Book Review | One Beats The Bush by Riall Nolan - The First in the Max Donovan Adventure Series

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One Beats The Bush is a well-paced action thriller that ticks multiple boxes; page-turning twists, fight scenes, a lot of crime and, more importantly, a main character you cannot help but love. Vietnam veteran Max Donovan is in Bangkok, and very hungover, when his friend “Fat” Freddie Fields is arrested in San Francisco for the murder of an Australian diplomat. He knows his old buddy would never hurt a fly, so he rushes back to the Bay Area to help. Suspecting Freddie is being framed, Donovan tries to rustle up some cash to bail him out, but only succeeds in getting into trouble with the local mob.  He’ll have to solve the case on his own. Unfortunately, the only clue he has suggest the answer lies in the jungle-covered mountains of Papua New Guinea. As he comes face-to-face with smugglers, hostile tribesmen, insurgents, and a web of corruption and deception, can Donovan achieve what is seemingly impossible? Nolan has managed to achieve a page-turning action thriller that doesn’t feel
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The Bees by Laline Paull - Simply Loving Bees Isn’t Enough to Make Me Love This Book.

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 I was so excited to get this book because I absolutely adore bees, however it really didn’t live up to my expectations. I’m not really sure what I expected going into it if I’m honest but it just felt like a drag. 

The one aspect I did love was having a story from the perspective of bees, getting to see the hive life and hierarchy through their eyes, and really get a close feel to bee life. I enjoyed learning about the different ‘jobs’ and ‘groups’ within the hive and how they work together and have little cliques. It came across very believable and the way a hive would actually work. 

Unfortunately that was all I enjoyed, which still upsets me thinking about it. After being so hyped to get stuck into the book I got bored with it around half way. I still finished the book because my ocd brain wouldn’t let me get that far through a book without finishing it, but I really didn’t need to as it added nothing to the overall story. Once the initial background information and basic story line was explained the book dragggggged. I strongly believe a whole chunk of the book could be removed and the overall story wouldn’t change. Without giving away any spoilers, I managed to figure out the ending / twist quite early on so wasn’t shocked when it happened. I love being kept on my toes and guessing what will happen next so that really put a massive downer on it for me. 

I really could just be missing something, as I’ve said before I am no way an expert and quite uneducated in the english department, but The Bees did not hit the spot for me. I’m not rushing to tell people about it or encouraging my friends to go buy it, but let yourself be the judge. 

A safe space for me to ramble on about the books I’ve read. Don’t expect high quality, news worthy reviews; I’m just a simple woman who needs somewhere to vent! This blog contains affiliated links.

Comments

  1. @Sister_SuSeptember 15, 2021 at 11:19 PM

    I really enjoyed your book review of The Bees. From your description, it seems a bit like Watership Down, but told from the perspective of bees. I wonder if there are other books that make a commentary on alternate societal forms through the perspective of different animals?

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    1. Uneducated Book DiarySeptember 16, 2021 at 12:12 AM

      Thank you so much! This is the first book I have came across that tells the story of society from the perspective of animals, but then again I am very new to this. I did love this aspect so I will be sure to keep an eye out for books that do this in the future as I just find it fascinating.

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