Remember Bee Movie? I do. It came out when my kid was at that age when kids get fixated on a show or movie and want to watch it all the fucking time. Most of those fixations are enough for me to last a lifetime (looking at you, Cars), but sometimes they stick with me for whatever reason. To date, G.M. Fairy has written books about two of those movies. First it was Shrek (Get in my Swamp) and now it’s Bee Movie. Don’t ask me why I like Bee Movie so much, I couldn’t explain it if I tried. But the existence of Bad Beehavior makes one thing clear. I was not the only one who saw something more going on between Barry the bee and Vanessa the human. Every time I watch it, I think about the weird romantic subtext and my brain plays its own little movie in the background. Someone finally wrote that movie.

Baryx is an black and yellow alien on a mission to find his perfect genetic match on Earth. He is supposed to fly around in his compact form that makes him look like an Earth bee until he meets her, pollinate (impregnate) her and extract the embryo, and then go home. His peoples’ population is rapidly dwindling, so they have no qualms about using what they think is an undeveloped race to shore up their numbers. If you, dear reader, are uncomfortable with dubcon themes, give this one a pass. It is a recurring theme that eventually gets resolved through communication and understanding, but it is there. Anyway, Baryx gets to Earth and goes to work immediately. He is shocked to learn that the inhabitants of the blue planet are far more advanced than anticipated and immediately has doubts about the mission, but he soldiers on for the sake of his people. Despite having antennae specifically tuned to find his genetic match, he finds himself inexplicably drawn to Jannessa, a florist who Baryx’s antennae deem unsuitable. This scene plays out almost exactly like Bee Movie, complete with newspaper swat and befuddled boyfriend. I’m laughing my ass off at this point because I’m seeing the Kent character as his Bee Movie equivalent making the incredulous face.

And truly, that is how you read a book like this. It is pure fun. My brain superimposed Bee Movie’s voice actors over my internal voice and my imagination and G.M. Fairy’s words did the rest. Granted Jerry Seinfeld doesn’t make for a particularly sexy mmc voice, but honestly? I loved it. Let me know when you write a book based on Mulan or maybe Beauty and the Beast. I know you’ve seen the memes.