All the Butterflies in the World

by Rodney Jones

• ISBN10: 1940215366
• ISBN13: 9781940215365
• Publish Date: 16 October 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Red Adept Publishing
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 328
• Language: English

Reviews

[stressedrach]

I have already read The Sun, the Moon and Maybe the Trains so I was so excited to read All the Butterflies in the World although I was a little shocked as Tess died in the first book and I was not sure there would be another but I am so glad there was.

When John passes through the portal back to 2009 to take Tess’s body back to her time, Tess disappeared. John the appears at Tess’s house and much to John’s surprise Tess is leaving the house much the same as she did when they first met, this time though Tess does not know him. Time has gone back and she is alive and well and doesn’t remember John.

John now has the task of trying to make Tess believe him all over again and when she finally does John has already gone back to his time to save his uncle.

Tess reads the old newspaper article and realises it has changed, John is now going to be hanged. She can’t have this and makes the huge decision of leaving everything she has ever known behind to save her man.

This was a fantastic book to read, it is told in both John and Tess’s POV and get to know everything about them. It was tense at times but I am so happy they both get their happily ever after. But is this in 1875 or 2009, well you will have to read it to find out.

I loved the epilogue from Liz’s POV, it finished the book off perfectly.

Rodney Jones has written yet another fantastic book and I am so pleased I was able to read it.

[Kim Deister]

All The Butterflies in the World All The Butterflies in the World picked up right at the same moment as the previous book ended. John and Tess are face to face and it is clear that the Butterfly Effect is in play. While I am fascinated with that theory, it almost made me a little sad to know that the moments I loved the most between them from the first book were gone for Tess.
 
Unlike the first novel, the chapters switched back and forth between the viewpoints of Tess and John. I liked that especially in this book because, for much of the book, the two were living separate lives. Tess is still in 2009 after John has gone back to his own time in an attempt to set things right, promising to return to her. This is when the issues of changing things in the past really come to light. Every time either of them goes back and changes something, the future changes, often in some surprising ways. Finally, Tess realizes that her only chance to save John and to be with him is to go back in the past and stay there. And even though she has to leave everything and everyone behind, she finds an interesting way to keep in touch. And that leads to yet another twist and I loved it!
 
I loved this story, but I was left with one single question. This could be a minor spoiler, so be warned! [spoiler]In the first book, Tess goes back to John's time. But when they try to send her back, she can't get across to 2009. Even when she dies, John can't bring her body back. Instead, he finds her alive and well in her own time, albeit without memories of him. I just wonder why it is that John can cross over, but she can't?[/spoiler]
 
My Recommendation
 
This was a fantastic book that really made you think about the theoretical considerations of time travel and how it affects history and the future.