The Beekeeper's Promise

Written by Fiona Valpy

Narrated by Henrietta Meire

An RNA Romantic Novel Award nominee.

Heartbroken and hoping for a new start, Abi Howes takes a summer job in rural France at the Château Bellevue. The old château echoes with voices from the past, and soon Abi finds herself drawn to one remarkable woman’s story, a story that could change the course of her summer—and her life.

In 1938, Eliane Martin tends beehives in the garden of the beautiful Château Bellevue. In its shadow she meets Mathieu Dubosq and falls in love for the first time, daring to hope that a happy future awaits. But France’s eastern border is darkening under the clouds of war, and history has other plans for Eliane…

When she is separated from Mathieu in the chaos of German occupation, Eliane makes the dangerous decision to join the Resistance and fight for France’s liberty. But with no end to the war in sight, her loyalty to Mathieu is severely tested.

From the bestselling author of Sea of Memories comes the story of two remarkable women, generations apart, who must use adversity to their advantage and find the resilience deep within.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: May 16, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543686241

Fiona Valpy

Fiona is an acclaimed number one bestselling author whose books have sold over three million copies and been translated into more than thirty languages worldwide. She draws inspiration from the stories of strong women, especially during the years of the Second World War, and her meticulous historical research enriches her writing with an evocative sense of time and place. For more information, to sign up for updates or to get in touch, please visit www.fionavalpy.com.

Reviews for The Beekeeper's Promise

[John Fougner · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Plot and point of view felt contrived. Analogies seemed forced and main character, seeking sympathy for her own hardships got in the way of the real story.

[Joyce Harout · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

OMG! The narrator sucks. I lasted 2 minutes with her nasal voice.

[Orna Tarter · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Listening to a French accent . Too difficult to understand

[Camille Walker · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the storyline, the historical aspect, the back & forth in eras of the characters and Narrator but it was a bit too slow of story - and I typically LOVE slow stories!

[Kris Olafsen · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Don’t read with an accent! Hard to understand what is read-and HORRIBLY ANOYING...!!!!! The book would probably amazing- but not read like this....I was looking forward to the book- but what a BIG LETDOWN...change the narrator and loose the accent...then you might just have a winner...

[Patricia · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Narrator voice not pleasant. Story sounds good just can't listen

[Zara Appleby · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Couldn’t listen as the narrator has a terrible lisp can’t pronounce her ‘S’ which completely ruins the narration couldn’t get past it! Will downloadThe book and read it instead.

[Sheila Anderson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved it. Well written interesting characters. I could read it again.

[Patty Walters Pitts · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

From the French accent of the narrator to the vivid and beautiful descriptions and character development tying two different generations together, I was drawn in and held from beginning to end and I’m sad for the story to be over!

[Sarah Rich · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Breathtakingly beautiful story! I love how the two women's lives intertwine across the generations, and how the younger is able to learn from those who have gone before.

[Uri Greenbaum · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

sweet like honey. a bit too sweet. characters lacked depth.

[Becki Basley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story sent in two timelines. One a French beekeeper who survives World War II and works for the resistance. The other a scarred domestic abuse survivor who finds the courage to live again without fear by learning the story of the French beekeeper. A beautiful story

[Pauli Pocket · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was one of those unexpected treasures. I was moved to tears many times following these two women as they discover what is truly important. I loved it.

[Janet Bradley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the story until the introduction of the wedding and the detailed description of its preparation. The couple were not characters that I had had a chance to care about. It was like being forced into seeing someone’s wedding photos that you didn’t really know. Or care about. The French accents made me cringe.

[Nancy Arntz Bradley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Heart wrenchingly uplifting. A book for past and present times.

[Soledad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a beautifully written book. I am a huge fan of WWII history and this book is now one of my favorites.

[A Garcia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just emotionally wonderful! A story of love, strength, resilience, and bees...just beautiful!

[Heather Lester · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a beautiful story, interweaving the past and present, and that the strength of the human heart can heal from anything.

[bereanna · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

WW II France. Germans, French resistance, heroine alternate with contemporary troubled English girl spending time in same historic area of France. Good story.

[shannon.allen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Two stories, but only one told with emotion while the other fell flat and monotone

The story about WWII France was beautiful and the performance of those portions flowed well. The characters were written with dialogue and actions that that gave them emotions and a fullness to their beings instead of just supporting lines for what the protagonist was going on about. I fully enjoyed the varying accents and intonations for different characters in these parts of the book.

The story about Abby took a bit long to develop and still felt lacking. Even though the character states that she is going to (vague reference here so as not to spoil) tie things up in the end, there are some questions left unanswered for the reader about from events at the beginning of the book. I felt Abby's story was told in a bland tone the entire time, except for only a few moments toward the end. I started dreading going back to her portion of the story because of the performer's switch to a dull and bleary description of everything with few supporting characters using their voices enough to change the feel of the mood.

I wouldn't have read/finished reading this book had I started it in hard copy or ebook format. The beginning chapters piqued my interest in Abby but at the same time the WWII story was just a sappy love story that I didn't feel like reading.

I am not an Audible or audiobook regular. It's hard for me to concentrate if the narrator doesn't match the voice I hear when I think of the story. This pairing was a perfect match! I enjoyed Ms Meire's soft and smooth voice. She was comforting in parts where the history was frightening. I would listen to more books read by this narrator.

[khoyt-43756 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love historical fiction. This book had everything a great novel about WWII should have. I could not put it down. I was wrapped up in the characters and the historical period. I found out more information about the time, the place, and the resilience and resistance of the people during that tragic time. The prose brings one into the story in ways that a lesser writer could not.

[creighley_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Heartbroken and hoping for a new start, Abi Howe takes a job at Chateau Bellevue. The hotel echoes from voices of the past, and soon Abi becomes engrossed in the story of one remarkable woman’s past.

[vanessacw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a thoroughly enjoyable and moving tale. It's set in France during WWII and the present day, telling two interconnecting stories of two different women, each with their own mountain to climb. Dual timeframe is my favourite genre and this one certainly didn't disappoint.

Beautifully written and vividly told, there's a great sense of time and place. It's all so easy to visualise. The characters are well defined and realistic. I don't really have a favourite but if I had to choose it would be Eliane for her resilience during the German occupation of France. Both the women, however, overcome adversity and find strength they never knew they had. I also found the descriptions of the lives of the bees in their hives fascinating and this really added to my enjoyment of the book.

A captivating and gripping page turner which I can highly recommend. "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about dancing in the rain."