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Chris Seabranch
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Butterfly Islands (Chronicles of the Twenty-One Butterflies Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Chris Seabranch (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 811 ratings
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Casey is only fifteen years old when her stepfather tries to marry her to a perverted and brutal man twice her age. However, minutes before the wedding, Casey flees into the jungle where she is rescued from her pursuers by a mysterious woman who sets the terrified young girl on a path to becoming a pirate - a path full of adventure, danger, personal struggles, and self-discovery.

Struggling with her own fears and desires, Casey hovers between being an innocent teenage girl confused about love and her own sexuality, and becoming a ruthless pirate seeking revenge on those who have taken all she cherished away from her.

Casey strives to win the trust of the Twenty-One Butterflies, a group of female pirates living on Butterfly Islands, a mystic place filled with dazzling butterflies by day and swarms of moths carrying terrifying parasites by night. A disastrous trip by the Twenty-One Butterflies to a floating city in the sky known as God's Mercy, changes everything. While trapped once more in the hands of her former husband-to-be, Casey discovers that there is a traitor in their midst. From that point on, it is a race to save her new friends' lives and to escape from the man who wishes to make the young girl his wife and a slave to his twisted desires.
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  1. Book 1 of 5
    Chronicles of the Twenty-One Butterflies
  2. Print length
    232 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    February 4, 2016
  6. File size
    2748 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01BHVED0I
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chris Seabranch; 1st edition (February 4, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 4, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2748 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 811 ratings

About the author

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Chris Seabranch

Chris Seabranch

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Hi friend

My name is Chris Seabranch - it's really not, but my Danish name contains the letter 'Ø', which isn't convinient as an international author:-)

I'm the author of the Chronicles of the Twenty-One Butterflies fantasy series as well as some short stories in Danish.

When I am not on a treasure hunt or fleeing from aliens, I conjure up interesting scientific articles as a Danish science journalist with a background as an environmental- and molecular biologist. However, storytelling is what I like the most. I love to read and write fantasy and historical novels as well as well thought-up science fiction.

I'm always interested in other people's oppinions on what I write, so please, comment away.

Have a great day and an inspiring life

Cheers

Chris

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
811 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Lilivette
5.0 out of 5 stars Casey's story was full of pirates, twists and sword-fights! It was great and now I can't wait to continue this series!
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2016
Verified Purchase
Ever since I finished “Inherited” by Freedom Matthews, I’d been dying to find another good read full of pirates and sword fights and look, I found it! But besides pirates and sword-fights, this book also tells the story of a fifteen-year-old girl named Casey and how her life changes after running away from her arranged marriage with the governor’s son named Alfred. I loved how we were able to join her journey and follow her as she looked for the Twenty-One Butterflies and faced her fears and learned more about life, love, loyalty, friendship and even herself as the story went on. The author’s writing really helped me connect and visualize Casey and everything that happened around her.

Also, I loved the multiple settings we were introduced to around this story. There were different islands and cities mentioned, but my favorite was God’s Mercy. Why? Because I loved the fact that it was a new kind of setting. I mean, a floating city? I’d never heard of that one before! But, besides God Mercy, I also loved Butterfly Islands, especially the way we were able to see that besides being beautiful, it was also as deadly as our all-female crew the Twenty-One Butterflies. Why? Because the same way we were able to see its beauty by daylight with the butterflies and the beautiful rivers, by nighttime, we were able to see the deadly part as soon as the moth and the wailers came out!

Now, moving on. Through Casey’s story we get to meet many diverse and well detailed characters with interesting and intriguing backstories. I personally found Casey to be a very interesting and unique main character, and I loved the way we were able to see her grow and change throughout her wonderful journey. But besides Casey, we get to meet other very important characters like her mother, James, Andrew, Mr. Stevens, Anabelle, Dawn, Captain Blue, Wall Brown, Timothy, Blake and many other important characters. I found them all unique and very well developed throughout the story, and thankfully, I enjoyed each and one of them and the parts they played.

In the end, I found this story full of pirates, soldiers, wailers and mysteries very well crafted and executed. I totally enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and I am completely thankful for my copy. I loved Casey’s story, and after that completely unexpected ending, I cannot wait to dig into book 2 and discover what will happen between the different pirate crews and governor Johnson’s men. But most importantly, I can’t wait to see how Casey keeps growing until she finally becomes herself.
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Kay
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Beginning of an Original Adventure!
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2016
Verified Purchase
First of all, I would like to thank the author for contacting me and sending me a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I haven’t had many authors personally contact me, so it’s always exciting when one does. For those of you who do not know, Chris began quite a daunting task of writing 6 novels in 6 months back in January. Currently, he has past his six month deadline, but he was amazingly able to publish 5 out of the 6 novels in his challenging time period. He definitely deserves a kudos for that.

Due to the rapid progress of the saga, though, I will admit that I was a bit questionable of the quality of the novel. As someone who has wrote periodically, I know how strenuous it can be to put out quality work in short time periods. Continuing on the honest train, there are parts in this novel that show the rush. There are periods where scenes progress rather rapidly, whereas I think they could do with a lot of fine tuning and pace work. There are also scenes that don’t have much “meat” or context to them, and I think if there was more depth or description added, it would escalate the reader appeal. Overall, though, it doesn’t derail the plot or story. The story is beautiful and original. I am normally not a fan of pirates, and I am definitely not a fan of zombies, but Seabranch constructed a perfect mixture of fantasy and adventure, that even my weariness was tamed.

This story focuses on Casey, a girl who is to wed an abusive drunkard of a sheriff (also the Governor’s son), who flees from her life and finds shelter in the midst of the legendary pirating group of women/girls, called “The Twenty-One Butterflies”. In the beginning, Casey is a very childish girl, and isn’t all that likable. Over the course of the story, she becomes more and more grown and polished. Towards the end of the book, she is no longer the scrawny little girl she used to be. She’s turned into a fighter and a loyal member of the Twenty One brigade. Quite honestly, it was like watching a butterfly hatch from it’s cocoon.

The enemies in this book, predominately the Governor and Alfred (his son), are very easily disliked. I absolutely loathed Alfred, and I often was scared that there were going to be many of lines crossed with this character; thankfully, there was not.

Romance wise–eh. Casey finds herself “liking” a few people along her journey. When I say like, I mean it in a few attributes of this person or that person attract her to them. She never really...falls for anyone, and I was a’okay with that. I feel as though she’s too flighty for something long lasting, which is completely normal for a girl of her age.

All in all, while there were the few errors that could have had more detail or description, I found myself swept away into jungles, onto pirate ships, and fleeing the wailers and moths of the night! This is a high-packed adventure, and Seabranch has brought outstanding originality into a genre that is, well, lacks. I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on the second installment, or for that matter the rest of the series as it comes!

Also, as a side-note, the cover art for this book is absolutely beautiful. I highly recommend checking out the author’s page and look at the work he’s had done for characters and such. It definitely gives a better feeling for character imaginative.
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Samantha
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is so good, even though it took me five days to ...
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2016
Verified Purchase
Requested to read by the author.

This book is so good, even though it took me five days to finish, it wasn’t the books fault, my schedule interfered with it.

This, actually, is the fist book I’ve ever read about a girl questioning her sexuality and I’m very happy with how the book turned out. I would really love to read the rest of the series.

The traitor being revealed was a little anti-climactic though, I got the feeling that the author didn’t really know how to reveal them in a more interesting way. It felt a bit awkward to me.

I feel like there could have been a better description of the rock the city was on because I just kept seeing a round boulder and it was hard to imagine a city on top of it.

Everything except for the way the traitor was exposed was so good, I just wanted it to keep going and never stop. I wouldn’t really call anyone an in between character, they’re either villains that you hate or good, besides the traitor of course and I had my suspicions about who it was so I wasn’t really surprised.

I especially loved the way the author portrayed the zombies, I can tell my Zombie Culture professor about this! I loved how they were created and especially the five sisters. So different from what I’ve usually read.

Would recommend to anyone who loves female pirates, a girl questioning her sexuality, adventure and action.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Chris Seabranch is a legend!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 17, 2018
Verified Purchase
Thought I would try a different genre. I am fed up reading books with weak female characters. WOW. Although it begins with the female underdog, it soon becomes so much more. The women are strong, powerful, brave, caring and loyal (well nearly all). Enjoyed so much, I completed it in 1day. Roll on payday. I NEED to read the complete set. Loved it. Awesome.Thank you. Read it and know women would make awesome pirates
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ReadingGrump
2.0 out of 5 stars Too simple and full of plot holes
Reviewed in Germany on February 9, 2018
Verified Purchase
The idea is good: in a sort-of Caribbean "golden age of piracy"-like setting with a few supernatural twists a girl is about to be forced into a marriage she really doesn't want, so she runs away and joins an all-female pirate crew ...

But the "tone" didn't work for me.On one hand, we have this almost anime-esque idea of a pirate crew that women can only be part of until they are 21 (so most are teens). And they successfully go up against adults and defeat them in hand-to-hand combat and so on. This is pretty YA-ish, and might work in a light-hearted kind o way where the rationale behind this sort of thing can be ignored (it's never mentioned why the rules are as they are).

Unfortunately, here, on the other hand, we have rape, torture, prostitution, murder, executions, messed-up-zombie-like illness etc. So that's rather a grim, mature thing. And then it gets a bit tough to still suspend disbelief and go "sure, that 16-year old girl stands at that place and kills dozen of adult males". Or they find a wooden ship that sat in a cave in water for two decades and is not completely rotten (that's the big issue with wooden ships, they don't actually survive in water for very long - 5-10 years for that level of technology would be "good").

Similarly, there's a lot of points in the plot where stuff just happens as is convenient - like the pirates sit on their secret island base and suddenly know what's going to happen elsewhere - events and actions that are never explained, or that seems contradictory. Like, the Admiral can't invade that island because he's lost ships there before, but then later on he learns of the location of the village on the island (which sounds like it's on the coast so how did they not spot that before?) and easily lands a huge army ... how's he suddenly done that? Nobody knows. Maybe there's an explanation for it but if so, it's not in the book.

As for the heroine; she's OK, but can't say she's very unique. Just the typical frightened girl who learns to tough it out etc. There's a bit of a twist in that she seems to discover that she's bi, but frankly that too I don't think was very well-handled.

So overall ... idea: decent, but with some issues. Execution: OK, but with too many issues.
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Javi
5.0 out of 5 stars Muy entretenida
Reviewed in Spain on March 5, 2017
Verified Purchase
Muy entretenida y divertida. Una historia de piratas diferente y original, vale la pena, lo recomiendo. Buen libro para regalar
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Lifelong Reader
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Twist on Coming of Age Story
Reviewed in Canada on August 29, 2016
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Teenager Casey Archer is about to be forced into marrying the cruel son of the governor of Gallows Sound. Determined not to let that happen, she runs away. Casey finds herself in the jungle, pursued by the governor’s men and his dogs when a woman known as Dusky-Wing steps up to help her. Dusky-Wing once belonged to a notorious group of female pirates calling themselves the Twenty-One Butterflies. When Casey insists that she’d rather become a pirate than the wife of a brutal man, Dusky-Wing takes her to one of several Butterfly Islands, where she meets other girls living in a secret village. But life is not idyllic as Casey learns to adjust and win the approval of others. The governor and his son are still pursuing their search, which makes things highly dangerous for everyone.

As the first installment in this fantasy series, Buttery Islands offers an interesting twist on the classic coming of age story. I really like that it’s about girls empowering themselves and learning to survive through whatever means necessary in a misogynistic world rampant with poverty and abuse. Casey is smart, resourceful and brave, everything readers would like to see in a heroine who has to overcome many obstacles and threats to her survival.

While I didn’t pay attention to any tags or labelling for this book, the style and tone reads like a young adult novel for girls rather than an adult fantasy, although adult topics are integral to the story. For me, there was a bit too much telling and repetition in places, but this might not be an issue for younger readers. I did love the characters and the vivid geographical descriptions. The series certainly launches plenty of great opportunities for further adventure.
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Rachie Reads
3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable premise to the story
Reviewed in Australia on June 16, 2016
Verified Purchase
This book has so much potential. The premise behind the story is good, and I enjoyed the read for the most part.
However I felt unable to give more than three stars. The pacing is all wrong, it rushes through some sections that shouldn't be rushed and lingers over others that it shouldn't linger on. The authors words explain why this is the case, and whilst the sentiment of six books in six months might sound good, it is something that shouldn't be done. A well written, well edited book, for content as well as grammar, should in itself take six months to be published. I think the author is doing themselves and their readers a disservice by trying to write and publish a book a month, especially a book of this length.
I would much rather see a quality novel be produced before quantity! Especially over a story that has the potential to be so much more than it actually is!
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