Between You, Me, and the Honeybees by Amelia Diane Coombs - OPTIONAL

Between You, Me, and the Honeybees by Amelia Diane Coombs, 349 pages. Simon, 2020. $20 

Language: R (38 swears, 9 ‘f’); Mature Content: R (drinking, on page sex); Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW 

Soon to be 18yo Josie loves working in the family apiary (bee farm) with her mother. She wants it to be her life’s work, though her mother and her BFF are pushing her to go to college. When her mother flies to Florida to help their grandmother whose Parkinsons is worsening, Josie takes the chance to secretly get to know Evan, the grandson of their rival beekeepers – the very intriguing Evan. Josie is especially worried to keep their growing affection on the down-low, because of the bad blood in their family history. 

I was unimpressed by the need to include on page sex in the narrative, but I also realized 1/3rd through that I was not drawn into the romance or the accompanying narrative. I was so look forward to reading this because my husband is also a beekeeper. Instead I had to force myself to finish. 

Cindy, Library Teacher, MLS