Oh my God . . . We’re potentially stranded in space.
With a complete douchebag.
Camilla Monk
Butterfly in Amber
Format:
ebook & audiobook
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Under a blanket of snow, surrounded by dark woods and a frozen sea, lies an ogre’s castle. There lives a little princess, trapped in the maze of her own mind.
On a battlefield where the past meets the present stands a fairy godmother and a pirate, an old ice cream man and a knight in shining clean armor…
The clock is ticking fast, and to pierce the ogre’s secrets and defeat him, Island Chaptal will have to fight to remember…and stay alive.
Can the Lions and the Roomba cats be stopped before it’s too late?
Point of view:
1st Person. Entirely from Island’s perspective.
Rellim’s Thoughts:
I guess you might be able to listen to these books on their own, but I don’t think so – and I’m also thinking you’d be missing a lot of references that make the writing particularly good. So, if you’re just finding this, go back to Spotless.
I’m upping to 5 stars.* I think that after I read Butterfly in Amber two years ago I had it as 4 stars because this had such a different “tone” to it than the other books. I was probably pissed at Camilla Monk that it wasn’t as funny. The fact is – even 90% super serious and a lot darker than the others, it’s still a fantastic and engaging read/listen. There is a lot of mystery/action/suspense as well as PLOT TWIST! that I really didn’t see coming.
And I will listen again. And again. And that’s what makes books 5 stars for me.
Also, I *will* to find a way to work the phrase “follicular nirvana” into everyday conversation. You’ve been warned.
I’m off to listen to Apache Strike Force as I (not really patiently) wait for Island Chaptal and The Ancient Aliens’ Treasure. It’s live now in book/ebook – but like I said on Twitter, I feel like I’m “cheating” on Amy McFadden by reading instead of listening. She says we have an open relationship – but I’m gonna stay faithful. In this instance.
*I don’t usually talk about stars because it’s so freaking mentally exhausting to try to pick the stars and then explain all the nuances of stars. Ugh. However, since I changed my Goodreads rating from 2018 I decided to make note of why.
Narration:
Amy McFadden – holy shit was she creepy for the first 30% of this. That’s a compliment, I swear. I seriously felt like I was confused and coming out of a coma. Again, I promise these are actually accolades of her talent… because sheesh was the first part of this book dark and scary and I was truly panicked with Island. McFadden’s voices continue to be consistent and unique even as the cast exponentially expands – this is absolutely binge-worthy.
Trigger Warnings (possible spoilers):
There’s some shoot outs, gun shot wounds, peril, and other action/mystery topics. Some pretty surprising deaths.
About the author:
Camilla Monk is a virtually unknown author who somehow tricked a bunch of people into publishing books about ostriches and killer platypuses.
A French native who grew up in a Franco-American family, she taught English and French in Tokyo before returning to France to work in advertising. After ten years spent building rickety websites for financial companies, she now lives and writes in Montreal, where she keeps a close watch on the squirrels and complains on a daily basis about the egregious number of Tim Hortons.
Her writing credits include the English resumes and cover letters of a great many French friends, and some essays as well. She’s also the critically acclaimed author of a few passive-aggressive notes pasted in her building’s elevator.
You can connect with Camilla Monk here:
About the narrator:
From Amy’s website: Hi! This part is all about me. Just me. It feels weird to write a bunch of stuff about myself but I don’t like pictures of me so I’ll have to use words instead.
I live in Michigan with my fiancé, Joe Anderson. He makes me laugh so much I never have to do situps. Truthfully, I probably wouldn’t do situps anyway, but hey, it’s still a nice bonus to our love.
I’m an actress now, and I used to be a 2nd grade teacher. I loved that part of my life, but after doing it for a bunch of years, I was ready to move on to the next version of me. They’re not really very different versions-teachers and actresses both reach out and engage people through stories. I’m NOT a morning person, but waking up to tell stories makes mornings better-than-tolerable.
I love books and the Muppets and smart people and kind people (not necessarily in that order) and sleeping and chocolate and coffee and writers and learning and Oreo cookies and a bunch of other stuff-but I’m starting to make myself gag on all this love.
I hate a bunch of stuff, too, but who cares about that junk? It’s probably the same stuff you hate, so I won’t bore you. Except I REALLY hate listening to people eat bananas.
You can connect with Amy McFadden here:
My Favorite Quotes
Oh my God . . . We’re potentially stranded in space. With a complete douchebag. – Butterfly in Amber by @Camilla_Monk narrated by @amymcnarrator #RomanticSuspense #Mystery
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My fingers splay across what can only be described as follicular nirvana. – Butterfly in Amber by @Camilla_Monk narrated by @amymcnarrator #RomanticSuspense #Mystery
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Too bad the evening’s only valuable piece of advice came from a dad with a rap sheet the size of Wikipedia. – Butterfly in Amber by @Camilla_Monk narrated by @amymcnarrator #RomanticSuspense #Mystery
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