“Nobody is a do-over of anybody else, and if you get to do anything at all on earth it’s live your own life, not be some sort of ghost version of somebody else’s.”

Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After fleeing her abusive husband, Olivia returns to her childhood home with her young son, Asher, and takes over the family beekeeping business. Twelve years later, Lily and her mom relocate to the same town, and Asher and Lily start dating. Their lives are turned upside down when Olivia finds out Lily is dead and Asher is being accused of her murder.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Jodi Picoult, but it’s been awhile since I have picked up one of her books. This book made me realized how much I love her stories and writing. Also, reading how the authors came together and wrote this story was amazing. The plot is intriguing and the characters are well-developed. I don’t want to give too much away but this book is pretty heavy. I thought the ending was a bit rushed, but other than that I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Mad Honey.

I've read most of the author's books and enjoyed the majority of them. I'm a fan of her writing and her style of writing.

Mad Honey is my least favorite of her books.

You know how some Law & Order episodes are 'ripped from the headlines?"

Well, Mad Honey is based on a number of headline making headlines from recent years; the one exception being abortion but I'm sure the author will cover that in her next book.

Pretty much every hot topic debated in recent years can be found in Mad Honey; domestic abuse, racial and gender equality, sexual violence, suicide, and even mass shootings get a shout out.

Naturally, since this is a book and not real life, there are a lot of hot people; Braden is a hot doctor, as is Jordan's wife, and she's Black.

Look, I read for fun, to escape, to learn something new; I don't want to be preached or lectured at.

I don't want to read about the social, racial and gender inequality raging across our country. and be reminded we have a longggg way to go.

The writing was fine, but wordy and the narrative unnecessarily long; I get we needed two POVs, especially to see how much Lily has endured and survived, but it got tedious to read.

I couldn't stand Olivia; Jordan was cool, and so was Lily's mom.

I did enjoy learning about beekeeping and really liked the factoids about bees and honey, especially the recipes.

This book was so much more than a courtroom thriller - it was a great coming of age tale with trans representation that really shared an inside look on the experiences of a trans individual. It had a great story in alternating POVs and timelines that all synced up well in the end!

I received is book as an ARC from NetGalley.

The book description made me want to read the book immediately. At first, I was enthralled, but as the novel dragged on, I became less interested and it became a chore to read. I was disappointed in the ending.

This book started out pretty interesting. Olivia left her abusive husband years ago and is a single mom to her teenage son, Asher. And she is a beekeeper, which I found pretty interesting. Their lives are turned upside down when Asher is accused of killing his girlfriend, Lily. The book bounced between Olivia's POV and Lily's. I found the beekeeping thing interesting, but after a while, it just dragged on for too long and it distracted me from the story. About halfway through the story, I got bored with Lily's story and I felt like the authors were trying too hard to take attention away from the actual trial. Between Lily's POV, Olivia's beekeeping facts and her flashbacks to her abusive marriage, the trial itself seemed like an afterthought. The ending was also very anticlimactic. I basically skimmed the last 20% of it because I was just bored.

Wow. I think that’s the only word to sum up this book. A book about a boy and a girl. Who fall in love. The writing between Picoult and Boylen is flawless. There’s a huge moment where my jaw went to the ground because nowhere did I see that coming. I went in blind. #jodipicoult is my #mustread and I always gobble up her novels. This was no different. 10/10 recommend #madhoney #jodipicoult #jenniferfinneyboylan and this happened all because of a dream and a tweet 💕 #NetGalley #booklovers #read #bookstagram

This book was one of my favorites of the year! When I received this book, I was sure that we would be dealing with hot topics of the world because that is what Jodi Picoult does. She takes current issues and writes about them in an unbelievably beautiful way. The writing between the 2 authors was seamless. You could not tell who had written what, where one’s thoughts ended and another started. The author’s note at the back was a great read telling about how the story was developed.

This book dealt with hot button items. It addressed LGBTQ+, murder, and the legal system as a whole. There were moments of education while also sharing the emotions of the characters related to those topics.

While I don’t know that the end sits with me well (I am still pondering that), This book will make people think and create their own opinions about the storyline. It is best for people to go in knowing very little of the story to allow them to enjoy the story in its fullest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving this book to me in exchange for an honest review.

Dear Mad Honey,
Having seen the hype around you on Instagram, I resisted the pull of another Jodi Piccoult book. I haven't read anything by Jennifer Finney Boylan, and so it made me hesitant. I wasn't sure how a new voice would blend with one of my favorites and so I waited. But as reviews about you came pouring in, I had to give into the hype and pick you up. You felt like coming home. You were written with a voice that was comforting and the older Piccoult formula. I loved how distinct the two voices were and the subtle playing with time in Lily's story. The slow reveal of her secrets and who she was hit me in my heart. I intellectually knew of the struggles of trans children, but hearing it from a point of experience gave so much depth and heart to Lily's life. Olivia was such a strong, inspiring woman who sacrificed selflessly for her son, only to question who he was. I loved your story and you brought a new perspective to my life that will now guide my interactions with children, listening to who they are with a deeper thoughtfulness and Lily in my heart.

This book had its up and downs for me. I was absolutely hooked with the plot and learning so much about topics I was unfamiliar with. What threw me off was the repetitiveness of the timeline. We revisit moments again and again from the same perspective, but to me I didn’t find that doing this gained us as readers anything. Rather, it dragged the book out

This book was amazing in every way possible. Not only was the story incredible and powerful for todays society, but the background story on bees was also fascinating. I could not put this book down once I started it, Kuddas Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Boylan (i still can't believe two authors wrote this together, it was done flawlessly.
Thank You for my free ARC for my honest review

Jodi Picoult does it again! Another novel with a twist I won’t give away at risk of letting too much of the plot revealed that allows the reader to truly think about complex and human issues. Similar to lots of Jodi novels it is told through the lens of a murder trial. Following the murder of Lily, a young teenager in a new hometown, her boyfriend Asher is brought to trial for the crime he claims he would never commit. This novel follows the secrets each have kept over time and is so beautifully written.

A stunning story with complicated and lovable characters. Excited to see what's next from this author.

Argh! I don’t feel like I can give a complete review without spoiling the twist. Needless to say, Picoult being Picoult, there is a social topic that informs this book. And, without spoiling anything, you will learn a lot about beekeeping! I loved the first part of the book, but over the years have grown to HATE plots with court room. In a way, this felt like the book, Defending Jacob. Lots of cliche plotting aside from the twist. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Jodi Picoult is a true master of setting a scene and taking a tragedy through to the courtroom. However, I was wildly taken by surprise about the controversial subject and how it was addressed. i wasn't sure halfway through when it was presented if I would continue to read but by that point, I was already hooked.

“Mad Honey” by @jodipicoult and @jenniferfinneyboylan is one of my favorites of the year 🐝🍯🤩

Thank you to Ballantine Books of @penguinrandomhouse for a gifted eARC of “Mad Honey.” I also saw the authors speak at Tampa Theatre last week and that event really piqued my excitement for the book — ALTHOUGH the discussion was a bit of a spoiler and I regret not reading my eARC before going.

⭐️ rating: 5
📚genre: contemporary fiction
#️⃣ length: 458 pages
🗓 pub date: 10/4
⏳pace: page turner
🍯the vibe: family drama meets legal suspense as only Jodi Picoult can do

Even with a spoiler, “Mad Honey” was fantastic. I think I subconsciously put off reading it because Picoult’s “Wish You Were Here” was one of my favorites of 2021. In my mind, there was no way I was going to enjoy this one as much. But I flew through all 455 pages in less than three days (having the eARC helped because I could take it with me and read in bed far more easily than if I just had the physical copy.

I would advise you to go in blind, but if you don’t want to, here’s a tiny synopsis: Olivia McAfee lives a simple life as New Hampshire beekeeper and single mom — until one day she gets a phone call that her teenage son’s girlfriend is dead and he is being questioned by police.

Please read this one. It conveys a very important message via a very enjoyable reading experience.

Reads like old Jodi Picoult in a very good way.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved this book. It’s a murder mystery, but also looks at 2 different families after tragedy strikes.
Olivia leaves her abusive husband in Boston with her son, Asher, and goes back to her family farm where she becomes a beekeeper like her father and they settle down into an uneventful life. When Asher is in high school, he meets a girl named Lily and they fall madly in love.
Unfortunately, Olivia gets a call saying that Lily is dead, she’s been murdered. She realizes that Asher will be questioned so she calls her brother, a hot shot defense attorney. Asher swears he didn’t do it, but Olivia worries that he inherited his fathers nasty temper. Will Olivia ever truly believe that Asher is innocent? Will it have to be proved to her?
There’s a lot of beekeeping information, which I found very interesting. I could see this putting some people off.
Of course, there is the Jodi Picoult twist, about which I can’t say anymore!

This is an outstanding book, 5 stars.

This is going to be a book where I can see people feeling strongly about it one way or another. This is a book were Jodi Picoult tackles another controversial issue. Overall the book is long, but provides a powerful story.

✨ Mad Honey ✨⁣
⁣⁣
⁣Olivia is living in her hometown, raising bees and her son- Asher after escaping an abusive husband twelve years before. Asher meets Lily- another only child of a single mother. The two soon fall in love and everything seems perfect… ⁣
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⁣Then one day Olivia receives a panicked call. Lily is dead and Asher is being questioned by the police. ⁣
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⁣This book covers just about every hot topic with a major focus on domestic abuse. At times, it was heartbreaking and inspirational and informative all at once. ⁣
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⁣In the end, I liked this book a lot but it took me almost an entire month to read it. There was so much going on and it the plot seemed to drag a lot for me. Of course, I read it when I was incredibly busy- so it might have been a personal problem. ⁣
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⁣Four stars! I highly recommend this one- especially if you liked Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes. ⁣
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⁣Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in return for my honest review. Mad Honey is out now!

Thank you to Random House Ballantine, Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan, and Netgalley for the digital arc of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Mad Honey centers around two single mothers, Olivia McAfee and Ava Campanello, both of whom have fled abusive husbands and are raising their teenage children on their own. Their children meet at school after Lily and her mother move to the small town of Adams, New Hampshire where Asher and his mother live. They are inseparable and happy and almost immediately fall in love. Until the day Lily is found dead. Is it an accident? Or is it murder?

When you begin Mad Honey you might think you already know the twist - that Lily is dead, when the book begins - but you are in for a few surprises. The book is told in two perspectives: Olivia's, which goes forward in time and Lily's, which moves in reverse. You might also think you know the basic story of the book, but at about the halfway point, you will be thrown for one of the biggest twists I've ever had the pleasure of reading, which will change everything you thought you knew about this story. You may not like it. Depending on your beliefs, you may hate it. But it's something we as a society need to address. This book is a difficult, heartwrenching read at times. One I'm grateful to have read.

This novel probably won't be for everyone due to the controversial issues contained within. I love, that like all of Jodi's novels, it's relevant to the world around us. I love that I learned something. I love knowing that authors got together to write Mad Honey because of a dream Jennifer Finney Boylan had. I love the bits of bees and beekeeping knowledge sprinkled throughout the book and how it connects the story. Most of all, I love that though I finished this book months ago, the story will stay with me for a long, long time. One of my top five books of the year.

Trigger warnings: this book has many triggers, including including spousal abuse, parental abuse, bullying, trauma, suicide (attempts), and possibly more that I haven't mentioned.

5 stars
Highly recommended for fans of:
Women's Fiction, Literary Fiction, Mysteries, Contemporary, Romance, LGBTQ+