Happy library week! I love being able to check out audiobooks from my local library. I have also come to love the books of Sarah T. Dubb, a librarian by day. Honey Bee Mine has no librarian characters that I’m aware of. It does feature a bee keeper/orchard owner and a restauranteur (person who runs a restaurant). Once again, Sarah T. Dubbs has given us a funny, thoughtful, and sexy book about putting your trust in the right people.
The day before I started reading Honey Bee Mine, my housemate was talking to me about her women’s bible study group. They were going to talk about a the importance of handing your worries over to God and trusting that God will handle everything. I am a lifelong agnostic and I hadn’t had any coffee yet so I responded in an unfiltered manner. I told her that only works for people who have staff or wives, that people who don’t worry about the future are driving someone to an early grave doing the worrying for them. Don’t talk to me about theology before I’ve had coffee, I’ll hurt your feelings.
Lo and Behold, this is one of Penny Becker’s arcs in Honey Bee Mine. Penny is having to do all the worrying about the farm because her mother will just leave it up to the universe. Penny doesn’t feel like she can ask for help because her mother wants to leave it up to the universe, and her former boyfriend talked her into taking out a loan for a project that never came to fruition and then he left.
Ruth tsked and shook her head. “You know, honey, the world won’t stop turning if you let yourself take a break.”
“No.” Penny huffed a laugh as her thoughts tipped and tumbled, falling right into one of those potholes Quinn had described. The one worn by years of Ruth promising Penny everything would be fine, then letting Penny do the work to make it so. “The world would still turn. It’s only this place that would fall apart.”
Zander Bouras is staying at his late grandfather’s house (to put it on the market) while his ex-wife, her girlfriend (who is also his best friend), and son spend the summer with her parents, who are recovering from illness. Zander is grumpy about being in a place with a lot of bad memories, but he wants to stay connected to his kid, who wants to learn more about Penny’s bees. Zander bullies his way into helping Penny so that she will have time to show his son the cool bee stuff.
As Penny and Zander get to know each other, their respective families/friends start to meld into one. The secondary characters are so great. Quinn and RJ round out their best friends provide loving voices of reason. Penny gradually allows herself to trust Zander, if not the universe, and Zander is able to see this small town in a more positive light. If I trusted the Hallmark channel to handle queer characters better, I would be begging them to make a Honey Bee Mine movie.
