Dancing with Bees is naturalist Brigit Strawbridge Howard's adventure into becoming reacquainted with the outdoors, inspired by the realization that she barely knew anything about bees she'd see on a day to day basis. She attempts to inspire beyond the "we need to save the bees" aphorisms by learning more about them and their importance in our world.

The book starts strongly, reading as part memoir, part nature documentary as Howard describes her major life events coupled with descriptions and facts about the various bee species she encounters in her native England. I enjoyed these early chapters, as I was engrossed in learning of bees what I, like the author, knew very little about previously. Howard takes a strong conservationist stance, preaching education and a reintroduction to nature as the main ways to stop the species and planetary rot. It's a timely message, and one that she isn't afraid to repeat throughout the book.

My interest began to flag around the 60% mark in the book, where the chapters for me began to read a bit more as journal entries. The author takes a trip to Scotland's Outer Hebrides, which occupies multiple chapters of sightseeing and general descriptions of the flora/fauna, before returning and spending the final few chapters describing native plant and tree life, and circling back to bees. I found these chapters a bit less educational, more informal, and a bit repetitive. In spite of this, I would still recommend this book as a good resource to learn more about the importance of our bee friends.

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Chelsea Green Publishing.**