Keeper of the Bees is the story of two young people, beautiful and cursed, whose pasts and fates intertwine in unexpected ways.

Dresden is a bee-keeper - a hive of bees lives within his body and he is responsible for carrying them around and finding them preys, who, once stung, suffer from psychoses induces by the venom of the bees. He exists and travels along harbingers of death, his face is a constantly changing slideshow of the features of all the people who have died from the stings of his bees, and there has been no other way for him to live, or no way for him to escape this curse for centuries now.

Essie is a seventeen-year-old girl who has inherited the Wickerton family curse - to suffer debilitating hallucinations. Her condition cannot be figured out by doctors and things have not really ended well for those in her ancestry who have also suffered it. When she and Dresden first meet, his bees want to sting her immediately while she cannot understand whether he is real or another hallucination. He risks his life and stops his bees from stinging her. She is fascinated by his constantly mutating face. And what started off as a chance encounter, quickly evolves into something much more.

What drew me to Keeper of the Bees was the cover. I thought it was so pretty, I needed to read it - and yes, I am someone who judges books by their cover, and most of the time, my instincts end up being right. I did think the synopsis was a bit disturbing for me because insects - any kind - creep me out a lot , and now insects living inside a “person”?? I was very, very skeptical about it, I had a bad feeling about it but I went ahead with reading it anyway (just because of the cover!!) and I do not regret it at all.

This story and its writing were so well executed, the pacing was fine - I mean, not too fast and not too slow, it just flowed perfectly. I did have some discomfort reading about the bees at the beginning, especially with the descriptions about how Dresden and they coexist - and also since the writing is so good, the descriptions also turn out to be very vivid - but that dissipated soon enough with the story progressing. The plot thickens with new mysteries, as well as stuff from the past, that come up, giving indications that the connection between Dresden and Essie might not be such a coincidence after all. Amidst all the disturbance Dresden’s arrival has brought to Essie’s hometown, there are the growing attraction and love between the two of them that feels impossible because of all the complications that lie between them.

The chapters alternate between Dresden and Essie’s points of view, giving the reader an ample amount of their perspectives. This is something I find I appreciate a lot as they are bound to have different ways of seeing things, or even different things going on and it’s nice to get insight into both sides of the story. In this case, you get to live Dresden and Essie’s respective curses with them, how it affects their views of the world, how it affects their existences and my heart just went out to them. The author’s Acknowledgement indicates that Dresden was supposed to be of the villain type but honestly, I saw him as more of a hero, like Essie. I rooted for him all the way. And that ending made me cry.

I’d just like to reiterate that I loved, loved, loved this book, a lot more than I had expected when I had first picked it up. I would totally recommend.

Allow me to start my review by saying how lucky Meg is to have such gorgeous book covers! Her debut novel “Black Birds of the Gallows” had the most stunning cover ever and it was definitely my favourite one of 2017.

Just look at it.

“Keeper of the Bees” is beautiful too, done in the same style, obviously, but I like it slightly less, as green is not my favourite colour. But it is Meg’s favourite, it seems, so she is a very fortunate author, indeed.

Looking at the writing overall, I think that Meg’s writing has improved since the first book. “Keeper of the Bees” is better paced, and both voices of the main protagonists are well developed. The novel is written in the present tense, from the alternating POVs of Essie and Dresden. There were moments when the writing seemed a bit clunky, but I was given an ARC, and it was only to be expected, as it is in no way a finished version of the book.

There were a lot of elements of dark lore and even a murder mystery thrown into the mix to keep me interested in reading “Keeper of the Bees”, but the book is way too heavy on teen angst and romance for my taste. Perhaps, it was my instinctive dislike of a star-crossed lovers trope that kept me rolling my eyes everytime Dresden would talk about Essie.

There is a lot of internal monologues in the book - way too many for my taste. Quite a lot of exposition that could have been axed from the text also. But if you are into broody heroes that struggle with their emotions - you would enjoy “Keep of the Bees”.

When I was reading “Black Birds of the Gallows”, in which we also have a beekeeper, but a different one, and he is not as nice as Dresden, I kept imagining him as an adult. In “Keeper of the Bees” Dresden is only 18 years old, and I found it a bit confusing. Moreso, the author kept referring to both Dresden, who is 18 - or was at the time when he became a beekeeper - and Essie, who is 17, as a young man and a young woman. That created a somewhat disjointed image in my head. It is understandable that due to the nature of beekeepers and harbingers, they are way older than their physical appearance and they carry a lot of burdens. There was only one mention of Essie being homeschooled, but it was not the focus of the book at all, and it was easy to forget that it is supposed to be a YA novel.

My biggest pet peeve with this book was in the fact that Essie’s condition, the mysterious and undiagnosed mental illness that gave her vivid hallucinations and delusions, was referred to as a “curse”. It is a big part of the plot, so I am not going to explain why it is called that, but I found it incredibly unsettling.

Based on descriptions of Essie’s symptoms, she might be suffering from something akin to schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder. She is seeing a therapist regularly, who is portrayed as a villain (for a good reason, as it is, once again, a part of the plot, and he is literally the only practising psychiatrist in the town); she is taking the medication that is not helping her; there are people who judge her and her family for her illness; her father is an abusive alcoholic, who makes a brief appearance, but his story arc is not resolved either; there is a threat of mental institution which is for Essie is akin to a prison which she would never leave.

Essie is lonely, she doesn’t have any friends. She lives with her aunt and her grandmother - who seems to be suffering from the same “curse” - but her life is very restricted and regulated. We are not talking about a cute Luna Lovegood or Alice in Wonderland type of dreaminess or fantasies. Whatever Essie is suffering from is brutal and painful.

There is still a lot of stigma surrounding mental illness. It is essential to have open and honest conversations about it. I am sad to say that nothing in “Keeper of the Bees” was conducive to that. I understand that “the curse” was part of the plot. There was a reason for it. However, reading about Essie suffering from something that was not her fault and be shunned and mistreated by figures of authority that were supposed to be helping her was really discouraging. It might make readers who suffer from similar illnesses feel as if nobody would ever believe them or that their condition can’t be improved or that medical professionals are evil and not to be trusted. This is how I read that plot, and I was very disappointed.

Some of the descriptions are so vivid that they might be triggering for some people too.

Somehow, my favourite character in “Keeper of the Bees” turned out to be Michael, a harbinger. He befriended Dresden, in spite of Dresden’s aloofness, and their friendship dynamic was interesting to read. (I secretly shipped them together, but, you know, this is not that type of a romance book. Alas.)

Speaking of representation: there was basically none in this book, which was disappointing. Except for one short sentence that was thrown in as a bone to appease readers like me, there was no hope for any LGBT+ rep.

(Side note: if the third book in the series is going to be about “Stitches” - can we make him gay, please?)

I have mixed feelings about “Keeper of the Bees”. I liked certain things and certain things I did not. However, it is entirely possible to enjoy a book, even when you find some part of the plot to be problematic, as long as you acknowledge the fact and start a conversation.

If you are a fan of YA paranormal books and are not triggered by aforementioned mental illness and depictions of hallucinations, check this book out.

Regardless of my opinion on the book, I am grateful to Entangled Teen for giving me an opportunity to read and review it.

Rating: 2.5 stars

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
The cover and title is what originally drew me to this book. It was okay. It was interesting, just not what I thought it was going to be.
This was my first book by this author, It was okay. It was slow paced but it was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
3 star rating!

Keeper of the Bees is every bit as good as Meg Kassel’s first novel, Black Bird of the Gallows.

Kassel’s paranormal world is dark but wonderfully inventive, with cursed creatures created long ago by magic roaming the world to feed off fear and death. In this book, the focus of the story is Dresden, a Beekeeper. Dresden’s hive is housed in his chest; bees fly from his mouth to sting people whose inner darkness makes them susceptible to the bee’s venom, which triggers their latent violence. Once a young man so beautiful that he was abducted for a queen’s harem, Dresden is now a monster whose face is a shifting assemblage of the features of his victims. He is weary of his long existence, but that changes when he meets Essie, a young woman who experiences delusions. Miraculously, Essie doesn’t see Dresden as monstrous and instead reaches out to him, first in friendship, and then more. When Dresden learns that it might be possible to break the curse affecting him, he begins to hope that he might be able to have a different life, one with Essie in it.

This is a type of Beauty and the Beast tale, but one in which both Essie and Dresden embody aspects of beauty and beastliness. Essie is outwardly pretty as well as a good person, but her apparent mental illness makes her uncomfortably odd to many people. Dresden is clearly beastly in appearance and behavior, but both were imposed on him by magic and are foreign to his essential nature. Even though the two of them fell for each other relatively quickly in the story, their romance worked for me, because it was based in a mutual acceptance of their flaws that allowed each of them to see the beauty within the other.

Readers who liked the first book in Kassel’s series should read this one, too, but I’d recommend it for anyone who likes YA paranormal romances.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

I need all of the stars for this one but it feels more appropriate to say it like this:
💛🐝🖤🐝💛

I was initially denied early access to this book and I completely understood why. This is the type of book I’m supposed to want to avoid. The love between this girl and (sort of) boy is insta and as sweet as honey (sorry, I had to go there) so it makes perfect sense that a romantiphobe should steer clear. So why did I beg for it? Because I should have wanted to stay far, far away from its companion, Black Bird of the Gallows and I really enjoyed that, so I just knew this would be the book for me, despite everything that screamed otherwise.

What attracted me to Black Bird of the Gallows was intense insta cover love and I was quite shocked when I also loved the story. This time around, while another gorgeous cover drew me to it, my memory of being drawn into Angie and Reece’s story (and love) gave me the confidence that Keeper of the Bees was for me. However, I didn’t expect to love this one more!

Our main characters, Essie and Dresden, are both damaged, victims of cursed lives. People either don’t even notice them at all or steer clear of them. They’re desperately lonely outcasts. Essie experiences a reality that ‘normal’ people don’t and her hallucinations cause people to fear her. Dresden is a beekeeper, feeding off peoples’ fear and condemned to wear the features of the victims of his curse. Their instalove appears doomed from the get go and although this goes against my very being to say this, I was hoping their love would find a way from their introduction.

There’s something about the agony of the person they once were fighting against what their curses have transformed them into that I really connected to. Essie’s struggle to distinguish the boundaries between the reality she sees and the reality others see was heart-wrenching. The struggle of a beekeeper, being bound to an existence where over the course of centuries you’re witnessing the worst humanity has to offer with no hope in sight, no known end to your pain or isolation, broke me.

While the curses of the harbingers, beekeepers and their mythology are explored in both books, the focus is different in each book. In Black Bird of the Gallows one of the main characters is a harbinger of death, whereas in this book it’s a beekeeper. I always love learning the mythology in characters’ worlds and adore the mythology of this series. Once again Meg Kassel’s writing is gorgeous and intoxicating. While the world of Black Bird mesmerised me, Keeper of the Bees made me a believer and I need more!

I was delighted by Dresden’s unorthodox friendship with Michael, one of the harbingers, and I loved Stitches. Now I definitely need a companion book where a Strawman is the focus as I have to know more about these mysterious beings.

Essie’s aunt was my favourite entirely human character; her ability to see beneath the curse to the girl Essie truly was made me love her and want her in my life. I know what it’s like for people to see a label or what’s on the surface and to fear or resist getting to know what lies beneath so for this book the insights into the complexity of people, the light and the dark, captivated me.

While this book could be characterised as a romance it’s so much more and it’s the so much more that had me hooked. There’s the exploration of mental illness, the murder mystery, the growing unease of an impending catastrophe, the impact of our past on our present and the underlying hope of overcoming that which seems impossible.

As this is a companion, not a sequel, you could read this book first but I’d highly recommend you read both because they’re just so good! Also, if you read Black Bird of the Gallows first you’ll be rewarded with a ‘where are they now?’ segment, a fleshing out of the mythology and an appreciation of just how remarkable Essie and Dresden’s love is, along with Dresden and Michael’s friendship, in this book.

I am going to provide trigger warnings for child abuse and neglect, paedophilia, attempted sexual assault, alcoholism, suicide, family violence and inappropriate treatment of people affected by suspected mental illness. I personally felt these issues were all dealt with well and in context with the overall storyline but don’t want to presume that because I wasn’t affected by any potential triggers that others won’t be.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.

the beekeeper's curse is particularly terrible. the beehive at their core one they coexist with. the horror of what they are, what they do, something they are too conscious of. dresden is a unique beekeeper, however. as tortured as the other's we have met, but he's got something of a soul still.

he has a friend, another harbinger of death. one who he's been with since the end of the napoleonic wars. it's not a friendship that makes sense. it's not a friendship he welcomed or intended. but nonetheless, it's a connection. it's a bit of humanity. most of the time dresden feels like a monster. his form generally ignored by others.

when he arrives in concordia, in the opening pages of keeper of bees, hungry and needing to sting, he's originally drawn to a girl. but something keeps him from allowing his bees to sting her. she sees him. she sees the shifting faces, the horror that is his presence and she doesn't run. and that intrigues him.

essie is kind of out of her mind. a wickerton descendant, her family has been cursed with incurable madness for generations. and essie is the latest lucky recipient.

the connection that sparks between dresden and essie is rooted in the past. in magic and curses. but oh the way these two talk to each other, all that feeling and love and emotion that is packed into every interaction. i just loved it. i seriously loved everything about this book.

even the little glimpse of angie and reece. it's just so, so good.

**keeper of bees will publish on september 4, 2018. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/entangled publishing (entangled teen) in exchange for my honest review.

“This book is for everyone who falls in love with the villain. This book is for everyone who doesn’t fit a mold—on the outside, or the inside, or both.”

5 “I did not expect to root for this “villain” “ stars.

I wondered how Meg Kassel would make me fall for a villain!
Let's face it Rafette from Black Birds of the Gallow was a true villain and a beekeeper!

The secret is to make your villain human even if he is an immortal cursed to sting people into madnesd with his bees! Have him long for a friend. Have him show remorse and regret for all the wrong that he's done. Have him wish he could save his girl and the readers with a big romantic heart like me will root for the villain!

Now what is this story about?

This is the story of Dresden a young fisherman born centuries ago and cursed to become a magical weapon. A war machine infecting enemies with madness with a sting of his bees.
Long after magic has been eradicated some creatures like him still exist.
Dresden has a fragile relationship with the bees living inside his chest. He can avoid stinging too many people if he lets them sting some.
His reluctance to sting many if not necessary was the first sign of his shreds of kindness.
That and his friendship with Michael a harbinger of death.

Essie is a 17 years old girl afflicted by the Wickerton curse. That's how puzzled doctors have named the unusul madness plaguing many members of that family for generations.

Poor Essie. She does not know what is real and what is imagined in all the things she sees. When she laughs pink bubbles escape her mouth. Not real. Her doctor has a forked tongue. Not real but...

She is so lonely as no one wants to befriend someone as weird as her.

She tries to be as small a burden to her aunt as she can.

“A group of teen girls pass by, bent toward each other, giggling at something. It’s been years since I’d attended school. One ugly “episode” that scared some parents and teachers ended my public-school experience. Now, Aunt Bel homeschools me with the help of tutors. I look away from the girls with a pang of longing. For friends. For a sense of belonging. For that underrated state of ordinary.”

Honestly you can’t help loving Essie. I double dog dare you!

When Dresden and Essie will meet they won't behave in the usual expected pattern.
Dresden won't sting her but feel protective. He won't focus on her madnesd but on her light, her kindness and her beauty.
Essie won't be frightened by Dresden's constantly changing faces. She'll find him wonderful and handsome.

“If you are a burden, I am a nightmare.” “No, Dresden. You are a dream.”

“You are the furthest thing from a monster. You are light and grace and all the things I thought I had forgotten. It’s agony for me to be near you, yet I can’t stay away.”

Of course you'll have villains other than Dresden. Black souls let lose thanks to the Strawman touch.
You'll have a quest to break the curses.
You'll have a threat or two warranting the harbingers of death's presence in town.
You will have a personal journey through doubts and madness.
You'll have...
Many favorite tricks marking YA Fantasy stories as epic love stories.

With feather touches Megan Kassel brushes a portrait of two lonely and marginalized souls finding solace and peace in the other one.
Separate they were odd; together they are luminous. Shining with hope and beauty.

You can be a villain and still worthy of redemption, of love.
You can be different and still be beautiful worthy of love just as you are.

I discovered Meg Kassel's books through Black Birds of the Gallow who was one of my favorite reads of 2017. She has proven once again her tale telling talent.

I received an ARC of this story courtesy of the Entangled Publishing on Netgalley but it had no influence whatsoever on my willing and always honest review!

Keeper of the Bees by Meg Kassel is a companion novel to Black Bird of the Gallows. Returning to Ms. Kassel's world of harbingers, beekeepers, and strawmen, Keeper of the Bees is a story about a centuries old beekeeper who was cursed when he was eighteen and the girl who actually sees him, not the monster he's become.

Dresden as a beekeeper has a hive of bees living within his chest that sting people with weak minds and makes them crazy. He's followed by the harbingers of death, a murder of crows, to Concordia where the town is marked for death. As he awaits the event that will bring death to those in Concordia, Dresden's bees find people to sting, but when his bees want to sting seventeen-year old Essie Wickerton, Dresden finds that he can't let them, especially when she sees what he really is and is not afraid. Instead, she calls him pretty!

Essie Wickerton is cursed, or rather some of her family is cursed with delusions and hallucinations, while others are normal. She has moments when she cannot tell whether what she is seeing is real or not. So when she sees Dresden's many face changes when he appears, she obviously thinks she is hallucinating, but when he proves to be all too real and standing right in front of her, Essie can't look away or make herself feel afraid. This moment between Essie and Dresden starts the absorbing story of Ms. Kassel's Keeper of the Bees, with its twists and turns, which made me want to keep reading until the end.

I really enjoyed Ms. Kassel's world-building in her first book, but I think it grew in more detail in this novel especially with the details about the beekeepers and Strawmen. I also liked the mystery about Essie's family and learning more about Dresden and how he became a beekeeper. These really added to the novel, and I like how it moved and was well-paced. If you read the first novel, you know there is an event that will lead to death amongst the townsfolk in Essie's town like plague or natural disaster. So having another plot to move the story along involving the characters was great.

Dresden's relationship with Essie and his friendship with Michael were what I loved about this story and the added bonus of seeing familiar characters again was awesome.

Overall, Keeper of the Bees by Meg Kassel was a wonderful companion novel and completely stood out on its own. I am hard pressed to say which book I liked more, but I may be leaning towards Dresden and Essie's story. I very much recommend reading and if you haven't read Black Bird of the Gallows, I'd recommend that too. Can't wait to read more from Ms. Kassel.

(I voluntarily reviewed an advance review copy of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

Keeper of the Bees by Meg Kassel is a young adult fantasy read that is part of the Black Birds of the Gallows series. Now this book is more of a companion novel than second of the series and can be read as a standalone if choosing to do so. The characters and story are different than the first book although the idea of a beekeeper was first mentioned in Black Birds of the Gallows.

Dresden is a keeper of bees, cursed to follow the harbingers of death to areas that are marked for death. Inside of Dresden's chest are the bees that he keeps and releases that when stinging release a psychosis inducing venom. The harbingers have led Dresden to a small Midwest town where he encounters Essie.

Seventeen year old Essie has never been one that has been considered normal either and is not surprised at all when she sees Dresden. Essie's only fear is that what she is seeing is even there at all since her entire life she's suffered from hallucinations and delusions. What Essie and Dresden find however is that their paths are more intertwined then they could have imagined.

Having read both books in this series I can certainly say now that they do end up being awfully creative even though when starting out I was reminded of other fantasy reads. The darker scenario of areas being marked for doom and the idea of harbingers of death and beekeepers etc is actually quite interesting. However, again we had a case of the old instalove during the opening pages which can be a turn off even with the eventual reasoning behind it. Still overall I thin the series is definitely worth the read and would recommend them.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

More than 5 stars!!!!

Meg Kassel with Keeper of the Bees may have created the best YA sci-fi that I've read this year...and maybe even last year. While I thoroughly enjoyed last year's Black Bird of the Gallows (you can read my review here), it didn't match the intensity of what I felt for this year's Keeper of the Bees.

With the love story between Essie and Dresden, Kassel has created unique characters who are not safely drawn. Essie seems to be verging on madness, and Dresden would be the villain in most books. They are attracted to each other the way that magnets are. They see each other as beautiful, even though Dresden knows that most people view him with horror and fear.

To give you an idea of how good this novel is, I finished it in almost one sitting. I didn't want to put it down. I loved how Kassel wrote Essie and Dresden, not to mention Aunt Bel and the Grandmother. While these are all atypical characters, I felt as if the author had lovingly created them with gentle quirks.

The transformation of Dresden is fascinating, watching as he loses his indifference and discovers love. How he becomes willing to surrender everything for Essie. How he becomes more and more human.

I feel like I'm gushing. I am gushing. I loved this book! Everything just felt right: the characters, the pacing, the writing, the plot---all so good!

Keeper of the Bees is definitely a standalone although Angie and Reece from Black Bird of the Gallows appear in one scene, but not having read that novel shouldn't affect your appreciation of this one. Read this one!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Keeper of the Bees is the second novel in a previously visited universe by Meg Kassel.

This story focuses on a beekeeper, an incubator to a hive of unruly bees looking to sting and wreak havoc among people. Our beekeeper, Dresden, is forever stuck in his 18 year old body and barely remembers his human life, memories and is devoid of most feelings. That is until he stumbles upon Essie, and for the first time he ignores the calling of his bees and refuses to sting her.

Essie is from a long line of cursed family members, all of them with different symptoms and none of them can be diagnosed. Essie is one of the youngest in the family to show signs of the curse and suffers with visual and auditory hallucinations, struggling to decipher what and who is real or imaginary.

When the two collide, Dresden begins to hope for change and Essie feels complete.

But with a serial murderer on the loose, the swarm of Harbingers closing in and Dresdens wish to break the curse, will Essie succumb to madness or break free?

Kassel manages to build an amazing atmosphere, her writing style is impeccable and keeps you wanting more. There are plenty of twists and turns, and the premise is one I have never come across before and it was so refreshing to read!

I found that although the main story was the unfolding romance, there was also plenty of paranormal, mystery and dark stuff going on to keep me interested. The characters were also very interesting and I felt like all of them had a place in the story and all of their backstories were just as interesting as the next.

I have never read Black Birds of the Gallow, but it’s definitely being added to my TBR!

I’m excited to see if Kassel will add more to this Universe and see what she comes up with next!

Would definitely recommend this one!

This story was just as special and great as the first. You can read it as a stand alone, but I highly recommend reading the other first! This was a great new P.O.V. from another character in her story!!! I'm excited to see if she'll have a third!! Great read!!

The unique mythology that was first presented in the companion novel, Black Birds of the Gallows, is continued in Keeper of the Bees. We are first introduced to the curse of the bees in the first novel, but are keep quite in the dark about the backstory and details. I enjoyed the first book and found the mythology to be quite intriguing and the story to be unlike anything I had read before. I felt like it left so many questions unanswered and found many of those answers in Keeper of the Bees. 

I enjoyed this story so much more than the first. Dresden and his story had me wanting more and to know the why and how of what he was and how he became that way. Although I had slight issues with the romance (a little too insta lovey for me) there were parts of it I understood and like seeing the development. I quite enjoyed the relationship between Dresden and the other harbingers. 

Overall this book was a quick read that was layered with mystery and creative mythology that had me guessing until the end. I definitely liked this one better than its companion novel and I am interested to see if there will be another focused on the last mythical being that is only touched on. There is romance, murder and the impending doom that follows the harbingers.

I wouldn't have realised that this is the second book in a series if I hadn't added it on Goodreads. However, it is perfectly possible to read this as a stand-alone. Characters from Black Bird of the Gallows make a cameo appearance which might please fans of the first book.
I had no idea what to expect going in, but I ended up realy loving the characters and the writing
I had wanted to read Black Bird of the Gallows before but reading this has bumped it up my priority list.
Both Essie and Dresden are fascinating, yet tragic characters and I was intrigued by Essie's family curse and the small town where she lives where the people cannot accept her oddities. I thought that her struggle was written very sympathetically and realistically. I loved Dresden's friendship with Michael and the creativity of the harbingers, beekeepers and the Strawman. All, unmistakably influenced by fairytales and folklore, but original and refreshing to read. Perfect for fans of the slightly offbeat, like Maggie Stiefvater or Banana Yoshimoto.

A dark romance with more than a hint of the macabre, I loved this unique love story. Apparently it is the second in a series, but do not let that put you off, it reads perfectly as a standalone story. (I will admit I immediately went and bought the first book because of how much I enjoyed this one.)
Initially drawn to the beautiful cover, I was soon caught up in the tragic tale it contained. Told in alternating chapters from the points of view of Essie and Dresden, the book weaves a spellbinding tale of magic, danger and of course romance. Seventeen year old Essie is in the grip of a madness that has cursed her family for two hundred years, and at first thinks that Dresden is one of her hallucinations. He is not, he is something much more dangerous. As a Keeper of the Bees, he too was cursed, and for generations he has travelled the world, carrying a chest full of bees who live to bring chaos and mayhem. Their sting brings out the worst in people, allowing them to unleash their most primal and barbaric urges, and each of their victims becomes an aspect of Dresden's face, which has shifted so much, he can barely remember his true appearance. These two strange souls are irresistibly drawn together, but will the saving of one result in the destruction of the other?
A wonderfully crafted world of Beekeepers, and Harbingers , destructive magic and curses, as well as the mysterious and ominous Straw Man made this book a real pleasure to read. The idea behind Dresden's character was so original and captivating, and he was a real highlight for me. If I had any small gripe it is that the hints dropped throughout the book about the dramatic conclusion were possibly a little too obvious, taking away somewhat from the surprise, but not enough to spoil my enjoyment of this captivating book.

Macabre, haunting and deliciously creepy. Great YA paranormal read. Loved every minute of this book.

Last year, I was fortunate enough to read Kassel’s debut, Black Bird of the Gallows. Instantly, I’d grown to the writing and main character. When I found out there was a companion sequel, I was my trademark eye emoji.

Guys I was honestly so happy when I got this book. I mean, I’m pretty sure it’s sort of inspired by Beauty and the Beast—which I had not known until I’d reread the synopsis. When I started it, I could already tell how different it was from Black Bird. Different, but definitely not bad.

It constantly amazes me when authors write with such different voices with each new book. I know some tend to have echoes of another character, but it genuinely felt utterly different here. And considering Kassel was writing from the points of view of two characters, it just sorta shocked me more??

I loved Dresden! He was a lil sullen, a lil—uh, well, this is probably the best word I can think of to describe him—emo, and I loved him. I mean, he also did creep me out because the guy literally turned into a hive of goddamn bees and had them inside him? And coming out of his mouth? So I guess I liked him from afar. Point is, DESPITE THAT, he was so wonderfully complex. It was interesting reading about his growing relationship to Essie, all while still having to comply to his job as a Beekeeper. Which, y’know, I can’t imagine being the best job.

Essie was adorable! I loved reading her point of view especially, because of her sense of humour and her view of seeing the world—and of Dresden. Her voice was fun and I loved her sense of humour, especially when she and Dresden had scenes together. What always stood out to me was just how strong of a character she was, especially when everyone looked down at her because of her hallucinations. I could have done without a certain scene involving sexual assault near the end, though.

Aaaaanyway, I really liked how Kassel balanced the angsty, slow burn romance with a murder mystery! That, paired with both Essie and Dresden’s person character arcs really made this book more in my eyes. I loved seeing them grow and accept their feelings, and whew, finally handling people who looked down on them. That bit’s always so refreshing.

Overall! I am so happy to have read this! I hope Kassel has more books coming out because her work is always a blast to read. 4 stars!

Keeper of The Bees was a beautiful, sweet story, and I totally fell in love with it.

Dresden and Essie were such complicated yet beautiful characters. It was fun to watch the story unfold from both of their perspectives.

I especially loved how the author wrote Essie's point of view. The bubbles, the snake-like tongue. It was all so believable. It was hard to say whether Essie was imagining something or whether it was real.

I loved the fact that the story did not stretch into a sequel. It was short, sweet and beautiful as it is.

Keeper Of The Bees is as beautiful as its cover, and I recommend you to check it out!

*I want to thank Entangled Teen and NetGalley for providing me with this copy in exchange for an honest review*

First I must mention how beautiful both covers are, they look amazing together, I just love them. Going to the important thing, I ADORE this book, there is something so atmospheric and unique in it, it's a great companion and although you can read it very well as stand-alone, I personally recommend reading them in order, to go into this one with more knowledge about what the plot is about.


In Keeper of the Bees we know Dresden, he's a Beekeeper, this actually means that he was a normal man until a curse fell on him, a curse that has turned him into a human honeycomb and is condemned to satisfy his hungry bees while he must live forever with the faces of all the people he has killed, one day his way is crossed with Essie's, a mortal girl who usually sees things that aren't really there due to a family curse that has affected her family for generations, so when she sees him, Essie doesn't seem to fear him like everyone else does, and this disconcerts Dresden, making him feel things that he thought was incapable of feeling again.


I really enjoyed the way the story is told, we see everything from both the Dresden and Essie points of view and it's super fun to jump from one chapter to another, I love how the author has handled that aspect. So easy and quick to read, it's really a pleasure to have read about these world with supernatural beings as unique as Beekeepers and Harbingers, I think I've already mentioned it in my previous review, but I find something so original in using animals to tell sinister stories about curses, I love that, because although it sounds weird for those who haven't read it yet, I assure you that it works perfectlly and for us who have already seen everything in the paranormal genre, these books take a big turn and gives you something new and fresh for enjoy and discover


Dresden's a great main character, as a big fan of villains in main roles, he has conquered me from the first moment. Also, although I had already read about Beekeepers in the previous book, I had never done it in such a deep and personal way, besides this story gives you a new perspective on them, since I hated them in the first book it's surprising to be able to feel empathy for one of them. And although the plot focuses on them, I like to see that there's also a great Harbingers participation, because I love these beings and see their interactions with Dresden was very curious and surprising to me, I liked a lot. There's also something very dark and melancholy about Dresden personality and this makes the book has a very strong atmosphere, you'll see that you can feel in the same place and even understand many of his actions.


I liked Essie, although I'm not really crazy about her, I like how she faces her drama, the fact of living with what she supposes is a kind of illness that makes her see terrifying things that really aren't there, it must be so difficult and even so, she takes it in a very positive way. Her character individually doesn't managed to convince me, but I still loved the scenes she shares with Dresden because as a couple, I simply love them.


Speaking a bit about the romance because I know it's something that you're worried about sometimes, in this book I think there's some insta-love, they quickly fall in love with each other, which is quite classic in the genre, but still, this doesn't mean that the romance is not good, because it is, SO GOOD, I loved the relationship and the way it grows
, there's a lot of "Beauty and the Beast" happening here and love that, it's very magical. I enjoyed a lot especially of the dialogues between the characters, which always seemed very honest

I need to repeat that this is a very atmospheric book, reading it has made me feel as if I would be seeing everything as in a television series or something, which always means something good. I would compare it with TVD or Supernatural, because it really gave me that kind of vibes.

I'm all for the catastrophes things, this would sound a bit weird lol, but I couldn't wait to know what would happen, if you haven't read the previous book, you probably don't understand what I'm talking about and it would be incredible that you jump to these books knowing little because I know you'll be surprised, the only thing you need to know is that a big catastrophe will always happen where these paranormal beings appear, and this gives me a lot of intrigue. I'm a big fan of the idea


I highly recommend this book, especially if you like paranormal books and want to read something new, I know you'll not regret it. This is a unique plot that I'm sure you've never read before, also if you like dark plots, a little creepy vibes and atmospheric stories, yoo'll love this one. Right now I just want to re-read BBotG, I don't know why, but I think I'm not ready to leave this concept yet lol. So UNIQUE

DNF.
It’s very well written and the characters are well developed but I just can’t connect to the premise.