Blood of the Butterfly (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798306547534)

"Lilli . . . " He took me by the chin, forcing me to face him. He pressed a slice of apple to my lips and I parted them obediently as though I was taking his communion. "My duty is to you."

Taken into the church after her father's grizzly death, Lilli is a woman of faith. Faith in God, faith in the enigmatic Father Werner, and above all else, faith that the darkness would come for her.

A beautiful unmarried woman, the men of the village vie for her hand, but she knows it in her heart that loving her is a doomed affair.

When an omen in the form of a red butterfly visits Lilli, she knows that the ancient evil she accidentally awoke sixteen years ago is coming to collect its due, and that her austere, isolated life is about to change forever.

Death is coming for the village of Dunsthal, and it's coming for her.
*

This book is a gothic horror romance, and as such explores taboo themes and relationships. The setting is a small, rural, fictional village in post-medieval Germany, and the characters face struggles in line with their time period.

Christianity and religious trauma is a major theme in this book, as two of the main characters are members of the church.

The protagonist was taken in by the church at nine years old after the death of her father, and as an adult finds herself emotionally entangled with the priest who raised her.

This is a vampire story, and there is blood and gore typical of vampire horror described on page, as well as a lot of death and grieving throughout.

There is dubious consent if you squint in regards to the vampire in the form of genre typical vampiric magnetism, but there is never any non-con.

If any of the above is a trigger for you please read with caution or DNF to protect your peace.