I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

I really liked this one! I also featured it on my account: :https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq5dZqyneQR/

Keeper of the Bee's is a book that I wasn't expecting to fall in love with, but I did. Though I haven't read anything by author Meg Kassel before, I'm very much interested in checking out more in the future! This is just one of those books I haven't stopped thinking about since I read it, and I'm glad. And not in the way that something's missing, just thinking back and appreciating it.

Though the character of a boy full of bees isn't a brand new idea, it is something that I don't read about hardly ever, especially when he's basically immortal, lonely, a murderer, and just looking for a direction in life other than killing. The other main character in this book, who the viewpoint rotates to throughout the book, is a young girl who suffers from a mental illness like schizophrenia, but isn't. She and the other women in her family just call it a curse, as it affects a lot of them. It's draining, but she knows what she needs to do to keep it mostly under control, and that is chewing on peppercorns to cut through the hallucinations. However, when she meets the boy full of bees with the face that won't make up it's mind, the peppercorns just don't cut it.

Though this book is part of a series that I haven't been caught up in, it was an amazing standalone novel as well, and I loved every minute of it. I'd love to check out the other book as well. My only complain I have about it, is that it always seems really weird and kind of makes me uncomfortable when an immortal man who looks like a young man, begins a relationship with a teenage girl. Wouldn't that just be a really old man who looks young dating a teen girl?

The story follows the two as they have to face their problems, learn to love despite those problems, and also save the entire town from crazy mythological beings that bring death everywhere they go. I thought it was really unique, and it was something I really enjoyed getting to learn everything about. I didn't have any questions that weren't answered by the end of the book, and that's just how I like it. I couldn't get enough of it.

Overall, this is a book that I won't forget about anytime soon. Though I read it over a month ago, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it, and would love to get a physical copy for my bookshelf just to have and read whenever the mood strikes. I recommend checking it out if you like cute love stories about accepting your partner no matter what their problems are, and however magical they are, which is mixed with murder, mystery, and fantastic creatures that I've never even imagined before.


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For whatever reason like a total FOOL I never properly reviewed this book 100% like I should have, which is an utter SHAME because it's a fantastic book and I love it to pieces. I received a e-book copy from NetGalley in 2018, reviewed it on SpeculativeChic.com and then the second it came out I bought the hardcover copy. No way was I going to wait for the paperback, plus I've never been a big fan of ebooks (just not my style).

This book is so different in terms of the ideas that Meg Kassel has come up with, from a curse involving bees living inside of a boy named Dresden to the bizarre things that Essie sees due to her mental issues (...or are they mental issues? Can't say - it would spoil things!). The two are such an odd pair, but they mesh wonderfully together and it's easy to love both of them. Plenty of YA novels have a dark, brooding boy, and a girl who is inexplicably attracted to him. But here the voices given to the characters are strong so you get a powerful sense of the kind of people they are. Moreover, each person has ties to something stronger than them that has influenced how they’ve developed over the years (or in Dresden’s case, centuries).

The story itself is excellent – many different threads to follow, all of which have their own conclusion and tie themselves off nicely. You may have one or two questions at then end, but they're not too pressing and perhaps they'll be addressed in future books from Meg Kassel. Once I finished with this book, I went back and read her first one set in the same universe, Black Bird of the Gallows, who's characters briefly pop up in this one. It was fun, but I still love this one more and since first reading it, have gone back to give it a second, third, fourth, and many more re-reads.

A tad better than the first but this is a good story buried in the cheesy romance that would have been more successful had it been published in 2005.

Going into this book, I didn't realize that it was part of a series. Despite being part of a series though, I found it to be a good stand-alone. I will definitely be reading the other books in the series after how great this book was. It's such a creative premise: Dresden is a beekeeper, whose job is to have his bees sting people that would likely turn into violent people and cause chaos and follow harbingers of death to areas that are marked for death. Dresden's body is literally a hive full of bees. Essie sees things. When she first sees Dresden, she thinks he is a hallucination. The romance between these two is amazing and is a slow burn. I loved that I got a lot of "Beauty and the Beast" vibes, but in a way that I wasn't groaning or tired of what was happening between the two. Definitely check this book out!

Thank you for providing a copy of this book for review however I was unable to open the file for this document unfortunately! Apologies.

Loved reading this! I wasn't sure what to expect, but this book is so much more than I first thought! So good!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this early copy.


I recommend checking out this series, it was unique and well-written.

Love this series and this book was a credit to it. This author has done a great job with world building and crafted characters you love and love to hate...excellent read and I can't wait for more.

-- I received an eARC of this title via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity --

I really enjoyed this title and it's unique setting. Essie, a young girl who has visions and sees things that other people don't - and is thus thought to be insane - struggles with life, and expectations of unsupportive family members. Until she meets Dresden, a 'beekeeper', a sort of supernatural reaper operating through bees, and she starts to realize that there is more to the world and her family's history of insanity than she had thought.

I really appreciate the well-thought out portrayal of mental illness, making it part of the character and story, but not the only focus. I felt with Essie a lot, and loved the organically growing relationship between her and Dresden, as well as the relationship to her aunt and grandmother. It is a detailed, slow-burning story, which captivated me completely.

A fabulous read!

It was only after I finished this book that I realised that this was a part of a series. So it is good to be as a standalone.
Now for the book itself, it was a delightful read. Dresden lives with a hive of bees in his chest and Essie is cursed with hallucinations and delusions. It may sound a bit weird, but it really does not stop you from reading the book at one go.
Even the slow pace of this book is not off-putting at all. It makes is more of a meandering read and that makes it a bit endearing.
The characters, the writing, the emotions - all of it are what I love about this book.
Definitely recommend!

'Keeper of the Bees' is easily one of my favorite books of this year so far. I absolutely loved Black Bird of the Gallows when I read it last year, so I had high hopes and expectations for this companion novel. I was not disappointed in the least. It was just as good as BBotG and I loved it more than I thought I was going to. Every single aspect of the story was wonderfully done from the characters to the plot and everything in between.

One major thing I want to talk about is the author's writing style. The book is written in alternating perspectives - both Essie and Dresden. Both of their sections of the story is told from the first person point of view, which is by far my favorite style. I think the reader gets to connect on a deeper level when the author uses this writing style, which definitely happened with Essie and Dresden for me. I loved getting to know each of them throughout the book. They each were realistic in their own ways with flaws and positive traits, which allowed me to identify with them both early on in the story. I also loved watching Essie and Dresden's relationship begin, change, and then grow as the book progressed. I was hooked from the very first sentence and didn't quit reading until I had finished the entire book in one sitting.

The other aspects of the book were well done - the author uses detailed description and vivid imagery to bring the story to life. We got to learn some of the history of the curses that involve the Harbingers, Beekeepers, and Straw Men in BBotG, and I loved getting to learn even more in this book. The lore behind each of them as well as the background and the curse is incredibly intriguing to me and I hope the author writes another book in the same world so we can learn more. I can't recommend this book highly enough - as well as the companion novel, Black Bird of the Gallows. Perfect for fans of YA fantasy, paranormal, contemporary, and romance. I'll be waiting and praying for another book in this fascinating and enchanting world!

I found this book by Ms. Kassel to be very captivating. She hit on a topic that was very different than most that are out there now. She wrote characters that were strong and fascinating. Not knowing what to expect I fell in love and can’t wait for the rest of the series. Since I also didn’t get a chance to read the first in the series I am off to get a copy.

It is hard to write a review and not give a lot of the story line away. There was so much that happened in the story and with the characters that choosing what to tell and what not to can be hard at times.

Essie is a seventeen year old that lives with her very sweet aunt. She is destined to be cursed just like those that came before her. She has a hard time focusing on reality. Most would say she is delusional.

She meets Dresden, someone who carries a very heavy burden around with him. He has a live hive of bees in his chest. The bees feed off of hate and anger. When they sting it strengthens from use of the negative energy/emotion; eventually causing death. For someone so young he carries the faces of many within in. They are always trying to get out …he changes his appearance not wanting to but because of the curse.

Essie sees more, she isn’t afraid of him or the bees. Although the bees want to sting her, Dresden feels no negativity in Essie so he has to hold the bees off. He feels good.

I loved the sweetness between these characters as they found friendship with each other which turned slowly into a blossoming love. Ms. Kassel wrote this with warmth that tugged at my heartstrings. I felt strong emotions with these two which I will carry for a long time.

I enjoyed Essie and Dresden they were original characters. The story had depth and a uniqueness that was all its own. Ms. Kassel gave us an odd story with a strangeness that was mysterious and magical holding me the reader captivated. I can’t wait for the next story in this series. Until than I am going to read the first book and find another amazing soul…

Meg Kassel has another smashing hit on her hands!!

This is a companion novel to Black Bird of the Gallows. They can be read separately and not in order and I loved each of these book equally as they very unique in their stories.

Keeper of the Bees is a YA fantasy novel about Dresden who is cursed as a beekeeper and Essie who is bound with her own curse.

As a beekeeper, his life curse is too infect those who have been marked with a bee sting and then once they pass, he takes on their face - sounds creepy but it is quite interesting.

Essie's curse is one that has been passed down through he family for generations. And it's only considered a curse because it a condition only affects select members within her family.

I love the whole vibe of this book - fantasy and mystery with a bit of romance tied in. The whole aspect of how Essie's family curse began and what has happened over the decades with them is very interesting and how Dresden plays into it all makes for quite the entertaining read.

The characters, the writing and the the mystery of what is going on in the town; how the Harbingers, Strawman and Beekeepers play into everything - it's ever element playing their intricate part to make up a this amazing fairy tale. I couldn't stop reading this book.

Meg has definitely made a name for herself in the YA fantasy genre an I cannot wait to see what she brings us next!

Everything I loved about BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS is present in KEEPER OF THE BEES. With its plot fitting the typical YA paranormal romance mold, the standout again is Kassel's creativity in her world building.

Though I think that reading KEEPER OF THE BEES was made more enjoyable by the fact that I had the background of the world from BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS, I don't think it's necessary to understand what's going on. These are companion novels, and KEEPER OF THE BEES does spoil the ending of BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS, but they are separate entities in the same universe. We do get to learn a bit more about the history of the beekeepers and the other magical creatures that inhabit this world, and I found those bits to be some of the most interesting in the book.

What KEEPER OF THE BEES does extraordinarily well is make you reconsider what you learned in BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS about who the bad guy is. While the beekeeper characters creeped me out to no end in BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS, the beekeeper in this book, Dresden, is the love interest. Though the whole "I'm a centuries old magical teenager" thing is a bit weird, it's certainly not unheard of in YA romance. Essie is an interesting character, but not as fully fleshed out as Angie in BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS, in part because Essie seemed so defined by her illness, with little else going on in her life - she was homeschooled and we never learn much about her interests.

While I felt like the creep factor in BLACK BIRD OF THE GALLOWS came from the beekeepers, in this book it seemed to come from the visions that Essie experienced. Being in Essie's head was hard - she has delusions and hallucinations, and is also on medications that make her feel weird as well. Some of the hallucinations were written so vividly that I shuddered at the images they created in my mind.

While there's a lot going on in KEEPER OF THE BEES, Kessel deftly pulls together all the threads in the end. Though the basic plot doesn't stray from your standard teen romance, there's enough going on with the world that it's enjoyable outside of that.

“Keeper of the bees” è il secondo volume di una serie urban fantasy di Meg Kassel edito da Entangled: Teen e in uscita il 4 settembre. Io naturalmente me ne sono innamorata immediatamente solo dalle premesse, che mi hanno conquistato solo con la parola “api”. Ma d’altronde si sa, io le ossessioni mica le curo, le alimento. Sono stata tanto fortunata da avere una copia in anteprima, in cui immergermi e che mi ha fatto compagnia in un lunghissimo viaggio verso il mare.

Vi potrei raccontare come nasce la mia fissazione per le api, ma poi toglierei tutto il fascino che nasconde e preferisco tenere per me questo amore solido e viscerale. Eppure appena leggo “api” mi devo impossessare del titolo e “Keeper of the bees” non ha fatto eccezioni. Ammetto di essere stata un po’ inquietata dal fatto che un intero alveare risiede addirittura nel petto di un ragazzo costretto da secoli a convivere con uno sciame dotato di una propria volontà che spesso diventa totalmente indipendente. Eppure, non se ne può prescindere perché il fulcro di tutta la storia ruota intorno alla volontà di Dresden di liberare o no le sue api, e chi decide di pungere e chi no. Potrebbe sembrare l’incontro impossibile tra due emarginati, eppure finisce per essere una storia in cui ci si interroga molto su cosa è giusto e cosa è sbagliato, ma soprattutto quali sono le conseguenze delle proprie azioni. Perché non c’è niente di semplice o lineare, ogni passo che compiamo è la somma delle nostre segrete speranze, l’incedere lento verso la risoluzione dei nostri atti. E da un lato c’è appunto Dresden questo uomo dall’aspetto di diciottenne e il peso di secoli sulle spalle, plasmato dagli eventi che ha provocato con le sue api, incapace di vedere oltre il velo di disperazione che gli casca addosso ogni volta che fa un passo verso il futuro. Dresden compie gli stessi gesti da così tanto tempo che viene scosso dal profondo da una ragazza come Essie che lo vede sul serio per la prima volta, che sfugge da ogni logica perché il suo è un mondo irreale, fatto di spettri, apparizioni, visioni che offuscano il suo senso del reale e del tangibile. Ma quello che colpisce di Essie è la sua forza d’animo, il suo ottimismo, la sua volontà di superare ogni confine che sembra tenerla lontana dai suoi pensieri e la sua famiglia. Dresden che già sfugge alla logica, perché è un essere sovrannaturale, le renderà giustizia, in modi che neanche immagina. Insieme lotteranno, per loro stessi, per la città di Essi e soprattutto per la loro relazione appena sbocciata, che dovrà affrontare ogni prova, anche la più terribile.
Il worldbuilding della Kassel è straordinariamente minuzioso, pur fornendo pochissime spiegazioni sul modo in cui Dresden è diventato ciò che è, che in fondo era la parte che mi interessava di più, ma le descrizioni delle api sono molto accurate. Ed è questo l’elemento chiave che fa la differenza in tutta la storia.

Un racconto straordinaria di amore e lotta, una guerra tra bene e male che passa attraverso la normale vita di una cittadina del Midwest che si riempie di terrore e paranormale, in cui le api, per una volta, non sono così buone come sembra.

I expected to enjoy Keeper Of The Bees, but noooo — I am utterly in love with this book. I just read Blackbird of the Gallows, which is the first in this series, and wildly liked it. It’s unique and dark and the characters are ones you’d casually go from “hey I like them” to “well wow son I’d die for them” all in the space of a few chapters. So good. And then waltzes in this companion book.

This is the book for those of us who fall in love with villains. It’s about mental illness and how people perceive it. It’s about monsters and murder. It’s about the sweetest and softest love between teens scared to hurt each other. IT IS DARK. AND SOFT™ TOO. And I am living for that combination.

Do you need to read Blackbird Of The Gallows first? Yes I think so! This is technically a companion story, so it DOES make sense and stand on it’s own. But there’s one chapter that references the ending of BOTG so it’d essentially spoil it if you read that first. This is all different characters, though, it’s just in the same world.

Hello again to our Harbingers and Beekeepers and DISASTER KIDS. So in Blackbird Of The Gallows, we feel sorry for the Beekeepers, but they were also total villains. Here? Get ready to have your heart mANGLED by the cursed Beekeeper, Dresden, who is grumpy and tragic and bitter…and utterly adorable. He is just so perpetually wounded and an absolute precious bucket and secretly so soft and sweet inside.

He wants to protect. He wants to be free of his curse. He’s a monster and he’s aware of it and I love how respectful his relationship with Essie was through it all. Like yes he’s an immortal, but it was never creepy thank goodness. Also he LOVED HER AND RESPECTED HER FOR WHO SHE WAS, illness and all.

Essie is the kind of protagonist you will want protect forever. She literally just breathes and I’m like, “IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO HER, I WILL BITE EVERYONE.” She’s sweet and precious (reminds me of Luna Lovegood)! Yes I like badass heroines, but I also love vulnerable ones. She has an illness that reads lik paranoid schizophrenia, but it has paranormal strands so the doctors can’t diagnose or treat her properly. But basically she sees things, hallucinates, and it really tramples her life.

I really appreciate the conversations that went down about mental health! The “bad” characters scorned it, obviously, and treated Essie horribly. But Essie didn’t spend the book hating herself! Her aunt loved her FOR HER. There was no “meet a boy and your problems are over”. I just appreciate that it didn’t trot out the “You have to be CURED to have a good life” messages. It also took time to unpack how people see those with mental illness as suspicious and monstrous because they don’t bother to understand you.

The romance was super cute! We have Dresden all, “I AM A TRAGIC MONSTER” and then we have Essie like “I CAN’T TELL IF YOU’RE EVEN REAL” and they are both so cuuuuuute. She doesn’t care that his face is always changing. They love each other for who they are not who they were. It’s super slow burn too and fajdsklad I ship this.

And again…LOVE this world of harbingers and tragedy! Move over vampires and werewolves, we have HARBINGERS OF DEATH and Strawmen and chaos-inciting Beekeepers whose mouths and lungs are full of bees. The lore is interesting and backstory is explored. And I’m so captivated! Also harbinger crows vs beekeeper chaos boys are NOT supposed to be friends, buuuut we have Michael who forcefully befriends Dresden and they are tHE BEST.

I am of the opinion that this one is total beautiful perfection. It’s heartfelt and emotional and I love how it unmakes those who should be monstrous and shows the real monsters of this world.

I enjoyed Black Bird of the Gallows, but if I had to choose between the first and the second, I loved the second so much better than the first.
Keeper of the Bees is Meg Kassel’s second novel, the companion novel to Black Bird of the Gallows. We’re brought back to the world of harbringers and beekeepers in a smol town in Missouri (hey, look, my home state!) and their roles in death.

Keeper of the Bees is a bit of a villain story.
Harbringers flock to where death happens and “absorb” the energy emitted. Beekeepers usually cause the death by using their bees to sting someone, resulting in them reaching their destruction (aka death). Keeper of the Bees tells the story of Dresden, a boy cursed for eternity, and Essie, a girl who eats peppercorn to discern real from unreal.

Dresden is a precious onion with layers despite being Evil™.
Most villains are evil and pure evil, but Dresden is a precious little onion who is cursed to be evil. He doesn’t want to be evil and shows that he doesn’t want to be evil. Throughout the novel, he’s struggling to not sting Essie despite the bees inside wanting him to do so.

Aunt Bel is amazing, and I just want to hug her.
Essie is part of the Wickerton family, a family with members who are cursed to lose their sanity and eventually end up at Stanton House. Essie’s curse is not being able to tell what is real and unreal, at least without the help of peppercorns. Both her and Aunt Bel are in a constant battle with her father and psychiatrist when it comes to her mental health and sending her to Stanton House with other members. Aunt Bel is such a strong advocate for Essie and her Grandma Edie, and she refuses to give in to what Essie’s father and psychiatrist want for Essie.

Reece! Angie! References to the first novel!
Do you have to read the first novel? Nawh, you don’t have to since Kassel gives the 411 on her world for those who haven’t read the first, so you’re safe to dive into Keeper of the Bees without worrying about being totally lost, but you should definitely read Black Bird of the Gallows first.

Overall, Keeper of the Bees was a delight to read! I loved seeing from the other side of things where the supposed “villain” is in a constant battle to be a better person.

I wasn’t really sure what I got myself into when I started reading. Keeper of the Bees has a very strange narration. It’s both stunted and flowing, and I’m not sure how the author even managed to make those two adjectives work in the same novel. It did work though. The prose made the story standout.

It’s odd to think of a character like Dresden as beautiful. He’s a real life monster who, at the start of Keeper of the Bees, has become jaded after centuries of being cursed as a beekeeper. I liked Dresden so much. Essie was so original too. The pink bubbles that float out of her mouth when she laughs was almost a perfect way to describe the light inside Essie.

I think the only reason I’m not giving Keeper of the Bees 5 stars was because of the romance. There were moments I was hooked by their relationship, especially with how fragile Essie felt paired with the ancientness of Dresden. However there were also moments when I was dissatisfied. I needed more of a commitment in the end. Time to see Dresden and Essie after the dust settled. Maybe it’ll come in another book.