The Contrary Tale of the Butterfly Girl by Ishbelle Bee
“An enthralling multi-layered whimsical fantasy
with a deep dark heart lurking beneath the surface.”
Jim McLeod, Ginger Nuts of Horror on
The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath
A dark and twisted Victorian melodrama, like Alice in Wonderland goes to Hell, from the author of The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath.
Two orphans, Pedrock and Boo Boo, are sent to live in the sinister village of Darkwound. There they meet and befriend the magical and dangerous Mr Loveheart and his neighbour, Professor Hummingbird, a recluse who collects rare butterflies. Little do they know that Professor Hummingbird has attracted the wrath of a demon named Mr Angelcakes.
One night, Mr Angelcakes visits Boo Boo and carves a butterfly onto her back. Boo Boo starts to metamorphose into a butterfly/human hybrid, and is kidnapped by Professor Hummingbird. When Mr Loveheart attempts to rescue her with the aid of Detective White and Constable Walnut, they too are turned into butterflies.
Caught between Professor Hummingbird and the demon Angelcakes, Loveheart finds himself entangled in a web much wider and darker than he could have imagined, and a plot that leads him right to the Prime Minister and even Queen Victoria herself …
File Under: Fantasy [ Closing the Net / Heads in the Trees / The Angel-Eater / Prime Minister’s Questions ]
Book Info:
The Peculiar Adventures of John Loveheart, Esq. Volume Two
UK Print
Date: 6th August 2015
ISBN: 9780857664440
Format: Medium (B-Format) Paperback
R.R.P.: £8.99
North American Print
Date: 4th August 2015
ISBN: 9780857664457
Format: Trade Paperback
R.R.P.: US$9.99 / CAN$10.99
Ebook
Date: 4th August 2015
ISBN: 9780857664464
Format: Epub & Mobi
R.R.P.: £5.49 / US$6.99
More Books in This Series:
1 The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath (June 2015)
Buying Info:
UK Print & Ebook
Amazon.co.uk | Book Depository | Waterstones | WHSmith
North American Print & Ebook
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | BarnesandNoble.com | IndieBound.org
Global DRM-Free Epub & Mobi Ebook
On-sale 4th August 2015 from the Robot Trading Company
Author Info:
Ishbelle Bee | @IshbelleBee on Twitter
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Discuss and Review The Contrary Tale of the Butterfly Girl at Goodreads.com
Read an Extract:
Sample Chapters to follow…
Praise and Reviews for The Contrary Tale of The Butterfly Girl:
“This book is such a cacophony of prose, eccentricity and delight.”
– Black Tea & Milk
“The characters and instances are brilliant and the scenes rendered in flawless fashion.”
– Koeur’s Book Reviews
Well, Ishbelle Bee has done it again. After my wonderful experience reading The Singular and Extraordinary Tale of Mirror and Goliath (I can truly only describe reading it as an experience), I was anxious to see where Bee was going to take both her characters and us, the reader, and I am tickled by the result.
– From My Bookshelf
“The writing continues to have a lovely lyrical quality to it, even when she’s writing descriptions of a massacre.”
– Bellsiebooks
“If you haven’t come across this series yet, you’ll be doing yourself a favour to seek it out – I can guarantee you won’t have read anything quite like it!”
– The Bookshelf Gargoyle
“The Contrary Tale of the Butterfly Girl is an action packed, hilariously horrific, engrossing story that I could not put down – I loved it!”
– Views & Reviews
“The closest I think I can come to describe it is to think of Roald Dahl at his darkest, Alice in Wonderland, Hilaire Belloc and a bit of The League of Gentlemen all mixed together with cakes and body parts in a kaleidoscope. It’s the most colourful, inventive and fun novel I’ve read for a long time.”
– Hair Past a Freckle
“The second in the Peculiar Adventures of John Loveheart, Esq. series. If you recall, I could not rave enough about the first novel this summer. The second in the series did not disappoint. These novels are seriously fantastic in their disturbing glory.”
– Bookworm in the Stars
Praise and Reviews for The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath:
“Bee, the author who loves Victorian top hats and cake tents at summer fairs incorporates both these elements and a lot more from her favourite era into the novel- beautifully entwining them into a tight little fairy tale of her own. By parts lyrical and scary, it’s a gem of a novel that stands apart from other titles in today’s world.”
– Smorgasbord Fantasia
“Oh what a jolly ride this was! Magic and monsters and demons, oh my! A highly recommended read for YA and adult audiences.”
– CayoCosta72
“A novel that manages to make light of dark situations, with a charming twist of language.”
– The Y Logs
“This book certainly captivated me and is a roller coaster of colour and imagination, I just devoured the text, letting myself be swallowed up into the world that the author has created, I would love to enter the mind of Ishbelle Bee, to have a little rummage around, check out her fertile imagination, perhaps steal a few drops of inspiration along the way.”
– Black Tea & Milk
“Ms. Bee’s writing style is what made me fall in love with her first book and she does not disappoint in the newest addition. I finished the book in 2 hours but it had such rich characters and I couldn’t put it down! It’s such a unique reading experience and just draws you in. I can’t wait to read more from her!”
– My Life as a Bookworm
“Bee’s brilliance in lies in, not only her bizarre world vision, but in the wonderfully deranged stream of consciousness that she writes for her hero and his nemesis. Her style in these passages, complete with varying font sizes and placement, make for hilarious reading that I found myself reading aloud with delight.”
– Views & Reviews
“This book is darkly funny, and the gnomes found themselves laughing out loud more than once. The gnomes highlighted numerous passages as they were reading so that they could re-read the best moments later.Fingers (and toes!) crossed for more books! 5 Gnomes out of 5”
– Gnome Reviews