REVIEW: Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows

Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows: Millie is living her dream, inspiring minds with each museum visit and curating the most kick ass entomology department anyone could dream of, so when the role of department director comes up Millie jumps at the chance for a bigger role at her beloved museum. The only person standing in her way is the grumpy, astronomer Finn Ashford. The last thing that Finn has time for is the annoyingly bubbly butterfly chick that knocked his car on accident on the morning that he was set to interview her for a new position on the museum.

After the passing of his sister, all Finn has time for is making sure that his two nieces are taken care of and trying not to burn dinner ever night, let alone figuring out how to deal with his own grief. However it would seem that fate is determined to keep pushing these two together, with Finn’s nieces taking part in Millie’s summer butterfly camp, the two find themselves spending a lot more time together, walls begin to lower and feelings begin to grow, but with Millies promotion standing between them can anything romantic really come of their new found connection?

I loved this book! Give Me Butterflies was one of the cutest debut novels that I have read in a long time, this book was the perfect combination of sweet, heartwarming and a bit spicy. I am a huge fan of the grump meets sunshine trope and this was definitely the case in this book with Millie and Finn, gosh these two just wormed their way into my heart, with their cute banter and slow burn chemistry. There were so many things to love about this book that I really struggled to find a fault. I loved the way Meadows highlighted the beauty of found family and finding your own happiness in the craziness that is life.

Millie was easily the sweetest leading lady, I loved getting to see her character grow and develop throughout this book. She had so much of love and positivity to share with the people around her that it was hard not to love her character to bits. I really liked that even though she had some out of a bad relationship, she did not allow this to change her or make her jaded. Millie truly was a ball of happiness and sunshine and I just adored seeing her bringing some light into Finn and the girls lives. One of the things that I liked about this book was the fact that while Millie was a woman in STEM this was not the main factor about there character. Now for our hero, well at first Finn comes across as this rude grouch, but as the book progresses and we get to see the softer side to Finn, the side he only shows his nieces. Finn really pulled at my heartstrings, his grief was palpable and it was clear he was struggling to find his footing in his new dad role. Though through it all you could really see that he wanted to the best that he could for Avery and Eloise.

The chemistry between Finn and Millie was the perfect slow burn, I loved that they brought out the best in each other and didn’t try to dim the others light. I loved getting to see them fall into a comfortable rhythm with the girls. There was so much to like about this couple but most of all the sense of comfort that they brought to each other. I just adored the parts where Millie would go to Finns house to spend time with the girls, baking and helping Finn learn to not burn down the kitchen. While there were a number of heavy topics in this book at its core this was a beautiful, sweet and playful romcom and I loved getting to see Millie bring out the softer more playful side to Finn.

I absolutely adored reading Give Me Butterflies, this book combines all the things that I love about reading romcoms into one sweet, heartwarming and slightly spicy second chance, sunshine meets grump love story. A definite must read!!

Book Info:

Publication: July 1, 2023 | Avon |

Millie loves her job as a kickass entomology curator, inspiring museum visitors every day. She even has an interview for the department director position, so she can take on an even bigger role in the museum. She refuses to be distracted by her grumpy coworker with his permanent scowl, bright blue eyes, and nerdy astronomy ties.

. . . Not that she’s spent much time noticing any of those things.

Finn Ashford doesn’t mean to glare at everyone, but he’s juggling his job at the museum, navigating the grief of losing his sister, attempting to make his nieces smile, and not ruin dinner for the fifth night in a row.

When Millie stumbles through the door of her interview, her eyes scan the committee and land on the one man that could derail her promotion, but it just so happens he’s also the one man that could make all her dreams come true.

Give Me Butterflies is a slow burn, single guardian romance. This steamy story features a handsome grump who seems to only smile for his nieces, an anxious curator finding the confidence to believe in herself, and a cast of endearing, meddling side characters. It’s full of swoony moments, nerdy banter, and enough fiery tension to light the museum ablaze.