The honey bee metaphor as motif was way overdone, as were every single relationship. Too much angst and too much melodrama.

Jodi Picoult has been one of my favorite authors for years. Every time that she releases a new book, I always pick it up on the day of her lease. After reading this book, I think I will also start picking up Jennifer Finney Boylan books as well. This book was incredible. I love all of the intricate details about each of the characters and getting to read more about a character from a previous book. I love how characters are interwoven between all of her books. This one was no exception.

I really enjoy how Jodi Picoult is able to take difficult topics and put them at the forefront of her novels. Since I read nothing about this book prior to starting it, there were a lot of twists, and turns that I was able to enjoy throughout the book. I also really like that both authors are able to give a twist, ending without making me roll my eyes. I also love the authors’ note at the end. It added more depth to why the book was written.

This was a fantastic novel, and I am eager to see you, both of them write in the future.

The beginning of the book had me completely intrigued, but then slow pacing took over about halfway through and never let up. I found the bee tales and alternating narrators interesting, but both felt overdone by the end. This book could have been at least 100 pages shorter!

I always enjoy JP and this was no different! I loved the use of bees in the story and also learning more about living life as a trans. Very moving novel.

This was definitely one the best books I've read this year and I definitely enjoyed it more than the last few Jodi Picoult novels. I thought it was very timely (without giving a spoiler!) and really enjoyed learning all about beekeeping and bees without feeling like I was reading a textbook. I also enjoyed reading the author's notes mentioning how they both wrote alternating chapters for the characters and I thought the book really flowed and you really couldn't tell who wrote what. I will definitely have to check out Jennifer Finney Boylan's other novels.

Top 5 book of the year for me. Possibly Top 3. This book draws you in from the very beginning in the very best way and keeps you handing on until the very end.

A powerful read showing just how deeply the traumas of the past run and how much they can affect the lives of different generations. One of the best dramas I read this year!

Mad Honey is a terrific book, but I’m still trying to figure out how to review it without revealing a major spoiler! The story involves two teens from “broken homes” who fall in love with each other in a small town in New Hampshire, Lily and Asher. One of the mothers is a beekeeper and the other mother is a forest ranger. I loved that both women had unusual jobs! There are lots of secrets in this story and an interesting distinction between what is secret and what is private. The crux of the story is the relationship between Lily and Asher and what happens after Lily dies suddenly. The book alternates chapters told from either Lily’s point of view (POV) or from Asher’s mom, Olivia’s POV, and the timeline goes back and forth, with chapters labeled with the dates and statements like “six weeks before” or “three weeks after” Lily’s death. Interestingly we don’t get to hear from Asher directly, except through either Lily telling it or Olivia.

I often have at least two books going at one time: an audiobook and a “regular” book (either ebook or print). In this case, I was riveted to the story and bounced between the audiobook (courtesy of my public library) or the ebook. I just didn’t want to put it down; I needed to know what was going to happen next!

Although Mad Honey was co-written by two authors, I really couldn’t tell - that’s how seamless the writing and editing is. I learned a lot by reading this book, and not just about bees and honey. I am now going to try to track down Jennifer Finney Boylan’s memoir.

Don’t skip the Authors Notes at the end of the book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book, although I was a bit late to it. The audiobook is narrated beautifully by two different women, Carrie Coon and Key Taw. All opinions are my own.

This was a fantastic read!! Loved all of the characters!! The story was expertly told. This is a must read and I highly recommend!!

Mad Honey is a very compelling read that draws you in from the first page. The characters are well developed with all of the flaws and love that come with being human. The transgender subtext was knitted in skillfully. so that the reader never feels like they are being lectured to, yet they understand the complexities.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy of this one in exchange for a review.

I've always enjoyed Jodi Picoult and this was no exception. Another engaging story with a big twist in the middle.

I loved the characters and the story. The beekeeping aspect was interesting and I learned a few things.

This was a fantastic read, and officially one of my favorites of the year. I read everything that Picoult writes, and I was curious how having a co-author would affect the story and the writing, and I am so happy to say that I didn't even notice the difference in writing styles. They somehow managed to write two characters that FELT different, but still form a cohesive and complete story.

I understand that this book is hit or miss in regards to the twist in the middle of the book, and I want to state that I thought it was an incredible, and necessary, turn of events. I learned so much without feeling like I was being preached to, and I will recommend it to everyone without even hinting as to what is to come. I was shocked by the reveal, but by the end of the book I couldn't even imagine what the story would be without it.

Such a lovely, well-thought-out book! I will say I enjoyed Olivia’s narration more than Lily’s, which felt overly drawn out and repetitive at times. I really appreciate the research that went into this writing and I learned quite a bit from reading it. I wish there had been a bit more follow up around some of the characters, like Lily’s dad, Dirk, and Elizabeth. I very much enjoyed reading the story about how the book came to be and the writing process between the two authors! I will definitely recommend this one to my network.

This book was wild! The writing was phenomenal and the plot twist really was unexpected. Loved the characters and the story line. Overall superb.

Jodi Picoult is known for attacking social commentary head on. In this partnership with Jennifer Finney Boyland, it’s no exception.

The story is told in disjointed fashion from Asher, his mother and Lillie’s perspectives. It’s woven together with snippets of life as a beekeeper (Asher’s mother’s profession) along with a “before and after” perspective. This helps to keep the chapters in order in your mind and I appreciated that!

It is a story of perseverance, mothers’ love, hidden secrets, and of course the ever important our perception vs reality.

I find it interesting that bees, honey and beekeeping was the tie that bound this story together…

This novel does come with an immense amount of content warnings, including sexual assault, bullying, murder, trauma, transgender, abuse. I’m not sure any more could have been packed into one novel.

As a beekeeper and mother, this book resonated with me in a way I never expected. Jodi Picoult continues to prove that she is a master at research and plot twists. Just when I thought I had the book figured out, she wrapped it up in a completely different way. I loved it!

A complex family and society dynamic.

“Mad Honey” unfolds in Olivia McAfee’s first person narrative. Readers learn what brought her to this place and time. She is a beekeeper. It takes a lot of work to make honey, and it takes an equal amount of work to harvest honey. It was almost accidental that she became a commercially successful beekeeper, but the bees now belong to her, and she belongs to the bees. In many aspects, her life reflects the lives of those bees. Girls run the bee world. The queen gets the attention, but worker bees are all girls. The hive shares knowledge and opinions; the hive makes life and death decisions collectively. Now there is life and death in Olivia’s world.

Olivia wanted her child to be a girl. Things did not work out the way she wanted, and she gave birth to a wonderful little boy whom she loves and cherishes. It is probably better to have a boy, she concludes, someone who would never be someone’s victim. That does not work out the way she wanted either.

The characters are complex; all have depth and purpose. They also all have secrets, hidden and protected, that have consequences. Characters skirt the edge of lies, trying to keep things private without being dishonest. Eventually bombshell comes bubbling up to complicate the present and impact the future.

“Mad Honey” drops the unthinkable into Olivia’s life, and surprise after surprise jump from the pages. The story is rich in complexity and moral challenges. The complicated situations challenge society’s viewpoints and mirrors society’s responses. I received a review copy of “Mad Honey” from Jodi Picoult; Jennifer Finney Boylan, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books.

“Mad Honey” is now available in print, as an e-book, and on audio from independent bookstores, online booksellers, retail stores, public libraries and anywhere you get your books.

I will start of stating that I will read anything written by this author, whether solo or with a writing partner. She has never disappointed me and yet again has written a truly gripping story that will make you cancelling plans and or late if you had some. Two families in need of a new start. Olivia and her son Asher head to her home town to regroup and recover from life with their abusive husband/father and she slowly but surely gets then back on solid footing, both financially and emotionally. Lily and her mom move settle in the same small town for their new start as well. Again. Asher and Lily meet and seriously crush on each other. The joys of first love hits them both hard. All seems to be going well and lift is moving forward until the phone rings with devastating news. Lily is dead and Asher is being questioned.
We get to follow along with a mothers confidence and love that her son is innocent. Except for the little tiny piece of her brain that questions how much er son is like the husband/father they escaped from. It is a compelling, deeply emotional, suspenseful woven tale about what we would really do for those we love while staying true to who we are while uncovering the truth about what happened.

“Everybody is always still trying to learn, day after painful day, how to be themselves.”
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Wow - what a story. There is a lot to unpack in Mad Honey! This novel is simultaneously sad, beautiful, maddening, and reflective. There is engrossing court room drama and a couple of really great twists as well as strong character development. I also feel I learned a great deal about bees which was actually pretty interesting and mirrored the themes of the novel very well. I basically could not put this book down. This is only my second Picoult, but once again I’m wondering why I haven’t read her backlist? She truly knows how to write a gripping story.
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Go into this one blind, folks. It’s worth it. The subject matter is very heavy, so feel free to message me for trigger warnings. I rec this book to fans of Picoult, those who enjoy gripping courtroom dramas, and those that enjoy books like Miracle Creek.

Picoult has teamed up with Boylan to tell the story of Lily Campanello, a teen girl who has left her traumatic past behind and moved from California to New Hampshire. She becomes involved with Asher McAfee, a star hockey player. Asher’s mother Olivia is the second narrator. Years earlier Olivia fled an abusive marriage and, like Lily, re-started her life as a single parent raising her son.

Asher and Lily tell each other many things they won’t share with others, but there are still some things that they fear to disclose. Both have fathers who are estranged and both have supportive mothers. But one tragic day, Asher finds Lily unresponsive and bleeding at the bottom of the stairs and this sets in motion a court case that wants to pin him for murder. Lily’s background unfolds as we hear her story in bits and pieces, all filling in details from the months and weeks before her death.

Olivia struggles with her own personal issues as she tries to remain firmly in her son’s corner, striving to establish his innocence. She is a beekeeper and often her musings center on the life of bees and the uses for honey. The world of the hive and the queen adds fascinating insights that enhance the novel. Olivia’s preoccupation with the bees is similar to Lily’s mother’s dedication to the wildlife she studies as a park ranger. Both women share many similar attributes.

The court case is intense and Picoult is no stranger to building suspense. Boylan brings a sensitivity to Lily’s story, relaying her inner turmoil of starting life anew and putting behind her the trauma she has suffered. There are many issues addressed in the book such as tolerance, spousal abuse, LGBTQ, and others. These are timely concerns for the world today and may give readers a better understanding of the personal struggles of one segment of our society.