Sweet as Honey
Written by Jennifer Beckstrand
Narrated by Amy Melissa Bentley
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
Though she has blossomed into a beauty, Lily Christner doesn't really believe it. Deep down, she still feels like a lonely, gawky teenager. Maybe that's why she's all but promised herself to Paul Glick, the one boy who never teased her in her awkward girlhood, unlike Dan Kanagy, whose creative name-calling left her in tears many a time. Now he's back in town after two years away, and being surprisingly sweet-making Lily unsettlingly yet deliciously nervous. It seems Dan wants Lily's forgiveness, and her heart. But can he convince her-not to mention her protective schwesters and aendi-that despite the past, her future lies with him?
Jennifer Beckstrand
Jennifer Beckstrand is the #1 Amazon and USA Today Bestselling author of The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series, The Honeybee Sisters series, The Petersheim Brothers series, and The Amish Quiltmaker series for Kensington Books. Second Chances on Huckleberry Hill, the delightfully romantic eleventh book in the Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series, came out in May of 2023. Jennifer also writes sweet contemporary and historical romances. Her third Western, Maggie and Max, just hit the shelves, and Larkspur Ranch, the much anticipated second book in the Dandelion Meadows series, comes out in 2024.
More audiobooks from Jennifer Beckstrand
The Amish Christmas Letters Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Sweet as Honey
Titles in the series (3)
Sweet as Honey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Bee In Her Bonnet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Like a Bee to Honey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related audiobooks
Huckleberry Harvest Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Missing: The Secrets of Crittenden County, Book One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Bee In Her Bonnet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Like a Bee to Honey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Huckleberry Spring Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Huckleberry Hill Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Abraham Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Home on Huckleberry Hill Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Courtship on Huckleberry Hill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Reluctant Bride Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Huckleberry Summer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Return to Huckleberry Hill Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Huckleberry Hearts Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Amish Cookie Club Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Christmas Comes to Morning Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Amish Homecoming: Four Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Andrew Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Piecing it all Together Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Words from the Heart Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Simple Prayer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Sister's Test Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Amish Family: Four Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beneath the Summer Sun Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Sister's Hope Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Huckleberry Christmas Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5His Amish Sweetheart Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Amish Picnic: Four Stories Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Christmas Prayer: A Cross-country Journey in 1850 Leads to High Mountain Danger - and Romance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Season of Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Honest Love Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Christian Fiction For You
A Voice in the Wind Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Divine Comedy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Green Ember: The Green Ember Book I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Visitation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As One Devil to Another: A Fiendish Correspondence in the Tradition of C. S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Present Darkness Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hind's Feet on High Places Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Someone Like You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ultimate Gift Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Piercing the Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pilgrim's Progress: Updated, Modern English Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Redeeming Love Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Oracle: The Jubilean Mysteries Unveiled Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Letter Keeper Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When Crickets Cry Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sugar Birds: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Water Keeper Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tale of Three Kings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Six Creepy Stories by Edgar Allan Poe Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Divorce Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black: The Birth of Evil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stranger in the Lifeboat: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Mrs. Lewis: The Improbable Love Story of Joy Davidman and C. S. Lewis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fall of Marigolds Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hannah Coulter: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Harbinger II: The Return Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lilith Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Oath Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Circle Series: Black/Red/White/Green Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for Sweet as Honey
14 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book was written with much thought, causing the reader to enjoy it thoroughly!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lily, her two sisters, and her Aunt Bitsy keep bees and sell the honey. In many ways, Lily is a strong and capable person. In the matters of romance, she is not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, or the longest wick in the kerosene lamp. She has gone with Paul since they were schoolmates. But Dan has loved her from afar for just that long, too. It takes Lily far too long to assess the situation. The sisters are interesting, but Aunt Bitsy, who was raised Amish, turned English, then returned to be Amish and raise her orphaned nieces, steals the show. A good story and interesting characters make this an entertaining read, even with Lily’s lengthy road to her HEA.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sweet as Honey by Jennifer Beckstrand is the first book in The Honeybee Sisters series. The Honeybee Sisters (Lily, Rose, and Poppy) live in Bienenstock, Wisconsin with their Aunt Bitsy (Elizabeth Kiem). Their parents died in an auto accident. Aunt Bitsy returned to the Amish faith (after living Englisch for 20 years) to raise the children. Aunt Bitsy is a wee bit eccentric (which I loved), but she is also loving and God fearing (she talks to God out loud). The four of them raise bees and make money from their honey (and other bee related products). They sell the honey to Paul Glick’s father who runs the local general store. Paul made friends with Lily when they were in school and have been together ever since. Lily and Paul are expected to marry. Then Dan Kanagy returns to town after living in Pennsylvania for the last two years (where he tried to forget about Lily). Dan has had a crush on Lily since they went to school, but he has an awkward way of showing his affection. He believes the special names he calls Lily are endearing, but Lily finds them offensive (but she never told Dan this little tidbit). Dan slowly works his charms on the family and Lily. Dan sees how Paul treats Lily (she already has self-confidence issues) and wants to help her. Paul continually puts down Lily (mental abuse instead of physical), but Paul states he is trying to teach her how to be a proper Amish woman (that is how he explains his insults). Then Dan discovers that Paul is cheating the Christner’s on their honey. He wants to help, but Lily really needs to be the one to stand up to Paul. Lily is responsible for the selling of the honey and the books for the business. Will Lily be able to step up to the task? The Christner family is also dealing with sabotage on the farm. Someone is sneaking onto the farm at night (painting warning messages on the barn door, taking down clothesline so clothes are in the mud). Why is someone doing this to them? Can they find out who is responsible?Sweet as Honey is different from other Amish fiction novels, and I have to admit that I had a hard time reading it. The mental abuse Paul inflicted on Lily really hit home with me (I suffered from it for many years). Sweet as Honey is nicely written and has a good pace (which makes for a quick and easy read). I thought Lily was too naïve (can anyone really be that oblivious in this modern age). I give Sweet as Honey 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it). Paul’s character is an exaggerated version of a villain (he was overdone like a caricature). I think the author did it to show the difference between Paul and Dan (because was written as a happy-go-lucky, caring individual). Sweet as Honey addresses an important issue and Jennifer Beckstrand did a good job at showing how someone should handle an abuser. Will I read the next book in the series? Yes. I will read the next book in The Honeybee Sisters series. I received a complimentary copy of Sweet as Honey from NetGalley (and Kensington Books) in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is an interesting take on Amish romance/fiction and that may be because the Aunt that raise these sister's had been out in the world for about 20 years.This is the story of Lily. She grew up homely and naturally became lovely. As she was growing up, the boy that she was most interested in teased her the most...actually he never really understood that what he was doing was teasing and hurting Lily. So Lily formed a friendship with another young man -Paul - this turned into an engagement of sorts. The boy who teased her -Dan -has never forgotten her and is now back in town. Now things are going to get VERY interesting indeed.I have to say that I found Lily somewhat spineless and I'm not sure if that is the Amish coming out in this character or if she really was spineless. Paul is the über creep of the story and you most likely will come to hate him (or at least dislike him) as much as I did.I learned a ton about bee keeping, and while that can be good, in my opinion, it did not add that much to the story and I hope that the next two sisters books have more story and less 'lessons'.I am looking forward to the next two books.ARC supplied by publisher.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is the first of three books about the Christner girls, and their delightful Aunt Bitsy, and their means of support raising Bees. When we first meet them, Dan Kanagy dares to walk on the dandelions, oh no, a terrible infraction.Dan is not very well liked, by the Christner family, but especially Lily, as he had teased and insulted her all through her school years. Lily, has very low esteem, but a heart of gold, she took it upon herself to go and read to Dan’s Grandmother, when her health was failing.Lily found comfort in Paul Glick, a chunky self-important, young man, who constantly reminds her what a horrible person Dan is and what he has said about her.You will want to go and help Lily as you see her verbally abused time and time again, and it is not what you think.This is a sweet Amish story with a very untraditional Aunt, wearing earrings? Did I see a tattoo? You are going to be quickly absorbed in this read, and hope that our girl makes the right decision, and is not led down the wrong path!I received this book through Zebra Publishing, and was not required to give a positive review.