The Last Encore is an erotic and mysterious story of eternal love, and the obstacles thrown in the path to realizing this love. “The star was everything at that moment, the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, his past and his future. As it had always been.”

So starts the story of Daniel Adler and Katherine Kanova. Daniel, a prolific writer, spots what he believes to be a beautiful, crimson-haired young woman in the woods, with the sounds of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata all around. Immediately drawn to her, he calls to her and tries to speak to her, only to have her vanish in the mist. But from that fateful moment, Daniel is haunted by this vision, and vows to search for her. Into this mix steps Lily Bernard, a wealthy American woman who hosts salons for artists; she is intrigued by Daniel’s writing and invites him to be her guest in Lost Angeles to write and participate in these salons. At the first salon, Daniel meets the crimson-haired Katherine Kanova, a gifted pianist with a troubled past, who performs the Moonlight Sonata, and he knows that his dreams have come true at last.

Were this brief description of this elegant book the whole story, it would sound like the stuff of cheap novels. This remarkable story is anything but cheap and anything but predictable. This summary is only the beginning of a compelling, erotic, twisting and turning journey of relationships, forbidden and not, families, and the stories families tell to protect their loved ones from harm. In this story, everything is connected, but it is a spider-web of connection. There is nothing linear about the relationships and there is nothing linear about this book. The language is elegant; the mysteries finely tuned and honed to perfection, and the reader is treated to one surprise after the other that builds to a finale that could not have been predicted. To say more would to spoil this magnificent tale for other readers. Suffice to say that Lily Bernard is the conductor of the symphony that is this story.

The Last Encore is an experience. It is highly erotic, and beautifully so. Reading it is like listening to a fine symphony, more like Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony with its resplendent climax, than the lilting beauty of the Moonlight Sonata. This is a rare find and should be savored like beautiful music and fine wine. Part fantasy, part love story, part mystery, The Last Encore satisfies on many, many levels, from the very first word to the very last.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

A very different perspective in writing. At first, I was a little confused as to how each of the characters we meet were going to tie into each other. But, Julia Butler does a brilliant job making them all come together. Full of mystery and surprises and written in a way that lets you see each point of view, the story is written differently but works very well to tell the story. A very enjoyable story.

The Last Encore is beautifully composed story that reads as if it were a lyrical version of a concerto that had me wanting to get to the end of the book to find out how everything works out for Katherine, and how all the characters we meet fit into her story, and yet didn’t want to finish it because the journey was so well crafted.

Each character in this story was written beautifully and with such depth that I felt a connection with all of them, even the most hardened and standoffish of the lot. Katherine is the focus of the story, and she is a beautiful, talented and gracious woman who has known much tragedy in her life, but has not allowed herself to be beaten by it. Instead she pulls herself up and fights on. Lily and Hans are both weighed down by secrets of the past, secrets that should they come to light could destroy, not only the ones they keep them from, but themselves in the process. Daniel, a young artist whose life would have been steeped in darkness if not for his step father Hans, has been chasing a dream for much of his life and when an out of the blue offer comes his way, he finds that the dream may be a reality.

This story is chock full of tragedy, some brought upon by the characters themselves, some wrought by others, and there were times when it was overwhelming in the despair it left in it’s wake, but there was always the promise of hope, of finding something better, of finding love, and it was that promise, as well as finding out everyone’s secrets and how they all connect that kept me turning the page until the end.

A thought provoking story with an unusual twist on the attraction of the lovers which kept up the tension until the end. It was difficult at first to see the link between the characters as the story moved between Russia, Germany and the US, but the pace quickened as Daniel set off in search of his red-haired vision.

Julia Butler's writing style is beautiful and sophisticated. You could truly feel the depth of emotion for each character. She gives just the right amount of history for each while saving enough to make it all click in the end. I was absolutely shocked with the ending and never expected that to happen. After reading this book, I began to really think about how often that could happen and all the people that never know it is happening in their lives. I tried to place myself in that situation, but a brother/sister relationship was more imaginable with my spouse. I have no idea how I would begin to deal with that situation. I began to think about my parents past and all the things I will never know about them. There are things in everybody's past that their children will never know. I did have some issues with chronological order but that could have been just me reading too fast. I felt like the story would jump from the past to present time without warning and I would have to reread the passage. I did feel like I was missing pieces of a puzzle the first time I read it, but certain events had to be left out because of the surprise ending. I reread the story again and it all made perfect sense. I will recommend this book to friends because the end is so shocking. This subject is never talked about and probably more common than ever imagined. I look forward to reading future works from Ms. Butler.