Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight)'s Reviews > Keeper of the Bees

3.5 Stars

Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book via YA Bound Book Tours. This has not influenced my review.*

It was actually the premise for this book that got me interested in this series. Supernatural beings with faces that constantly change to that of their many victims and chests full of bees that cause psychosis? Now that is different, and totally intriguing.

Upon reading the first book, I definitely thought the beekeepers were interesting, and getting the POV of one this time made it even better. I loved all the stuff about the bees roiling in his chest, climbing up his throat, etc. It was creepy-weird, but also cool. And it was interesting to learn more about their abilities, like bursting into a swarm of bees and the way their faces change more and their bees get more chaotic when they get emotional. It was also cool to learn more about the magic in general in this world, including some backstory about how the harbingers and beekeepers came to be. There were also some encounters with a strawman, something we didn't get to see in the first book.

Another good thing was the romance. Sometimes the "old immortal dating a teenager" thing can feel unrealistic, but, in this case, it felt believable. It was still kind of instalove-y, but that felt believable enough that it didn't bother me, especially from Dresden's side of things. And I was happy with how healthy things felt in the end.

I did feel the book was slow though, and the POVs lacked unique voices. I felt for the characters and enjoyed reading about them, but they just didn't really stand out to me. Other readers may easily connect to them more though.

The last thing I want to talk about is Essie's delusions and hallucinations. One thing bothered me a bit, which was that *SPOILER* (view spoiler)[the symptoms turned out to have a supernatural cause and were magically cured in the end. To be fair, I think it was always referred to as a curse rather than a mental illness, but I still wanted to point it out because magical cures can inadvertently reinforce the misconception that illness in real life isn't real or can also be easily fixed. (hide spoiler)] *END SPOILER* That being said, it seemed like a lot was taken into consideration. The book touched on not just symptoms but also Essie's feelings, how it affected her life, and how it affected the life of her aunt who cared for her. And there was one positive moment of realization about her worth near the end that made me happy. However, I will say that I do not have experience with these symptoms, so someone who does would be better suited to discuss this aspect.

Overall, I loved the unique premise of this book, and it was cool getting to learn more about some of the different magic and supernatural beings in this world!

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight