Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Enlightenment of Bees by Rachel Linden


Book Description

Rachel Linden’s newest contemporary women’s fiction story speaks to the universal struggle of what it means to live a meaningful life where the passions we have meet the needs of the world.

At 26, idealistic baker Mia West has her entire life planned out: a Craftsman cottage in Seattle, baking at The Butter Emporium, and the love of her life, her boyfriend Ethan, by her side.  But when Ethan breaks up with her instead of proposing on their sixth dating anniversary (with the Tiffany blue box in his pocket), Mia’s carefully planned future crumbles.
Adrift and devastated, she determines to find new meaning in her life by helping those in need. 

Guided by recurring dreams about honeybees that seem to be leading her toward this new path in life, Mia joins her vivacious housemate Rosie on an around-the-world humanitarian trip funded by the reclusive billionaire, Lars Lindstrom. Along with a famous grunge rock star, an Ethiopian immigrant, and an unsettlingly attractive Hawaiian urban farmer named Kai, Mia and Rosie embark on the trip of a lifetime. 

From the slums of Mumbai to a Hungarian border camp during the refugee crisis, Mia’s eyes are opened and her idealistic vision is challenged as she experiences the euphoria, disillusionment, and heartbreaking reality of humanitarian work abroad.
As Mia grapples with how to make a difference in an overwhelmingly difficult world, circumstances force her to choose between the life she thought she wanted and the unexpected life she has built. 

My thoughts:

I had been hearing really positive things about this book so I was curious what the buzz was all about. After seeing the photos posted on social media for days on end, I decided didn't want to miss the opportunity to read it since I liked this authors work.

With a fantastic storyline and interesting characters, Ms. Linden takes her readers on a journey that quite frankly is thought provoking and admirable.  I had a great deal of respect for Mia, I mean she was expecting a marriage proposal from her longtime boyfriend but got a broken heart instead when he breaks up with her.  Did she languish for long?  No, she did not, she accompanies her friend on an around-the world humanitarian trip. 

I'm sure that it is never easy to see first-hand the conditions the refuges experience but it's an important topic which makes me cry when I see something like this reported in the news.  Mia is on a journey of self discovery along the way as she tries to help those in need with her traveling companions.   I really liked the entire group and thought the author wrote each of them extremely well.  I also like the message of how the future doesn't always turn out the exactly as you planned but it can still be just as bright.

I received a complimentary copy of this book.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. 
  







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