Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank

Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



New York Times-bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank returns to the American South in this latest novel about friendship and love that is full of heart, humor, and rich description.

A woman wounded by her past comes to Sullivan's Island, South Carolina to find new meaning in life and to find herself. As she takes up a new hobby of beekeeping, she begins to come into her own and rebuild her life. When a new friend comes in and she finally allows for something more than just "friendship", everyone will realize that life could use a little taste of sweetness.

In what is sure to be another classic, Dorothea Benton Frank weaves a fun tale of self-discovery, love, and friendship with her signature charming wit, indelible poignancy, and hallmark themes.







 Wow! What a blend of characters and tales.

I had a tiny bit of difficulty getting into this book, but once in it, I could not put it down. The author managed to blend three separate stories and lives into one complete book without me being annoyed or feeling as if the book was more of a series of novellas. This is something other authors have a lot of trouble with.

We have Holly who considers herself as a spinster at the age of thirty who is in love with her across the street neighbor. He is just soooo wrong for her, but as their story-line unfolds you will enjoy, be unhappy, be angry and then be relieved with how this all plays out.

We have Leslie whose life is becoming more and more bizarre and has just left her husband, but I can't tell you why because this was not discussed in the synopsis and I don't want to spoil it for you. Let's just say it all works out. And that this was one of the most unusual and intriguing parts of this book and teaches us great lessons in learning to live with those we may find a tad 'different'.

Then we have the Queen Bee also known as QB (which I kept mistaking for Quarter Back!) -this is Holly and Leslie's mom. She starts out as the typical Southern Diva, but her character grows tremendously and she becomes one of the funniest and wise characters in this book.

Then there are the bee's - the honey bee's to be specific -I learned a lot about them and I found the relationship between them and Holly (the beekeeper of these hives) to be a remarkable one.

I loved this book and even though I have read this via an ARC, I will be buying my own copy AND I will also be reading more by this author.

HEA's abound and that makes me a happy camper -not much angst, (a little bit at the start) not enough to make me want to stop reading; self-reflection...well Holly does a lot of that but she finally grows to accept herself for who and what she is.

Great summer read. Happy reading!

*ARC supplied by the publisher.