When Solma and her little brother Warren discover a bee, something that hasn't been seen in years, her brother becomes obsessed with it and they quickly decide to make it a secret so that the bee doesn't end up in the wrong hands, this means that they even have to keep this secret from their village leader. Solma doesn't want to keep this secret from him knowing that a secret is enough to get you exiled but she has no choice. They quickly learn the bee Warren has found is a honeybee and not only that but she is a queen and she needs a nest to lay her eggs. Along with the help of aunt Bell (Solma and Warren's guardian) the two of them make a nest in the ground of a tree trunk. They decide the location must be a secret because if anyone finds out that isn't supposed to then the whole species could be wiped out.

There were a lot of things I liked about this book, the fact that Solma was disabled is something that I can easily relate to as a disabled person myself. The world Fearnley has created feels lush and easily imaginable. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the fighting scenes they tended to happen to fast and make bad use of the English language. Overall I enjoyed this book more then I expected to and even though this is a trilogy I don't feel invested enough in the story to continue with the series, especially as I wasn't particularly happy with the ending of this story.

This is a dystopic story about a world where there are no more bees, and the world is slowly dying away… our main character Solma is very naive, or should I say, brainwashed… more than once I wanted to slap her and make her come to sense, because there are things that happen during the action that we the reader realize it didn’t happen the way Solma thought that did, she trusts too much Maxen (the son of the lieder of the town, in this book called the steward) Solma is kind of a puppet, thinking that reporting everything back to Blair (Maxen Dja) is the right thing to do…

She actually makes me mad because she sees what is wrong but she reasons with herself to make sense of what is senseless, yes more than once I wanted to slap her, and really think everyone would be much better without her… more than once she does the wrong thing while convincing herself that she is doing what is right… talk about being clueless… I realized what was happening way before Solma and believe me there’s no honour in that…

Warren is Solma little brother, and he is way more interesting than Solma and besides behaving like a child sometimes (he is 7) he really tries to do what is right… oh there’s a trans character in this book, the whole situation is keep very soft.

Actually the plot of the book makes lots of sense, and blume is a very likeable bee ^_~, the ending of book gives space for growing but it is also well resolved, well more or less, we kind of wish some people where punished in a harsher way…

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lightning Hyena Press, and Rebecca L. Fernley for the opportunity to read The Last Beekeeper in exchange for an honest review.

In the world of Alphor, people must grow crops through manual by-hand pollination. All the birds and bugs that used to help grow food with their pollination were lost over a hundred years ago in the Hive Wars.

Solma is a member of the faction in her village responsible for guarding the people and their crops. Out with her little brother, Warren, the two witness an absolute miracle: a bee climbs out of the ground. This miracle must be kept secret, as other nations, or even their own village, will resort to violence in the finding of the precious pollinator. 

In Solma's village, there are no secrets. There is rule and law, and everything must be reported to their Steward (basically the village leader), Blaiz. When Warren forms a strange bond with the bee, seeming to understand it, Solma isn't so sure she should be the upstanding citizen she knows herself to be, and she finds she must keep this bee a secret, at least for now.

With the help of their aunt, they find a place for the bee to live, and as a pregnant queen, she soon forms a hive. Secrets from the past come to life as reports of bees come to the Steward. But it's not just their village. Word has spread across the nation, and anyone will do anything if it means getting their hands on those pollinators, even if it means no one can have them.

This book, while set in a fantasy world, is reminiscent of the dystopian future we may face if we lose our pollinators. It really shows the importance of bees and other insects and their role in our functioning world.

I personally wasn't a huge fan of Solma, but the lens of seeing her younger brother through her third person perspective sheds an interesting light on the way people tend to judge children and their ideas. Children are far more perceptive than people know, and this book highlights that.

This is an interesting book for a young adult audience set in a world that may just hint to humanity's future if we aren't careful with how we interact with the world around us.

An interesting premise with good writing and a solid message for the intended audience. As interesting as the premise is, I found not addressing some of the broader implications of insect collapse and the strangeness of the setting a little too jarring to ever immerse myself fully.

When one tiny creature holds the fate of humanity, how do you stop it falling into the wrong hands?

Solma is a fighter. Trained by her Steward to guard their village from the predators of their harsh world, she is dedicated, fierce and loyal. But how can she protect her friends and family from crop failure and starvation? With flying insects extinct for over a century, nowhere on the forsaken continent of Alphor is safe and Solma is terrified her little brother, Warren, will be one of the next to die. The villagers cling to life, waiting for the Earth Whisperers—mysterious nomads with a strange magic that helps plants grow—to arrive.

But then Warren finds something. Something impossible.

When the first bee in a hundred years crawls out of the earth, Warren forms a strange bond with the creature and Solma fears this unique power will make him a target. One that leaders of Alphor would kill for. As she and Warren fight to keep the bee secret and safe, word of this miracle sweeps the continent. Allies and enemies alike descend on the village. Some demand the bees for themselves, others want to destroy the colony to level the odds. When words become threats and then violence, Solma and Warren are caught in the conflict, and now it isn’t just the bees in danger.

When whoever controls the bees controls the world, how will Solma and Warren know who to trust?

Who knew a little bee could be so important? The premise of this story is that humans ruined everything, like usual, and so no more bugs, no more birds and then no more food!

This was a story that draws you in from the start and it will keep you riveted till the last page. Blume! The bestest bee ever! 🐝 I was so attached to that little queen. You will know the author did her research with all the details you learn! The way she describes the bees and flowers really makes you appreciate the things we take for granted! Must read! Clean YA adventure.

One of the best books I've read in years. I can't recommend this enough!!

This cover grabbed my attention. I wasn't expecting this story but it hooked me and kept me interested. For some reason I find books about bees fascinating. I really enjoyed the chapters from Blume's pov, really brought the story to life and made me feel for the bees themselves. I loved the brother sister relationship and even though Sol really annoyed me at times, she finally got her head on straight. I'll definitely be reading on in this series.