Tell It to the Bees is a warm, emotionally rich follow-up to Garden of Her Heart. Zoe Richards weaves a gentle story of healing, connection and quiet strength. Lorraine’s retreat is under pressure, but the arrival of Georgie, with her unexpected bond with the garden’s bees, sparks change in more ways than one.

Beautifully written with likable characters and a comforting pace, this is a feel-good read that lingers softly. Perfect for fans of character-driven stories with a touch of nature and heart.

I realised quite quickly that this book was part of a series so was unsure whether to carry on or wait until I had read the first book. I did read it and enjoyed it, the story line was interesting and the characters were well written. I have since downloaded the first book and will read that book and re read this one so I can fully understand the storyline and the characters.
My thanks as always to Net Galley and to Publisher Fox & Ink Books for an early read and to author Zoë Richards for a most enjoyable book.

Tell it to the Bees by Zoe Richards is the follow up to her wonderful book, Garden of Her Heart, and if you have not already read that I would recommend picking it up before this one, not just because this book revisits many of the characters but also because it is a really good book. That being said this book can absolutely be read as a stand alone.
We return to Pinewood Retreat which is facing some significant financial difficulties and a not insignificant repair bill despite the best efforts of the owners and staff. It seems primed for a takeover and a local developer sends in Georgie, a successful businesswoman, undercover to scope out the weaknesses of the business so that he can offer the lowest possible price, but as is often the case a stay at Pinewood Retreat turns out to be exactly what Georgie needed to take stock of her life, both personal and professional and she soon finds herself reassessing her priorities.
I knew going into this book that it was going to be a feel good read, and it did not disappoint. Seeing all the familiar faces at the retreat felt like reuniting with old friends and I could empathise with Georgie even if she seemed thoroughly unlikeable at first and I struggled to understand some of her decisions at times. Her growth over the course of the book was beautiful to see and I wanted to stand up and cheer her on at certain points. This is a book that feels like a warm hug, one that I would recommend to readers looking for something cosy and feel good, with a lot of heart. I wish I could book myself into the Pinewood Retreat but for now I will just have to hope for more tales of those who find their way there.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I’ve been reading this book in Liverpool, and was very tempted once more, to divert myself to the lovely Pinewoods Retreat, to see if I can get some of its restorative happiness for myself!
As in Zoe’s previous book, Garden of Her Heart, we have a female protagonist having a tough time, who ends up at the retreat. Georgie is originally there for nefarious purposes, but is drawn in my the amazing food and nurturing atmosphere, and soon realises that her husband is a horror and things need to change.
Like a lovely warm hug of a book. Just right if you need a restorative reading experience.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

i fell in love with this book right from the start. why doesn't this place exist with posters about it just like this cover? because i want to go please.
i was then instantly immersed and involved with this book and it touched my heart in all the ways i wished for going in.
i wanted to spend every moment i could within this books pages and story. my problem was that this meant i raced through it and it soon came to an end. but wow. what a book. i loved it.
you get completely enveloped into. it feels like a balm for the soul.
although at first Georgie comes to the retreat under false pretences i completely felt for her. she was a relatable character that found herself living a life and doing things in ways im sure we all can relate to. coming to the retreat was something this woman needed.
you get all the old gang back together for this book and i had a big smile on my face knowing we would be doing so. then seeing once again Zoe's writing of them all just bought me joy. these were characters i loved the first time and that only increased with this book.
the aspects around nature in this book also gives its the layers and feels to it. there is a heart to this book through all the telling and contents within. a woven feeling that just goes from page to page and takes you with it.
getting to be back here exceeded anything i could have wished for going in. i thought i couldn't love anything more than the first book but this book sit nicely alongside it on a shelf in my heart.

I was asked to review Tell It To the Bees for book sales and recommendation site LoveReading. I have recommended that this book be promoted as a book of the month. Please see the link for the full review, thank you.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I loved this book. It was great to be back at Pinewoods Retreat.

Georgie comes to the retreat under false pretences and tries to make friends with the other residents for her own gain.

The characters were all lovely and some were relatable like Georgie, how she got to the stage she is and her pace of life.

The story kept you turning the pages.

I highly recommend this book.

It's fair to say that Zoë's previous book, Garden of Her Heart, was one of my favourite books of 2024 and I have since bought about 12 copies to give to family and friends. I read it as an e-arc but then bought myself a copy once it was out. The same goes for this one. I've already pre-ordered this title but I will keep the pre-order even though I have this e-arc.

This is such a difficult book for me to review properly because this book, and the previous one, are about how the book makes you feel rather than what I liked or disliked about it.

I worried I wouldn't like this one as much as the first one because it truly meant so much to me, but it completely enveloped me in the same way.

We've got all the old characters we fell in love with in the first book, and we've got the new ones, and they're instantly likeable. The old characters are almost like our friends or family, and it can be jarring when new ones get added to that pack, but it completely works here. And of course we've got our 'villains' who, whilst unlikeable, are still brilliant characters.

I am so sad that Pinewoods isn't a real place because I can promise you I'd be the first booked in.

Again, I loved the love and respect that nature is given in this book. Not in a pushy 'tree-hugger' type way that gets a lot of negativity, but in a natural, realistic, honest, important way.

I recommended Garden Of Her Heart as a tonic, I wanted it to on prescription to anyone who was dealing with anything bad, troubling, sad, or bad mental health, and I will do the same with this.

What an amazing book! After recently reading Garden of her Heart, I was so excited to return to Pinewoods Retreat. I didn’t think it was possible but I loved this book even more than Garden of her Heart (which was also a 5 star rating). I was a little nervous that wouldn’t like Tell It to the Bees, but it really exceeded my expectations.
I think the added scandals and further development of characters just made this book an easy, thoughtful read. I felt Georgie was such a realistic character - her life could very easily be one of us, caught up in work deals and personal trauma. I was really rooting for her!
I felt such a strong connection to Pinewoods as I would visit Formby as a child, and it’s where my Grandads memorial is - so it was always going to pull on my heart strings - I felt at home reading about Pinewoods.

I will be recommending this book at all my book friends a thank you for absolutely smashing it out the park!