This is a wonderful read historical fiction at its best.Marion Davies is a woman i read about I found her to be a fascinating character.The book weaves real live people with fictional characters I enjoyed reading this from first to last page.#netgalley #shewritespress.

This was such an interesting glimpse into the Golden Age of Hollywood, and into the life of an actress that I honestly didn’t know anything about (which feels shameful to admit now). I recognized so many other names in this book - Greta Garbo, Charlie Chaplin, William Churchill - but was unfamiliar with Marion Davies.

This walks you through Marion’s life from her point of view, focusing on her film career and complicated relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. I’m so curious what her life and career would have looked like - and how it would have been remembered - without his influence.

This story was engaging and difficult to put down. If you enjoy historical fiction and getting lost in the glamorous world of old Hollywood, I definitely recommend picking this up!

I really enjoyed this piece of historical fiction. It was well written with good characters that were well developed, a well written narrative and a well executed storyline that was grippuing from start to finish. I loved that I recognised some of the characters in the book too. A really good read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Blue Butterfly is historical fiction based on the life of Marion (Douras) Davies a beautiful young woman growing up in the early 1900s. She had four sisters, and the advice her mother gave them was to make sure that they married for smart financial reasons not love. Marion dreamed of being on stage, and it was while she was a dancer that she caught the eye and heart of married William Randolph Hearst the newspaper mogul. That began a relationship that not only brought Marion love but a luxurious life and launched her career as a movie actress.

I loved this book! It was a tough time to be a woman, when your appearance was your value, but Marion was able to use her looks to then find her actual talent. The relationship she had with WR was often difficult but one that she knew she couldn’t live without — he had provided her entire family with a life they could never have had without him in it. Ultimately, she loved him dearly, and it wasn’t just the money that kept them together.

As I read, I kept wondering how much was fact and which things were fiction, but the entire story is believable. I had never heard of Marion Davies prior to reading Blue Butterfly. We have all heard of Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Greta Garbo, and so many others mentioned in the book. It’s sad that Marion Davies’ name got filed away in some lost page of movie history. For anyone who loves old Hollywood era type books, I highly recommend this one!

The Blue Butterfly: A Novel of Marion Davies by Leslie Johansen Nack is historical fiction that the author has done well with weaving fact and fiction about an interesting time in our history, featuring well known interesting characters.

The Blue Butterfly: A Novel of Marion Davies by Leslie Johansen Nack is a great historical fiction that takes us into the fascinating and colorful life of Marion Davies.

This is the first book I have read from this author, and it most certainly won’t be the last.

I am shamefully going to admit I knew ver little about Marion Davies before now. Learning about her professional and personal lives and her complicated relationship with William Randolph Hearst was definitely enlightening and interesting.

The author did a great job at creating an engaging narrative while adding the appropriate historical detail.

I certainly enjoyed this book and recommend it.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and She Writes Press for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 5/3/22.