Michael Warner is an electrician who works at a Hollywood studio. Michael's husband and partner Alex, was a doctor who died in a car accident a year ago. Their daughter Andrea was in the car with Alex and survived. Andrea is a bright but sullen little girl who misses her daddy, and Michael can't seem to reach Andrea even though he tries everything he can.

Rebecca O'Neil was a former popular television sitcom actress whose life was taken away from her the moment a stalker fan stabbed her multiple times and left her for dead. Her scars are both visible and hidden. She is still involved in the industry and works in the development office reading scripts and finding the next big movie blockbuster. Rebecca is enclosed in her small protective bubble surrounded by supportive friends and work associates.

Rebecca finds Michael to be very attractive and doesn't find him threatening because as he is fixing a fuse in her office, his daughter Andrea is there. Because Rebecca starts a tender relationship with Andrea, Michael and Rebecca form one. Rebecca sees the ring on Michael's finger and comes to the conclusion he is married and even when she finds out he is a widower, she again assumes he lost his wife. Rebecca is in for a shock when Michael invites her over for dinner and sees the pictures of his family. Rebecca decides she will become his friend and help him deal with Andrea's moods.

These two unlikely people embark on a new journey together. Michael finds something special in Rebecca, much like he had with Alex. But how can he move on when what he and Alex had was so special? How will his friends and family react when he tells them that the one he now wants to be with is a woman? Rebecca loves being with Michael but has some major issues to work through herself. She wonders if Michael is only with her because he is lonely and needs someone to warm his bed at night. And how can a man who was once intimate with another man want to be that way with a woman?

Life is full of complications and Deidre Knight shows this so well in Butterfly Tattoo. Michael is willing to make room for Rebecca alongside his love for Alex. Rebecca has to make the decision and take a chance that Michael's love for her is very real. I loved how Deidre shows the balance of what Michael had with Alex and what he now has with Rebecca. Michael needs a connection with someone. Even as he is on that surfboard alone in the ocean, which seems to be a very solitary exercise, he longs for those he cares about to be beside him catching that perfect wave.

Poignant and heartbreaking, Butterfly Tattoo is all about opening your heart and loving that person who just clicks with you.

Reviewed by: Katie