This is so beautiful I could explode. I may buy this one. The narrator was perfection for this role too. It was just a lovely book all around. I can't wait to see what the author writes next.

This was an interesting story with several plot twists. I enjoyed the strong female characters and the writing style. The story was fascinating and made me definitely wanting to learn more about this time period.

I have read The Fossil Hunter by this author and looked forward to this book also, this time in audiobook form. The narrator speaks with a lovely cadence and is easy to listen to, the story is set in two time periods which seems to be this authors forte. I enjoyed the two stories very much, the butterfly connection was a little weak in the earlier period tale but did not detract from the book. I do not normally choose books set in Australia but this was a great read. My thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the chance to have an ARC of the Butterfly Collector

I received an ARC Audiobook copy from Harper Muse in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

Publishes November 28th 2023

This is a dual perspective story between Theodora Breckenridge om 1868 and Verity Banks in 1922 Sydney Australia. These stories are intertwined in a great way. Theodora wants to emulate nature illustrators (the Scott sisters, who live close by). Theodora cannot believe her lucky when she finds a butterfly that has never been seen in Australia. With the help of her maid, Clarrie, she could possibly put her name on the map as seeing this butterfly first. This illustration of a butterfly with a missing baby connects to so much more fifty years in the making. Verity Banks about 60 years later, is given an invitation to the Sydney Artists Masquerade Ball on the same day she loses her job. She is tasked with writing the history of the Treadwell Foundation- an institution that supports disgraced young women and babies. As Verity begins to dig deeper into the history a dark and complex mystery. A mystery quite a few years in the making. Can she solve it? Also will anyone believe what she finds?

I enjoy this read. I think I would have liked it even more had I read the physical book. The narrator did a great job telling the story. I felt immersed in the story and connected with the story. I found the story and the focus on butterflies particularly interesting. I found this story a good mix of some of my favorite elements of a story. the only thing I did not quite enjoy was some of the historical elements did not seem fully accurate.

Read if you enjoy:
Butterflies
Mystery
Historical fiction
Strong FMC

3.5 stars, rounded up

I enjoyed this historical fiction novel. We get two perspectives: Theodora in 1868 - an artist who discovers a new species of butterfly and Verity in 1922 - a newspaper reporter who's looking for a big story to help make her name after getting let go to open up jobs for men returning from the war. Theodora's life changes when her maid's baby goes missing. Meanwhile, Sydney discovers a mystery about adopted babies that might give her insight into her own past.

This was a well-written story. I enjoyed it on audio and it kept me entertained but I had a hard time keeping all the characters and how they fit together clear in my head. Some of the plot lines seemed a bit abrupt, but overall I think this is a good choice for those who enjoy historical fiction.

A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

The Butterfly Collector by Tea Cooper is a gripping dual timeline set in Morpeth and Sydney.
In the 1860s, the story focuses on Clarrie, Sid, and Charlie. And in 1922, the focus is on Verity and Arlo. The story started out great and grabbed my attention. Tea Cooper does an amazing job with attention to detail. I found myself starting to lose interest just before the halfway point, but I am so glad I stuck with it. There are multiple storylines being built and the details are essential to understanding the plot’s complexity. The whole concept blew me away when all was said and done. Very dark and difficult subject that is well written. I really enjoyed learning more about the background without feeling like I was reading a textbook. I did not guess the main culprits, so I enjoyed the guessing game from start to finish.
I had the added benefit of listening to an audio book narrated by Emily Barrett. Her voice has a nice cadence and reflects the various characters well.

I received a complimentary copy from the author and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

My goodness, I just couldn’t get into this one. It didn’t catch my interest right away and then it just didn’t pick it up either. It just didn’t feel mysterious enough, if that makes any sense at all. I thought that the part where they were learning about butterflies was pretty cool and could tell the author did some research there though.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

This historical fiction novel switches between 1922, where an aspiring female journalist is trying to write an investigative report of an adoption scandal, and 1868 where a new young mother who works for a botanical illustrator trying to catch and record the first sightings of Monarch butterflies in Australia has to save her newborn son from kidnappers. The differentiation of the to different time periods was not significant and even the later 1920s seemed more modern to me. I would have liked more of the detail of the 1868 story to have been told as it occurred rather than what was discovered years later by the subsequent generations of these families.

I listened to the audiobook version which I found quite enjoyable to provide the authentic Aussie accents that I would not have gotten from just reading the text. The narrators voice was lovely and reminded me to Keeley Jones from the Ted Lasso series.

I liked the new cover art that is featured on NetGalley (I prefer this over the alternative version I noticed on Good Reads). I don't know that the title is really representative of what it was mainly focused on. I thought the capture and study of butterflies was just a minor detail in the plot of the story.

This is a lovely book for those that enjoy historical fiction. The setting is Australia, and the lives of the different characters show the treatment of different people according to their station in life. Butterflies are a part of the book, but for me the more riveting story dealt with babies. I’ll not spoil the book for you, but I always appreciate learning a little more of history through well written historical fiction.

I'll start with the end: I was very happy that I persevered with The Butterfly Collector which concluded beautifully. The key here is "persevered": the story starts slowly, with many, many disparate threads, and it takes a while for the reader/listener to come to care for any of the numerous characters and their problems. Even within a single plot line, the narrative is told from multiple points of view, another editorial choice that can distance the reader's attention. And for a contemporary American reader/listener at least, some of the word choices are odd: a wish is described as "never eventuated," among other examples. The many threads of the story DO come together, however, and in addition to the ultimately touching personal accounts of the characters in the 1880s and 1920s, there is a plethora of historic detail. The story takes place in Australia, but many of the social issues addressed were/are universal: marginalization of women, child abuse, and the rights of the powerful to write/rewrite history. In terms of butterflies, the account of the monarch butterfly's arrival to Australia was truly fascinating. All in all, I'm glad I experienced The Butterfly Collector, but readers/listeners need to be prepared for a long journey to a satisfying conclusion.

A mystery wrapped in monarch butterfly wings. This historical fiction takes you to Australia spanning the years of 1868 to 1922. When an eager young female reporter is given a mysterious invitation to a masquerade ball she stumbles into a story that on the outside seems to humanitarian. An organization that helps to adopt children from families in difficulty to families wanting children. But as her investigative juices start to flow, Verity realizes that the story is much darker and involves her own family.

Themes: 🔁🦋🇦🇺🦘🤰👶🕵🏻‍♀️📰

My thoughts: 🙂🤓🥸

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This is a very nice, cozy, warm book to read. It’s not my genre,. I liked it however. The main character is pregnant with an illegitimate child back in the days when it was looked down upon. Also, she discovers an unusual butterfly that will make her famous one day. If this is your type of book, don’t miss it. Very well written, and narrated. Thank you Netgalley for providing this advance to audiobook to me.

This is an excellent example of historical fiction, split into two timelines as they slowly weave themselves together.

The audio production was hard to follow at times. There was one narrator using the same voice for each timeline. It was confusing to follow along and could really have benefitted from multiple narrators to help keep the timelines straight.

Ok I loved this. I started my audiobook journey with cozy mysteries set in the early 1900s so safe to say I love a historical fiction. Truthfully I had no idea where this book was going. I don’t read a large amount of straight fiction without some kind of murder mystery element often so I was skeptical. But I’m so glad I stuck with this book. It was incredibly well written and the narrator did an absolutely fantastic job. Completely fell in love

Tea Cooper is masterful in this thrilling story set in the late 1800s and early 1900s in Australia. This is historical fiction at its best - a good mystery, a cast of characters full of connections, and a dash of romance. Loved this!

The Butterfly Collector is a historical fiction novel told through dual timelines set in 1922 and 1868 in Australia. This is written with incredible attention to detail and full of interesting characters and history. I did find this to be hard to keep up with at times as there was so many subplots of things to keep up with however I did find this such a unique story with history you don't really hear about, especially seeing as this is on the darker side. Overall if your a fan of historical fiction I highly recommend this.

This story felt like it would be a lighter plot but it went really dark, in dual timeliness, exposing the trafficking of babies who sometimes died after being stolen, and the ramifications this had for generations. It's a slow burn, with interesting connections and a curious mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an ARC of this audiobook.

The Butterfly Collector is a dual timeline historical fiction novel set during 1922 and 1868 in New South Wales, Australia. I have read other books by Tea Cooper and appreciate her research and attention to detail. I was unfamiliar with the narrator, Emily Barrett. I feel that she did a very credible job of helping the reader identify with the characters and engage in the story.

At first, the reader does not know exactly how the two timelines are connected. Early in the story, we learn the connection, but are kept guessing about the mystery and how all of the details fit together. In the 1868 timeline, I loved learning about the Monarch butterflies and how they made their way over to Australia. I found this to be a very engaging story. The dual timelines helped us learn about the various characters and gave us clues to the mystery and secrets covered up over the years. I feel that previous readers of this author will enjoy this new book.

Name of Book: The Butterfly Collector
Author: Tea Cooper
Narrator: Emily Barrett
Publisher: Harper Muse
Genre: Women’s Ficton - Mystery & Thriller
Pub Date: November 28, 2023
My Rating: 3.7 rounded up
Pages: 400

This story is written in 1868 and 1922 in New South Wales, Australia.

1922 – Sydney: Story open when young Verity Binks loses her job as a reporter at the Newspaper ‘The Arrow’ as Mr. Bailey her employer wants to offer employment to returning servicemen.

When Verity arrives home Mrs. Carr her neighbor Mrs. shows her a parcel that arrived for her. It is actually a large package containing an invitation to the Sydney Artists Masquerade Ball, as well as a beautiful butterfly costume with a mask.
While attending the ball, she meets Mr. Treadwell, and he would like her to write an article prompting his mother’s charity. The Treadwell Foundation, it supports unmarried women who find themselves in a delicate condition and their babies.

1868 – Morpeth: Theodora Breckenridge lives with her three sisters Constance, Florence, and Viola as their parents and brother recently died in an accident.
Her sisters want to travel to Sydney to seek husbands. Theodora would rather stay home and completed a painting she started. Additionally she had discovered a butterfly in their garden which may be a first sighting ever in Australia. Her sisters cannot persuade her to go to Sydney. She stays at home and with the help of maid Clarrie, they aim to gain proof that the butterfly is native to America. However, when Clarrie's baby goes missing and both Clarrie and Theodora’s lives change,

. Theodora admires Harriet and Helena Scott, they once lived on nearby Ash Island and they documented the areas flora and fauna. Theodora discovers a butterfly, it’s never been seen before in Australia and it’s native to the Americas.


About the Author: Tea Cooper writes Australian contemporary and historical fiction. In a past life she was a teacher, a journalist and a farmer. These days she haunts museums and indulges her passion for storytelling.
Loved the info at the back of the book both the Historical Note as well as the Acknowledgements –audiobook usually don’t include the acknowledgements.
In the Historical Note, Ms. Cooper] clarifies what is fact and what is historical fiction.
If interested in more info about the beautiful Monarch butterflies here is a link –
https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/monarch-butterfly

Want to thank NetGalley and Harper Muse for this early audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 28, 2023.