“You feel what you feel. I don’t know if there’s any point to deciding whether it’s good or bad.”

Oh man I wanted to love this. The beekeepers. The courtroom drama. The mystery. But it felt a bit disjointed. I dove into this story and was sucked in right away. But as the book progressed it stalled. There became too much backstory and not enough action. Also the chapters are longggg. The book itself is long. The way the story is told goes between multiple narrators and multiple timeframes. I found myself, at times, questioning where we were. Was it Olivia while she was married? Wait..after she left? Just not for me.

Thank you to Random House Publishing, Netgalley, and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Such an interesting read, a study of love, Parenthood, and so much more. Also, bees! The world of the bees is fascinating and Picoult does an amazing job of weaving them into the story.

What a thought provoking and well done book! I loved the timeline and how it moved in both directions at once. The bee facts were super interesting, as was everything else that unfolded.

Absolutely loved everything about this book. I may be biased because I love Jodi Picoult, but this was the type of book that made me forget I was reading!

I loved this page-turning courtroom drama. I true Jodi Picoult fashion, it was well researched, vivid, realistic and wise.

From the first sentence this book had me hooked. It took me a little longer than I would have liked to finish, but that’s due to personal reasons, not the book itself.

I did guess the real killer, but honestly up until that was shared, everyone was a suspect. There was one very good twist midway that I did not see coming! I think my jaw even dropped.
I personally have always loved bees so the tidbits of information about bees, honey, and beekeeping throughout the book were wonderful.

I also loved the mother/son storyline. I felt connected to Olivia and Asher because I know that I would protect my sons, no matter the cost. And no matter what they do or don’t do in this life, good or bad, my love for them is unwavering and unconditional. There is no relationship like the one between a mother and son.

This book will always hold a special place in my heart.

I do want to add that I have it a 4 star because of ALL the controversial hot topics the authors tried to shove in the book. I have no problem reading about the topics that were discussed, but I did feel it was too much and overwhelming. I think they could have stuck to Lily being transgender and focused more on the storyline of her being murdered by her best friend.

I read this book in less than 2 days as I could not put it down! The characters in the book remain in my head even now. The author's did an amazing job at showing both sides of the trans experience. I would recommend this book to absolutely everyone!

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boyland

455 Pages
Publisher: Random House – Ballentine Books, Ballentine Books
Release Date: October 4, 2022

Fiction, Literary Fiction, Transgender

Olivia is Asher’s mother and Lily is a teenage girl in a relationship with him. Lily’s mother came home to find her on the sofa with Asher standing over her covered in blood. Was it accident? Premeditated? Olivia calls her brother Jordan for support. What we find is not everyone is who we think.

The story is written in first person point of view from two different perspectives (Olivia and Lily). The characters are well developed and flawed individuals. The story leads up to the incident then one perspective moves backwards while the other goes forward. I admired the strength the women show throughout the story. This is a well written emotional story. It shows how people should be treated for who they are not what they are. It is a story that will stay with the reader long after the last page is read.

Mad Honey!! Wow one of my favorite books by JP and now a new to me author JFB. What I loved was how the book flowed between multiple POV. I felt the character development was outstanding and complex to some degree in that each one brings secrets and sorrow to the story. I found myself living in each of their lives as I read their respective chapters, which doesn’t always happen for me. It’s a romance with mystery and topics relevant to today. In addition you get insight into the world of honeybees which is fascinating, although at times it was hard to follow the terminology. A book that gets the reader to think outside the box for sure. One theme that’s resonates is the secrets we keep and how they haunt us. Does the apple really fall far from the tree? The storyline definitely gets you to looking at transgender in a different light and does a good job explaining the thought process of people who identify in that realm. It also gives insight into terminology not familiar to some cisgender folks. Breaking down the resistance for sure. Ty #Netgalley for the ARC all opinions are my own.

Jodi Picoult was one of the first authors that made me fall in love with reading as a teenager and this book felt very reminiscent of what I so fondly remember from that time. I appreciated that this was the familiar voice of Picoult, with an added voice of Boylan that made this story feel like something so new. This book has its moments of heart break, important social topics, redemptions and love. I truly could not put it down. If you truly enjoy Jodi Picoults books, this one will be no different for you.

My thanks to Net Galley for a copy of this e-book.

This story is told from Olivia's and Lily's perspectives. Olivia is raising her son Asher in the home she grew up in, raising bees as her father used to do. Lily and her mom Ava have recently moved to New Hampshire from CA. Both women had abuse in their home - from Olivia's husband and from Lily's father. Asher and Lily meet in high school and quickly become friends and start dating. Their relationship becomes intimate. Until one day, Olivia gets a call from Asher who is at the police station and Lily is dead. A good part of the book is the trial with Olivia's brother defending Asher.

Jodi Picoult is a great writer but it felt like she wanted to write this book with all of today's gender issues and hot button topics like abusive men. It was a bit much for me and at one point, I just had to stop reading for a while. Be aware this is a book with a lot of author agenda issues that not all will agree with. For me, I have some issues with giving children hormones and having them go through sex change surgeries before they are fully grown. Picoult wrote Olivia's chapters, Boylan wrote Lily's chapters, with each having written one of the other's chapters to assure a flow of writing in the book. {kindle, audio}

I read an ARC of this book, so I don’t know if any changes were made prior to publication. This book wasn’t at all what I expected it to be. I wasn’t bothered by the LGBTQ theme, I just didn’t expect for it to takeover as the prominent theme halfway in. I felt that it then became less of a whodunnit and the murder was secondary. I loved the beekeeping information throughout this book, but I don’t know that the tie in connection to the theme made a lot of sense. It felt disconnected. Perhaps there were too many themes running through this book at the same time that as a whole it felt disjointed. Murder mystery, domestic abuse, transgender rights, beekeeping, mother-son trust… if there were fewer congruent storylines running through it I think it would feel more cohesive. Also, the time hopping doesn’t bother me, but it jumps back and forth within Lily’s story, which led to confusion and redundancy. I think her entries should’ve been chronological to her timeline (ie what happened after talking to Asher, then going back to what happened before talking to Asher.) Finally, WHY introduce Dirk? I don’t know if this was an attempt at the whodunnit theme, but it was very out of place and I’m not sure why he is continually introduced when he plays no part in the story. For that matter, Maya could’ve played more of a role. Dirk coming to the house was very misplaced. Overall, it was entertaining and the writing was captivating. I learned a lot. Overall though, I think it could’ve been cleaned up a bit to keep the story focused on fewer currents.

4 ⭐️‘s
If you think this is just another book about a good boy that’s accused of murdering his girlfriend and the mom that stands behind him, you will be sorely mistaken. This book is so much more. Piccoult and Boylan tackle some tough subjects with heartfelt sensitivity. Voiced by two very different women, both overcoming obstacles in their past, intermixed with the intriguing life of a beekeeper, this book was a compelling read. When blindsided by an epic twist, this book took on a whole different feel, one that will leave you pondering long after the last page is turned. Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this novel! It was well written and had a lot going for it. I did seem a little long but I still liked it.

Poignant and suspenseful, Mad Honey, asks the reader to imagine what their inner prejudices would be if they discovered secrets.

Exceptional suspenseful novel about an apiarist, Olivia, who escapes an abusive marriage to keep her son safe. Years later her son is accused of the murder of his girlfriend and Olivia must uncover secrets in her community to defend her son.
I loved the multiple pov, the way the authors worked together to give perspectives of Olivia and then Lily, her son’s girlfriend. The Lily story goes into the reasons Asher and she had issues. (I don’t want to spoil the plot reveal.) I think the authors
were both excellent storytellers and I was in suspense the whole book!! Loved the details of being a bee keeper and honey recipes!!

The point of view written as Lily allows the reader to learn what happens in the psychology of a trans woman. Jennifer is incredibly talented in her powerful voice as she describes the transition process for a trans young woman and the accompanying surgery.

In the afterword, the authors described how they worked together writing the voices in tandem and switching back and forth so that their styles would meld together.

I think having two points of view to the murder trial helps the reader develop empathy for Lily. Excellent and poignant novel!

This was a really really really great book. As someone who has trans friends and friends that land all over the LGBT rainbow, It took me a minute to realize that the controversial part of the story (as Picoult often has something controversial in her books) was that Lily was trans and her death might be a hate crime. For me, it didn't rank...which seemed like a good thing at first but throughout the book I was constantly reminded why I should be more aware of violence against trans people and the experiences they go through. Just because it hasn't been happening to my trans friends doesn't mean the problem doesn't still exist.

I was glad to see Asher's acceptance of Lily and I was glad it was played out the way it was. It was intriguing to watch a young man contemplate what he knew about trans people from society and most likely media and compare it to the person he knew Lily as. I loved that in the end he was able to see that it didn't matter what Lily had been born as, what mattered is the person she was now and that person was exactly who Asher wanted. Towards the end I could tell Asher hadn't done it, even before the bleeding disorder was introduced. But it took me a longer time to figure out that it was Maya. Once I knew to look away from Asher, there were little things that were very high school about Maya and gave you the sense that Maya wanted more than friendship with Asher. Repetitively talking about inside jokes and old times, reminding him and everyone else often that no one knew him better than her.... it added up once I knew to look for it.

Very well done, will highly recommend to my patrons.

odi Picoult has been a favorite of mine for many years. I have loved her writing style from the first book I picked up. She is an auto-buy author, every new book I purchase. With this one, I was lucky enough to be gifted an Advanced Readers Copy from Netgalley and Jodi Piccoult, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. My opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

written in collaboration with another New York Times Bestselling author, Jernnifer Finney Boylan, the journey's of Olivia and Lilly are weaved together in efforts to enhance their stories and bringing together stories of strength and love.

Olivia McAfee knows the feeling of starting over all to well when her picture perfecr life in bostom married to brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon and raising their son Asher was uprooted when a darker side to Asher's dad was uncovered. Never did she dream she would move back to her hometown in New Hampshire, living in her childhood home; taking over the family business of bee keeping, but here she is.

Lilly Campanello is also familiar with do-overs. She and her mom relocated to a quiet New Hampshire Town for her senior year of highschool hopeful for a fresh start.

soon, the paths of Lilly and Olivia when Asher, Olivia's son falls for the new girl at school and Lilly cant help but fall for him, too. Lilly is happy for the first time but still wonders if she can trust Ash.

worlds are turned upside down when Olivia receives a call: Lilly is dead and Ash is being questioned as a person of interest. Knowing the secrets of Ash's father, Olivia is hesitant to want to see the flashes of his father in Ash. Throughout the case, Olivia is made aware that Ash hasn't always been honest with her.

this is classic Jodi Picoult, and I fell in love with this story from the first page. Not only is it written by my favorite author, but it combines my love for the law, with the trial of Ash. This story explores love and trust, lies and justice mixed with some budding romance. It was beautifully written and I would recommend this one a million times over

RATING: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan have teamed up to write a powerhouse of a book with Mad Honey.

It starts off right away with the death of one of the main characters, Lily Campanello. Her boyfriend Asher is the main suspect and his mom Olivia has to work hard throughout the book to prove his innocence.

Throughout the story there are SO MANY twists and turns as the characters and their stories develop. As a reader, you learn critically important things about their history that has to do with spousal and child abuse, abandonment, transitioning as a transgender person, abortion, suicide, and struggles in society as an interracial couple.

All of this engages the reader to think deeply about these subjects and how they affect the characters. It’s painful to read and hurts your heart. It makes you want to change things that are messed up with society as a result. Jodi and Jennifer are telling us these things to get us to see how we need to be better and do better as a society.

Transgender people should not have to be on the run or have to hide who they are. Women (and men) who are abused by their spouses need not be shamed or feel shame for what happened to them.

The murder mystery story in this book is an interesting one that keeps you turning the pages because you not only care about the characters and their stories but the clues given are interesting and engaging.

I highly recommend this one for being a very well rounded read.

Thanks to Netgalley, publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A great novel with a suspenseful story line that at the same time made you think and learn. Loved it.

Another heartbreaking, generational, amazing and extremely informative book by Jodi Picoult! This book reminds me of the earlier books by Jodi Picoult, as some of the more recent books just didn't hit the mark for me.

The authors of Mad Honey truly helped inform and explain a little bit of the Trans world, and some of the issues that a Trans person can go through in any given day.

The beekeeping education that the authors also wrote into the book, put a great spin on the title of the book, and really kept me thinking well after I was finished reading.

As always, I can't wait for the next one from Jodi Picoult, and I also have a new author to take a look at, Jennifer Finney Boylan.