Friday, March 11, 2022

Fiction/Nonfiction Quick Reviews: The Beekeeper Edition


Honey and Venom is touted as a year in the life of NYC beekeeper Andrew Cote.  While it was not quite what I expected, it was still an enjoyable and informative read!  Cote is a fourth generation beekeeper (or "beek" as they sometimes call themselves) who clearly has a passion for the art.  Each chapter represents a month of the year and he briefly describes the type of work that he will typically do in that month, while also recounting stories from his life that also took place during that time of year.  His beehives grace the rooftops of some of New York City's most famous buildings, but his career has taken him all over the world as he educates others.  Cote also gives the reader lessons in honey bee anatomy and behavior.  His writing style is very readable and approachable, and he made the more scientific parts easy to understand.  Although it was a bit uncomfortable when he called out other people's bad behavior, many of his stories were fun and interesting.  4 stars

The Beekeeper's Promise by Fiona Valpy (2018)
 
A dual timeline story about a woman in the present day who works at the Chateau Bellevue in France and another woman who lives and works as a beekeeper on the property during World War II and finds herself working for the Resistance.  On paper, this book should have been perfect for me - dual timelines, WWII time period, chateau setting in France, loads of good reviews and a 4.3 average rating on Goodreads.  Unfortunately, it was anything but.  The current day storyline was completely unnecessary.  Although I felt for Abi and how she was trying to recover from an abusive relationship and terrible accident, it just didn't work compared to the hardships Eliane was facing during WWII.  The connection between the two timelines was forced and didn't make a lot of sense.  As for the historical timeline, I think the rural French setting was interesting, but the story added nothing new to the WWII historical fiction genre.  It felt like it was just ticking off boxes of things that "should" be included in such a story.  It was too surface level, and a lot of things happened off page.  The writing was simplistic; perhaps if there had been more nuance, description, and character development, it could have elevated the story.  However, like I said, this book has really high reviews on Goodreads, so this could just be a "me" issue.  2 stars


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14 comments:

  1. Both of these sound like great reads! As a nonfiction lover I definitely wanna keep my eye out for Honey and Venom. It sounds fascinating!

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  2. That's such a bummer that the second book wasn't a great read and especially that the two timelines didn't really mesh together well. That's kind of the whole point of using a dual timeline. Sounds like an excellent premise that just missed the mark in execution.

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    1. Exactly! I'm such a huge fan of dual timelines, so it was a bummer that it didn't work.

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  3. I saw something somewhere about those beehives on NYC buildings and it looked so interesting!

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    1. I had no idea about it, but it's so cool to know that these bees are hanging out on rooftops all over NYC!

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  4. Two stars, YIKES! I am impressed you finished the book. Sounds like the forced dual timeline was not a winner a for you

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    1. I know, I'm kind of surprised, too, since I have no problem DNFing things. I guess I was hoping it would get better and it wasn't unforgivably terrible.

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  5. I am glad that one of these is a winner! I should give Honey and Venom a try as I have put in quite a few bee-loving plants in my yard. Sounds insightful.

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  6. How interesting! I've always wondered about what it's like to be a beekeeper. Bummer that The Beekeeper's Promise didn't work out, though. I totally get what you mean about just ticking off boxes for the story, that's a big peeve of mine when I get that feeling.

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    1. Right? I read so much WWII historical fiction, so I have pretty high standards and want fresh takes on it!

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  7. I am sorry The Beekeeper’s Promise didn’t work out 😞 I am not sure what to make of Honey and Venom though — I don’t think it’s going to be quite for me (his stories sound like they would be cool tho!)

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    1. It really was interesting and so much more involved than I ever realized!

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