A review by jenmcmaynes
Beekeeping for Beginners by Laurie R. King

1.0

To say I was disappointed in this e-novella from King would be an understatement. I actually told my husband that it wasn't worth the $.99 I spent on it (yikes). So. I had three major complaints about it. 1) Holmes' contemplated action in the first chapter was so un-Holmesian (is that a word?), at least in terms of King's version of Holmes, that it made me angry. It felt like a cheap motivation that wasn't in keeping with the character built up through the overall series. 2) The 1st person vs. 3rd person chapters were EXTREMELY jarring. There was no narrative flow at all. We jump from a 1st person Holmes chapter, to a 3rd person Watson, to a 3rd person Hudson, to a 3rd person Russell, to a 3rd person Holmes (seriously, why are there 1st and 3rd person narratives for Holmes? Just pick one!). BAH! 3) Finally, my biggest complaint is that the story offered nothing new to the Russell series. This was a great opportunity to shed some light on either the early stages of their relationship, or to those early apprentice years that are glossed over in The Beekeeper's Apprentice. Instead, we get a not very mysterious mystery, a rehash on the original meeting... and that's about it.

This is very negative, and I feel bad because I truly do enjoy this series (though I admit that I like the early books much better). I guess I would recommend it for fans who want to read everything in the series or if you can get it for free? (Also, ignore the twitter nonsense at the end.)