood 5'8" & weighted 114lbs oh and let's not forget the I'm 1/2 Italian with the famine version of a "Jimmy Durante" nose. Yes, I got razzed about my nose from 6th grade all the away thru high school. I had a few close friends that took the time to get to know me, this shy, who am I kidding, when you talk about the wallflower. I was the wall. So yes, my dating life was nil to none. Until I was 18 and meet this guy while at work. All I can tell you is Holy Crap what a wonderful, loving, handsome man he was, he saw the flower and not the wall. We were married, and happy. I learned how to love him and myself at the same time and that's a gift I will have for the rest of my life. It's amazing how books can mirror life. This book is well worth a re-read. Thanks.

I really wanted to like it

I really wanted to love this book, but I'm so over the ugliness. I get it she was ugly, and honestly the super hot guy wanting her so quickly??.. just not realistic

Hard pass

I couldn't even finish this book. The narration was ok, but the story itself was just too much. We get it, she's not pretty but damn, how many times do they both have to lament about it.

Too much insecurity, too little growth

The Pros: The narration is fantastic; The sex scenes are steamy HOT; The storyline is fun and fairly unique; Ford is wonderful, and I often wondered why he was staying with Gina.

The Meh: Like most other reviewers have commented on previously, this book hits you on the head (and then some more) about just how ugly this woman is.  It's off putting, to be honest.  And Gina's immense focus on it makes it hard to get around this giant elephant in the room and actually enjoy the book.  I wish she were more confident and had more self-esteem, but even towards the end, I didn't feel like she grew as a character. 

Repetitive

Ok, I get it, she's ugly. That point was made the first chapter so why harp on it through the ENTIRE book. Move on the the actual story already!!!! So not worth the credit.

Just plain fun!

This was fantastic! I didn't see the more serious side of it until I was neck deep in it. Butterface opens up your mind and makes you think of things you said in passing and perhaps not meant. It's just deeper than I expected and I loved it! Don't let that fool you though... it was still a riot! It totally tugged at my heart strings and made me think more about how we view ourselves.

Fantastic dual narration with Brian Pallino and Savannah Peachwood. Peachwood has this fun and light voice and you could feel her words and how impactful some statements were. Pallino had this deep tenor that I loved!

Brian Pallino and Savannah Peachwood --- NAILED IT

Listened for Fun (Audible)
Overall Rating: 3.75
Character Rating: 4.00
Story Rating: 3.50

Audio Rating: 4.50 (not part of the overall rating)

Quick Thoughts: I think the "ugly" comments went on a little to long but outside of that I really enjoyed Butterface. Gina was fantastic and her friends were a hoot. Ford was a hunky rule follower that made me smile and I loved his family. I am going to have to go read Felicia's book :) Overall this was fun and I am really looking forward to the rest of The Hartigans!

Audio Thoughts: Narrated by Brian Pallino and Savannah Peachwood ---- NAILED IT! Seriously it was so good in audio form and I highly recommend it!

Where's the comedy? Total drag.

This is supposed to be a romantic comedy, but it's really NOT funny.

The heroine has absolutely no personal growth and is mentally hung up on high school. She doesn't have any self confidence at all, yet the minute she's given a hotel key to someone she doesn't know, yet kissed, she goes to said hotel room and climbs into the guys bed, without clothes or talking to him first. I was dumbfounded. What kind of craziness is that?! And throughout the book she drones on and on about how ugly she is in the female narrators dramatic, slow breathy drawl. I mean constantly long, drawn out, teenage whining. The heroine is 29. Over ten years since high school, yet mentally still a 14 year old. And the narrators rendition just drills that home. I even sped up the narration to 1.5x and it was STILL whiny.
Then you had numerous drawn out sex scenes, in the same dramatic tone as the rest of the story. It's exhausting and headache inducing.
The male narrator wasn't much better. It sounded like he was doing the narration in a tunnel or through a speaker. And his voice was rather wet and monotone.

I really had high hopes for this book and series. We all struggle with insecurities that haunt us long after high school. But through life, we grow beyond those 4 short years and realize this. We also realize that there's always someone that had it worse and that we survived and it was temporary. This story had the potential to demonstrate a heroines growth from that insecure little girl, to an empowered woman. Instead it shows a woman that never matured and has tunnel vision, not considering anyone else around her but herself.

Love is Blind

I enjoyed listening to this audiobook for the narrators Brian Pallino and Savannah Peachwood did a wonderful job. I would listen to another book that was narrated by either of them. Mr. Pallino and Ms. Peachwood are talented and were truly able to bring the characters in the story to life.

As for the story itself I found it had a strong and amusing start but then started to fizzle a bit in the third act. I felt that something was missing but just can't figure out what exactly. But that's my personal problem. While it was a cute story with a likable couple and some fun supporting characters it just didn't have any moments that inspired strong emotions from me. And to me the measure of a good book is one that has moments that stirs things up in me, be they bad or good.

As much as I wasn't exactly bold over by the story I am still interested in reading the other two books in the series. I'm adding Muffin Top and Tomboy on my list of must read.

Ok

I like the plot, it's a good story. But the sex scenes... Too many! It gets boring. I ended up skipping them.

Too Explicit!

I feel bad for my low rating because the actual storyline was good. What really made me make my decision was the chapter long ,explicit details of the characters serial exploits. Is it necessary to articulate every grunt and groan? Can the author not leave something to the listeners imagination. If it wasn't for this the book would have recievd a much higher rating. I personally just skipped the chapters that contained the sex scenes. I am not prudish but I also know that the kind of detail given just seem to be to make the book longer and really added nothing to the story.

THE EXPLICIT SEX RUINED IT!!!

Good Story but the explicit sex ruined it for me and I am not a prudish woman. I thought there was no romance, just pure sleazy sex with literally a blow by blow account that was not necessary. It is a shame because the storyline was good. I am relieved that it was "included" as I wouldn't have wasted a credit on this book.

Loved it.

Lovely story.
Beauty is the whole person not just a large nose or bad family connections.

i am this woman

and ive recently found my ford :) funny with the right amount of drama

Truly hilarious romcom

I wish I could give this story more than 5 stars because it's really deserved. Gina and Ford are so alike with their nervous and embarrassing ways of expressing themselves it's not surprising they're constantly running into awkward situations. I really felt for them both, but I'm so glad with their HEA. I thought the epilogue finished the story off very well.
The narrators on the audiobook did an excellent job in making the characters come to life.

least favourite

least favourite from this author. I read/listened a min of 5 of her books. all really goos ones. this one was a weak one for me.
good idea for the storyline but somehow it dragged on too long and just sisnt hit the right spot.

Terrible audio quality

Couldn’t get through it all due to the poor quality of the recording. Such a shame!

Romantic, light-hearted & steamy

The initial chapters felt very cliché but the relationship that developed was hot and sincere. Loved the romance and the light-hearted family fun.

What I liked:
- The hero is a sexy gentleman.
- The heroine is confident and kind.
- The development of their relationship felt natural.
- Their sex scenes were very steamy and quite romantic actually.
- The secondary characters of the 2 families added an interesting dynamic to their relationship.
- The audio performance was very enjoyable and easy to listen to.


What I didn't like:
- The clichés used for the initial setup seemed a little bit too forced but once they were in place the story flowed nicely.

Looks aren’t everything

I enjoyed this book, even had me chuckling at times. Ford is a good guy who’s looking for a more meaningful connection. Love a happy ending.