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Author: Olivia Waite
Sub-genre: Historical
Trope(s): Slow burn; friends to lovers
I have mixed feelings about this one because I really liked so much about it, but it was also the slowest of all slow burns which is really just not my favorite.
Agatha runs a print shop in London after her husband’s passing, hoping that someday in the near future she will be able to pass it on to their son, who isn’t exactly showing a ton of commitment to the family business. When a swarm of bees takes refuge in a branch of the printing business located in a smaller town, she is forced to call in reinforcements. That reinforcement comes in the form of Penelope. Penelope is married in name only (basically to act as a beard for her brother’s lover) and spends most of her time beekeeping for herself and others in her small town. Agatha and Penelope strike up a friendship, at first through correspondence, then in person as Agatha starts spending more and more time finding reasons to visit Penelope’s small town. The two women have feelings for each other very early on, but find a multitude of excuses to not act on them. When the vicar in town starts cracking down on obnoxious rules, they both become even more cautious. But eventually they are able to confess their feelings for one another and find a way to live happily ever after.
This book borderline didn’t feel like a romance to me, because so much other stuff happens, sometimes it felt like the love story was not the driving center of the plot. There is a lot of historical information in here, everything from beekeeping practices to the trials and tribulations of Queen Caroline to the sedition and libel printing presses were subject to in the 1800s. I found it all to be pretty fascinating, even though sometimes the amount of historical information was a little overwhelming.
While I liked the relationship between Agatha and Penelope, I really just wanted them to get together faster. They had great banter and I can usually get down with friends to lovers, but the burn was a bit too slow for my liking. The first kiss didn’t happen until at least two-thirds of the way through the book and I was internally screaming at them to just smash faces already. So it was good, but maybe not one I would go back to and read again.
Overall Rating: 4 stars