The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden
Summary: At 26, Mia West has her entire life planned out, but those future plans crumble when her boyfriend Ethan breaks up with Mia instead of proposing after six years of dating. Guided by recurring dreams about honeybees, a devastated Mia is determined to find new meaning in her life by joining her roommate and best friend Rosie on an around-the-world humanitarian trip to help those in need
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher.
Where the Bees At?
If you were looking for a book to satiate your love for bees, then keep it moving ‘cause this ain’t it chief. Although I am not a big bee person, I was looking forward to reading The Enlightenment of Bees. It was mostly its beautiful book cover that piqued my interest. However, while reading The Enlightenment of Bees, I was disappointed by how the bee theme was implemented throughout the story.
In the beginning, the bees appear in Mia’s dreams as an omen or warning of things to come. I really enjoyed that aspect of the story as someone who doesn’t dream very often. However, for the majority of the book after those initial dreams, there was hardly any mention of bees. They do no reappear until towards the end of the story. When the bees comes back into the story, it seems like they were only shoehorned in to make the book title more relevant.
Previous Read, Is That You?
Reading The Enlightenment of Bees definitely gave me serious Eat Pray Love vibes. Similar to Elizabeth Gilbert, Mia West experiences a traumatic end to a relationship. Then, she looks to an exotic situation to put her back on the path of discovering herself. Also, there is a sprinkling of religion throughout the text, which may come as a surprise. Although, the religious mentions in The Enlightenment of Bees are not grand.
There are a few references to Mia’s idol Mother Teresa. Also Mia more than occasionally references Saint Mia similar to Anastasia Steele’s reference to her Inner Goddess. Despite being beyond irritated while reading Gilbert’s memoir, The Enlightenment of Bees was engaging from beginning to end. The novel also gave me a superficial dash of The Kiss Quotient with the budding love between Mia and Kai.
Overall Opinion
I would have never picked up this book on my own. I am not a bee enthusiast. The premise did not grab me either, so I am glad I received the ARC for The Enlightenment of Bees. If you are looking for a light read with a little romance and some “finding your path in life” introspection, then I would highly recommend The Enlightenment of Bees. If you are looking for a book where bees are heavily centered in the story, then keep on walking. You won’t find that here. I was actually disappointed by the lack of bees in the story. Although I do not consider The Enlightenment of Bees to be a must-read, it kept my attention the entire time. Rating: Page Turner