[2025 October Book Review] The Butterfly’s Sting by Abbie Harlow

Book: The Butterfly’s Sting. Author: Abbie Harlow. Genre: YA Contemporary. Year of publication: 2025. Publisher: Groundwood Books.
Rating: 5/5 stars
Disclosure: I received a free ARC of this book from NetGalley

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*Note: For every book, I always try to summarize three things I loved and three things that might deter some readers. This is not a reflection on the authors or their skills in the craft, and I mean no disrespect. Not every book is for everyone. I’ll do my best with my review so you, my dear readers, can decide whether the story is for you. Also, I don’t summarize the premise or the plot unless they’re the items I loved on my list, as anyone can go to Goodreads and read the blurb.

I was in a reading slump after I DNF-ed two books with high ratings. This book took me by a jaw-knocking surprise. I finished it in two days, which had to be a record since I’m a notorious slow reader. But the time I spent with it was not proportional to the amount of emotion that it evoked in me. Let’s begin with the three things I loved:

1. The premise

The book is about a teenage female boxer — Bo — taking part in an underground fight club to win money to get…