Divergent Series by Veronica Roth

Divergent

I thought I read this when it came out but I guess there were so many dystopian YA books that I got it mixed up with something else. When someone mentioned it to me recently, I actually was picturing the cover of “Matched” so I guess that’s where I got my wires crossed. I’m glad I got it figured out, though, because I read about 300 pages of this in a day, and then finished it soon after. I really like the story but am hesitant about it devolving into war at the end. I’ll try the second one and see how I like it.

Divergent (film)

I absolutely loved this movie. I thought it stayed really true to the book and pulled me right in. I'm not a huge Shailene Woodley fan (she'll forever be the brat in The Secret Life of the American Teenager to me) but I think she pulled it off.

Insurgent (film)

I got the second book from the library but also got the second movie, so I decided to watch the movie first. I rarely ever do that. I'm a book before movie gal through and through. But I was already feeling kind of "meh" about reading the second book. A friend who had watched all the movies (but not read all the books) suggested I watch the movie and see if it made me want to read the book. It was a decent movie in terms of continuing on from the first, but it wasn't enough to make me want to read the book. Theo James was the best part. So this is as far as I got in the Divergent series, but I don't feel the need to continue on.

Bee Keeping Cozy Mysteries by Jennie Marts

Take the Honey and Run

Read for Cozy Mystery Book Club (watch the meeting recording here to get more thoughts on this book!) and got sucked into the author’s cozy world of engaging characters. I love the bee references and honey recipes. I thought it was pretty low stakes overall but the writing and characters are enough to make me read the second book in the series, and possibly more from the author from there.

Kill or Bee Killed

I really liked this second book in the bee keeping series. I felt like I was able to solve the mystery along with the sleuth, which I didn’t get from the first book. I also really loved how some of the characters came to life - especially the great-aunts. I’m a bit confused about how the Sawyer/Bailey/Daisy thing will play out because... SPOILERS!