Do you enjoy being completely blindsided by a book? If so, Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan's collaboration Mad Honey will be right up your alley. Just don't read anything about the book or authors before picking up this novel if you want to keep the twists a surprise.

Jodi Picoult is one of my most-read authors, having discovered her as a young adult and reading her throughout the many years of her illustrative career. Knowing her writing style fairly well, I got comfortable with Mad Honey and settled into this book expecting it to progress like much of Jodi's other novels ... until it didn't. The twist of this book snuck up on me when I least expected it and made me read the passage again in disbelief. While I can often guess at curveballs in stories, I didn't see this one coming.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but here's what I can share. Jodi Picoult is known for taking a hot button issue and spinning a compelling narrative about it. Her stories dig deep into what essentially makes us human and touches on heart and emotion in a way that few others can. Her books are relationship-based, centering often on that of a parent and child, as in Mad Honey, where a mother is shocked to discover that her son has been accused of murdering his high school sweetheart. Picoult then examines the psychological and legal implications of the issue she has chosen, often inserting a courtroom drama into her story.

In Mad Honey, we are introduced to Olivia McAfee, a beekeeper, who brings us under her wing and teaches us all that she knows about caring for bees. As most Picoult novels do, Jodi envelops us into the professions of her characters, teaching us so many interesting and useful tidbits about their trades. I can't tell you how many different career paths I have traveled down thanks to Jodi Picoult novels! We are also introduced to Olivia's son Asher and his girlfriend of a few months, Lily, who is new to the area. Olivia has never seen her son so in love, and she takes to Lily right away, which makes Lily's subsequent death purportedly at the hands of her son so shocking. Asher loved Lily, so how could he be guilty of murdering her?

Told in chapters alternating between Olivia and Lily, we travel from present day to past, learning more about Olivia and Lily's backstories and how they came to find themselves where they are today. Heartfelt and explosive, Mad Honey will have you questioning everything you thought to be true. This is a book about the love between a mother and son; the love between a girl and a guy; a story about loving blindly through thick, thin, and everything in between.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan is a riveting story of suspense, love, and family secrets. Olivia McAfee's picture-perfect life was upended when her husband revealed his dark side, leaving her to return to her sleepy New Hampshire hometown with her son Asher in tow. But their fresh start quickly spirals out of control when Asher falls for Lily Campanello, the new girl in town, and tragedy strikes when she is found dead, and he becomes the prime suspect. With expertly crafted characters and sharp dialogue, this novel draws you in from the first page and keeps you guessing until the very end. Mad Honey is a must-read for fans of Picoult’s previous works, as well as those looking for an engaging and thought-provoking story. It’s sure to keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. Highly recommended!

Every time I think I know where a Jodi Picoult book is going, she completely subverts things and turns everything on its head. You’d think iMd have gotten used to this after reading three other books and seeing one of her stage shows, but she honestly keeps getting better and better. And I love the research that went into this with the bees, I learned more than I was expecting to but I appreciate attention to detail like that.

Mad Honey is the first book that I've read by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan and I certainly wasn't disappointed. This book kept me engaged from start to finish with a shocking revelation that completely surprised me! I'll definitely be checking out both authors' previous titles.

Bee keeping/bees/honey
Long chapters
Heavy subject matter (make sure to check your TW)

This author is so hit or miss for me. I loved this one at first. After a while though, the long chapters and length of book kinda wore on me.

Also, I know the name of the book is mad honey, but after a while the constant bee keeping/bees/honey metaphors got old.

Overall, decent. Beautiful cover.

Should our to bees. #savethebees

Another great one by Jodi Picoult. One of the things that I love about her writing is how well researched every element is. I also appreciate the fact that she paired up with another author for this book, one who can lend an ownvoices element to the story. While it took awhile for me to get into this one, Mad Honey did not disappoint and I found myself tearing through the ending waiting to see how it turned out.

I’m one of Jodi Picoult’s biggest fans and Mad Honey did NOT change that. She has such a beautiful way of writing about controversial and difficult subjects that just amazes me every time. She and her co-author did a phenomenal job with this story.

I am, however, beginning to expect the same thing from her. Her books, while incredible, are very formulaic. I’ll read everything she writes until the day I die, though!

I received a free copy from NetGalley. A master of her craft Ms. Picoult again did not disappoint.

Date made up. I feel behind on reviews.

One of my favorites of the year! Mad Honey is such a uniquely multi-faceted book. I fell in love with the characters, wept at the pain they went through, and sat on pins and needles during the courtroom trial. Interwoven in this story of family and love and identity is a beautifully detailed description of beekeeping. I loved the way the authors connected the bees' lives and experience of trauma to the pain of the main characters.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Mad Honey reminds me of classic Jodi Picoult - parent/child relationships, teen romance, court room drama and a ripped from headlines current controversial shocking twist. What makes Mad Honey different than Picoult's other titles is that she co-wrote with another author. They tackle a sensitive topic with dignity and information to educate the readers. I have to say, I may have more questions than answers, but I did find it an interesting read.

Mad Honey started slow but really picked up speed and drew me in. The “big” wow moment kept me up reading well past my bedtime. I enjoyed the character development and the story. Great read!

This book was just simply amazing!

The collaboration of authors brought so much more to the story. I was hooked from the very beginning and by the middle of the novel, I was having trouble putting it down.

Other than a great story. This book provided the opportunity for educating readers that ALL trans-people are different. Having an open mind and being accepting of others is a goal we all sould have, and this emotional book puts so much of that out there.

Thank you Ballantine Books, Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan!

Holy crap I don’t even know where to start. The plot twists left my jaw hanging open! The view points of the characters really left an impression an I could just feel their emotions. MUST READ!

So, this book started out super strong for me. There is a very compelling story of Olivia escaping an abusive relationship and taking her son back to the home she grew up in. She was able to take over the trade of making and selling honey, which was enough to keep them doing ok. She assumes all is well until her son is questioned in the death of his girlfriend. This is when the crazy ride really begins. We begin to question if Olivia's son, Asher, has picked up on the abuse that convinced Olivia to run. We question who the girlfriend, Lily really was and if there was some dark secrets there. More and more suspects came out of the woodwork in this novel. The twist I most definitely did not see coming. While not disclosing the plot, I understand that we are trying to raise awareness of all people, but I really felt that there was an agenda being pushed and it was pushed HARD. It was just cumbersome to me in the end. It was a suspenseful read though, I will give it that!

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

At one point Jodi Picoult was an auto-buy author for me. Mad Honey is the perfect example of why you should read Jodi Picoult! beautiful, heartbreaking, and twisty.... This book kept me guessing. I like when I can't figure out the plot early on in the book.

Thank you Jodi, NetGalley, and the publishing team for the free ARC of this book!

Jodi Picoult is back with a compelling read that I could not put down. I loved this collaboration between Picoult and Jennifer Finley Boylan. The characters were amazing and the background details about bee keeping and honey were perfect. Highly recommended.

Genre: Contemporary/Mystery

Format: Audio

4.5 stars! - I really liked it!

Thank you @prhaudio and @netgalley for the complimentary audiobook and EARC!

A captivating, insightful, and thought-provoking story of tragedy, heartbreak, grief, and love.

This book balanced emotional themes while remaining informative and engaging. I really enjoyed all the facts about bees sprinkled throughout the book!

I was completely shocked by the twist, and thought so much about this book was incredible! Overall, the ending didn’t really line up with the trajectory and journey throughout the book for me, and left me wanting a little bit more. Despite the ending, this is one I would absolutely recommend and think would make an excellent book club pick!

This was such a great discussion with my #tttbuddyread gals, and I highly suggest going in blind for this one! I thought the audiobook for this one was especially good! There were different narrators for different POV’s which really enhanced the overall experience for me.

I have always loved Jodi's books and this one did not disappoint! I see a lot of people "disappointed" with the book because it tackles some really controversial topics but this has always been her thing!! Look back to Nineteen Minutes or even more recently Wish You Were Here. I thought she handled it beautifully and I truly was taken completely by surprise by the twist in the middle of the book. I do think some parts in the back half dragged on a little bit and could have done without but overall really enjoyable book.

WOW! This book was amazing and one of my favorites by Picoult. The best part is that this one was a book that was co-written together with Jennifer Finney Boylan. You cannot tell which part is written by which author. Now that is a fantastic feat just in itself! It flowed THAT well!

It's a story told in two voices. Olivia, is a single mother and a bee keeper. Her son Asher is 18 years old and his girlfriend is found dead. The other voice is, Lily, the girlfriend of Asher.

I don't want to give anything away as I was totally stunned by the revelations. What a thought-provoking, and powerful story this turned out to be. I felt the emotions and it even had me in tears at some points. This is an important story that everyone in this world should read and try to UNDERSTAND with COMPASSION!

This was brilliantly written and the narration is amazing. Definitely one of my favorites from 2022!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and I was excited to read it: I have enjoyed all the works by Jodi Picoult that I have read and the domestic violence element was something I was particularly interested in. I liked that Jodi Picoult so often writes such timely books with such strong characters and I was excited for a book that would suck me in and keep me reading.
This book was so much more than that. This book, at its heart, wasn't really about being trans or being a victime of being domestic violence. Those were certainly topics she discussed, but they weren't at the heart of it. There is a line near the end, after the trial is over, after we know what happened to Lily. I have an eARC, so I can't go back and find the exact quote, but it's: in the end, Lilly wasn't killed because she was trans, she was killed because she was a woman. In the context of the scene it was in, the line was like a gut punch. It actually hurt. I thought, how true. How endless and vast are the dangers to women and how real was Lily's story. I absolutely loved it.