One of my absolute favorite themes in fiction is 'found family.' Author Eileen Garvin executes this beautifully in The Music of Bees.

Alice is orphaned and widowed by her early 40's and is struggling to carry on "Alice's Island"' not needing or depending on anyone, except her hives of honeybees.

Jake, 18, reluctantly and bitterly is adjusting to his new life as a paraplegic. He is stuck at home with a meek mother and abusive father, while the rest of the world moves on.

Harry is 24 and completely adrift, trying to figure out how not to be a screw-up.

When life's accidents bring them all together, bound by a common purpose, they find out they are better together and each finds their way back to themselves.

Garvin intros each chapter with information about the honeybee, queen and hive. This story is an exploration of grief, trauma, and anxiety, But told against the backdrop of the honeybees it is also a lovely commentary on community, and what it means to build and maintain one. The author also weaves in the danger of chemicals to the environment at large and watersheds and bees specifically.

As books often do, this one came to be at a perfect time. This is Garvin's debut and I will be anxiously anticipating her next release.

Many thanks to author Eileen Garvin, Dutton Books and NetGalley for the free e-book in exchange for my honest review.

The Music of Bees is destined to be one of my favorite books of 2021. I absolutely loved not only the description of the bees and their life cycle, but the friendships that developed between three people that wouldn't necessarily seem like they would fit together. Similar to the roles the bees have in the hives, Jake, Harry, and Alice find a way to partner together to not only help each other, but to ultimately help save their way of life. I loved everything about this book. It's destined to be one that I share with all of my friends and tell everyone I know that they must read. Congrats to Eileen Garvin on her debut novel. All the wows.

Thank you NetGalley and Dutton Books for the opportunity to read this advance copy. Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me. It could be a case of bad timing, but I suspect I’m just not the right reader for this book. Although it was marketed for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, the writing style reminded me more of a Katherine Center novel (a hugely popular author who is a bit hit & miss for me). I never felt fully immersed in the story. I liked the characters, but I don’t feel like I got to know them beyond a surface level. I wasn’t invested enough in the story to get through the technical descriptions of bee keeping. This book will surely find a large appreciative audience, but it didn’t draw me in enough to take my attention away from all the other books on my to be read shelf. I abandoned this book at 40%. Because I didn’t finish this book, I will not publish a review. I did publish a pub day feature, which I have linked.

This was one of the sweetest & most heartwarming books I’ve read lately.

The Music of Bees is about three lonely and vastly different people. They’re all struggling with grief and dealing with the absolutely crazy things life throws at us. When they’re brought together by an unlikely hobby of beekeeping, they become a ragtag sort of family with an unbreakable bond.

This was truly such a lighthearted and cute book. It had a lot of deeper aspects showing how people deal with grief and panic attacks, but the message was all about happiness and finding your “real” family.

Liked:
-Characters & their backstories
-Bee farm/small town setting
-Happy Ending

Disliked:
-Little too much description in regards to beekeeping for my taste

This book gave me major Hoot vibes - if you read that as a kid. 😂 The underdogs vs a corporation kind of plot! If you’re looking for something light and easy this would be a good choice.

I had no expectations of this going in. I grabbed a copy from NetGalley after re-upping my name on the Dutton ARC/Review copy list and if I'm honest I totally chose it because of the cover and the lyricalness of the title.

I was so glad when I started reading that I fell right into it. Garvin has a way of building place and chosen family that does sometimes feel slow—it's like COME ON you're totally going to be BFFs forever we all can see it, just get there—but really is the perfect pace. She also clearly has s huge respect for bees and their place in the pollination cycle.

But what I really took away from this book is that Garvin really knows how to write a book about healing. I'm not sure where she drew her inspiration, but all three stories in the split narrative really spoke to me. And I'm talking better than nonfiction/self-help books that specifically try to address grief and sorry, which is saying something.

Sorrow releases us from common constraints, and in our grief we can be our true selves. If others choose to witness that, to truly see us, well, it changes everything. (Chapter 17)

Of the three, Jake, Alice and Harry, I most identified with Jake for some reason even though I had the least in common with him. His change of attitude/mindset and discovery of beekeeping was just the best and the way he went at it with such passion just really spoke to me. And toward the end when he meets a love interest and he realizes between her, the bees, and his chosen family he has so much to live for I just couldn't help but sit there with a big grin on my face and a tear in my eye.

He felt better and realized that being alone isn't always bad. Sometimes being by yourself is better than keeping the wrong company. He felt happy, choosing that. He still had no clear plan, no job and no friends here. But it was OK. Somehow, he knew it was going to be ok. And he would go see his uncle at the hospital tomorrow. (Chapter 7)

Harry was probably the slowest character to develop, but his story was just as impactful as Jake's and he came just as far with hurdles stemming from anxiety and confidence. And the way Garvin wrote the final scene, I was pleasantly surprised and realized how much of Harry's mindset I had gotten into and again I teared up. She made the right decision putting his last and starting the chapter/section the way she did. I definitely went from a resigned low to a giddy high when I realized what was happening/had happened!

As long as she made it to the county planning department by 8:30 am five days a week, no one had to know that Alice Holtzman was made of a million tiny broken pieces held together by cookies, solitary driving and the sheer determination not to go crazy in public. (Chapter 12)

And Alice, what can I say. The maturest character and the surprise mother of this ragtag bunch gave life to a post-partner's death mid-40s bureaucrat finding a new version of herself and finally dealing with the grief of her husband's loss and realizing that she doesn't have to or even want to be alone anymore. I really liked Garvin's description of Alice Island and the opening up of it to a visitor or two. I also hope/assume that she gets another chance at love with her contact at the watershed group! It definitely felt like it was going that way.

The other two big characters in the novel were the bees, perfectly done and fascinatingly written, and the location. If ever there was a fictional work that could use pictures or diagrams this was it. I wanted to see Jake's drawings, I wanted to see the beehives and the honeycombs. The publisher did a good job with the (I'm assuming real nonfiction) quotes about bees at the beginning of each chapter, but hand drawn/sketched things would've been a great addition. And the location, a small rural town in Oregon, was perfect and acted as a character in its own right. From the small-town vibes of everyone knowing everyone else to the description of the kite boarders on the river and the orchards, bee fields, and planning office it felt so real.

The one concern I had was about halfway through when a large portion of Alice's hives collapsed due to pesticide and I worried the book might go too far into the environmental/bees are important side of thing (which yes, 100% they are more people need to know about this), but I didn't want the humanness of the story to be lost. Thankfully, it wasn't, and we saw each of the three characters experience a protest and arrest and how they each handled it and thought they would've handled it pre-bee life and it just worked. This wasn't a negative, but I know some people will get suspicious like I did when it happens, so I thought I'd mention it.

Recommendation: I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I had no expectations going into it and thoroughly enjoyed the read with personable characters, a great setting, and so many life lessons about grief and sorrow. It reads quick but stays with you which isn't something you usually say together. And randomly, I LOVED the shoutout for Winesap apples! (Wikipedia link) There's an orchard up here that has them and they're my all time favorite apples but pretty hard to find.

Loving this book by Garvin. I am so happy I got to read this. Only some books can draw you in right from the beginning and I am pretty sure that is exactly what you will feel when you start reading The Music Of Bees.

Three unlikely friends-teenager Jake who is wheelchair-bound after a recent accident, middle-aged Alice who is still suffering the loss of her beloved husband, and 24-year-old Harry who is struggling to find his way in the world-come together through beekeeping.

What a sweet story. It is apparent the author is very knowledgeable about beekeeping and although some of it went over my head, it was fascinating to read all the same and how it was woven into the story.

The character development in this book was exceptional and Jake is one of my favorite characters I have read in a long time. I strongly recommend this to readers who like character-driven, emotional (but not overly so) contemporary novels.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

How often do you come across a book that touches your soul? When you find them, you start telling everyone about it, right? Well, get ready to hear a lot about this one because I'm in love.

On the surface, this story is about a grieving widow, a paraplegic teen, and a young felon who bond through beekeeping. (This is where I smile because already you just know this book has no "surface" with that sort of premise.)

The beauty of Garvin's writing is in the details of each character and how they resonated with me immediately. The preoccupation of a cool haircut for a teenager. The practicality of making a pro/con list as a crutch for making the "right" decisions. The release that comes from the wind while driving with the windows down. Each of these moments sings from the character's struggle to just be-e (yes, of course, the puns are back) in a world where things continue to stack against them.

Three unlikely people are brought together in the most beautiful way to find the strengths and possibilities of an extended family... a chosen family. All of this with the delicate and fascinating backdrop of nurturing bees in a dangerous world of big corporate pesticides and factory farming.

If you need to feel hope and love for humanity... don't miss this book. It manages to connect nature to the human condition in such a beautiful way... in a way that you need. Then come back and let's talk bees. I'm clearly obsessed with them... even more now that I understand some of their habits and strengths. Rarely does a book make you laugh, cry, feel, and think all in the span of a few hundred pages. This author is going on my Must-Read list after only one book.

I really enjoyed this book from almost the first page. I just felt for all of these characters and I was unprepared for how they would come together into one cohesive story. The author was masterful at describing the characters, their interactions and all in the context of beekeeping. I actually learned so much about beekeeping and the music of bees is beautiful!

This book will make you feel so good. The Music of Bees comes out TODAY April 27, 2021, you can purchase HERE, and I hope you consider reading this one!

Jake didn't have the words to explain what he felt when Alice handed him the frame from the beehive that first morning. He was simply overwhelmed by the beauty of it. The wooden rectangle hung heavy in his fingers as he drew it toward his face. He saw a tapestry of multi-colored pollen, capped honey and glistening nectar. He breathed in the sweet aroma of fresh beeswax and fermented honey and felt the thrum of a thousand tiny bodies vibrating in unison. It hit him in the heart like a drug.

Are you looking for your next feel good read? Looking to escape Covid for a little while and disappear inside an book? Look no further than Eileen Garvin's just released debut novel, The Music of Bees.

Alice has withdrawn from friends, family, neighbours and more following a series of heartbreaks. She goes to work and then goes straight home. She is alone except for her beloved bees. "Alice kept certain thoughts behind a firmly closed door in her mind..."

She literally runs into eighteen year old Jake one evening - and knocks him out of his wheelchair. Jake too has withdrawn from his friends, interests and his dysfunctional family. "He hated what he had done to his stupid life and that he had no one else to blame. He was broken in a way that could not be undone."

Harry has been living with his great uncle in a condemned trailer, hiding from his past, his parents and any social interactions. "Harry, stuck as he was between the recent debacle of his past and the uncertainty of his future, was happy to pause here, suspended between what he had done and what he might make of himself."

Three people that have no idea how to fix themselves - but maybe together they can find a way.

Alice's beehives touch each character in a different way and become the propolis that cements their friendships. What is propolis you ask? Well, it's "glue-like material is used by bees to build their hives and fix any cracks and tears and also creates an even and hard surface inside the beehive." I learned that and much more about bees, hive life etc. in The Music of Bees. It was only on finishing the book and reading the author's bio that I discovered Garvin is a beekeeper herself. Her knowledge and love of bees certainly shows in her descriptions and settings. Take the time to read the bee quotes at the beginning of every chapter - they directly tie into what's happening with Alice, Jake and Harry.

All three characters are so wonderfully drawn and the reader can't help but feel their pain and hope that they can heal and go forward. There are antagonists as well - some particularly nasty co-workers for Alice and a "nefarious pesticide company".

Having a friend is the start and from there goals, a purpose, courage, happiness and yes, even love seems possible again for each of the three. The Music of Bees is uplifting, heartbreaking and heartwarming. An excellent read - and especially now.

Bees have always been more of a nuisance than cool creature to me, but this book has helped change my perspective and foster respect for these surprisingly organized and female-oriented species. All hail the Queen of the Bees!

I’ve been reading a lot of intense (but good!) books lately, so this charmer was like a ray of sunshine. Plus, it organically incorporated some truly cool and eye-opening facts about bees (author Garvin is a beekeeper).

I adored this book! Alice is a middle-aged woman who’s lost her parents and husband, but has found a measure of solace in beekeeping. Yet, she’s still mostly alone. When she almost ends up hitting a mohawked boy in a wheelchair on the side of the road, her life truly starts to change. The boy, Jake, has his own wounds. After a fall at a party, Jake has to learn how to live his life as a paraplegic. His angry, volatile father further affects Jake’s sense of self, family, and coping with his new reality. Recruited by Alice to help at her farm with her beehives, Jake seems to find the purpose and place his life’s been lacking. Harry, another young man who’s emotionally damaged and lost, also ends up at Alice’s farm. The friendships forged between this trio form the emotional core of the book. While the specific character narratives and the environmental storyline about harmful pesticides doing serious damage to the orchards and bee populations do speak to serious issues—it’s ultimately a story about love. This sweet and heartwarming story reminds us that, like real life, love, friendship, and forgiveness have the ability to soothe the emotional wounds of tragedy and the challenges of life. It’s also a love letter to bees and the invaluable place they have in the life cycle of our environment.

If you’re looking for a bookish pick-me-up or just a charming story that reminds us how humanity can heal, this is the book for you.

Much thanks to @NetGalley and @DuttonBooks for the free eBook in exchange for an honest review.

THIS BOOK BLEW ME AWAY. Three total strangers struggling with inner anxiety, grief, and issues.... find each other by chance and at a hobby Oregon bee farm, find themselves and the family/love that they needed in life. This book greatly reminded me of: Tell the Wolves I'm Home, Harry's Tress, and Elinor Oliphant.

Heartbreaking and uplifting, I found myself laughing and crying and so in love with each character.

From the first chapter, Garvin pulls at your heartstrings and emotions. Each of the three main characters are so emotionally wrecked, yet delicate and wonderful in every way. There is an innocence in each and you just want to scoop them up and hug each of them. I loved all of the bee/beekeeping knowledge - it truly was fascinating and I loved how each person found their footing in the most unlikely of places: Alice's hobby farm.

Do yourself a favor and order this book, block a weekend off, and devour it. Cannot recommend it enough.

Characters to love. In the beginning the anxiety, depression and hopelessness of the three main characters was so palpable. Their brokenness weighed heavy, but you knew a turnaround was imminent. The plot that caused the lives of Alice, Jake, and Harry to intersect was masterfully written. I'd say the dialogue was concise and spot on. The environmental themes related to protecting pollinators and avoiding crop protection products that are lethal to honeybees and other insects is a contemporary issue that gives this book some teeth. The activism of our three main protagonists along with Stan and other likeminded characters was a central theme in this contemporary novel. Each of the main protagonists found their way to a beautiful and bright new path, that was ideally suited to their well-being and future
growth. Garvin has delivered an exceptional book.

3.5 stars

Bees. Strangers. Friendship. Community.

The Music of Bess (that cover!) is about three people who have nothing in common forming friendships with each other all while working at a local honeybee farm!

Forty-four Alice is reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. She works in a dead-end job and keeps bees in her spare time. She has begun having panic attacks when thinking about her life. While bringing home some Honeybees she almost hits Jake in his wheelchair.

Jake suffers a tragic injury in high school which leaves him a paraplegic. He also happens to have the highest mohawk in Hood River County and is living unhappily with his parents. While out in his wheelchair, he is almost run over by Alice. Due to his interest in her bees coupled with a toxic home environment, Alice offers Jake a job.

Henry is a twenty-four-year-old with social anxiety disorder. He wants/needs to find a job and responds to a part time position that Alice has posted. He is shocked when he is hired. He has a secret and isn't quite ready to share it.

They have nothing in common, and yet bees (and Alice) bring them together. They become friends and give each other that human connection that all people need. They are further drawn together when a pesticide company moves to town and threatens the honeybee population.

Anxiety plays a part in the story as does the need for connection, community, finding purpose, feeling useful and belonging. Each chapter begins with facts about bees so you may learn some information on them as well.

This was a solid and touching debut which does not disappoint. Is it predictable? Yes, but that did not affect my enjoyment or the journey this book takes readers on. We see each character grow and bloom when they get to know each other and ban together to fight for the bees.

Heartwarming, captivating and moving.


Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sometimes you meet people when you least expect it, and they hurt in the same ways you do. Grief, pain, heartbreak, and anxiety find hope in this debut story by Eileen Garvin.

I found the title of this story to be very heartwarming since my reading name is BusyBeeReads.

This story is uplifting and wraps you up in a hug in ways you don't think it will. The Music of Bees shows us that friendship comes in all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages.

I hope you love Alice and Harry as much as I do.

This is a delightful (and educational!) novel of people turning their lives around. Alice, a widow, is unhappily working at the County Planning Department while expanding her hobby beekeeping. Jake, a teen, is paraplegic and grasping when Alice accidentally hits him and then takes him home with her. Harry, a 24 year old who served time in prison and now is in Oregon for a fresh start, takes a job with Alice to do the carpentry and odd jobs she can't. The possible introduction of a new pesticide in the area galvanizes Alice and well, no spoilers. I learned a lot about bees, as does Jake, who has such an affinity for them that he can hear the sound of a queen in a hive. This isn't all sweetness- there's some very sad stuff- but the novel is buoyed by the generosity of characters such as Yogi, Noah, and Celia. Alice, who always viewed herself as an island, forms a family with the unlikely pair of young men and their friends. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Not saccharine (she's quite tart) but heartwarming, this one is an excellent read for when you want a life.

The Music of the Bees is about three loners who find themselves in need of a sense of purpose – a need to belong, and an unlikely friendship forms between the three on a bee farm in Oregon. And much like their bees, who are united by a common bond, the three are united in their fight for the very survival of the bees. Eileen Garvin dedicates her book “for all the wild creatures and everyone who loves them.” For those of you who love the wonder of nature and believe in second chances, this beautifully crafted, uplifting book will leave you with a sense of hope. If I could give this book higher than 5 stars I would.

First off, let me say that I always root for the underdog, so I found the perfect book. Alice Holtzman’s dream is to be a successful beekeeper. She has kept the job she hated at the Hood River, Oregon planning department, but that is not her end goal. She is a widow. When a young paraplegic ends up moving in with her to escape his abusive father, she does not realize she has found the perfect partner in her beekeeping empire sitting in a wheelchair. It does not stop there, she ends up hiring another lost soul to help her build brood boxes and he ends up living with Jake and Alice. A pesticide company trying to sell pesticides which kill bees to the surrounding orchard owners, adds some structure to the story as they battle to keep it out, but basically it is a book about three lost souls who band together. Along the way, the reader will learn about bee keeping.

The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for a complimentary digital ARC for an honest review.

I found this a very heartwarming story. The three main characters have all had upheavals in their recent past that they are having trouble working through on their own. When Alice hires Jake and then Harry to assist with her beekeeping, they form an unexpected bond.
The characters were so realistic that you could feel their pain and pleasure once they get a new lease on life.

As the author is a beekeeper, she introduced a lot of bee information as part of the story, which I found quite interesting.

Looking forward to her next novel.

#TheMusicofBees #NetGalley

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley.

An unlikely group of strangers becomes family through a shared love for bees.