#and the beekeeper's apprentice series

[iscahmckrae]

Reading two brilliant books right now—one, imaginative and irreverent historical fiction, and the other, time travel romance. Just wanted to pop in here and share the first paragraph of each... because they're fun:

"So, the thing is, I come from the world we were supposed to have. That means nothing to you, obviously, because you live here, in the crappy world we do have. But it never should've turned out like this. And it's all my fault—well, me and to a lesser extent my father and, yeah, I guess a little bit Penelope." —paragraph one, ALL OUR WRONG TODAYS

"'Force... equals... mass... times... acceleration,' muttered Ada as she wrote in her notebook. Ada pondered that if you drop a hammer on your foot, it hurts more than dropping, say, a sock on your foot. The acceleration, or speeding up, is the same, but the mass, the solid oomph of a thing, is different. Oomph times zoom equals kaboom!" —paragraph one, The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, No. 1: The CASE of the MISSING MOONSTONE

Okay, okay... I need to share another two bits (not 25¢) from the time travel romance, because, as a writer, they are so delicious...

"Today, in the year 2016, humanity lives in a techno-utopian paradise of abundance, purpose, and wonder.

Except we don't. Of course we don't. We live in a world where, sure, there are iPhones and 3D printers and, I don't know, drone strikes or whatever. But it hardly looks like The Jetsons. Except it should. And it did. Until it didn't. But it would have, if I hadn't done what I did. Or, no, hold on, what I will have done.

I'm sorry, despite receiving the best education available to a citizen Tomorrow, the grammar of this situation is a bit com-plicated.

Maybe the first person is the wrong way to tell this story. Maybe if I take refuge in the third person I'll find some sort of distance or insight or at least peace of mind. It's worth a try."

—then, the next chapter spends the first two paragraphs written in the third person, but then...

"I'm sorry—I can't write like this. It's fake. It's safe.

The third person is comforting because it's in control, which feels really nice when relating events that were often so out of control. It's like a scientist describing a biological sample seen through a micro-scope. But I'm not the microscope. I'm the thing on the slide. And I'm not writing this to make myself comfortable. If I wanted comfort, I'd write fiction.

In fiction, you cohere all these evocative, telling details into a portrait of the world. But in everyday life, you hardly notice any of the little things. You can't. Your brain swoops past it all, especially when it's your own home, a place that feels barely separate from the inside of your mind or the outside of your body."

—I'm sorry..... I can't get over a book stopping and explaining why it is written how it us written! Authors that break the fourth wall! I just...

(reminds me of my favorite autobiography, The Making of an American by Jacob Riis)

And then having the chutzpah to declare itself nonfiction while being soft sci-fi. It just....

And the other..... the historical fiction... It is the adventures of Ada Byron (the world's first computer programmer) and Mary Shelley, nee Godwin (the world's first science fiction author) as teenage girls who form their own detective agency and go adventuring together!

Reading both of these at once is rapturous!

So, yeah........ #book recs !!!

[old-type-40]

FYI... For those who are fans of the Russell-Holmes series of novels this is a worthy addition even though much of the story involves events in the far past. And it is 30 years since The Beekeeper's Apprentice came out!

[cheeeryos]

@neveronceintoit tagged me to make a poll of some of my favorite female characters! thank you for the tag I love to yell about women 😌

who hasn't been tagged yet...@behindtheatlantic @your-void-senpai @thedreamthieves ?

[accidentalspaceexplorer]

May Reading Recap:

May was a complicated and busy month for me! It also led to me reading a bunch while I was traveling (7 books in 2 days) and then sporadically for the rest of the month. I ultimately read 18 books in May, and my favorites this month were the Evander Mills mysteries, Lavender House & The Bell in the Fog.

Ocean's Godori by Elaine U. Cho: 4.5/5

Lavender House by Lev A. C. Rosen: 5/5

Kushiel's Mercy by Jacqueline Carey: 5/5

Marriage of Unconvenience by Chelsea M. Cameron: 1.5/5, dnf

Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn: 4/5

The Better to Kiss You With by Michelle Osgood: 3/5

Point of Hopes by Lisa A. Barnett & Melissa Scott: 3.75/5

Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall: 4.5/5

Nigerians in Space by Deji Bryce Olukotun: 2/5, dnf

Thirsty by Mia Hopkins: 4/5

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King: 4.25/5

Sunstone, Vol. 1 by Stjepan Šejić: 3/5

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells: 4.75/5, re-read

The Body in the Back Garden by Mark Waddell: 4/5

The Bell in the Fog by Lev A. C. Rosen: 4.75/5

A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King: 2.5/5

Starter Villain by John Scalzi: 4.5/5

The Keeper's Six by Kate Elliott: 4/5

Goals under the cut:

Complete series: -2 for the year (sadness. I started 6, caught up on 1, finished 1, quit 1)

Catch up on backlists: 24 (+2)

Read FIYAH/Nebula/Hugo finalists & awards: 4 books (+1)

Read down TBR: (hard to tell what it was at the beginning of the year, but in August it was 1332) at end of May it’s 1484 (still getting bigger…)

Read old top-of-TBR list: 2 (+1)

[runilareads]

Book Review: The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King (Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes, 1)

Title: The Beekeeper's Apprentice Author: Laurie R. King Series: Mary Russell & Sherlock Holmes, 1 Release Date: January 1994 Publisher: Bantam Rating: 4 stars

Favourite character: Sherlock Holmes Least favourite character: N/A (spoiler reasons)

Mini-Review: I enjoyed this, although I'd say it's definitely on the medium to slow side with pacing. The writing was beautiful and I loved the characters, but I did find certain parts to almost be reminiscent of grooming. Different times, but this was still written in the 90s so just be aware of that if you plan on reading it.

Fan Cast: Mary Russell - Florence Pugh Sherlock Holmes - Paul McGann Dr. John Watson - Bradley Walsh Mycroft Holmes - Joe McGann Mrs. Hudson - Phoebe Nicholls Inspector Lestrade - Ed Speleers Patricia Donleavy - Tuppence Middleton

[unshatters-your-teacup]

I have a lot of thoughts on the kind of books the Mary Russell series is and I’m not sure that I would start the series if I saw it for the first time now, but Laurie R. King was writing hurt/comfort scenes in The Beekeeper’s Apprentice and A Monstrous Regiment of Woman that I still think about years after I read them the first time

[azazel-dreams]

Mary Russell's War by Laurie R King

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Mary Russell series in reading order:

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice 

A Monstrous Regiment of Women

A Letter of Mary

The Moor 

O Jerusalem 

Justice Hall 

The Game 

Locked Rooms 

The Language of Bees 

The God of the Hive 

Beekeeping for Beginners (novella)

Mrs Hudson’s Case (novella)

Pirate King 

Garment of Shadows 

Dreaming Spies 

Mary Russell's War (short stories)

The Marriage of Mary Russell (novella)

The Murder of Mary Russell

Island of the Mad 

Riviera Gold 

Castle Shade 

[genderfluidbf]

the beekeeper's apprentice: mary russell book one

synopsis (via goodreads): Long retired, Sherlock Holmes quietly pursues his study of honeybee behavior on the Sussex Downs. He never imagines he would encounter anyone whose intellect matched his own, much less an audacious teenage girl with a penchant for detection. Miss Mary Russell becomes Holmes's pupil and quickly hones her talent for deduction, disguises and danger. But when an elusive villain enters the picture, their partnership is put to a real test.

rating before reread: ★★★★★

rating after reread: ★★★★

general thoughts: i have changed as a person since i last read this! i am no longer the pretentious middle schooler so deeply enamoured by holmes and russell's deductive skills. instead, i think, i favor the growth of their relationship and trust in one another.

laurie r king's writing style for this series is honestly immaculate. she has successfully infiltrated the mind of mary russell. its a period piece told from the perspective of a young woman, and shes managed to capture that spirit through her descriptions.

i take off a star however, for repeated rereads. its never going to compare to the first time i read it. its hard to say anything abt the cleverness, for me, when i already know whats gonna happen.

spoilers under the cut!!

firstly i suppose i gotta talk abt the relationship between holmes and russell. gotta say, i love it? but in later books the foundation we've laid here takes a bit of a sinister tinge. for now tho, i love it.

they save each other!!!!! its directly talked abt in the book but to paraphrase, russell saves holmes from dying of boredom, and holmes saves russell from becoming a worse version of her aunt.

they provide each other companionship and a whetstone to hone their minds against. say what u will, but sherlock holmes needs someone to go up against, who can be an equal to him and put him in his place if need be.

laurie r king describes their playact of a falling out in this way: "Holmes and I had only a few days to perfect our rôles of the two friends now turned against each other, the father and daughter alienated, the near-lovers become bitterest, most implacable of enemies"

if i am to criticize one thing in this book, it is their weird relationship. she is 15 when they meet, and he is like, definitely in his 60s. as a middle schooler i was quick to justify and defend my hero, sherlock holmes, but now i find it hard to not feel a little uneasy. i will say tho, the way laurie r king writes their relationship helps to assuage my concerns. it doesnt feel predatory.

anyways, onto mrs. hudson and dr. watson. some say watson is portrayed poorly here. i think it can go either way. those who want all of their characters to be smart and capable in all ways see watson diminished into a bumbling fool. i think tho that watson is aptly characterized, if we're basing it off of the original stories. he is fiercely loyal, an excellent doctor, and, quite frankly, incapable of pulling off some of the more delicate schemes needed to be on the level of sherlock holmes. yes, he is written to be a bit of a fool, but not i would think in a malicious way. he has a big heart, and many other wonderful qualities. he is not, however, capable of disguising himself and losing a tail.

mrs. hudson is a girlboss.

the daughter of moriarty being the villain is perhaps a bit trite? but perhaps thats also why its clever. u dont expect it. moriarty is dead, this is not connected to the original stories, and in the original stories i dont believe theres a mention of his family.

its late, and im getting tired, and i am quite certain no one will read this, so i will end my nonsensical babbling here.

[caffeinelemur]

🍉🥦🎲😇📚

Hi!!! Thanks!! Here come some probably-not-very-coherent but very rambling answers that I hope can satisfy, feel free to ask follow up questions if you want~

🍉 Fruit:

Strawberries!!!!!! The ultimate fruit and the ultimate flavor!!

I fuckin love berries!! Blueberries, raspberries~ Most berries are great. Except blackberries. (Gooseberries!!! More people need to realize the goodness of gooseberries). Peaches, Granny Smith apples, the occasional clementine…

🥦 Veggie:

Tomatoes!!!! I know they’re technically a fruit but I’ve got autism food pickiness and people put them in salad so they count. And I fucking love tomatoes I’ll eat a fucker like an apple give it to me

🎲 Game:

Videogame: Pokémon Emerald

Boardgame: Mancala, Backgammon

😇 Blorbo:

I have too many and it’s not like I rank them I don’t play favorites with my children. You can just go back in this blog and you’ll figure it out p easy if you’ve got time, patience, and enough curiosity.

Like you’ll find a good chunk of like 2019-2023 of p consistent Witcher Jaskier content that I’m not currently in bc I’ve been overcome with a new hyperfixation.

If you want the ones I’ve had the longest….

The ones I still post about/interact with/have strong feelings for now that I loved before high school (context- my last year of middle school/first year of high school was 2010) are…

- Shawn Spencer, Psych

- Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Homes stories- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Specifically the Books/Short Stories)

And the main ones from high school/college (2011-2016?) are…

- The Doctor, Doctor Who (the whole character every incarnation that’s my baby right there)

- Roronoa Zoro, One Piece (the original boi, I made this tumblr to find and collect fanart of him in like 2014 or something so all the OGs that still follow me on here from my One Piece days are real ones)

I got into anime as a whole around then, so there are too many anime blorbos; I’m not listing them all, but most are voiced by Kazuya Nakai or Daisuke Ono, or is a girl from Love Live.

Currently I’m fucking obsessed with Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss so it’s hard to think of other things and I know like it’s one of the most annoying fandoms someone could suddenly attack your dash with but I can’t help it I’m compelled by these fuckin guys

📚 Book(s):

The Princess Bride: S. Morganstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure- William Goldman

The Complete Sherlock Holmes- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Amelia Peabody mysteries- Elizabeth Peters

Mary Russell mysteries (specifically the first two: The Beekeepers Apprentice: or, On the Segregation of the Queen; and A Monstrous Regiment of Women)- Laurie R. King

Harry Dresden series- Jim Butcher

Nancy Drew mysteries- Carolyn Keene

Phryne Fisher mysteries- Kerry Greenwood

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch- Terry Pratchet & Neil Gaiman

Mrs. Murphy mysteries- Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown

I have too many I’m sorry I’ll stop here; I could read before kindergarten, going to the library was my main weekend fun activity to do with mom as a child, my high school senior superlative was “Biggest Reader,” I was reading while walking between classes and everyone apparently noticed even when they didn’t talk to me. I like mysteries~

[ninthhousesteel]

thank you for the tag grace !!

a time period i would do well in: i feel like the nineties would be fun!

mythical creature i wish i was: Obviously a vampire

favorite time of day: between 8pm and midnight

main character who is most like me: adora from spop! blonde jock lesbian, kinda klutzy, mommy issues, swords r cool

favorite flower: texas lantana

a universe i would like to live in: cannot choose between percy jackson or star wars!! bc obviously having a lightsaber would RULE but also being a demigod seems so fun

aesthetic i wish i had: doesn't really count as an aesthetic but i wish my wardrobe was a little more masc? maybe light academia could describe the vibe

a character i would love to be: this is niche but mary russell from the beekeeper's apprentice and following series, would LOVE to be sherlock holmes' apprentice

a character i would be best friends with: this comes as an absolute shock but robin buckley of course

favorite outfit to wear: sweatshirt, jeans, and converse is always my go-to

i think most of my mutuals have been tagged already so feel free to say i tagged you if you see this! <3

new tag game!

featuring: questions i never really see

1. a time period you feel you'd do well in: the 1970s

2. a mythical animal you wish you could be: a dragon

3. your favourite time of day: sunset

4. the main character that's the most like you: anne shirley-cuthbert

5. your favourite flower: sunflowers

6. a universe you would love to be in: the potterverse (without the terf part)

7. the aesthetic you wish you had: downtown girl/skater girl

8. a character you would love to be: beth harmon

9. a character you would be best friends with: anne shirley-cuthbert

10. your favourite outfit to wear: my band outfit; aka a dress shirt and wide-leg linen pants

tags: @fruutcake @shipsgaysfordays @bitch-is-ace @an-ungraceful-swan @too-many-fandoms-to-explore @frayro-called-frey @fromthemouthofkings @4remus @presidentroarie @kara-night-light and anyone who wants to do it!

[ravens-cove]

Book recommendations: Laurie R King, The Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series, books 1 - 4, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, A Monstrous Regiment of Women, A Letter of Mary, The Moor

[ninthhousesteel]

get to know you asks!

tagged by @buckleys-babe

fav color: navy blue!

currently reading: the complete sherlock holmes volume ii by sir arthur conan doyle

next read: the beekeeper's apprentice by laurie r king (reread)

last song: dennis by roy blair

last series: taskmaster series 4

last movie: yes god yes 🙏

sweet/savory/spicy?: savory 100%

currently working on: moving out/softball!ronance/pirate and princess au ronance

open tagging anyone who sees this and wants to do it !! <3

[littlelindarose]

I finished The Beekeepers Apprentice yesterday morning and immediately bought the next one. AND rented it on Kindle Unlimited while I wait for the physical copy to arrive. What is happening? I’m not a series girlie at all??????? I just love these two.

[azazel-dreams]

Castle Shade by Laurie R King

Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Mary Russell series in reading order:

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice 

A Monstrous Regiment of Women

A Letter of Mary

The Moor 

O Jerusalem 

Justice Hall 

The Game 

Locked Rooms 

The Language of Bees 

The God of the Hive 

Beekeeping for Beginners (novella)

Mrs Hudson’s Case (novella)

Pirate King 

Garment of Shadows 

Dreaming Spies 

Mary Russell's War (short stories)

The Marriage of Mary Russell (novella)

The Murder of Mary Russell 

Island of the Mad 

Riviera Gold 

Castle Shade 

[scribefindegil]

I did read Beekeeper's Apprentice as a teen and it was, y'know, fine I guess, but these days I lose my mind every time I remember that there's a bestselling book series whose major premise is that *Sherlock Holmes* is *straight*

[trulyhopelessromantic]

BRITT'S BOOKS '21

Book 20)  The Beekeeper's Apprentice, or On the Segregation of the Queen (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #1) by Laurie R. King, Jenny Sterlin (Narrator)

pages: allegedly about 368 pages but I listened to an audiobook of 804 minutes

Started: November 29, 2021

Finished: December 21, 2021

Thoughts: Ok lemme paste a few comments that were made along my journey through this book... But before that lemme start with saying this was recommended to me by my best friend so I had already a high opinion of it to start (probably led to my slight disappointment in this novel but oh well) and additionally my love for the Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas overshadowed this novel a bit. I was also shocked (and exhausted) to learn that there are like 20 books in this series! 20!!!! Dear lord I don't know that I have the strength to complete a series of 20 but we shall see as the years pass lol

My 2 biggest problems were (as outlined a bit below) the narration pace of the audiobook and the choppy narrative of this book so it was harder to get through than others...

Ok for some commentary made (on Goodreads) along the way:

The final act of this was good but the rest a bit choppy for my liking. I shall perhaps indulge in more Mary Russell stories in the new year.

It's a good book but plods along slowly at times and in retrospect feels like a few different chunks of different manuscripts/story put together. I suppose this was the intention considering it is in some ways a memoir but sometimes things are described with detail while others are breezed over in order not to overwhelm the reader with a play-by-play and at times feels detached and /or makes me feel suddenly detached from the story. But once the seriousness gets going then the novel really gets its ground.

22.0% "804 mins total, probably coz the person reads a bit slow at times. I wish I could go 1.5 speed at some points but oh well. Also the author intro was such unedited background noise audio I worried the entire thing was going to be that. I still sorta hear a bit of foley problems with the professional stuff but it could be the cars around me lol. Anyway I think I like Mary Russell & can't wait for more case adventures!

spoiler to above comment: it was NOT cars around me. haha oh dear

40.0% Again narrative is hard coz of pace of audio reader but it's picking up a bit plot-wise with the discovery of [REDACTED]

67.0% "Wait she's still only 19 why did I think she was 21 or 22 did she mention that or something and now has backtracked? -_- sheesh

This is again my problem with audiobooks. Details that I do not physically read can sometimes be missed and if one wants to go back to figure out where the last mention was, well, good luck -_-

66.0% Finally I'm into this novel with the intrigue of being followed and almost murdered a number of times! Haha

52.0% Not bad. Bomb threat. Is Moriarty brought up because yes we've got a connection to him or just coz? :D I hope the former.

Read a semi-spoiler comment below where I reveal my ideas (at the time of reading 75% of the novel) about the big baddie of this narrative:

75.0% At long last some movement in the story. I have a theory about this woman being Irene Adler herself or Moriarty's daughter. (Or daughter of the 2 adversaries lol. No that is a joke.) It's Irene or Moriarty's daughter as my prediction. I was getting it confused with another book I'm reading as it being "Miss Moriarty, I presume." but that doesn't mean I'm wrong about my prediction lol