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lovest's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
I had the opportunity to read an electronic advance review copy of "The Bee King," which I received for free. I want to emphasize that this review is voluntary.
The Bee King follows the story of Alice, a young woman who lives in the little town of Oxenbee. From the beginning, her main focus is to protect her sister and cousin from the monsters -wealthy men that come to exploit the girls on the island- and from her own father, who would sell all of them to subsidize his alcohol addiction.
The story moves quickly from the moment when the 'Bee Men' come to the island in search of a bride for the Bee King -an terribly wealthy merchant who controls the only supply of moon honey-. Alice is forced to make brave but impossible choices in order to maintain the safety of her family.
Personally, I found the concept of the book intriguing. There's an inherent desire to witness powerful and affluent men, who often evade consequences for their actions, face justice. Mathilda Zeller adeptly portrays Alice's predicament, her deep-seated rage, and her selfless love, while weaving in carefully crafted supernatural elements.
Unfortunately, after the first few chapters, a lot of the story felt flat and seemed rushed. The majority of the characters remained one-dimensional and rather predictable throughout, **Possible spoilers ahead**with only Sarah and her storyline standing out. However, even though the revelation surrounding her was surprising, it felt like a convenient solution to resolve a complex narrative thread that became too tangled to handle. This detracted from the overall impact of the story, leaving me somewhat disappointed.
The Bee King follows the story of Alice, a young woman who lives in the little town of Oxenbee. From the beginning, her main focus is to protect her sister and cousin from the monsters -wealthy men that come to exploit the girls on the island- and from her own father, who would sell all of them to subsidize his alcohol addiction.
The story moves quickly from the moment when the 'Bee Men' come to the island in search of a bride for the Bee King -an terribly wealthy merchant who controls the only supply of moon honey-. Alice is forced to make brave but impossible choices in order to maintain the safety of her family.
Personally, I found the concept of the book intriguing. There's an inherent desire to witness powerful and affluent men, who often evade consequences for their actions, face justice. Mathilda Zeller adeptly portrays Alice's predicament, her deep-seated rage, and her selfless love, while weaving in carefully crafted supernatural elements.
Unfortunately, after the first few chapters, a lot of the story felt flat and seemed rushed. The majority of the characters remained one-dimensional and rather predictable throughout, **Possible spoilers ahead**
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, and Body horror
ameliabee33's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
You look at this man, this man standing there trying to control you. He has been in control, in power, all of his life, you aren't any different. He can take what he wants from you. You're going to stop him. Men have taken too much from you, from the women you love. You will be the one to end the suffering. You want him. You want to consume him. You want to be his beginning of his end. Soon, you have him in your grasp. You WANT him. You will CONSUME him. His life is in your hands, it was beating and now it isn't. Now, he will hurt no one. You bite, feeling the red run down your throat, neck. You have won. You have the power now.
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This is a story about female rage, but also so much more than that. Alice, the main character, is a protector. She has played the protector to her sisters from the monsters that come to the girls on her island. The parents sell the girls to these monsters, at one point they came for Alice. She will make sure that doesn't happen to her younger sisters. She has played the protector her entire life, so that doesn't stop when the Bee King needs to choose a bride. She will be the Bee Queen, to protect the world from his bigger monster. This is a story about the manipulation and corruption of the wealthy and upper echelon of this society, they are founded off of the exploitation of innocents.
As always the imagery is rich and decadent. It made me feel like I was right there in the horror with Alice. It was creepy and dark and mysterious and added to the overall theme of wrongness throughout the book.
Alice was a main character that was good to a fault, she played the protector even at the cost of herself, it was admirable.
The ending made the entire book worth it and I swear I have never been more satisfied by an ending. It felt like there was actually justice of the girls that were hurt. The rage was not tampered down and Alice wasn't told to not be mad, she was mad and rightfully so. She stayed mad. As she should.
**ALSO omg to see Florence again!!
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This is a story about female rage, but also so much more than that. Alice, the main character, is a protector. She has played the protector to her sisters from the monsters that come to the girls on her island. The parents sell the girls to these monsters, at one point they came for Alice. She will make sure that doesn't happen to her younger sisters. She has played the protector her entire life, so that doesn't stop when the Bee King needs to choose a bride. She will be the Bee Queen, to protect the world from his bigger monster. This is a story about the manipulation and corruption of the wealthy and upper echelon of this society, they are founded off of the exploitation of innocents.
As always the imagery is rich and decadent. It made me feel like I was right there in the horror with Alice. It was creepy and dark and mysterious and added to the overall theme of wrongness throughout the book.
Alice was a main character that was good to a fault, she played the protector even at the cost of herself, it was admirable.
The ending made the entire book worth it and I swear I have never been more satisfied by an ending. It felt like there was actually justice of the girls that were hurt. The rage was not tampered down and Alice wasn't told to not be mad, she was mad and rightfully so. She stayed mad. As she should.
**ALSO omg to see Florence again!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Body horror, Murder, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Suicide
nostoat's review
dark
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I was gifted an eARC by the author in exchange for an honest reveiw.
This book has it all - magic, horror, sisterly love, bloody revenge, and unexpected alliances. The themes are very heavy, but handled well. It's only the second book I've been able to finish in the past month; the pacing is done so well, and the story is so engaging, I couldn't put it down. While I know many people do not find revenge narratives satisfying, I absolutely do and this book delivers. I'm much looking forward to cracking open future books by this author.
This book has it all - magic, horror, sisterly love, bloody revenge, and unexpected alliances. The themes are very heavy, but handled well. It's only the second book I've been able to finish in the past month; the pacing is done so well, and the story is so engaging, I couldn't put it down. While I know many people do not find revenge narratives satisfying, I absolutely do and this book delivers. I'm much looking forward to cracking open future books by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Trafficking, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Pedophilia and Suicide
Minor: Sexual assault
While there are no details on page, the entire island Alice lives on is engaged in frequent child sex trafficking due to extreme poverty.mirto's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The Bee King was gripping. I read it in 2 days! And even though I do think the fast pace helped with that, I felt like it was too fast paced. It was hard to connect to the characters the way I would've wanted. There were some inconsistencies that I didn't think were wholly fixed, namely the main character breaking rules and traditions and it actually working fine for her, we would expect a bit more pushback from the other characters. Revenge is a big part of the plot, but I can't say I was satisfied with the way the MC got her revenge.
That being said, I did enjoy the book. I really loved that this was NOT romance and yet love was one of the main themes. The plot twists did leave me surprised, even though there were indeed many hints when I thought back on it. I liked that the main character was valued not for things like beauty or intelligence, but her strength. It's not something we often see in books and I loved that a lot, that she was perfectly enough even if she didn't fit the common standards of what society finds valuable in women. The research for the book was clearly an important step when writing it and I found myself doing research myself on things I had learnt through the book. The cover is very beautiful and I think it's perfect both as an expression of the plot and to catch the eye of readers everywhere.
Finally, I want to add that I will be interested in reading future books of this author, because I expect great and lovely things. Can't wait for the next one!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
That being said, I did enjoy the book. I really loved that this was NOT romance and yet love was one of the main themes. The plot twists did leave me surprised, even though there were indeed many hints when I thought back on it. I liked that the main character was valued not for things like beauty or intelligence, but her strength. It's not something we often see in books and I loved that a lot, that she was perfectly enough even if she didn't fit the common standards of what society finds valuable in women. The research for the book was clearly an important step when writing it and I found myself doing research myself on things I had learnt through the book. The cover is very beautiful and I think it's perfect both as an expression of the plot and to catch the eye of readers everywhere.
Finally, I want to add that I will be interested in reading future books of this author, because I expect great and lovely things. Can't wait for the next one!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
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