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The Butterfly on Fire: Mind, Body and Soul
The Butterfly on Fire is the story of three different lives, each linked together by a tragic, unchanging truth.
Eric is growing up and realising how different he is to those around him. How much longer can he hide from himself?
Beam is trying to balance work and romance like everyone else living in London. When embarking on such a journey, anything could happen.
Fubuki is Queen of a magnificent world known as Macha Land, but finds herself struggling to maintain the peace after an innocent man mysteriously dies at one of her Songshows. Will her utopia last with death at her doorstep?
Eric is growing up and realising how different he is to those around him. How much longer can he hide from himself?
Beam is trying to balance work and romance like everyone else living in London. When embarking on such a journey, anything could happen.
Fubuki is Queen of a magnificent world known as Macha Land, but finds herself struggling to maintain the peace after an innocent man mysteriously dies at one of her Songshows. Will her utopia last with death at her doorstep?
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 30, 2017
About the author
E.L. Croucher
2 books10 followersE L Croucher is a 27 year old YA novel writer. She is currently living in London, England. The Butterfly on Fire was inspired by her LGBT background and love of the Japanese language and culture. She always dreamt of becoming an author and started working on publishable material since taking A level English.
After starting to learn Japanese when she was 16 she entered SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) and attended Waseda in Tokyo, Japan on her year abroad. Eventually, after returning home to Kent, England, she started The Butterfly on Fire.
After starting to learn Japanese when she was 16 she entered SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) and attended Waseda in Tokyo, Japan on her year abroad. Eventually, after returning home to Kent, England, she started The Butterfly on Fire.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 11, 2017
E.L. Croucher, the author of The Butterfly on Fire, reached out to me to do a review on her book. The Butterfly on Fire is a seemingly strange mix of contemporary and fantasy, the story lines do however fit together. I think I would consider this a New Adult book, since the characters are in their twenties.
This story is about Beam and Fubuki, who both live in a very different world. Beam lives in the contemporary world, just the world you and I live in. Fubuki, however, is queen of Macha Land. The dual story lines worked pretty well together I think, it was, however, very confusing in the beginning. During the story, you find out more about why it is that way and I loved seeing the way both stories somehow had similarities. They were contrasting as well. The characters were different and you could definitely see how Fubuki was everything Beam would want to be and more.
I loved Beam's story the most, much more than I loved Fubuki's. Fubuki's character felt a little flat and sometimes I found the story to be a bit irrealistic. In the fantasy story we get introduced to a utopia-like land with a queen who is willing to risk everything for an innocent's death. She is very driven and in want of attention, she loves being loved. Beam, however, was very well-written and rounded. I loved to see her struggles, relations and to see her strive. Beam struggles with depression and with her past. She grew up as a boy, but has realized she's transgender and is now in the middle of her road to being a "real" woman.
I also loved all the side characters in Beam's story. I loved seeing how they dealt with her situation and there were some characters, such as Georgina, that were just amazing. She's such an amazing friend and I loved her.
The writing style of the two stories were very different. I really enjoyed the contemporary writing style, but the fantasy writing style a little less. I think that that part of the story was just not for me. I can't really describe why, but I found it a little interrupting of Beam's story line. I think the story would have been strong without the fantasy story, but I can see why the author included it.
Overall, I am giving this book 3,5 stars out of 5. I loved Beam's story a lot, but Fubuki's, sadly, a bit less. I did like to see how they were integrated into one book and I thought it was overall a really interesting book. It was diverse and engaging and I would recommend this if you want to read more diverse and if you're interested in the life of a transgender person. That was one of the things I enjoyed most. I have read about transgender characters before, but that is often from way after the transition and not during it.
This story is about Beam and Fubuki, who both live in a very different world. Beam lives in the contemporary world, just the world you and I live in. Fubuki, however, is queen of Macha Land. The dual story lines worked pretty well together I think, it was, however, very confusing in the beginning. During the story, you find out more about why it is that way and I loved seeing the way both stories somehow had similarities. They were contrasting as well. The characters were different and you could definitely see how Fubuki was everything Beam would want to be and more.
I loved Beam's story the most, much more than I loved Fubuki's. Fubuki's character felt a little flat and sometimes I found the story to be a bit irrealistic. In the fantasy story we get introduced to a utopia-like land with a queen who is willing to risk everything for an innocent's death. She is very driven and in want of attention, she loves being loved. Beam, however, was very well-written and rounded. I loved to see her struggles, relations and to see her strive. Beam struggles with depression and with her past. She grew up as a boy, but has realized she's transgender and is now in the middle of her road to being a "real" woman.
I also loved all the side characters in Beam's story. I loved seeing how they dealt with her situation and there were some characters, such as Georgina, that were just amazing. She's such an amazing friend and I loved her.
"Do I think you can do this? Yes, I do. Do I think it is the right choice? That, my darling, is entirely your decision. Judging by tonight, I imagine it's not going to be easy. But if it's what you want, I will support you. Every step of the way. Ok?" She grabbed my hands and held them tightly. Her eyes locked on mine and I felt myself overflow with love again.
"It's not what I want to do, it's what I need to do."
The writing style of the two stories were very different. I really enjoyed the contemporary writing style, but the fantasy writing style a little less. I think that that part of the story was just not for me. I can't really describe why, but I found it a little interrupting of Beam's story line. I think the story would have been strong without the fantasy story, but I can see why the author included it.
Overall, I am giving this book 3,5 stars out of 5. I loved Beam's story a lot, but Fubuki's, sadly, a bit less. I did like to see how they were integrated into one book and I thought it was overall a really interesting book. It was diverse and engaging and I would recommend this if you want to read more diverse and if you're interested in the life of a transgender person. That was one of the things I enjoyed most. I have read about transgender characters before, but that is often from way after the transition and not during it.
November 1, 2017
This book is sooo relatable, even though I’m not in the LGBT community. So empowering. I loved the way the fantasy bits blend into the main story. Can’t wait for the sequel, I heard she is already writing it!
October 18, 2018
Very juvenile writing rife with basic punctuation/grammatical errors, odd POV shifts and tense shifts mid-paragraph, two-dimensional characters that I couldn't get attached to, and a strange concept that didn't work for me at all. Also includes bullying against queer people, physical violence against queer people, self-harm, self-loathing, and self-destruction. You know, it IS possible to write a book with queer characters without filling it full of misery and violence.
December 30, 2017
This review has been crossposted from my blog at The Cosy Dragon . Please head there for more in-depth reviews by me, which appear on a timely schedule.
A tragic, unchanging truth keeps three different lives twined to tell the same story. Eric realises he is different to everyone else, while Beam tried to balance everything in life. Finally, Queen Fabuki has had an innocent die at one of her shows – and she doesn’t know how to stop the mysterious intruder.
I feel terrible about this novel. In fact, when I started writing a review for it (some months after I had started it), I started reviewing the wrong novel. I had read The Road to Transition one late night too, and somehow the two had merged into one. I had previously interviewed the author as well.
I just couldn’t finish this novel. I actually started reading this novel when I couldn’t sleep one night and I sat with the fish tank light glowing on me. It added some nice atmosphere, and I did get a couple of chapters read. In the end though, it unfortunately served as a nice soporific to send me back to bed.
My problem with the novel was that I just never connected with the characters. Oftentimes it seemed like the writing was too clinical. In particular, I never felt for the Queen because she seemed kind of pathetic (sorry, but you asked for honesty). Additionally the changes in perspective also made me struggle to connect because I'd just get into one character's viewpoint and then I'd be forced out of it. I think a good Editor could bring this work to life - the backbone is there, but the characters just need a little more help to jump out of the pages.
If you are desperate to read some more stories about transition, maybe this book could be for you. For me, because I couldn’t even bear finishing it, it’s getting 1 star. Maybe a second iteration would be ok, but I’m not willing to try again on this one.
A tragic, unchanging truth keeps three different lives twined to tell the same story. Eric realises he is different to everyone else, while Beam tried to balance everything in life. Finally, Queen Fabuki has had an innocent die at one of her shows – and she doesn’t know how to stop the mysterious intruder.
I feel terrible about this novel. In fact, when I started writing a review for it (some months after I had started it), I started reviewing the wrong novel. I had read The Road to Transition one late night too, and somehow the two had merged into one. I had previously interviewed the author as well.
I just couldn’t finish this novel. I actually started reading this novel when I couldn’t sleep one night and I sat with the fish tank light glowing on me. It added some nice atmosphere, and I did get a couple of chapters read. In the end though, it unfortunately served as a nice soporific to send me back to bed.
My problem with the novel was that I just never connected with the characters. Oftentimes it seemed like the writing was too clinical. In particular, I never felt for the Queen because she seemed kind of pathetic (sorry, but you asked for honesty). Additionally the changes in perspective also made me struggle to connect because I'd just get into one character's viewpoint and then I'd be forced out of it. I think a good Editor could bring this work to life - the backbone is there, but the characters just need a little more help to jump out of the pages.
If you are desperate to read some more stories about transition, maybe this book could be for you. For me, because I couldn’t even bear finishing it, it’s getting 1 star. Maybe a second iteration would be ok, but I’m not willing to try again on this one.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews