Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In Here is the Beehive, Sarah Crossan examines grief in a way I haven’t seen before— what happens when the person you’re having an affair with dies, and you have to handle your grief in secret from those around you?

My Thoughts: Here is the Beehive is my first Crossan book, and I was very impressed with her writing. This book is written in verse, with the narrative broken into lyrical chunks. I found myself often rereading sentences that I particularly loved.

Some people found the timeline in this book hard to follow— flitting between sections set in present day and flashbacks to Ana’s past meetings with Connor. However, I felt that the disorientation when switching timelines reflected Ana’s headspace— she’s so consumed with Connor that she’s never fully present in any moment.

This is not a happy read, and at times it made me downright sad or uncomfortable. But what I loved about it was that nothing was romanticized or held back—we feel Ana’s emotions in full, and we witness the breakdowns of her relationships with her family in real-time.

We all know that affairs can have a rippling effect on everyone surrounding the couple— but this book takes that idea in another direction and breaks it down further.

I would recommend this book for lovers of literary fiction, novels in verse, or stories about complex romantic relationships. This book comes out today- 11/17!

I buzzed through this lovely lyrical novel in about an hour one evening. Sarah Crossan does such a wonderful job at examining the often blurred and messy lines of grief and infidelity without casting any judgement. The novel is a compassionate and empathetic portrait of a woman dealing with the fallout of the death of her lover in both a personal and professional capacity. While I normally don't gravitate towards poetry or lyrical prose, I loved Crossan's style and found it far easier to follow than I had anticipated. I can see myself returning to this book many more times.

A fresh take on grief, loss, and the complicated feelings of being married. I would have enjoyed it more had it not been written in the odd verse format, but I came to appreciate it as the book wore on.

I was struck by the adage “ be careful what you wish for”. Ann , a lawyer learns her lover has died and is visited by his widow to settle the estate. We learn it was her manipulation that has brought Rebecca to her office. Anne set up this scenario and through a series of revelations learns that the descriptions from her lover were not truthful , inaccurate, false and in some cases lies. It is these revelations that prompt Anne to question not only the great “love” of her life but every premise she has made about their love and it’s depth. Truth is a great pill to swallow and poor Anne will need a huge glass to get this down.

I'm not sure if the formatting of the book was set up purposefully to be a little confusing, or what, but I did not like it. The story was decent. It was a little hard to follow due to the formatting, but other than that problem, it wasn't a bad book. I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. It wasn't awful, but not necessarily memorable either.

Oh, geez. Once I got into the rhythm of the almost free-verse writing and quieted my inner voice telling Ana to stop this all consuming affair with a married man and get back to caring for her own family and marriage, I enjoyed this different approach to this story told in first person. When Ana, a lawyer, finds out from the wife of the man with whom she had an affair, that he is dead life changes and not for the better. Of all things, she tried to befriend his widow. Going back and forth in time, Ana delves into what the obsessive affair meant to her and what it is doing to her now that its ended. This is an honest, almost dispassionate look at how difficult relationships can be.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.
A story told in verse that is sometimes a little hard to follow but that gets to the core of the characters feelings. A love affair that will only end in pain is deeply revealed.
Takes some time to get into the book but ends up with the reader's deep involvement with the characters.

This is an odd little book. Great writing but with a subject of moderate interest, and a set of selfish people at its core. I did not connect with whatever it is that has hyped the book so vigorously this season. Even those it is a fast read, I suspect the book is one that people will say they've read much more frequently than they actually read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Here is the Beehive” follows Ana who has been having an affair with Connor for the past three years. Suddenly she finds herself alone, feeling erased with the absence of anything that proves their love ever existed. After years of secrets, lies and overlapping marriages Ana must face her grief, obsession and loss.
I went into this book hesitantly, it is not something I would normally read but something about the concept really intrigued me and I’m so glad I requested it. This book absolutely blew me away. I hope to read it again soon because I think it just calls to be reread. The prose is absolutely stunning and transformative. I was nearly crying by the end. I wasn’t sure at first that it being written in verse was the right choice but it no doubt, absolutely was. The short forms of free verse tear you back and forth between timelines squeezing out information bit by bit.
While I found the beginning a bit slow and confusing, once I was one part in I couldn’t put it down. The slow reveals cause questions to keep churning in your head, begging to be answered. Crossan has a unique talent for leading the reader to believe they know the character, that they can picture them and make reasonable assumptions about them, and then she absolutely turns your world upside down with one simple sentence. The limited words just really did something for me. It felt like she was always holding back and yet it was so incredibly raw. Everything about this book was emotional and real, it is hard for authors to put so much feeling onto paper and I think Crossan did it perfectly.
The reason I am only giving it four stars instead of five is for the areas which definitely needed more clarity. The problem books face a lot of times when they are written in a non traditional format is sometimes the message just isn’t translated as well as it could’ve been had it been written in paragraphs. There were a couple spots in this book that I got stuck on where I either couldn’t figure out where in the timeline we were, or what exactly was going on. These parts were few and far between but did interrupt the rhythm and pulled me out of the story. My only other critique is for the beginning. It was a bit tough to get into and very jarring to be thrown so heavily into the story without much context and with such little explanation. In my opinion I think slightly more could’ve been added to certain parts such as the beginning and possibly more explanation on the character Mark, who seems to be important but it’s unclear how he knows about Ana and Conner and what role he played in their relationship. It would have been very interesting to have heard more about him in one of the flashback segments.
Overall, I think this book was excellent. I can not wait to read more from Sarah Crossan and I highly recommend you pick up “Here Comes the Beehive” when it comes out!

This novel is short, but very powerful. Ana has an on again, off again affair with a married man. It both tears her up and brings her joy until she finds out he died.

The novel is written in a sort of stream of consciousness and jumps back and forth In her memories. It’s sometimes difficult to know what’s past and what’s present, but it doesn’t really matter. She’s grieving. Yet, because they managed to keep their affair a secret, she has no one to talk to about it and it leaves her floundering.

It’s dark and provocative. If you find cheating offensive, I’d skip this one. There is no real condemnation of what they were doing. You get the sense she knows it’s wrong, but no one seems to really care. There are no reasons, no excuses for her or her lover. Still, it was hard not to think of her as the victim, as someone to be pitied.

It’s a detailed account of her life before and after and it’s naked truth. There’s no sugar coating. It’s love that hurts. A life that’s hard. The best part is that it’s told from Ana’s perspective and without judgement. The authors feelings on Ana’s choices don’t come through as preachy consequences or from snippy dialogue from side characters. It’s a pleasure to read something so raw and real and I think it was an artistic feat the author accomplished very well.

If you like the style of Jane Austen, where you get the real, unvarnished lives of real unvarnished people, I think you’ll like this too.

I didn’t think I would. I put off reading it. The style put me off. By the end, I was hooked. I read this in one sitting. It is quite short with a good pace, but also powerful. 3.5 stars rounded up.

With the popularity of Sally Rooney, this will be a good book to fill the void while also standing on its own merits.

Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan is written almost in stream of consciousness as we follow the main character, Ana, as she finds out that her lover has been killed in an accident. She is the executor of his will as an estate lawyer and develops a friendship with his wife. They argued before his death and she has no closure, is not even sure that he loved her, although she does seem relieved that now her husband will never find out.

I found this novel to be mildly disturbing in the way she treats her family (she would leave them in a second if Connor said he would leave his) and how she inserts herself into Connor's family after his death. Ana is obviously not a stable or happy woman.

The other thing that bothered me was the way the author jumped around, one second we were in the present, the next in the past with Ana and Connor. It was disconcerting. Fortunately it was a quick read. I was left with a feeling of confusion...almost like I was a peeping Tom into the woman's life where I had no reason to be.

Thank you to the author, Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is a one of a kind gem. I loved it ! I could feel the pain and desperation in her description of her dead lover. I’m felt I knew this character and could feel empathy for her , whether she deserved it or not. An excellent read. Book clubs put this on your list.

I loved this book and also hated this book. Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossen is written in prose and a very open style. Sometimes the language flowed beautifully from one thought to the next. Sometimes the fact that I never knew who has speaking and that there were no paragraphs drove me nuts.

Ana has had an affair and she finds out that her lover has died in an accident. She narrates the book like she is talking to Connor, her lover, often saying "but you aren't here..." Ana has a husband and children and because of her guilt and sadness and also the affair when it was going on - her marriage is in trouble. As the solicitor who is executor of Connor's will - Ana meets Connor's wife and is befriended by her. At times I felt sorry for Ana for all her suffering and at other times I felt like she deserved it.

Here is the Beehive is a very quick read due to the open prose style. It felt like a short story that had been extended to make a book. I enjoyed the plot very much but was distracted by the writing style.

Sarah Crossan manages to tackle the difficult subjects of infidelity and grief in a lyrical way. Written in verse, the narrative unfolds in a stream of consciousness as the main character, Ana, travels backwards into her memories and into the present state of loneliness and desperation. It is not normally a topic I'd enjoy reading, but the author's skill at weaving together the narrative made me want to keep reading to the end.

This novel is similar in feel to books by Emma Jane Unsworth or Sally Rooney. It is character-driven and quickly paced, though the plot is simple. I never had a deep emotional connection with any of the characters because there was almost a clinical coldness to the book, and I am unsure whether that was intentional.

Advanced readers copy provided courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Here is the Beehive is my first book by Sarah Crossan. I loved reading this short book about lovers and wives. Ana Kelly is an estate lawyer who is well versed in dealing with people who have lost their loved ones. When she finds out that her lover, Connor Mooney, died in an accident, Ana quickly unravels but is smart enough to say she will take the widow's case.

Free verse makes the story even more enjoyable to read. The form compliments the context to create a feeling of conversation with funny twists and turns. The struggle of desire versus guilt eats at both of them, and as the verse moves quickly, the full story about lovers emerges.

At times, I felt deep sympathy for Ana, who seems disappointed in her life. She has so much except for happiness. The surprises in this story made it such a compelling read. I will look for more stories written by Crossan.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

Here Is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan tells the story of an illicit affair between Ana and Connor. When Connor dies a sudden death, Ana is forced to grieve his death in silence.

😁❤️:
-I have a huge soft spot for deeply flawed characters and this book is full of them.
-This book is told in verse and I thought it was beautifully written. It reminded me of a cross between Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney.

😕🥴:
-I found the translations between past and present a bit disorienting.
-There’s very little closure to the book. But I also found that fitting in Ana’s case.

Overall, this gets a 4/5⭐️. This is not a love story, but rather an exploration of grief, loss, and infidelity. I read in one sitting and I was totally immersed in this story. I would recommend if you gravitate towards well written, but problematic plots that conjure a host of emotions.

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company and Netgalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a highly enjoyable read. I read the book in one day. Did I like the narrator? I can’t tell you because that would spoil the ending of the book and no, it’s not because she’s unreliable. What actions do we take in time of grief? How does One grieve? How does grief and lies impact our families?

Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown and Company and Sarah Crossan for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.
Beautifully written and crafted this is a story of love and obsession, jealousy and heartbreak, loss and grief, pain and regret.
Ana is married to Paul and a mother of two. She has been having an affair with Conor for several years. When Conor dies suddenly and tragically, Ana is left to grieve alone and silently. There is no one to console her because she is ‘the other woman’. The twist is that Ana is the attorney overseeing Conor’s estate. In her grief, she befriends Conor’s widow Rebecca in an attempt to hold onto his memory as the layers of their passionate three year affair peel away.
Moving from past to present, Sarah Crossan took me on the emotional rollercoaster ride of Ana’s struggles with sharp, effective prose that both haunted and stirred my emotions.
This is a novel that consumed me from the very first line.
Highly recommended.

Written in verse, Here is the Beehive is an intricate little novel on love and grief.
It offers a unique perspective --how do you grieve the death of a loved one when no one is even supposed to know about your relationship? Ana Kelly is a wills-and-trusts solicitor who falls in love with Connor --one of her clients. They begin an illicit affair that spans three+ years until his death. Ana falls apart at the seams, but she can't openly express her sadness or pain. Her grief was really palpable and heartfelt.

The story shifts around in time and we see glimpses of Ana and Connor's relationship. We also slowly see pieces of Ana's and Connor's own lives --both have spouses and kids. I like how as their affair grows, Ana starts to resent her husband and her life. I really liked the brevity of some of the scenes, sentences, and chapters. Writing in verse gives it a romantic yet terse tone that really serves the story well. One is definitely drawn in as an observer. I really appreciated how the story was told and thought it was an effective was to present Ana'as the “other woman.” Crossan’s writing was subtle and I loved the way she developed each character. The “other woman” is often presented as the homewrecker, but in this novel, you can really see the different sides of a love triangle in a more objective and organic way.

Though the subject may not be for everyone, readers should give this a try as it’s a well-crafted story that will definitely have you thinking. I give it 3.5 stars.

Thank you Little, Brown and Company and Net Galley for the Advanced Reader's Copy.