The Birds & The Bees By Neena Gaynor

 

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour & Giveaway for The Bird and the Bees by Neena Gaynor, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

I received the book from JustRead Publicity Tours as part of this tour. I've met so many amazing authors by taking a chance on their tours. And seriously, the name of the book as well as the cover pretty much begs you to read it! I do want to point out that the topic of abortion does come up in the story and I know that can be a trigger for some people so I wanted to make readers aware. It's done in a very mindful way.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Bird and the Bees
Author: Neena Gaynor
Publisher: Mantle Rock Publishing 
Release Date: April 21, 2020
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

When Larkin Maybie buries her mother in the foothills of Appalachia, she is left all alone. Her only inheritance? A crazy aunt, a mountain of debt, and a run-down, secluded cabin left by a mysterious benefactor. While Larkin thinks an escape to a cabin miles from anything familiar might be exactly what she needs, the quick answer to her problems only leaves her with more questions... Questions concerning her true identity.

As Larkin searches for her link to the Lewandowski Estate, she begins to accept the kindness of strangers on Presque Isle and the affection of professional baseball player, Ketch Devine. Charged with caring for the cabin’s honey bees and haunted by past choices, Larkin struggles to move forward in a new direction and is running out of time. With summer and baseball season coming to an end, she must decide: what is the value of true love?

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Here's an excerpt from the book:

On the beach, the waves rolled upon the shore. The dark blue water caressed the beach like a mother pats her sleeping baby. I inhaled the lulling landscape, my mind expecting the smell of salt and sea, and shocked by the crispness of the air. The vastness of the lake continued to thrill me. As did the man who held me.

Ketch turned me to a large brick house. “Let’s go check this out.”

The deep, soft sand was difficult to walk through, and I stopped to remove my sandals. Ketch carried them and managed the sand in his shoes.

“Here’s the lighthouse. Have you ever seen one?” he asked.

I hadn’t. Ketch kept walking and talking, telling me about how the walls were constructed to withstand weather with a five-brick thickness.

“Remind you of anyone?” He gave me an insinuating, impish glance.

My Review:

I have to say I was fascinated by this story. I don't feel like the book blurb gives you a real taste of what's between the covers. I mean, it does... and it doesn't. There's just SO much more to it. To me, it was as though I was peeling back the layers of onions as I read the story.

First of all I found the names to be quite interesting: Larkin Maybie and Ketch Devine! Let's talk about Larkin first. I was fascinated by her. She has such caustic thinking and is pretty cynical about life altogether. Once you get to know her and her deceased parents, you kind of get why she is the way she is.

Ketch on the other hand... how do I peg this guy? He's pretty much perfect. So, because of that little fact, I can see why Larkin believes he's out of reach for a gal like her. Honestly, he's the kind of guy every mom hopes her son will grow up to be and every fella young girls dream about as they grow up. He's actually a very sweet example of God's mercy and grace.

I really loved the process of watching Larkin go through her growing understanding of faith. I thought the end of that process was rather abrupt after walking through so much of it with her. And while with most books I have issues with people falling in love by the end of the first week they've known each other this worked for me in a strange way. I'm not giving anything away as their affection for each other isn't as cut and dry or smooth sailing as "falling in love in a week" might sound. In fact, as I was reading the story I kept saying to myself, "You don't like it when people fall for each other this quickly. So why is this working for me?" Obviously it was the writing.

The backstory of the bee keeping wasn't as much of the storyline that I thought it would be. I was actually excited about it because some of our friends are beekeepers and I'm so curious about the whole experience. It was really neat to see how Larkin was able to handle them so well. How she understood them.

She also had such incredible insight into the other characters in the story. While she didn't seem to know how to have a true friendship with other people, you could tell Larkin was really trying. I also appreciated how the author covered Larkin's past and how she was dealing with it in the here and now, especially when other situations come up.

SUCH a well written book and I'm looking forward to more stories from her!

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

When not chasing after her two joyful little boys, Neena Gaynor enjoys beekeeping, a good cup of coffee, and writing.

She's spent much of the last decade traveling with her husband, Wade, a former professional baseball player. Throughout the 29 changes of address and the stresses of moving a young family, Neena has learned to embrace the peace that only comes from the steady accompaniment of Christ.

CONNECT WITH NEENA: Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

---

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a $15 Chick-fil-A gift card!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight September 15, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on September 22, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

---

 

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.