The Roses of May
Written by Dot Hutchison
Narrated by Siiri Scott and Will Damron
4/5
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About this audiobook
Four months after the explosion at the Garden, a place where young women known as the Butterflies were kept captive, FBI agents Brandon Eddison, Victor Hanoverian, and Mercedes Ramirez are still entrenched in the aftermath, helping survivors in the process of adjusting to life on the outside. With winter coming to an end, the Butterflies have longer, warmer days of healing ahead. But for the agents, the impending thaw means one gruesome thing: a chilling guarantee that somewhere in the country, another young woman will turn up dead in a church with her throat slit and her body surrounded by flowers.
Priya Sravasti’s sister fell victim to the killer years ago. Now she and her mother move every few months, hoping for a new beginning. But when she ends up in the madman’s crosshairs, the hunt takes on new urgency. Only with Priya’s help can the killer be found—but will her desperate hope for closure compel her to put her very life on the line?
Dot Hutchison
Dot Hutchinson es autora del bestseller internacional El Jardín de las Mariposas, y La temporada de los niños perdidos, Los niños del verano, Las rosas de mayo, además de A Wounded Name, una novela juvenil basada en Hamlet de Shakespeare. Ha trabajado en un campamento de boy scouts, una tienda de artículos para manualidades, una librería y la Feria Renacentista. Le encantan las tormentas eléctricas, la mitología, la historia y las películas que pueden y deben verse una y otra vez.
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Titles in the series (4)
The Roses of May Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Butterfly Garden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Summer Children Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Vanishing Season Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for The Roses of May
418 ratings14 reviews
What our readers think
Readers find this title to be a mixed bag. Some reviewers enjoyed the continuation of the series and the weaving in of elements from the first book. They found the story well-written and the characters wonderful. However, others felt that this book was not as good as the first one. They found the storyline to be predictable and the plot to be lacking. Some reviewers also mentioned that the author repeated the same things over and over and failed to tie in the first book effectively. Overall, opinions are divided, but the positive reviews outweigh the negative ones.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Surprisingly good for a sequel that I didn't know was needed! And 2 more books?! What?
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book! I can totally see why so many people rated it so highly-would definitely recommend a listen!!! Story was well written with wonderful characters and the narrators did an amazing job!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It was a good book. kept you wanting to know of what was going to happen. And to continue the series
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I liked the writing style of this book and the mention of old characters from the first book in the series, but I was much more captivated by the 1st book. On to #3 though as I do want to see the series through and it is a nice read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was my selection for my #calendarchallange and it’s os the 2nd in The Collector series. The 1st was The Butterfly Garden which was outstanding! I didn’t like this one quite as much. The 1st one was such an unusual, exquisitely beautiful yet horrific storyline with lots of twists. This storyline was just a warped serial killer. It did weave in a lot from the first book which was kinda cool but also kind of took away from the plot of this book. It is definitely not able to stand alone you must read the Butterflies’ stories first or you will be completely lost. It was a bit predictable for me. I knew the killer from the first moment he entered the narrative. There weren’t many surprises at all really. But there were some laugh out loud moments for me. I guess because I have a very morbid sense of humor so you may not think anything funny. My favorite character by far was Deshani. I find that I always love the “mama bear” in every story but her “in your face” attitude was incredible! In my opinion it was a good book but compared to its predecessor it didn’t measure up at all. If it were a stand alone book I would have enjoyed it I think but I kinda wish I hadn’t read it because the parts of the previous storyline that made it into this kind of untied the ending of the first book. What was mostly satisfying is now a bit open ended for me. I may have to read the 3rd book now just to see if it ties it all together again.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Terrible. Boring. Author just kept repeating same over and over. Never could really tie in the first book to even make this one make any sense.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Terrifyingly beautiful. It was well written all the way through and kept me pulled in until the very end.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Priya Sravasti's sister Chavi was murdered by a serial killer five years ago. Every year, a different girl is found dead in a church, surrounded by flowers. Priya and her mom, Deshani, have moved several times since Chavi was killed, but it seems the killer has found her.
The three FBI agents handling the Butterfly Garden case, Vic, Eddison, and Ramirez, are also haunted by the case of the dead girls surrounded by flowers. The victims intertwine. The agents are desperately trying to keep Priya safe.
This book is not quite as gruesome or dark as The Butterfly Garden, but it is still suspenseful, while giving hope. Priya is a brave young woman. This book highlights her struggle to rediscover herself and become the person she was going to be before her sister's brutal murder. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dark and full of voice, Hutchison's second installment in The Collector Trilogy is creepy and affecting--as a follow-up to The Butterfly Garden, it's an impressive expansion of the series that is both all new and true to what made the first book in the series so powerful.For me personally, it was hard to imagine what would come after The Butterfly Garden in terms of a sequel, and I wasn't sure what to expect from this work. For the first few chapters, I had a slow time moving into the book... and then I didn't. Once the book pulled me, perhaps 40 pages in, I didn't want to walk away from it for even a moment. The characters are so darkly believable, and the writing so seemingly effortless, that this builds into a book which has its own special sort of inertia and power. It's striking, difficult, and gorgeous, all at once.The first book in the series won't be for every reader, and while this book isn't as dark, I also don't think it would have near the same power or worth without that first book to back it up--so, if you were scared off from the first book by content, you probably can't simply dive in here and hope to catch up. But, if you loved the first book like I did... you'll want to read this one.Absolutely recommended.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Review for the audiobook version: While the first book started after the facts, engaging me in the story by making me want to know what was going on, this story lacks that element. The whole serial killer element is definitely still engaging, and I did appreciate the way that the narrative pulls the reader into the viewpoints of various people again, but at the end of the day it really is mostly just build-up to what you know is coming in the end. There is really not much involvement or development along the way, at least in terms of important stuff. The first book may have stretched belief a bit at several points, but you at least felt as a reader that things were being established to lead up to the end, revealing what leads to the scene at the start. With this one, you really could skip whole sections and still have a solid grasp of the storyline. That said, the writing style is still undeniably appealing, and the events in this one actually read as more believable and realistic than the previous. Creepy and disturbing, yes, but on a level and in a setting that could happen, whereas the previous installment stretched things on the setting front. Overall, if you enjoyed the first book, you will probably like this one, as it is simultaneously the continuance of the story of the Garden, as well as a whole new story for the FBI agents to unravel at the same time. Never before have I felt so awkward at so enjoying such a narrative arc as with these books - they're deeply dark and disturbing, but there's something so compelling there at the same time.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This sequel to Dot Hutchinson’s book ‘The Butterfly Garden’ tells of the newly freed women from the butterfly garden attempting to heal, with an occasional suicide for those who found the transition too difficult. In addition, in parts of the country young women are being found murdered at a church site and covered with flowers. Priya Sravasti’s sister was one of the girls murdered by the serial killer, and now the killer has stalked Priya with bouquets of flowers appearing at her doorstep. Brandon Eddison, one of the FBI agents, has become a family friend to Priya and her mother, and his FBI team is doing what they can to protect the Sravastis. For much of this novel, I felt a disconnection to the story, perhaps because it moved from one situation to another. I also thought that the novel failed to present much character development, so for much of the story, I was not highly invested in the plot. The story did become more intriguing at the end when Priya makes a bold move, one which I could not fathom her mother as supporting. Otherwise, ‘Roses of May’ was an entertaining, quick read, but it was not as captivating as Hutchinson’s first novel.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book, The Roses of May, is the second in The Collector Trilogy by Dot Hutchison. The first one, The Butterfly Garden, was excellent and had me hooked. This one, while not specifically a sequel, is also a very good mystery/thriller. The writing is just as good as the first one and the characters are well developed and believable. I found this book so hard to put down, as I wanted to know what was coming up. This book also deals with a serial killer, but different from The Butterfly Garden. Don't expect this to be a continuation of The Butterfly Garden. It isn't. While it does intertwine a bit, but it is a separate story of it's own. And it is a good book, one I highly recommend.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I received a free advance review e-copy of this book and have chosen of my own free will to post a review. Wow, what a warped and sick killer. This is an amazing book that I found very difficult to put down. ‘The Roses of May’ is a very well written crime thriller full of suspense and drama. I found the relationships between Priya and the FBI agents to be amazing. This is an extremely well written crime thriller with a great plot, excellent character development, and a surprise ending. It is the second book in the series that could be read first and after finishing it the reader would probably have a strong desire to read ‘The Butterfly Garden.’ This is another great book by Dot Hutchison that is well worth the read and I look forward to reading more by this author.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I would like to thank NetGalley, and Thomas& Mercer for an ARC of "The Roses of May" by Dot Hutchison for my honest review.The genres of this novel are Mystery and Thriller, and General Fiction (Adult). This is the second book following "The Butterfly Garden" by Dot Hutchison. This takes place approximately four months after the explosion of the Garden where young girls known as "Butterflies" were captive. Some have survived and have to heal. The characters are described as complicated and complex. Three of the FBI agents from the first book are in this book, Brandon, Eddison, Victor Hanoverian and Mercedes Ramirez. In "The Roses of May", the author describes Priya, the sister of a victim that had been killed five years before. Priya is suspicious of her surroundings, and tries to be tough. She has conflicted feelings, and at times is depressed and angry at what happened to her sister. Priya and her mother move several times in order to be safe. Priya's mother is described as dominant, and protective of her daughter. Priya and her mother have been in touch with the three FBI agents. Someone has been stalking Priya and is leaving a variety of flowers that are significant on Priya's doorstep.Who is the stalker? Who has killed Priya's sister and other people? What is their motivation? I found this a tense. suspenseful, action packed thriller with twists and turns. I would recommend this book as an intriguing mystery and thriller.