Honey and Venom: Confessions of an Urban Beekeeper

Honey and Venom: Confessions of an Urban Beekeeper is a vividly written and engaging discourse on bees, beekeeping, ecology, and life philosophy filled with personal anecdotes by Andrew Coté. Released 9th June by Penguin/Random House on their Ballantine imprint, it's 320 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

The book is arranged around the calendar year, starting in January, moving through to December, and elucidating the trials, drama, and triumphs of the beekeeper's year. There is a rhythm and flow to both the subject matter and the author's retelling. Tucked into the pages are many entertaining anecdotes about the author's experiences as a beekeeper, from a beekeeping family, and travels as an educator and international ambassador and ombudsman for honeybees and apiarists worldwide.

For readers who have enjoyed and loved John Seymour and Sue Hubbell but were looking for a little bit more modern glamorous NYC version of the beekeeper's year, this is your book. Coté writes humorously and well about life and his encounters with humans and bees. For readers in search of a no-frills how-to-keep-bees, this isn't it.

Four stars, I really enjoyed it.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.