Series: The Butterfly Hunter Trilogy
Volume: 1/3Publisher: LIBRAtiger
Genre/s: m/m romance
Length: 57 000 words
Read in: English
Review copy format: epub
Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✰
David – Dave – Taylor is an Australian bush guide. For years, he is hopelessly in love with his best friend, who is also his ex-girlfriend, and he can't let go of his feelings, although he knows perfectly well that he has no chance, as Denise is already married with a child. His whole orderly, rather predictable world is turned upside down when he meets Nicholas Goring, a young Englishman with thousand smiles, who needs Dave's help to find yet undiscovered species of butterfly. Their journey through the Australian bush brings them closer together, to the point that Dave begins to look at his client in a completely unexpected way, and his heart, so far faithful to only one woman, apparently begins to change the object of its interest.
Starting this review I would like to draw your attention to the fact that Australia is not only the country where the action of the first volume of the "Butterfly Hunter" trilogy takes place, but also one of its advantages. I love books that allow me to relax while reading and from which I can also learn something about foreign countries, their flora and fauna, about people living there and their culture, as well as about the language and its trivia. And that is what Julie Bozza gave me, to a certain extent, in her novel. Although I admit with regret that Australia is not presented here in a detailed and comprehensive manner. Nevertheless, the author refers to some aspects of life in this country, which I consider to be truly priceless. The more so because every reader, even the one who has never been in Australia – and this group includes me – knows something about this country, so this bit of additional knowledge provided to us by Julie Bozza is enough to stimulate our imagination. In this way, Australia becomes a beautiful, magical and almost vivid background for this charming romance that we read. I won't deny that it could have been better, but I also admit that we can't complain about what we have received in this novel. At least I'm not going to, as there's no real reason to do so.
The thing that I love about "Butterfly Hunter" is the fact that the novel presents an adult character who just started to discover his sexuality and who, until now, didn't even realize that he is not heterosexual. It's only when Nicholas appears in David's life, as he's the one we are talking about, that his dormant desires and interest in someone of the same sex, which he did not even suspect to have, awaken. And while David is open to sexual diversity, he needs some time to accept himself and fully understand his feelings. What's more, he has to face the problem of "what will people say/think", which is of great importance to him and which makes it difficult for him to get the most out of this newly discovered knowledge about his sexuality. I think that all of this makes David a really believable character who is close to many readers, as the understanding of one's sexuality is not as easy as it might seem. In addition, he makes us reflect on ourselves and leads us to the question whether we certainly know ourselves well enough. In the end, the world is both large and tiny, so you never know whom your life will put on your path and how your heart will react to that person. David knows something about it, as well as many people living in the real life world, and I bet that there is probably a large group of people who, despite their adulthood, are just about to discover something new and unexpected about themselves.
Another advantage of Julie Bozza's novel is the way the author "used" a butterfly. It is not only the driving force behind the plot, but it also has a huge symbolic meaning, as the characters themselves often remark. Firstly, in the "Butterfly Hunter" a comparison between a butterfly and a human appears in the context of life, which illustrates its fragility and emphasizes how short it can be. If we take into account the fact that the butterflies, depending on the species, usually live for few days or weeks, or in the case of the longest living butterfly for a year and a half, a man indeed seems to live for a long time. At the same time, however, thanks to such a comparison we are fully aware of the drama, which is the shadow of death hanging over a young man who, by assumption, should have many decades of life ahead of him. In the novel, the butterfly also has a second, more popular, symbolic meaning which is a transformation, and thus something that is closely related to the subject of physical appearance. The not-so-pretty larva turns into a beautiful, colorful creature that thousands of people admire. In this case, there is certainly no need to explain to anyone what it means in relation to a human being. In this way, the author efficiently and at the same time subtly emphasized the fact of David's physical attraction to Nicholas. As you can see, the butterflies are an extremely important and inseparable part of "Butterfly Hunter", and by using them in such a meaningful way, the author showed her genius.
Finally, I want to write a few words about one little "but" I found here, which is, in my opinion, the fact that the ending of this volume comes a little too fast and some problems are too easily sorted out. I admit that at the end I expected a little more drama, touching moments and even reasons to cry. Unfortunately, even before our hearts start to fall apart and we are able to really feel the events presented at the end of the novel, the story in some ways comes full circle and a smile appears on our face again. The novel certainly loses a bit because of it. However, on the other hand, I must admit that I love the stories full of sweetness and joy, so I can't complain too much about how Julie Bozza finished the first volume of her trilogy. After all, I return to these kind of positive books with greatest pleasure.
In summary, "Butterfly Hunter" is a novel about which you can say a lot of good things. It is smartly written, funny and hot. The reader quickly befriends all the characters and with real pleasure follows their love affairs in beautiful, wild Australia. This is one of those books that fill people with positive energy and the desire to live.
Headcanon: Nicholas likes to try out various interesting sex positions that often randomly come to mind.
Fanfiction idea: Nicholas takes David to the BDSM club for a show, after which both of them are so horny that they rent a room equipped with some BDSM accessories.
AU idea: Fantasy!AU, where Nicholas belongs to the race of fairies and David is a soft-hearted warrior. One day, David helps Nicholas in need and in consequence Nicholas falls in love with his savior. He decides to travel with David and make the warrior fall in love with him.
Here's some more about:
Book title: Butterfly Hunter
Author: Julie Bozza
Cover Artist: Gayna Murphy
It is the first in a trilogy but is a standalone story.
Add on Goodreads
Check out the brand new covers for Julie Bozza's Butterfly Hunter Trilogy.
Book title: Butterfly Hunter
Author: Julie Bozza
Cover Artist: Gayna Murphy
It is the first in a trilogy but is a standalone story.
Check out the brand new covers for Julie Bozza's Butterfly Hunter Trilogy.
Blurb
The most beautiful things happen when you least expect them.
It started as a simple assignment for Aussie bush guide Dave Taylor – escort a lone Englishman in quest of an unknown species of butterfly. However Nicholas Goring is no ordinary tourist, his search is far from straightforward, and it’s starting to look as if the butterflies don’t want to be found. As Dave teaches Nicholas everything he needs to survive in the Outback he discovers that he too has quite a bit to learn – and that very often the best way to locate something really important is just not to want to find it…
It started as a simple assignment for Aussie bush guide Dave Taylor – escort a lone Englishman in quest of an unknown species of butterfly. However Nicholas Goring is no ordinary tourist, his search is far from straightforward, and it’s starting to look as if the butterflies don’t want to be found. As Dave teaches Nicholas everything he needs to survive in the Outback he discovers that he too has quite a bit to learn – and that very often the best way to locate something really important is just not to want to find it…
Excerpt
They were silent while Dave led his client out to the car park, paid off his ticket, found the car and put the bags in the boot, insisting in a mutter that he didn’t need Goring’s assistance.
It wasn’t until they were heading into the city on Kingsford Smith Drive that Dave finally spoke. “I’ll take you to the hotel. I booked it with an early check–in. I’m sure you’ll be glad of a shower and change of clothes.” When he risked a glance at the man, Dave was disconcerted to find that Goring’s smile once again had a wicked kick to it. “Um,” said Dave, “sir…”
“I always had a thing for chauffeurs,” the man confided.
“Huh.” Dave frowned, and stared very hard at the road ahead, though he wasn’t entirely sure how much he was actually seeing. “Well. What do you do when they don’t have a thing for you?”
Goring chuckled, sounding genuinely amused. “Ah, come on. Seize the day!”
“Mate, life’s not thatshort.”
The chuckle turned into a laugh – and Dave liked that. Still, he was relieved when Goring said, “All right, I’ll stop. Don’t mind me. I hardly got a wink of sleep on that damned plane.”
“You weren’t exactly travelling cattle class. Were you?”
“No, but …” Goring looked away, biting at his lower lip. He was a tall, scrawny man, and his lips were the plumpest thing about him. They were a dash of pink on his pale face. They were almost pretty. “Too much on my mind, I suppose.”
Dave let a beat go by, and then headed for safer ground. “Common wisdom is to stay awake for as long as you can today, and try not to sleep until tonight. Get into the new time zone as soon as you can.”
“Yes, so I’ve heard.”
“And I find that people like to start with a good breakfast, to keep their energy levels up. The hotel – you’re at the Hilton – is known for their breakfasts.”
“I see.”
“It’s up to you, but I’ll keep you company, if you like. For as much of the day as suits.”
“Starting with breakfast … ?”
“If you like,” Dave repeated. “And later, if you have people here, I can drop you off wherever. Just tell me what you want to do and then, you know, feel free to change your plans if you can’t stay awake any longer or whatever.”
Goring was staring at him. “I understand.” After a moment, he added, “I don’t know why I was expecting laconic rather than loquacious.”
Dave glanced at him. “Dunno if I’m your typical Aussie, mate.”
Another laugh, though wry this time rather than genuine. Then Goring asked, “Will Mr Taylor be able to join us for breakfast?”
“What?” Dave grimaced as he turned right onto Albert Street. They were almost there. “No, I’m – I’mDave Taylor.”
“Oh.”
“I guess I didn’t – No, I didn’t introduce myself. The meeting at the airport didn’t, uh –”
“Didn’t quite go as planned,” Goring smoothly supplied.
“No. My fault. Look, we’re here,” Dave said. “I’ll drop you off, and you can check in while I park.”
“No need. I’ll stay with you.”
Dave glanced at him, and thought that Goring wasn’t merely being polite. In any case, he needed to decide right away, as he was already approaching the car park. He nodded, and flipped on the indicator. So be it. Almost nothing this morning had gone as intended, so why not this as well?
They were silent again as Dave collected a ticket, and then quickly chose an empty space on the ground floor – it was still too early to be busy. Once he’d parked, they both got out, and met around the back of the car. Dave looked the man in the eye, and held his hand out. “Good morning, uh, sir. I’m Dave Taylor.”
Goring shook his hand with a cool firmness before disengaging. “I’m pleased to meet you, Mr Taylor. Call me Nicholas.”
“Dave.”
“David,” said Nicholas.
Dave grinned, and turned to open the boot, started lifting the three bags out. “All right, but no one calls me that. It’s Dave or – well, my friends call me Davey.”
“Would you join me for breakfast, David?”
“Sure. Thanks,” he added, quite genuinely. “We can talk over your trip. I’ve brought maps and such.”
“Good. Here, let me –”
But Dave only handed over the cabin–sized bag, and insisted on wheeling the larger cases. “I’ve got it,” he said. He attempted the three syllables as they emerged into sunlight: “Nicholas.” He wondered how long it would be before he was allowed to go with Nick or Nicky.
“Thank you.” The man’s smile was a little gentler by now.
Of course it had all gone horribly wrong so far, and God only knew what that meant for the rest of the trip, but it seemed that at least Dave had been forgiven for his part of the shambles. He nodded, both accepting and returning the thanks. Nicholas seemed to understand. As they walked shoulder to shoulder into the hotel, Dave dared to think the next three months mightn't be a complete disaster.
OTHER BOOKS IN THE TRILOGY ARE ALSO AVAILABLE NOW
Of Dreams and Ceremonies
The Thousand Smiles of Nicholas Goring
The Butterfly Hunter Trilogy [Boxed Set]
About the Author
Julie Bozza is an English-Australian hybrid who is fuelled by espresso, calmed by knitting, unreasonably excited by photography, and madly in love with Amy Adams and John Keats.
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