Reviews

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

gnobles's review against another edition

4.0

It may be cheating to give this book 4 stars on the basis of something I haven’t even read yet, but let me just say that every single “romantic” moment (of which there were, thankfully, few) in this book gave me the ick on a MASSIVE level. This is a child and that is an alcoholic. I loved loved loved everything about this book when I viewed it through the lens of a type of father/daughter relationship - it’s unfortunate that in later books it turns so incestuous. I adored this book and I think that to preserve my adoration I won’t read more of the books in this series. 10/10 for feminist dad Sherlock Holmes…0/10 for pedophile Sherlock Holmes.

ldsbookgrl's review

5.0

Great series! Witty and thrilling

debrabrinckley's review

4.0

I must admit I am not generally a fan of mysteries but this one caught my attention. Intriguing concept and interesting character development. The mystery element kept me guessing which was nice, however a few of the plot turns were hard to swallow. Overall an enjoyable leisure read.

emmep's review

5.0

Really enjoyed this book. We get to see a different side of Sherlock Holmes.

juniperd's review against another edition

3.0

escapist fun. the book felt a bit disjointed at times, and was perhaps a bit bloated; but, overall, enjoyable.

allisonaudrey's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

thez's review

I took off my star rating because, how do rate a book like this? I read it for the first time in middle school and adored it. Mary walking the fields with a book in her hand, nearly stepping on Holmes, caught me immediately. This brilliant, bookish, headstrong, kind, petulant, occasionally shitty young woman is so real to me even now. The book influenced me deeply. I can't take that back, and I wouldn't want to.

Rereading it as an adult, there's still a lot to like. But. Oh boy, the brownface.

Three separate times over the course of the book, Mary Russel blackens her skin and pretends to be a different race. Twice, Holmes does it with her. (I'd like to state for the record that I didn't remember this At All when I picked the book back up.) Each time, it's treated like a part of the adventure, a wacky hijink. It's extremely gross, and could easily have been written around. It took me right out of the story, to say the least.

I can't get over it, and I don't want to try to. It sucks.

So yeah, giving it a low rating seems dishonest because of how much this book has meant to me. Giving it a high rating is out of the question; it's lost my respect. Giving it a middling rating is disingenuous since I don't have any middling feelings about it. I'm leaving it unrated, and with this very fraught review to explain why.

laurachaps's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

afender's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kitkat65865's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0