Sweet as Honey

Written by Jennifer Beckstrand

Narrated by Amy Melissa Bentley

Though she has blossomed into a beauty, Lily Christner doesn't really believe it. Deep down, she still feels like a lonely, gawky teenager. Maybe that's why she's all but promised herself to Paul Glick, the one boy who never teased her in her awkward girlhood, unlike Dan Kanagy, whose creative name-calling left her in tears many a time. Now he's back in town after two years away, and being surprisingly sweet-making Lily unsettlingly yet deliciously nervous. It seems Dan wants Lily's forgiveness, and her heart. But can he convince her-not to mention her protective schwesters and aendi-that despite the past, her future lies with him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jun 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781515975113

Jennifer Beckstrand

Jennifer Beckstrand is the #1 Amazon and USA Today Bestselling author of The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series, The Honeybee Sisters series, The Petersheim Brothers series, and The Amish Quiltmaker series for Kensington Books. Second Chances on Huckleberry Hill, the delightfully romantic eleventh book in the Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series, came out in May of 2023. Jennifer also writes sweet contemporary and historical romances. Her third Western, Maggie and Max, just hit the shelves, and Larkspur Ranch, the much anticipated second book in the Dandelion Meadows series, comes out in 2024.

Reviews for Sweet as Honey

[kevin shumway · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was written with much thought, causing the reader to enjoy it thoroughly!

[maydacat_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Lily, her two sisters, and her Aunt Bitsy keep bees and sell the honey. In many ways, Lily is a strong and capable person. In the matters of romance, she is not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, or the longest wick in the kerosene lamp. She has gone with Paul since they were schoolmates. But Dan has loved her from afar for just that long, too. It takes Lily far too long to assess the situation. The sisters are interesting, but Aunt Bitsy, who was raised Amish, turned English, then returned to be Amish and raise her orphaned nieces, steals the show. A good story and interesting characters make this an entertaining read, even with Lily’s lengthy road to her HEA.

[kris_anderson-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sweet as Honey by Jennifer Beckstrand is the first book in The Honeybee Sisters series. The Honeybee Sisters (Lily, Rose, and Poppy) live in Bienenstock, Wisconsin with their Aunt Bitsy (Elizabeth Kiem). Their parents died in an auto accident. Aunt Bitsy returned to the Amish faith (after living Englisch for 20 years) to raise the children. Aunt Bitsy is a wee bit eccentric (which I loved), but she is also loving and God fearing (she talks to God out loud). The four of them raise bees and make money from their honey (and other bee related products). They sell the honey to Paul Glick’s father who runs the local general store. Paul made friends with Lily when they were in school and have been together ever since. Lily and Paul are expected to marry. Then Dan Kanagy returns to town after living in Pennsylvania for the last two years (where he tried to forget about Lily). Dan has had a crush on Lily since they went to school, but he has an awkward way of showing his affection. He believes the special names he calls Lily are endearing, but Lily finds them offensive (but she never told Dan this little tidbit). Dan slowly works his charms on the family and Lily. Dan sees how Paul treats Lily (she already has self-confidence issues) and wants to help her. Paul continually puts down Lily (mental abuse instead of physical), but Paul states he is trying to teach her how to be a proper Amish woman (that is how he explains his insults). Then Dan discovers that Paul is cheating the Christner’s on their honey. He wants to help, but Lily really needs to be the one to stand up to Paul. Lily is responsible for the selling of the honey and the books for the business. Will Lily be able to step up to the task? The Christner family is also dealing with sabotage on the farm. Someone is sneaking onto the farm at night (painting warning messages on the barn door, taking down clothesline so clothes are in the mud). Why is someone doing this to them? Can they find out who is responsible?Sweet as Honey is different from other Amish fiction novels, and I have to admit that I had a hard time reading it. The mental abuse Paul inflicted on Lily really hit home with me (I suffered from it for many years). Sweet as Honey is nicely written and has a good pace (which makes for a quick and easy read). I thought Lily was too naïve (can anyone really be that oblivious in this modern age). I give Sweet as Honey 4 out of 5 stars (I liked it). Paul’s character is an exaggerated version of a villain (he was overdone like a caricature). I think the author did it to show the difference between Paul and Dan (because was written as a happy-go-lucky, caring individual). Sweet as Honey addresses an important issue and Jennifer Beckstrand did a good job at showing how someone should handle an abuser. Will I read the next book in the series? Yes. I will read the next book in The Honeybee Sisters series. I received a complimentary copy of Sweet as Honey from NetGalley (and Kensington Books) in exchange for an honest evaluation of the novel.

[cats57_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an interesting take on Amish romance/fiction and that may be because the Aunt that raise these sister's had been out in the world for about 20 years.This is the story of Lily. She grew up homely and naturally became lovely. As she was growing up, the boy that she was most interested in teased her the most...actually he never really understood that what he was doing was teasing and hurting Lily. So Lily formed a friendship with another young man -Paul - this turned into an engagement of sorts. The boy who teased her -Dan -has never forgotten her and is now back in town. Now things are going to get VERY interesting indeed.I have to say that I found Lily somewhat spineless and I'm not sure if that is the Amish coming out in this character or if she really was spineless. Paul is the über creep of the story and you most likely will come to hate him (or at least dislike him) as much as I did.I learned a ton about bee keeping, and while that can be good, in my opinion, it did not add that much to the story and I hope that the next two sisters books have more story and less 'lessons'.I am looking forward to the next two books.ARC supplied by publisher.

[alekee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the first of three books about the Christner girls, and their delightful Aunt Bitsy, and their means of support raising Bees. When we first meet them, Dan Kanagy dares to walk on the dandelions, oh no, a terrible infraction.Dan is not very well liked, by the Christner family, but especially Lily, as he had teased and insulted her all through her school years. Lily, has very low esteem, but a heart of gold, she took it upon herself to go and read to Dan’s Grandmother, when her health was failing.Lily found comfort in Paul Glick, a chunky self-important, young man, who constantly reminds her what a horrible person Dan is and what he has said about her.You will want to go and help Lily as you see her verbally abused time and time again, and it is not what you think.This is a sweet Amish story with a very untraditional Aunt, wearing earrings? Did I see a tattoo? You are going to be quickly absorbed in this read, and hope that our girl makes the right decision, and is not led down the wrong path!I received this book through Zebra Publishing, and was not required to give a positive review.