The History of Bees by Maja Lunde

England, 1851. William is a biologist and seed merchant, who sets out to build a new type of beehive-one that will give both him and his children honour and fame.

United States, 2007. George is a beekeeper and fights an uphill battle against modern farming, but hopes that his son can be their salvation.

China, 2098. Tao hand paints pollen onto the fruit trees now that the bees have long since disappeared.  

Three connected stories but their connection is not clear until almost the end of the book. 
George(2007) is a descendant of William (1851).  Tao (2098) finds a book written by George's son that helps her start to bring bees back from the few that remain in the wild.
It is also about parents and children and parents expectations of their children.

An interesting and thought-provoking read. 

Dark Witch by Nora Roberts

With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.

Ireland.

County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.

Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.

When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horsemen, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.

Love, family, peace, turmoil, romance, heartbreak, evil, good, and lots of magicks - this book has it all.

Four Respectable Ladies Seek Part-time Husband by Barbara Toner

It's September 1919. The war is over, and everyone who was going to die from the flu has done so. But there's a shortage of husbands and women in strife will flounder without a male to act on their behalf.

And in the southern New South Wales town of Prospect, four ladies bereft of men have problems that threaten to overwhelm them.

Beautiful Louisa Worthington, whose dashing husband died for King and Country, is being ruined by the debts he left behind. 

Young Maggie O'Connell, who lost her mother in childbirth and her father to a redhead, is raising her two wayward brothers and fighting for land she can't prove is hers.

Adelaide Nightingale has a husband, but he's returned from the war in a rage and is refusing to tackle the thieving manager of their famous family store.

Pearl McCleary, Adelaide's new housekeeper, must find her missing fiancé  before it's too late and someone dies.

Thank God these desperate ladies have a solution: a part-time husband who will rescue them all. To find him, they'll advertise. To afford him, they'll share . . .


Charming, quirky story that got a bit convoluted and was all tied up neatly in the end.

Pecked To Death By Ducks by Tim Cahill

This hodgepodge of travel pieces tells of Cahill's experiences diving with sharks, jumping out of planes, trekking through jungles and other dangerous and exotic adventures.

This has one of the best first lines in a book (considering it's title)...."There are no ducks in this book."   Lots of very funny stories about Tim Cahill's adventures travelling the world,  all told with a very dry wit.   My favourite was The Throne of Doom.....about a long drop being situated over the entrance to a cave full of bats.

The Word Ghost by Christine Paice

This is England 1973, and fifteen-year-old Rebecca Budde is in love with Dave. After one glorious summer, Rebecca is forced to move with her family to Brightley, a village with a puddle for a pond, and no excitement at all. If only Dave were there.

Very weird things are going on inside their new house, and even stranger things are happening in the village at night. Someone appears to be living in Rebecca's wardrobe. Someone else is on the balcony, trying to get in. Things don't make sense anymore as Algernon Keats steps from the shadows, his sister not far behind him. There's no Dave, two ghosts, a pub, a dog and Alex March, a dark and brooding artist, living in the Manor House down the road, whose interest in Rebecca is both puzzling and thrill.

Poetical, otherworldly, strange and haunting.....or weird.  Very, very weird.

The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

 Kelly lives alone in Portland, but her heart is back in Franklin, Tennessee, where five years ago she walked away from a man she cannot forget, a rare sort of love she hasn't found since.
Kade lives in Franklin again after several years in Kentucky and a broken engagement. At least in Franklin he can visit The Bridge - the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin - and remember the long hours he and Kelly once spent there.
Now, though, the bookstore is in financial trouble and with the bank pulling the lease and about to take the owner's house he is forced to consider suicide. But before he can decide, a terrible tragedy occurs…
Then suddenly, in the face of adversity, miracles begin to unfold. 

A very quick, very sweet read.  I kept thinking....communication people!  Talk to each other!

Dark In Death by J D Robb

It was a stab in the dark.

On a chilly February night, during a screening of Psycho in midtown, someone sunk an ice pick into the back of Chanel Rylan’s neck, then disappeared quietly into the crowds of drunks and tourists in Times Square. To Chanel’s best friend, who had just slipped out of the theater for a moment to take a call, it felt as unreal as the ancient black-and-white movie up on the screen. But Chanel’s blood ran red, and her death was anything but fictional.

Then, as Eve Dallas puzzles over a homicide that seems carefully planned and yet oddly personal, she receives a tip from an unexpected source: an author of police thrillers who recognizes the crime―from the pages of her own book. Dallas doesn’t think it’s coincidence, since a recent strangulation of a sex worker resembles a scene from her writing as well. Cops look for patterns of behavior: similar weapons, similar MOs. But this killer seems to find inspiration in someone else’s imagination, and if the theory holds, this may be only the second of a long-running series.

The good news is that Eve and her billionaire husband Roarke have an excuse to curl up in front of the fireplace with their cat, Galahad, reading mystery stories for research. The bad news is that time is running out before the next victim plays an unwitting role in a murderer’s deranged private drama―and only Eve can put a stop to a creative impulse gone horribly, destructively wrong.

I always love this series and this is a particularly great entry in the series.  The plot was nicely twisty and the bits with Eve and Roarke are wonderful.  They are always my favourite parts of the book.  There was the next bit in the wager between them that started in the last book.  I am wondering how Roarke is going to win.