Epic eco-fantasy. 2020 Kindle Book Awards Finalist. Standalone Bk 1 in an award-winning trilogy. 2020 IPPY and Royal Dragonfly Award winner.One misfit girl and 50,000 bees against the might of the Citadel.Mielitta, a despised servant of mysterious origins, yearns to be an adult and fit into Citadel society but the all-powerful mages won’t even consider her for the Maturity Test. As they fight … consider her for the Maturity Test. As they fight amongst themselves, Mielitta overhears their secrets and plans to escape.
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. As a bee-shifter, Mielitta sees the world differently.
This bond works both ways and the bees need Mielitta’s help as the rift widens between Forest and Citadel. Can Mielitta find the fulfilment she craves or will the Mages crush every cell of her second nature?
Block Nature out and she’ll force a way in.
‘Gill’s work stands apart through its strikingly inventive concept, distinctive sense of place, and masterful use of imagery.’ 10 out of 10, The Booklife Prize
‘A brilliantly imagined fantasy with a strong environmental message.’ Ashley Dyer
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Queen of the Warrior Bees by Jean Gill is the first book in the Natural Forces series. This book was an unexpected read that will captivate you more than you would have thought possible.
I will be the first to admit that I wasn’t overly blown away by the title or the description of this book. However the reviews were so overwhelmingly positive for it that I had to give it a go. And I am so glad that I did! I never expected to become so invested in Mielitta’s journey. The struggle she was going through, and the connection she forges with the bees is so well done by the author that you are pulled in with such ease.
I was a little dubious going in to the book about the whole bee element. I had yet to read a book where this kind of story line works. But Jean Gill again does it with such ease that I not only believed it, I enjoyed it! The descriptions and the writing style were so potent I could almost believe I was in the book right alongside Mielitta.
This is a book that I would highly recommend. I will now be going straight out to try anything else by this author!!
There are so many things to love about this book. Bees, a warrior girl and the fight for survival. The premise is unique and sure to summon a wide audience of fantasy and conservationists alike. Written by an author I have followed for her historical Fiction Troubadour series, I thought I’d give this new genre a whirl. I particularly enjoyed the sensitive and thoughtful dedication to another great author with a love of forests.
Written in the author’s distinctive voice, I was drawn right in from the start. It’s not hard to see why this book has so many good reviews and has stayed at #3 in its category since publishing. With a few hives of her own, Gill is definitely qualified to write it.
Right from the beginning, Mielitta is out of the ordinary, looked upon like ‘a specimen in a school study’. A foundling, her upbringing is not as clear-cut as the other children in the Citadel—a place of privilege and excess—and she is destined to be rejected and despised. I was already hooked to her plight and wanted to know how she could duck and dive from the clutches of Jannlou and Bastien, (apprentice mages raised to those positions because of their fathers) and how, if ever, she could fight back. Tormented and victimized, she is forced outside the Citadel to the forbidden Forest — a place no one speaks of.
When stung by a swarm of bees, a startling and rather exciting metamorphosis begins. Equipped with a hive mind, her weaknesses soon become her strengths. She’s no longer alone, no longer an outcast, but she must learn new skills if she is to overcome the muscle of the mages. Terrific world-building, underpinned with political intrigue, there is so much at stake for this feisty heroine who seeks the help of those who need help themselves.
There are so many clever observations, (too many to name) but one did stick out: ‘The bees puzzled over the concept of overcrowding and gave up on it as bizarrely human.’ Fresh and ingenious descriptions of the forest and the creatures themselves are ones you won’t forget. A veritable feast of colour and phosphorescence, like tiny little glow sticks in the night.
Gill’s characters are always robust with great mental discipline and dreams of accomplishing the impossible. The first instalment leaves a few tantalizing questions for readers to be desperate for the next book. I know I am.
A foray into a different but strangely familiar world. Plus bees!
I very much enjoyed Jean Gill’s ‘Troubadour’ series so was intrigued by her venture into this speculative/fantasy arena.
Mielitta (nice play on miel – French for honey), the eighteen year old heroine, is well past the age of ‘maturing’ in her walled society and as the French say, doesn’t feel she fits in her own skin. As the book progresses we see just how true that is. Yet Mielitta is an all too normal human girl, a teenager trying to find her path in life.
There is conflict, friendship, betrayal, repression, liberty all navigated by Mielitta and well written as I have come to expect from Ms Gill. And she obviously knows her bees, even the most intimate parts of their lives…
Oh, and it I mention worldbuilding? Very well done. This is probably a book for young adult/new adults, yet very enjoyable as a window into their developing minds! Recommended.
Queen of the Warrior Bees (Natural Forces Book 1) by Jean Gill
4 Stars !!!!
One of the greatest joys in a readers life is finding new authors and new series.
In this book I have found both. This book was a nice breath of fresh air . I found the characters were very well presented and I felt as though I was there amongst them. The author draws you right into the book. I didn’t want to put the book down
I found myself relating to Mielitta the way she felt like a freak. I found the authors style to really draw me into the book more I like how it wasn’t predictable. I found it quite well written and the author draws out the intrigue around Mielitta just enough to keep you at the edge of your seat. I like how she was actually special and that she doesn’t have to fight the citadel alone . I will definitely be reading more from this author and series in the future.
This is an interesting book about a girl and bees. I was pulled in from the beginning and it held my attention until the last page. I enjoyed the character development as they are creative and supportive. Mielitta is a young girl who has been bullied and tries to find refuge in the forbidden forest. As she explores the forest, she comes across some bees. As they make her one of their own, this is where her journey begins. I didn’t regret picking this book up, I highly recommend reading it.
This was a PHENOMENAL story. It drug me in from the very first sentence and took me on a harrowing adventure before it let me go again! It serves as a cautionary tale that also very clearly echoes recent events. It is gorgeously written with a complex political overtone that adds to an already complicated story, but yet it’s also very simple, a girl who is discovering her true self. I LOVED this story and hope to read more in the future! Thank you for the opportunity to review this jewel!
I welcomed the chance to read an ARC of this intriguing fantasy, just right for our time, focusing on the importance of the environment and in particular of bees, all wrapped up in an engaging story around a very relatable central character. Perfect reading for teens and YAs raised on Harry Potter and young environmental campaigners. Great gift idea with its beautiful cover too.
Fantastic read, great plot and well developed characters
A lot of action, unsaid truths, danger lurking in the shadows and betrayal waiting from the people who were trusted the most. Very well written, I could easily connect with the main characters. Nothing in the story was obvious so several times I was taken by surprise by twists and turns in the story line. Unexpected events and honestly I can’t wait to read more and see what other adventures awaits our main protagonists going forward. I really enjoyed reading this book.
What an unusual fantasy book! As the title might suggest, this book is about bees and so much more. Mielitta is an outcast in her city when the story begins. She was a foundling, not born in the Citadel like the others in her community. She is subject to bullying and ridicule. The Forest just beyond the Citadel is off limits and not even talked about (as it is forbidden to do so). One day when Mielitta flees the bullying, she goes out into the Forest. Her wonder is palpable as she explores this natural space. What a difference between where she has grown up and this place. While there, a cloud of bees surround her, stinging her. They actually essentially change her into a queen bee shifter with a hive mind. The bees that exist in her head continually talk to her. This metamorphosis has changed her in more than one way. With the strength of her bees within and outside her, she has courage and strength that she never had before. She actually does it shift into bee form, and she sets up the next generation of bees for her hive. This story isn’t just about Mielitta and her bees. There is greater political intrigue in the Citadel that Mielitta and her swarm get mixed up in, and several secrets come out in the end.
I thought the author did a fantastic job describing the settings, especially the Forest, and Mielitta’s thoughts and emotions. I love when thoughts would switch over to the hive mind; the bees were definitely a character unto themselves, which was an unexpected delight.
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC and loved this book from the off.
With more backstabbing that the Roman Senate, more deceit than Game of Thrones and more paranoia than The Handmaid’s Tale, Queen of the Warrior Bees is a compelling story with life-like characters and a fast-moving plot.
A fabulous eco tale with natural world elements that are worthy of a David Attenborough documentary, the reader is taken on a journey of discovery into the worlds of the Citadel and the forbidden forest where the main protagonist (Mielitta) has to fight for survival – and not only her own. She changes following an attack by angry bees and has to take drastic action when she realises she needs their help to overcome the magic of those who want to live in a perfect, sanitised world.
So will Mielitta’s risks pay off and will the Citadel citizens support her course of action? Will she survive the magic of the Mages?
No spoilers here so you’ll have to read this marvellous book by one of my favourite, award winning authors, to find out more.
I’m already hooked and can’t wait for the next in the series.
Highly recommended.
Mielitta is an orphan living in the citadel known as perfection, which is ruled by a council of mages who keep everyone under strict rules terrifying them by stories about their enemy, the forest. The people lived in totally sterile surroundings where everything was fake and cut off from nature, obviously for their own safety and protection. Mielitta was different, she was curious about the forest and rebellious, and she was always harassed and bullied by two young mages. One day trying to get away from Bastien and Jannlou, she ventures outside the walls of the citadel and into the forest, where she is attacked by a swarm of bees, she is stung and marked by them and thenceforth she is bonded to the hive. She can communicate through the hive mind and for the first time in her life she feels she belongs to a community, where she is pampered, respected and needed as she has been declared their queen with her own duties to carry out in order to protect the hive as well as the forest. Mielitta learns so much through her bee bonding, she gains in strength and though she returns to the citadel she knows the forest is the place for her but she wants to save her friend Drianne, first as she knew through over hearing a conversation that she was under threat. Mielitta and her warrior bees took on the citadel and I, being a real sucker for a rebellion story loved this first book in the series. I love the strong character of Mielitta, as well as that of her friends who supported her fully, following her blindly, realising that nature had never been their enemy but that the mages were! I look forward to reading further into this amazing series which is so appropriate for the times we are currently living in!
Queen of the Warrior Bees (Natural Forces Book 1) by Jean Gill. I don’t normally like these types of books but this book is Amazing! I read through it as fast as I could. Its the story of 18 year old Mielitta who knows she’s different but doesn’t understand why. The Citadel where she lives is getting ready to to go to War with the Forest. She has been bullied her whole life by 2 boys in the Citadel named Bastien & Jannlou and as they get older it gets worse and more dangerous. She flees to the forbidden Forest and is attacked by thousands of bees. She survives the attack but has a glowing bee emblem on her leg. She finds out this empowers her to shape shift and summon the bees to help her and they can call her as well. Will Mielitta work with the bees as the battle between the Citadel and Forest to try and reunite them or will they fail? Read Queen of Bees to find out!
Queen of the Warrior Bees (Natural Forces #1) by Jean Gill is a YA fantasy story that is also much more. Jean’s writing is very descriptive and detailed that you can imagine the scenes she has set. The story is unique and will certainly keep you entertained.
Mielitta has been rejected and tormented, victimised and despised but through all this she has become a warrior and is fighting for survival. One bite and she becomes something more, something that takes her from being and outcast and despised and showing those who thought her week, that she was no more.
Don’t like it much. May not finish it! Hard to follow–not realistic. I would have preferred the girl fled to the forest and learn self-reliance survival skills. This rescue of that silly girl? Not worth the effort! The supernatural skills feel phony. NOT a good magical story at all!