About the Book:
Beekeeper Beckett Walsh was living her dream, until her father's death sent her world into a tailspin. She suddenly finds she must deal with a new part owner of the family apiary--one who is looking to sell the property--and she cannot fathom why her father would put her in the position to lose everything they built together.
When Callie Peterson is named in the trust of a man she's never heard of, she's not sure what to do. Her fledgling business has just taken wing and her mother has reentered her life asking for help, making Callie's financial situation rather . . . precarious. She's sure she has no right to someone else's farm, but the money from the sale could solve her problems and give her the stability she's always craved.
With an entangled past behind them and an uncertain future ahead, Beckett and Callie must discover why they've been thrown together before all is lost.
My Review:
"While there are some pungent smells, it smells like life here. I don't know how to explain it, but it's different." (p. 149)
When Callie spoke these words to Beckett, she never dreamed how truth laden those words would turn out to be! I came to love and appreciate both young women in this novel, as well as the cast of characters that Amanda Cox uses to tell their story. I never dreamed that this novel would tell the story that it did, and that it would impact my own life story is such a meaningful way!
Both Callie and Beckett struggle with having to share their lives with someone suddenly thrust into it by Samuel Walsh's untimely death. As the story unfolds, each character presents her own unique circumstances that pull at your heart strings. Neither of these young women have had an easy life experience, and when sorting through grief and loss - from very different standpoints - it was hard to imagine that any of this would or could end well.
Amanda Cox threw a few red herrings along the way that kept me guessing, and, once revealed, keep me reading! There are many layers to this story, and if you skip any of it, you'll be so sorry you missed the journey! Callie and Beckett couldn't be more different, but the similarities of what they long for in life are beautifully and almost prophetically captured in Callie's fist impression of Walsh Farm. It did smell like life to her, but she could have never dreamed how much healing those sights and sounds would bring to her life!
I encourage you to make time for this story in your life! The novel is beautifully written, and you'll be thinking of the characters long after you read the final words! You'll learn a lot about bees, the human heart, and how God weaves it all together in unimaginable ways! Happy reading!
About the Author:
Amanda Cox is the author of The Edge of Belonging and The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery, both of which were the Christy Award Book of the Year in 2021 and 2022, respectively. She holds a bachelor's degree in Bible and theology and a master's degree in professional counseling, but her first love is communicating through story. Her studies and her interactions with hurting families over a decade have allowed her to create multidimensional characters that connect emotionally with readers. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her husband and their three children. Learn more at AmandaCoxWrites.com.
