The love between Adelle and Tudor is a modern tale of Romeo and Juliet.  But in this classic take on the subject, nobody dies in the end.  Instead, Romeo (aka Tudor) and Juliet (Adelle) enjoy an intensity marked by endurance and persistence. 

A 19-year-old emigrant from Romania, Adelle resettles in her new home town of Chicago, where she soon becomes infatuated with Tudor, a brilliant, famous Romanian sculptor who is 12 years her senior.  A modern-day Casanova well rooted within the local Romanian community, he is delighted with his latest conquest. 

When the two connect, their affair takes flight through a series of lengthy instant messages, Facebook postings, and e-mails.  Adelle soon learns that the 21^st Century love of her life is a womanizer, frightened by commitment, troubled by financial problems, and suffering from a deranged yet kind genius.  Addelle, an analytical, independent, stubborn yet passionate rebel, finds herself hopelessly entangled in a dance of love.

But as time slips by, Tudor’s frequent messages disrupt Adelle from her work and make her dependent on the “new-message” light on her phone. As Tudor’s womanizing and demands upon her increase, Adelle is exhilarated by his instability and artistic insanity.  His endless affairs, emotional abuse, and vulgar words push her away when he wants to run free, while his synthetic affection and jealousy surface when he wants her back for fear of losing her forever.

When the situation is aggravated by family drama, Adelle carries a ferocious internal battle to overcome her feelings and put an end to her deranged relationship.

But is it an end for all time?  Or will time heal all wounds?

This remarkably candid, eye-opening account of life in the age of Instant Messaging is worth a long, lingering, enjoyable read.  It’s a story based upon the human condition that will live on in your mind long after you’ve put it down. 

Five stars.

A Message to My Butterfly
Author: Gabriela Sbarcea
Publisher: Delizon Publishers, Paris
Paperback, $11.99
eBook, $6.99
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

*     *     *

Life, Love, Death, Etc.

Review by Jon Peterson

  In a first novel by a budding young literary star, Gabriela Sbarcea travels to the edge of madness before returning to the sanctity of love.  Her debut work, A Message to My Butterfly (Delizon Publishers, 2012), offers a comfortable means of coexistence between hope and despair. 

When Romanian ex-patriot Tudor meets fellow ex-pat Adelle at a New Year’s Eve party at his mansion, sparks fly.  The next day, Tudor, a world-renowned painter/sculptor, begins his pursuit with unerring accuracy: he tells Adelle what she wants to hear; shows her what she craves to see; and shares with her his own world of madness, irrational passion, love for the French language, and creativity.  Adelle finds Tudor’s world both alluring and frightening.  Before she knows it, she has begun to draw from Tudor the very creativity she needs to begin work writing her first book.

But all is not love and congeniality between them.  For, the closer to him Adelle becomes, the further from her Tudor withdraws.

The question in the end is can he succeed in a world without his beloved?  And, if not, can she possibly survive the energy he drains from her through his womanizing, criticisms, and internal anger?

This is a book filled with great sweeping emotions; a rare peek into the robust underbelly of Chicago's bustling Romanian community; and an alluring world of love, hate, passion, and desire.  Once you enter Adelle’s universe, your life will never be the same.

And that’s a good thing. 

A Message to My Butterfly

By Gabriela Sbarcea

Delizon Publishing, $11.99 Paper; $6.99 eBook

Rating: 5 Stars

*     *     *

A Maddening Affair

Review by Deanna Blackwell

  In a world gone mad, is the madness real or merely imaginary? A Message to My Butterfly is a story of the love between two ex-pat Romanians who put the question to the test.  The love that Adelle and Tudor share runs the gamut from lush and lusty to fractious and fragile.  Text messaging from the time they meet, they are bound to one another through creativity and mutual desire.  Hers is driven by a need for true unequivocal love; his is spurred on by a need for love without commitment.  A rambunctious womanizer, Tudor stretches the bounds of their relationship until it fractures, cracks, and finally breaks.

But Adelle’s adamant determination to reunite and rebuild wins the day.  The question after all the experiences the two share together is will it also win over the course of years?

Split between her newly found love for America, her Chicago-Romanian community, and her family back in Europe, she turns to Tudor for solace and finds more in him than ever she had imagined.

This is a tale of conflicting personalities, disturbing tendencies, and undying love on several different levels.  It’s a great fulfilling read, loaded with rich characters, intriguing physical settings, art, poetry, music, and madness.  Read it today for memories to last a lifetime.

A Message to My Butterfly

By Gabriela Sbarcea

Delizon Publishers 2012

Paperback $11.99

eBook $6.99

Rating: 5 Stars