In the following review, Behar contextualizes In the Time of the Butterflies as a historical novel about Latina women and revolution.

In the following mixed review, Stavans calls In the Time of the Butterflies "simultaneously invigorating and curiously disappointing."

Echevarría teaches Hispanic and comparative literature. In the following mixed review, he comments on character, plot, and theme in In the Time of the Butterflies.

In the following review, Garner finds In the Time of the Butterflies "a worthy novel with a mixed palette of human emotions, but Alvarez has sketched too frequently with pastels."

Hampton is a professor of Spanish. In the following review, she applauds In the Time of the Butterflies.