Book Recommendation
Bees and Honey: A Swamp Monster Love Story
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Bees and Honey: A Swamp Monster Love Story is a fun little novella set in modern, rural Louisiana—specifically, it's set in a very real place known as Honey Island Swamp, which is (according to Google) one of the least-altered river swamps in modern America. It has seen very little real estate development or other construction. It's a wilderness that has been only lightly touched by humanity, and the fictional characters that populate it in this novella want to keep it that way!
Our story focuses on Heather, a born-and-raised Southerner who moved to Honey Island Swamp after a disastrous breakup that sent her life into a tailspin. She pulled an apiary (bee farm) up from the ground and built a business as a beekeeper selling honey and candles to the locals. Now, however, her home and business are threatened by McMasters, a white city slicker who wants to buy her and her neighbors' properties and turn them into country clubs and homes for rich people. Heather is angry. Heather is more than angry, actually—she's furious. But her helpless rage is turned into something much more actionable when she meets Honey, the ageless reptilian guardian of Honey Island Swamp.
I really enjoyed this story and consumed it in a single sitting! Weyland is a great storyteller with approachable prose and a writing style that's easy to settle into and enjoy. I liked all of the Southern mannerisms and terms of speech that she peppered into Bees and Honey, and how she and her protagonist share a clear love for the flora and fauna of Louisiana. There are some nods to the realities of living in the Deep South—Heather's neighbors, an aging, interracial gay couple, aren't exactly welcome at the local church events—but overall, Bees and Honey focuses on the sweeter things in life such as community, friendship, and love.
This book is very LGBT+ positive, too, which is always great to see. Heather, upon meeting the swamp monster known as Honey, asks for his pronouns, which he gives her without fuss. Heather herself uses the pansexual label.
And let me just say that I loved Honey. He came across as extremely masculine and sexy without veering into the realm of toxic masculinity at all, which was a relief—all too often with traditional human romances, the male lead is a complete dick and I end up wishing the heroine got together with someone nicer. Not so with Honey! He asks permission for various acts during a sex scene with Heather, and doesn't attempt to take away her autonomy or control her life and happiness in any way.
The plot with McMasters getting his comeuppance is very satisfying. If you live in a rural area that is undergoing rapid urban development the way I do, you will sympathize with Heather, Bubs, Cliff, and the rest of the fictional residents of Honey island Swamp. McMasters is an (unfortunately slight) exaggeration of an all too real breed of rich white landowners who use scare tactics to bully poor folks into selling their land, and it felt good to read about him losing his war to turn Honey Island Swamp into a playground for rich people with more money than sense.
Lastly, I loved the Bee Facts™ that Weyland sprinkled throughout the story. They're funny as well as educational, and as each is generally 1-2 sentences long they don't distract from the story itself. Overall, I'd definitely recommend Bees and Honey: A Swamp Monster Love Story. It was a great way to spend an evening and I enjoyed Honey and Heather wholeheartedly. They had a bee-utiful romance and I'm very excited to read more of Weyland's work!
You can acquire this book through Amazon Kindle if you so desire.
You can also read my interview with the author if you're interested.
Have you read Bees and Honey? Do you want to? If you have any questions or thoughts about the book, feel free to leave a comment in the box down below!