Queen of the Warrior Bees

A story for young adults but equally good reading for any age.

Amazon UK link

Amazon US link

Book description

One misfit girl and 50,000 bees. Together they must change the world. As the Mages of the Citadel fight amongst themselves and prepare for war against the Forest, Mielitta, a despised servant, has her own battle to face. Bastien and Jannlou, the boys who terrorised her as a child, have grown into their status as Mages and she cannot escape them forever. 
   In desperation, she flees to the forbidden Forest and its dangerous attractions. Her scent angers thousands of bees and, although she survives their attack, she has changed. A strange bee symbol glows on her thigh and her senses are altered. She learns that her connection with bees enables her to summon their aid and gives her the power to shift shape. 
   This new-found bond works both ways and the bees need Mielitta's help as the rift widens between Forest and Citadel. Can one girl and a colony of bees reunite Man and Nature, or is the split irreversible? 
Block Nature out and she'll force a way in. 


My review

This tale has much in it to enjoy, based as it is on classical fairy story themes. Mielitta, a girl of unknown parentage, grows into her powers. The Citadel in which she lives is sealed from the outside world and its forest. She finds her way outside, meets the bees, and her true life begins. This world is carefully crafted with a believable history. Mielitta herself is a wonderful combination of well-intentioned and anger-fuelled. She has much to be angry about and proves more than adequate to the battle that confronts her. I really enjoyed this first part of a series. It’s obvious that there’ll be more yet this story ended not on a cliff edge but a high point.

About the author


Jean Gill is a Welsh writer and photographer living in the south of France with two scruffy dogs, a beehive named 'Endeavour', a Nikon D750 and a man. For many years, she taught English and was the first woman to be a secondary headteacher in Wales. She is mother or stepmother to five children so life was hectic.
Publications are varied, including prize-winning poetry and novels, military history, translated books on dog training, and a cookery book on goat cheese. With Scottish parents, an English birthplace and French residence, she can usually support the winning team on most sporting occasions.

Just a thought

Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river ― Lisa See,

Jean Gill

I asked to review this book because I have a left-handed granddaughter. It's easy to forget how the world is right-hand-centric.

Left Out

Amazon.com link

My review -

Jamie is picked on at school for her clumsiness, which she attributes to being left-handed as nothing she uses is suitable. The only real friend she has is Ryan. He encourages her to research left-handedness and she finds out how many famous people, present and past, have been southpaws. She writes for the school newspaper, as does Ryan, though using a pseudonym. To both their horror, Ryan’s mum takes him away from their school in Wales to her native America but Ryan has hopes of wangling his way back.

This is a great little book which takes issues of bullying and being different, and manages to celebrate some of those differences. It opens the eyes of left and right handers to just how difficult it can be to use ordinary items – a potato peeler, for example – but how many left handers turn out to be extraordinary people. It’s not just a preachy book, though. It’s got some dark themes running under it, and a real page-turning feel to the plot. A very good read.

Too much back-matter for me but that's a personal preference.