3 out of 4 stars
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Have you ever experienced God’s calling on your life? Do you believe God has a specific destiny for you? These are a few of the questions author Barbara A. Gibson addresses in her inspirational fantasy Willoughby.
Though Willoughby grew up on a honeybee farm, and Wendy was raised in the Bronx, they feel an instant connection after they meet for the first time at the park. When their paths cross again at Beeler University, they soon realize that attending the same college is not the only thing they have in common. Both are close to their families who have mixed emotions about them going away to college instead of stepping into the family businesses. While Will and Wendy each have their own hopes and dreams, they agree they must first seek God’s destiny for their lives. What begins as a mutual attraction between the young couple becomes a spiritual journey that takes an unexpected twist as they answer God’s calling together.
In this relatively quick read, Gibson effectively conveys two of her passions: her Christian faith and the plight of the honeybee. From the crucial facts she shares about their decline, it’s obvious she’s done extensive research on bees. As an organic gardener who plants to attract pollinators, I appreciated her expertise. I was also captivated by her skillful use of imagery. As I read, I could almost smell the fragrance of flowers at Willoughby’s farm and hear the bees buzzing as they pollinated.
At the beginning of the story, Gibson creatively intertwines witty puns and symbolic references to the honeybee to emphasize the importance of God-given destiny and being true to yourself. Scriptures are often used to support these themes through the book. Regarding character development, I felt I was just getting to know Willoughby and Wendy, and a little about their families when the fantasy part of the plot was introduced. It caught me by surprise, and while I don’t want to reveal any spoilers, I will say I’ve never read anything quite like it! Unfortunately, as the fantasy continues, the characters become less relatable, and the writing style becomes confusing and hard to follow. The best way I can describe it is like reading a verbatim transcript of someone excitedly telling a story without editing any content. In addition, it feels rushed to come to a tidy conclusion, which results in too many unnecessary details. When multiple characters are given more than one name or nickname, it weakens the plot, and at times feels silly, which I don’t believe was the intention.
Though I didn’t find any grammatical errors, there are issues with the formatting for Kindle which resulted in framed blank spaces where illustrations should have been. Since the cover art was quite lovely, I found this disappointing.
Despite the issues with the fantasy storyline, I really enjoyed reading the facts about the honeybees, the beautiful imagery, and the sheer creativity of the plot, so I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to those interested in learning more about the plight of the honeybee and possible solutions. It will also appeal to fans of Christian fiction and fantasy.
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Willoughby
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