I’m not stuck in a rut of giving Jodi’s books five stars. She’s just really that good. Her theme song for this particular heart-wrenching story could be Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now. Jodi has a knack for writing about subjects that may be difficult, but she does it in a manner that makes you comfortable and receptive.
This novel isn’t as shocking as a suicide pact or a school shooting, but Jodi has her finger on the pulse of the nation by choosing to write about a love story that may be unconventional by some standards. I don’t put spoilers in my reviews, so I have to watch my wording.
Lily and Asher meet at school. They share a common friend, Maya. Maya and Asher have been like brother and sister for years. But Asher’s feelings for Lily don’t compare. He’s smitten, to say the least. So is Lily, so what follows is a high school romance that’s beautiful and pure.
Then a tragedy strikes. And like many of Jodi’s past books, you won’t see it coming. You almost drop your book, or your Kindle, or your earplugs, whatever the case may be. It’s that sad and shocking. But wait! That’s not really the shocking part! Life happens, and Jodi writes about it. Sometimes things that transpire aren’t what we’re accustomed to in our comfort zone. But it happens, and the deep feelings of sorrow, compassion, and pure unfiltered love are still there. Jodi puts pen to paper and MAKES you think. I love this about her and every single one of her books. She forces you to feel what you normally avoid.
Thanks so much to Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In Mad Honey, two moms are starting over; their kids fall in love. One ends up tragically dead and the other is accused of murder. What follows is a family and courtroom drama as well as a murder mystery and a love story told from two points of view (the mom of the accused and the girl who died). Without giving more plot details away, here’s why I liked the book:

1. It was something different! After so much historical fiction, I enjoyed that this book made me think about different topics and emotional experiences. The closest reading experience I can relate it to is reading Kristin Hannah’s Night Road. A mom worrying about her kid(s).
2. I learned about honey. One of the narrators is a beekeeper so there are passages about her work but also snippets of allegory related to beekeeping and honey. Bees are fascinating! I didn’t realize how much so until reading this book, and I loved the experience of learning about something scientific while reading a fictional story.

“According to natural selection, bees should not exist. Although workers construct the comb, tend to the queen, and feed the larvae, they’re sterile themselves, and don’t pass those productive genes to the next generation. Plus, stinging is suicide, and passing on a suicide gene makes no biological sense. And yet, the species has been around for a hundred million years.”

3. It was full of surprises. Besides a plot twist I did not see coming, even more surprises were included in the epilogue and appendices that I truly enjoyed.

So although I’m not telling you much, I hope you’ll give Mad Honey at try. But not literally because this type of honey is poisonous which I also learned in the book!

As a mother, this was a hard book to read - there were so many times that I was tearing up wondering what I would do if my son was accused for murder and there is nothing you could do for him. This book was deeply thought-provoking and brings to attention important questions about what we disclose with our partners and loved ones, as well as the lengths people go to be themselves. I liked seeing the story unfold through Olivia and Lily's perspectives and the bee metaphors throughout the storyline were spot on.

This book was great! I couldn't tell there were two authors and the authors' note at the end had me guessing. I loved the premise and the twist and the outcome. Well done!

Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books, thank you for this great book. It was so nice written, quite long but ful of emotions and dialogs, reflecions. And yes there was a trail and there many aspects. There were two timelines, two point of view. A young girl and and a mother of a her boyfriend, desperate to know what happend to that young girl. There were so unique situations and very difficult themes at the same time. Sure the book will remain with me for a long time.

Olivia lived in her small hometown with her son Asher. One day she receives a call from Asher who is at the police station. Asher tells his mom he thinks his girlfriend, Lily, dead and he is being questioned. This just brushes the surface of the dynamic and complex novel Jodi Picoult wrote.

I'm so mad at myself! I've had this sitting in my pile to read for months and just got around to it. I wish I had read it earlier because it might be in my top five books this year. Jodi Picoult is know for her thought-provoking books that pull at your heart strings and make you ask the big questions. She absolutely nailed this book! The twist came out of nowhere and absolutely had me hooked.

Oh Jodi Picoult. How I love her books so much.
Mad Honey is co written with Jennifer Boylan and I’m in awe of how well written this book is. The character development is so well done, the writing is immersive and the topics in this book are well researched, spot on and incredibly important. Overall, I loved this story so much - it was a page turner for me and I think it would be a great book club pick as there is so much to dissect. I loved that Jodi Picoult went back to her own court story drama also - it was a really suspenseful book.

I will say there are a lot of topics discussed in Mad Honey. A lot of important topics and all of them are in great depth. They are all very well done, however it just became information overload at times for me as a reader. I wish there were only a couple topics chosen for this book instead of the 6+ topics written about.

Read this if you enjoy
▪️ Learning about new topics
▪️Suspenseful reads
▪️Mysteries
▪️Please check trigger warnings!

2.5 rounded up. There was a lot to unpack here. Let me start by saying that the large plot twist halfway through did surprise me! However the end result of what really happened, did not...saw that coming from the beginning. I spent a lot of time enjoying this book in the beginning and then a lot of time wishing we could just get to the point of it all in the second half. I always enjoy reading from multiple POV's and enjoyed that here, however with Lily's POV going backward, I got to the point where I lost interest in her storyline. Because it went backward, by the end of the book I did not feel like the beginning of her story was new and it became repetitive. This was all stuff that had been brought up and discussed, even though we might not have seen it happen.

There was a lot of science in here which was interesting to an extent but done to the point of making it borderline overwhelming. I honestly enjoyed a lot of the science when it was needed to educate the reader for the purposes of the plot, don't get me wrong, but what relevance does orgasming in your sleep due to a full bladder have to the actual story? Even the information about bees seemed to at least relate to what was happening plot-wise and it was interesting, but probably could have been edited down a bit. The ending just irritated me...giant eye roll.

While my review is mostly critical, there were parts that I enjoyed. I liked that the characters seemed fairly realistic and most of them reacted in ways I found believable (excluding the end, I feel like that would have in reality incited some anger for the wronged parties and they just moved on without a word). I loved the courtroom scenes and felt drawn into this small town and farm life that was being described. Picoult has always had a knack in my opinion for creating imagery that makes you feel like you are there and I love that.

Overall though, I feel very middle of the road about this book. There were parts I liked and parts I hated.

Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan have teamed up to write Mad Honey, a socially significant murder mystery. Narrated by Olivia, the 18-year-old accused’s mother, and by Lily, the deceased, Mad Honey opens on December 7, 2018, the day of Lily’s death. It continues in non-chronological order, alternating between the two narrators and gradually filling in events leading up to Lily’s death and the resulting murder trial of Olivia’s son, Asher Fields, a popular high school hockey team captain.

Olivia and son Asher, Ava and daughter Lily, have all moved to small town Adams, New Hampshire to escape past trauma—Olivia and Asher from Massachusetts years earlier and Ava and Lily from the West Coast shortly before the start of the new school year.

Both teen’s absent fathers are largely out of the picture, appearing only briefly, although continuing to haunt their ex-wives and children’s lives. Past trauma is not easily overcome.

Olivia is a beekeeper, and beekeeping plays a significant role in the novel. Although interesting in themselves, some of the beekeeping details and lore struck me as unnecessary to the story. By story’s end, I admired the deft handling of seemingly irrelevant information as many details took on important parallels with human lives and relationships.

Mad Honey will catch readers off guard at least twice, once a bit under halfway through the novel and again near the end. I will admit that the first of these revelations caused my jaw to drop as the authors turned the remainder of story in an unexpected but socially significant direction.

Readers should not miss Jennifer Finney Boylan’s and Jodi Picoult’s notes which reveal factors leading to their collaboration. Also at the back of the book, readers will find a series of recipes already mentioned in passing, each containing honey as an important ingredient.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an advance reader copy of this recently released novel.

Picoult has done it again with a page-turner that addresses timely topics in our society. Olivia, a survivor of domestic abuse, has created a good life for herself and her teenage son Asher, when the unthinkable happens and Asher is accused of crime she knows he couldn't have committed--or could he?

I went into this book with no recollection of what the plot was (I had briefly read the synopsis a few months before reading the actual book), but I knew that since Jodi Picoult was one of the writers, there was a great chance I would love it. That turned out to be exactly what happened.

This book had a great plotline, multiple sub-plotlines that were all interesting, and great character development. As is somewhat typical in Jodi Picoult books, there was an element to the story that was not even hinted at in the synopsis, and that added so much depth an importance to the story.

This book taught me a lot about a subject I knew very little about and it left me with a lot to think about. As I finished the book, I couldn't help but feel saddened for several of the characters. I definitely finished the book with a heavy heart, but I so love books that can make me feel the way that this one did.

I also realized that I have read books from both of the authors that wrote this book. I loved reading the note from both authors at the end to learn how they both contributed and worked on this book together. I thought they both did a lovely job of telling a great story, and it was seamless - I couldn't tell which parts were written by which author. I also found the story of how this book came to be to be really entertaining.

Thank you to both Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan for this beautiful book. It's one that I have already recommended to others and one that will stick with me for a long time.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books, and Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Great storyline, great twist and courtroom drama. A tad too many hot button topics all thrown in to a story that was just as powerful without the extras. The courtroom scenes had my glued to my seat and the ending I didn’t see coming.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Olivia McAfee’s life is picture perfect. She is married to a heart surgeon and had a sweet son, Asher. Over time her husbands dark side begins to show and she has to make a choice between staying in her charmed life or choosing to keep herself and her son safe. She decides to return to her New Hampshire hometown and care for her father’s beekeeping business.
Lily Campanello has to start over too. She and her mother relocate to the same town as Olivia.
Asher and Lily are in high school together and form an intense relationship. Life is good for everyone until one day when Olivia receives a call from Asher saying he is in jail and Lily may be dead. He is the main suspect. As the trial progresses more secrets come to the surface.
It took me a little bit to get into this book but once the drama started with Lily, I couldn’t put it down! I was turning pages and then I hit a huge game changer in the beginning of the trial. I don’t want to give anything away but just read this one! Full of suspense and twists I didn’t see coming. Excellent writing!

I've read Jodi Picoult's books since forever and they always revolve around a controversial topic. I went into this one blind and the topic was revealed mid-way through. It completely took me by surprise. And those sections pertaining to that subject matter were amazing, 5 star sections. I recommend the read for those section alone.

However, the pace of this book was my biggest problem. It was odd that I both was interested in this book, but I also felt like I had been reading it forever, especially during the bee sections. I did not connect with them at all.

The story was interesting, I think the authors added too many factors into the story and characters, the pacing was good. I liked the first part then it started to drag a bit, with so may difficult topics in one book was a bit over the top. I think doing a series and writing a few of them in each would've been better. Please proceed with caution as it has a lot of triggers.

This book was eloquently written. I loved the switch up of point of views as well as one POV going back in time while the other one went forward in time. The characters were well developed as well as the storyline and plot.

TW: there is trans violence mentioned in this book. The book is not mainly about this, but it does play a role in the storyline.

5⭐️

Olivia is a beekeeper, and inherited her hives from her father. She and her son, Asher, take care of the bees and live a relatively quiet life now, after Olivia left her ex-husband 12 years prior. Asher plays hockey, and has a new girlfriend named Lily who makes Asher completely light up. One day, Asher leaves the house and Olivia discovers that a bear has gotten into one of the hives. As she frantically works to save the hive, she doesn’t notice that Asher is late coming home until she receives a call from him saying that Lily might be dead. When Lily’s death is ruled a homicide, Asher becomes suspect number one.

This booked gripped me immediately and would not let me go, and it keeps you guessing to try to figure out what really happened to Lily - and even makes you question if Asher really did it. The writing is so incredible and the story is surprising and unexpected, but beautifully done. Major trigger warnings though: suicide, domestic violence and abuse, and violence towards an LGBTQ+ character. I would not be surprised in the slightest if people try to challenge and ban this book, but it is such an important read in it’s depictions of domestic violence, the flaws with the justice system, and being transgender. I love this book so much, and found that I truly grieved Lily even though she’s a fictional character. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Another outstanding novel written by Jodi Picoult! Well, she is a co-author of this one but her typical style and tone is still prevalent throughout. As with all of her novels, not only are the major storylines incredibly deep and thought-provoking, but the topic of bees and beekeeping is also intriguing and demonstrates great evidence of her research. Her talent is showcased as she captures the readers attention on all subjects in this book consistently and easily. I would never think that not only would I be as fascinated about bees as I became while reading this book, but I was also pleasantly surprised that there was so much information about them that this topic continued to be a focal point throughout the entire novel. She has a way of teaching the reader about a topic that most do not know much about, and also in such a way that the reader is pulled in and becomes vested in. But the bees and beekeeping is not the only compelling topic written with immense talent. Picoult always has such realistic characters who are not only always struggling with some physical or mental challenge or challenges, but usually one that is controversial, sensitive, or severe. She challenges readers to read about topics that may be uncomfortable, or ones that may force readers to deal with their own inner struggles similar to, or as a result of, the ones in the book, or even question your own opinion on the topic and ponder what you would do. With this book, I was greatly drawn to each character as well as the multiple storylines. The authors shifted from each with such perfect timing, I was eager to find out what was going to happen next. I recognized and welcomed the addition of the style of the co-author, Jennifer Finney Boylan. I say welcomed because it did complement Picoult’s style and tone, and I truly enjoyed it. I am curious about this author and would like to read some of her other works.

We read about abuse, murder, and LGBQTIA, and my emotions were strong and all over the place, as is common when I read Picoult’s books. I am certain this is going to be a bestseller and will gain immense attention. I highly recommend reading this five star book and being a part of the discussions.

This book started off so intriguing but it lost me with it’s repetitiveness and it could have been shorter. The book deals with multiple heavy topics like suicide and abortion. However the twist to the story got me.

Olivia McAfee left her abusive ex husband and is starting over in her home town. She has a really cool bee keeping business and her teenage son Asher seems to be adjusting well to their new life.

Things come to a crashing halt when Asher is accused of murdering his girlfriend. Did he do it? You be the judge.

Mad Honey is out now.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing-Ballentine for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc copy of this book!

Although Lily is brand new to Adams, she has quickly fit in with a fellow musician, Maya, and her best friend Asher, the handsome co-captain of the hockey team. It’s doesn’t take long though for Lily and Asher to become inseparable. They are always together - at his hockey games or her fencing matches or concerts, the perfect couple. But is everything as perfect as it seems on the outside?

Olivia escaped to Adams after suffering in an abusive marriage for years. She ran to protect Asher and has loved their quiet life on her family’s farm where she tends her bees. But suddenly that quiet is upended when Lily is killed and Asher is the one found holding her lifeless body. Could he be violent like his father - how did she miss it?

This book was a great read! I’m hesitant to say too much because going in blind, I think, made the story much more enjoyable for me. There were some twists that I didn’t see coming. I will say that at times, it did feel wordy and long winded, but overall, I like how much development each of the characters got. For those that prefer short chapters, these are very long. Lastly, getting the duel perspectives from both Lily and Olivia really made the story for me.

*You may want to check trigger warnings before reading*