The Honeybee Emeralds by Amy Tector ~ an #Audiobook Review

by Donna Huber

Sometimes I think if I went back and chose a different career, I would like to have been an archeologist or anthropologist and solve history's mysteries. Since I can't go back and choose a different path I content myself with books that allow me to vicariously satisfy that desire. The Honeybee Emeralds by Amy Tector allowed me to track down the origin of a beautiful, and very valuable, necklace.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.

March 2022; Dreamscape Media; 9781666534320
audio (11h 29m), ebook, print; women's fiction

In the basement of a Parisian magazine, in a seemingly forgotten room filled with fancy clothes from the early 20th century, a beautiful diamond and emerald necklace is discovered. This isn't an ordinary necklace. The emeralds from a honeybee. The magazine is struggling to stay afloat and intern Alice wonders if this necklace can save it. She and her boss Lily take the necklace to their friend Daphne who is an art expert. Once she authenticates the necklace, the ladies are joined by the magazine's owner Luc, Alexander who is sort of a handyman and the only one who knows the way around the basement, and Jacob who is another friend of Lily's and a writer. This cast of characters form the "Fellowship of the Necklace" and set out to uncover the origins and hopefully present-day owner of the necklace.

For the most part, I enjoyed the mystery. The history of the necklace dates back to Napoleon and was connected to 3 historical females. 

I didn't like the characters though. I didn't care for their interpersonal drama, though it did allow the characters to show growth by the end of the story. I just didn't feel drawn to them and the female characters seemed to be a bit too whiny for me.   

I would have also liked a bit more tension or intrigue in the mystery. I felt the start of the story was pretty slow and I didn't really start to get interested until I was more than 40% through the book. I'm sure the possibility of being scooped by a rival magazine was supposed to infuse some tension but as I wasn't connected to the characters I didn't care if they got scooped - I just wanted to know about the necklace.

A lot of the story about the necklace focused on Josephine Baker who was an American-born French entertainer. She work with the French Resistance during WWII and was a Civil Rights activist. She sounds like a fascinating woman - she adopted 12 children, was married 3 times, and was horrible at managing her money. I would like to read another book about her.

The audiobook was well done. All the characters have distinct voices so it made it easy to follow the story. It took me a minute to realize that text messages were being read, but otherwise, it is a great story to listen to. 

Buy The Honeybee Emeralds at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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