This is a dark gothic thriller. The authors description of the main character was amazing.
The atmosphere throughout the book was eerie. Very creepy
A fast paced read with a great ending
This is a fantastic piece of historical fiction writing

"The Honey and the Sting" by Elizabeth Fremantle is a riveting historical novel that transported me back in time. Set in the Elizabethan era, it's a thrilling mix of court intrigue, romance, and dark secrets. Fremantle's storytelling is rich and vivid, and her characters are wonderfully complex. If you're a fan of historical fiction with a touch of suspense, this book is a delightful read that I couldn't put down.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience

I really enjoyed this book and it made me remember how much I like reading historical fiction. I feel like Freemantle really captured the feel of the world in the 1700s, how hard it was, especially for women.
The three sisters are very interesting characters and I was interested by their complex relationships and how different they all were.

This is my first adventure with Fremantle and I'm happy to read other of his works when I come across them! I love historical fiction, especially when the author is so talented as Fremantle of recreating the world from gone day days and weaving an excellent tale of human relationships, supernatural and suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eACR of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Wonderful historical thriller set in the Stuart era. I loved all the female characters, especially their flaws - we're all human after all. On the run and trying to protect a child, finding a safe space place to live comes with it's risks, but will be worth it once the child is safe and some damning evidence against their pursuers is protected at all costs.

A slow start, that took me a while to get into, but overall an enjoyable read.

Three sisters tell the story of their escape from the manipulative father of the eldest sisters son. The personal battles they must overcome, the weaknesses and strengths that they endure.. The tragedy and the lengths they will go to for the sake of their family.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Halley for providing a e-book for review.

First off - I am in love with the cover on this book. I also adore the fact that bees, which can be seen on the cover are woven into the story throughout.

This book is set in 17th Century England and blends a mix of fact and fiction (noted in the Afterward, which I really appreciated). The story is full of twists and turns and (apart from the parts based in history) I was personally never 100% sure where these would end up helping to keep me invested in the story. The story was well paced with elements of thriller and suspense dotted throughout. The historical side of the story is obviously well research and characters who appear in the book (both real and imagined) are well developed. I definitely ended up rooting for a few of them to have better outcomes than it appeared they were going to have.

Overall I enjoyed my dive back into historical fiction and wouldn’t hesitate to pick up another book by this author.

Set in the 17th century, EC Fremantle imagines this suspenseful and tense mystery with this blend of fact and fiction, featuring the real life George Villiers, the Duke of Buckingham, a royal favourite, but by this stage an unpopular figure in England. For those who have studied the details of this period of history, they will likely be familiar with his fate, so parts of where the novel can be heading will be forseen. Villiers is clearly the baddie, a man who raped Hester, who goes on to give birth to a son, Rafe, whom she raises and is protective of. She is one of three sisters with strong bonds with each other, Melis with her connection with bees, and the remarkable ability to see into the future with her visions, visions that leave her open to the dangers of being denounced as a witch, and as such must be protected. Young Hope is so beautiful that she attracts unwanted attention to the family, and unsuitable men that she is not always capable of resisting.

Villiers has decided that he wishes to reclaim his illegitimate son, Rafe, and there is no way that Hester, with her secrets, will acquiesce to this demand. There is nothing she will not do to keep Rafe safe as she and her sisters plan a escape to a sanctuary provided by family connections. However, Villiers is an extremely powerful man, and he puts a trusted man in charge of finding them and taking care of 'business'. It has to be said that the sisters make a set of poor decisions and have a penchant for trusting too easily in this intriguing and compelling story. Will they be able to survive? This is entertaining historical fiction with twists, of sisters, being a mother, secrets, the precarious position of women in this time period, and the social norms, attitudes and expectations they faced.

This will appeal to those interested in this historical period and enjoy their suspense. Many thanks to the publisher for the novel.

Very well written, the language was beautiful. A great balance between historical fiction and supernatural intrigue.

An interesting read that I'm glad to have discovered. I'll definitely be seeking out more by this author.

Every now and then I like to challenge myself with my reading and step completely outside of my comfort zone. I feel that this is what I managed to do with The Honey and the Sting by E.C. Fremantle. Historical fiction is something that I often shy away from but this book is proof of the reward for trying something different.

Set in the 17th century we learn about three sisters, Hester, Melis and Hope. This book also features George Villiers who was the 1st Duke of Buckingham and from what I could ascertain a thoroughly objectionable man. He gets Hester pregnant against her will and then Hester is cast out of the house. The sisters go on the run but they all have secrets to hide. Things get a lot more complex when George Villiers decides to claim his son. Is their secret going to be a help or a poison chalice?


I loved the gothic feel to this story and the inner strength portrayed by the women. They don't know who to trust but I was rooting for them and enjoyed the tension building up and finding out if the girls could evade George Villiers.

I enjoyed the beautiful writing and the drama that unfolded as the pages turned. I feel that I learnt quite a lot from the book and there are also supernatural elements. Intrigue built up as the book went on and carried on throughout.

I would definitely read more of this authors books in the future.

This was such a thrilling and enjoyable read. I was hooked when it got half way through the novel. I loved how the sisters were written and they were all so distinctive and interesting. There were a few moments I didn't live but they weren't major issues with the book.

A fast paced, gripping and interesting story that mixes historical fiction and thriller elements.
Great character development, a vivid and well researched historical background, excellent storytelling.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

In the early 17th century live three sisters, beautiful Hope, strange Melis and practical Hester. Hester has a son born out of wedlock to a powerful Duke who decides to claim his son, the three sisters escape to a remote house in the middle of a wood but are pursued. Fearing their family friend and helper Ambrose dead they are forced to trust the man purporting to come from him, Lieutenant Bloor. Bloor is dead however and they are actually at the mercy of Lieutenant Felton, a childhood friend of the Duke, who is charged with taking the child and stopping any interference from Hester.
This is a very dreamy, almost magical, book which explores some difficult themes. The semi-redemption of Felton is one, as is his relationship with George and the hidden secret. The sisters are lightly drawn but powerful creatures and each brings a different aspect to the story. It is not the most pleasant tale at times but does have a moral ending.

This was a fast-paced historical thriller. If you're expecting your normal historical fiction that slowly builds the world and characters, it's not your gem then. I enjoyed it a lot because I love both historical fiction and thrillers, so the combination was really good.
I liked the writer's style as well. It was a feminist revenge story that was very readable and intriguing.

Thanks a lot to the publisher and NG for this copy.

Thankyou Netgalley for another enjoyable read. Set in England 1628 this is another historical fiction i have come to find myself enjoy tremendously this year, considering it is not usually a genre I go for until recently. The story follows three sisters, Hester, Melissa & Hope who go against the odds of survival as well as against what is expected of women within that time. Each sister brings a different dynamic to the story as they flee their family home to protect Hester's illegitimate son Rafe from his father. Not only is the story a well written piece for the time in which it is set, but the cover is equally as beautiful

History from the perspective of the little people

In the seventeenth century, despite their apparent powerlessness, three very different sisters – Hester, Melis and Hope – join forces to outwit the most charismatic and manipulative man in England, George Villiers, first Duke of Buckingham, royal favourite of both James I and Charles I.

Set during a drowsy summer, the novel takes as its focal point Buckingham’s real-world assassination by John Felton, a discontented army officer in 1628, and works backwards to ‘explain’ it. The psychic powers of Melis combine with the real-life magic of the bees to create a story that is at once historical thriller, family saga and brutal revenge tragedy.

I have read and enjoyed many EC Fremantle novels, which are usually about the stars of history. This novel was intriguing in showing the lives of ordinary women, slap bang in the middle of society (their father was a doctor), and the misogyny they had to contend with.

I've been meaning to read more historical fiction so I was really excited to pick this one up, however i ended up dnfing this at 36% because, frankly, I was bored.

The story isn't bad, really, and people interested in the time period the book set in likely will get more out of it than I did, but I just needed something /more/ to stay interested. I was really disappointed in the villain because even though he was described as charismatic, none of that charisma shone through in his interactions with the other characters. The protagonists, too, seemed a bit single-faceted to me. I don't need to relate to characters but I need to at least find them interesting. and sadly that just didn't happen for me. The switches between third and first person narration were also a little jarring.

Unfortunately, this just wasn't it for me.

My thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Honey and the Sting’ by E C Fremantle in exchange for an honest review.

“There is a wasp in our hive, we must be rid of it.” - Melis.

England, 1628. Doctor’s daughter, Hester, had been forcibly seduced by the powerful George Villiers, then cast aside when she fell pregnant. She returned home to the village of Iffley to raise her son, Rafe, hoping to never see Villiers again.

Her sister, Melis, has a strong affinity with the bees that she raises for honey. On occasion, she makes pronouncements about what is to come. Hester protects her from any accusations of witchcraft, a real danger in this period of English history. Their youngest sister Hope, who was adopted as an infant, is a great beauty. She often draws unwelcome advances that on occasion she finds hard to resist.

The orphaned sisters live a quiet pastoral life though as Rafe’s ninth birthday approaches, Villiers decides to claim him against Hester's protests. The sisters’ only option is to flee and go into hiding.

In addition, Hester holds a secret that could endanger Villiers’ position at Court. Learning of this, Villiers enlists the aid of his former comrade, John Felton, to track them, recover his son and eliminate the threat posed by the sisters. Felton is down on his luck and flattered that Villiers, who had been his lover, chose him to undertake this sensitive task.

Felton is one of the three narrative points of view in the novel. The others are Hester, whose chapters are in first person, and Hope.

The given name of Melis, is related to Melissa, the Greek name for bee. I have long been fascinated by the symbolism and mythology of bees, including their link to prophetic visions, which fits perfectly with Melis’ role in the novel.

Full marks to Fremantle for creating interesting characters whose fate I came to care about. Hester is such a powerful force, fierce as a lioness in her protection of her loved ones. Even Felton, who so easily have been portrayed as an all out baddie, is revealed as complex in his motivations.

Fremantle says that she was inspired by Jacobean revenge dramas to write this novel. While the sisters are fictional, George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Lieutenant Felton are both historical figures, and have made a number of appearances in works of fiction, most notably ‘The Three Musketeers’.

Overall, I found ‘The Honey and the Sting’ an excellent work of historical fiction with elements of the uncanny and a strong grounding in period detail. It was a thrilling read with danger constantly stalking the sisters and had a satisfying resolution.

On a side note, the cover art is exquisite.

I certainly plan to look into Fremantle’s earlier books.

Highly recommended.