In this month’s Books On Your RadarBookSparks’ founder Crystal Patriarche recommends a heart-pounding novel, one of those books that might just change the way you look at the world when you’re done reading. We recommend bumping this pick up to number one on your TBR list this month. 

The Blue Butterfly by Leslie Johansen Nack

I love a solid historical fiction read, and The Blue Butterfly is a fascinating and beautifully written book. Plus, the cover is gorgeous!

It’s New York 1915, Marion Davies is a shy eighteen-year-old beauty dancing on the Broadway stage when she meets William Randolph Hearst and finds herself captivated by his riches, passion and desire to make her a movie star. Following a whirlwind courtship, she learns through trial and error to live as Hearst’s mistress when a divorce from his wife proves impossible. A baby girl is born in secret in 1919 and they agree to never acknowledge her publicly as their own. In a burgeoning Hollywood scene, she works hard making movies while living a lavish partying life that includes a secret love affair with Charlie Chaplin. In late 1937, at the height of the depression, Hearst wrestles with his debtors and failing health, and Marion loans him one million dollars when nobody else will. Together, they must confront the movie that threatens to invalidate all of Marion’s successes in the movie industry: Citizen Kane. This is a complex character study that gets to the heart of who she really was—and I loved it!