Name: Between You, Me, and the Honeybees
ISBN: 9781534453005

Amelia Diane Coombs

Josie wants to take over her family's business, Hazeldine Honey, but is lying to her mother and best friend about starting college in the fall, and secretly dating Ezra, the grandson of her mother's nemesis.

Between You, Me, and the Honeybees

Perfect for fans of Jenn Bennett and Sarah Dessen, this swoon-worthy novel follows a teen girl during her California summer of beekeeping, secrets, and stolen kisses. Josie Hazeldine has just graduated from high school, and she’s ready for a summer full of sunshine, beekeeping, and…lying to her mom. Josie’s mom couldn’t be more proud of her daughter going to college, something she never got to do. But Josie wants to stay in her California hometown and take over the family business, Hazeldine Honey. So that college acceptance her mom is thrilled about? Yeah, Josie turned it down. But she’s going to come clean—just not yet. The neighbor’s artsy, adorable grandson who’s in town for the summer makes Josie’s web of lies even more tangled. He’s into Josie and the feeling is very mutual, but he’s a Blumstein—the sworn enemy of the Hazeldines and their number one competition in the annual Honey Show at the end of July. As their secret fling goes on, Josie knows she’s getting in way too deep to leave him behind when summer’s over. Can Josie keep the boy she can’t stop thinking about without the secrets she’s juggling crashing down around her?

Abby Peek

This was a great book to round out my summer reading. It was light, fun, and honestly just enjoyable to read. The romance was sweet, and I actually enjoyed learning about the honeybees (it was obvious Coombs was very knowledgeable about the subject too, which is awesome). 

A huge point of praise for me is the positive mental health representation in this book. I personally haven’t read too many books with characters who have social anxiety specifically, and as someone who also deals with it, I was thankful to see it in a book for young adults. I know that my teenage self would’ve felt so seen if I had read this back in high school.

My only cons are that there seemed to be more telling rather than showing—which made it hard for me to fully let myself sink into the story/world—and that some of the dialogue was a bit cheesy, specifically regarding the romance. Even so, I found myself rooting for Josie and Ezra and on the edge of my seat in the latter half of the book, wanting to find out what would happen next. Would recommend this book!

Kate

this had honeybees, beekeeping and anxiety rep, of course I was going to enjoy it.

Between You, Me, and the Honeybees

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