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The Butterfly Beats its Wings

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The Butterfly Beats its Wings

By: Angelita Bradney
Narrated by: Andrea Gatchalian
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'With rich settings, finely drawn characters and skillful storytelling, this impressive debut is a winner' Tracy Chevalier, author of The Glass Maker

* * * *

1972. The Philippines. Teenager Grace is a loving daughter, tending to chores and caring for younger siblings. But when her family becomes caught in a conflict that threatens their place in the village, Grace is forced to make an unspeakable decision.

Fifty years later, in England, her adult daughter Nina has still not moved on from her own troubled youth. From her struggles to fit in to the loss of her best friend, she has spent a decade avoiding her childhood home and the memories that haunt her.

Brought together at a family reunion, Nina sees a chance to reconnect with her mother. But Grace has her own secrets that might stand in the way. Secrets tangled in her heritage that lead back to the witch doctors and headhunting tribes of the Philippines…

A sweeping and intimate story about trust, renewal, and confronting mistakes of the past.

* * * *

Praise for The Butterfly Beats its Wings

‘A beautifully haunting, deeply evocative story about identity, memory, and the ghosts we carry’ Freya Sampson

‘Atmospheric, creepy, heartbreaking and healing. You will not want to put it down’ Natalie Gregory

‘An immersive novel that explores how history is always never that far behind us.’ Mahsuda Snaith

‘Visceral, tender, and impossible to forget’ Hannah Tovey

©2027 Angelita Bradney Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction United States Women's Fiction World Literature
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Critic reviews

‘The Butterfly Beats its Wings is a beautifully haunting, deeply evocative story about identity, memory, and the ghosts we carry. Angelita Bradney's writing is exquisite, transporting readers from the whispering Forest of Dean to the myth-soaked rural Philippines. I adored every page of this luminous debut novel.’ Freya Sampson, USA Today bestselling author
‘Lush and immersive, this debut explores self-identity, cultural complexity and dark secrets, and breaks through to an emotional, joyful redemption. Bradney takes your hand and leads you through a masterful fever-dream experience.’ Lissa Price, internationally bestselling author of Starters and Enders
‘Immersive storytelling at its best. Bradney confidently guides you through space and time to reveal the many secrets that shape a fraught mother-daughter relationship. Classic magic realism brought to life with sparkling Filipino flair, rooted in the Forest of Dean and Kalinga province. Atmospheric, creepy, heartbreaking and healing. You will not want to put it down unless it is to catch your breath or shed a tear!’ Natalie Gregory, author of Mother Ghost Mango Seed
‘Bradney builds a brilliant picture of the complex nature of family dynamics through her skillfully drawn debut that spans from village life in 1970's Philippines, to a forest cottage in present day England. Told with astute observation and beauty, 'The Butterfly Beats its Wings' is an immersive novel that explores how history is always never that far behind us.’ Mahsuda Snaith, author of The Things We Thought We Knew
‘Compelling, evocative and woven together with breathtaking beauty, this is a richly satisfying story of a mother and daughter and the echoes in their lives, staying true to them through their moments of raw pain, courage and tender reconciliation.’ Alice Burnett, author of Ideal Love
‘Visceral, tender, and impossible to forget’ Hannah Tovey, author of Is this It?
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