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nmellor's review against another edition
3.5
I definitely enjoyed this one more than the first of the series, as it had much better pacing. The plot was fast paced enough to keep my interest and I thought the characters were well written. I loved the historical and geographical setting too.
nickimags's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this second book in the historical crime fiction series set around a monastery in 7th Century Whitby. I listened to the first book, A Swarming of Bees, last year, and was thrilled to be offered this second one for review.
Once again the story centres around a large gathering at the monastery, a peacemaking assembly between an aged Queen and her estranged son. Hild the Abbess is busy getting ready for her regal visitors whilst Fridgyth the herb-wife is busy transporting her bees to a new area amongst the heather where they’ll make the best honey. Fridgyth is called away to help with a badly injured neighbour, which turns out to be something far more sinister and so the mystery begins.
I loved being back in 7th Century Whitby with Fridgyth, Hild and the other characters from the first book, I felt like I was visiting old friends. The mystery kept me guessing all the way through. I was convinced I knew who the suspect was, only to be fooled by red herrings!
I absolutely loved Danielle Cohen’s narration, it was superb and brought Fridgyth, Hild and the other characters to life perfectly. I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to other books read by this narrator and have added her to my favourite narrators list.
I definitely recommend this audiobook to lovers of historical fiction and mysteries and hope they’ll be more books in the series!
Thanks so much to Hope Roy at Tantor Media for my digital copy.
Once again the story centres around a large gathering at the monastery, a peacemaking assembly between an aged Queen and her estranged son. Hild the Abbess is busy getting ready for her regal visitors whilst Fridgyth the herb-wife is busy transporting her bees to a new area amongst the heather where they’ll make the best honey. Fridgyth is called away to help with a badly injured neighbour, which turns out to be something far more sinister and so the mystery begins.
I loved being back in 7th Century Whitby with Fridgyth, Hild and the other characters from the first book, I felt like I was visiting old friends. The mystery kept me guessing all the way through. I was convinced I knew who the suspect was, only to be fooled by red herrings!
I absolutely loved Danielle Cohen’s narration, it was superb and brought Fridgyth, Hild and the other characters to life perfectly. I wouldn’t hesitate to listen to other books read by this narrator and have added her to my favourite narrators list.
I definitely recommend this audiobook to lovers of historical fiction and mysteries and hope they’ll be more books in the series!
Thanks so much to Hope Roy at Tantor Media for my digital copy.
captainjemima's review against another edition
3.0
'Queen of a Distant Hive' is the second book in a series about Fridgyth the Herb-Wife, set in Anglo-Saxon times. The first book was 'A Swarming of Bees' but it is really not necessary to have read this before starting the second book. I enjoyed the first one very much, giving that novel 5 stars, and so expected great things from this one.
'Queen of a Distant Hive' follows a fairly complex web of old resentments. England is split into different kingdoms including Wessex, Northumbria and Mercia, each with its own king. The inhabitants of the peaceful coastal town where our story is set, Streonshalh (modern-day Whitby), are shocked to discover that the widow of the fierce Mercian King will be coming to visit, and while many are reminded of the destruction they caused to Streonshalh, others' minds turn to revenge.
Our main character is, of course, Fridgyth the Herb-Wife. Not only does she have many natural remedies for illnesses and acts as the town's midwife, but she also has a knack for collecting information from people, working out what is real versus what is gossip, and getting people to talk. This comes in handy when people start to turn up dead, poisoned and threatened, and the onset of royal visitors only aggravates the situation.
I quite enjoyed the story, although sometimes I found it difficult to keep straight who was who with their sometimes similar names. The novel is also fairly short which meant that it did not drag on with unnecessary subplots.
I would have rated this book 4 stars, however I have deducted one star due to the awful editing of the ebook version I read. There were question marks where there shouldn't have been and none where there should have been; there were commas thrown in with abandon, mimicking perhaps the author's pattern of speech, but translating to the page in a jolting manner; there were spelling mistakes, such as "lose" instead of "loose". I really struggled to read the book because each of these elements made me have to re-read the sentence to make sure I had understood it. They threw me out of the immersion of the novel completely. If this novel had been longer I would have given up. I really cannot understand publishing a novel with these glaring mistakes. Employ me to proof-read it for you if you must! It made the writing seem amateur and not polished like the first novel in this series was.
I'm afraid I will not be recommending this book to anyone because the story was nothing to shout about and the errors are something I would only put my worst enemy through.
'Queen of a Distant Hive' follows a fairly complex web of old resentments. England is split into different kingdoms including Wessex, Northumbria and Mercia, each with its own king. The inhabitants of the peaceful coastal town where our story is set, Streonshalh (modern-day Whitby), are shocked to discover that the widow of the fierce Mercian King will be coming to visit, and while many are reminded of the destruction they caused to Streonshalh, others' minds turn to revenge.
Our main character is, of course, Fridgyth the Herb-Wife. Not only does she have many natural remedies for illnesses and acts as the town's midwife, but she also has a knack for collecting information from people, working out what is real versus what is gossip, and getting people to talk. This comes in handy when people start to turn up dead, poisoned and threatened, and the onset of royal visitors only aggravates the situation.
I quite enjoyed the story, although sometimes I found it difficult to keep straight who was who with their sometimes similar names. The novel is also fairly short which meant that it did not drag on with unnecessary subplots.
I would have rated this book 4 stars, however I have deducted one star due to the awful editing of the ebook version I read. There were question marks where there shouldn't have been and none where there should have been; there were commas thrown in with abandon, mimicking perhaps the author's pattern of speech, but translating to the page in a jolting manner; there were spelling mistakes, such as "lose" instead of "loose". I really struggled to read the book because each of these elements made me have to re-read the sentence to make sure I had understood it. They threw me out of the immersion of the novel completely. If this novel had been longer I would have given up. I really cannot understand publishing a novel with these glaring mistakes. Employ me to proof-read it for you if you must! It made the writing seem amateur and not polished like the first novel in this series was.
I'm afraid I will not be recommending this book to anyone because the story was nothing to shout about and the errors are something I would only put my worst enemy through.