I loved the back and forth of the trial as well as the honey/bee metaphors, but everything else was either a trigger warning or just really graphic. I've read other Picoult books but this was too much for me.

Everyone has secrets, it's just that some are bigger than others. And, what is the difference between wanting to keep a secret and wanting to keep something private? This only touches on one of the themes of this book.

I was absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to read an early copy of this book! Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors and her books never disappoint. This one is no exception. She never shies away from difficult subjects; ones that are currently noteworthy and/or newsworthy. This time, she has collaborated with author Jennifer Finney Boylan to write a suspenseful work of fiction, that also turns out to be educational.

I chose to read this book without knowing anything about the story beforehand and without reading any of the reviews, and I'm glad I did. It was eye opening, informative and heart rending. It really made me sit up and deeply pay attention to what I was reading. All of this, along with a few surprising reveals in the story, definitely secures a five star rating from me. I'm just sorry that my book club will not get the chance to read this until October. (Publication date: October 4, 2022)

I would like to extend my very sincere thanks to Ms. Picoult and Ms. Boylan for writing this book and to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for allowing me to read a digital ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

I may not have read MAD HONEY if I really understood the topic up front, but I am thankful I accepted the invitation and read this book. From the first sentence, I was completely drawn into this story about love, family, friendship, personal secrets, a trial, and ultimately, knowing and being true to yourself. There is nothing I would change about this flawless novel by master writers Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boyland. I especially appreciated both Author’s Note at the end. I will certainly read more of Jodi Picoult’s novels, and will purchase a novel by Jennifer Finney Boyland.

Mad Honey is an excellent book. Having been a fan of Picoult's for years I expected an excellent book and was pleasantly rewarded. Mad Honey centers around the relationship between Asher and Lily and their mothers, beekeeper Olivia and park ranger Ava. Asher is a star hocky player entering his senior year in highschool . Lily just moved to their small New Hampshire town and is trying to get a scholarship to the New York Conservatory, Lily is quickly befriended by Maya who is also Ash's best friend. It takes very little for Lily and Ash to meet, then fall in love. As they learn more about each other trust becomes an issue. Ash's father was physically abusive to Olivia and Ash for a long time - to the point where mother and son started over in Olivia's childhood home. Olivia earns a living raising bees and crafting products from their honey. Lily's father is also abusive and she and her mother fled to New Hampshire hoping to never see Lily's father again. A well-meaning Ash tries to help Lily, resulting in an awful fight and a lot of miscommunication. When Ash leaves to confront Lily, Olivia is stunned by a phone call stating that Lily is dead and Ash is in jail. From this point on we learn more of Lily's story in flashback and Ash's story through his own thoughts as well as his mother's. Their friends and family's testimony reveals more of the details of Ash's and Lily's relationship and as startling facts are revealed, the story takes an unexpected turn. I read this in one sitting. The characters are compelling and the plot is well thought out and develops in a way that you're completely involved before you know it. I don't want to reveal any spoilers, but you need to read this book. The partnership between Picoult and Jennifer Boylan has a lot to do with the story - you need to read about that as well. Fans of Picoult will love this book and book clubs will find a lot to discuss. The book does contain sensitive issues that may be triggers for victims of abuse. Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Big fan of this Jodi and everything she writes. All her stories are incredible and the topics make you think and feel. This was no different. It was a bit slow for me to start but as you get deeper into it, you just can’t take your eyes away. Informative and eye opening. I will definitely be buying this for family and friends as gifts because everyone needs to read this one.

Another fantastic novel by Jodi Picoult, this one also authored by Jennifer Finney Boylan. This story is centered around the relationship between Lilly and Asher. Lilly’s mother moved them to town to escape the abuse and bullying Lilly received at her last school, both by her classmates and her own father. Asher’s mother moved them to town to escape an abusive husband, fearing that Asher could be the next target of her surgeon husband. Both teens have their own secrets, but the one Lilly harbors could change the way Asher and the rest of the community sees her. When the unthinkable happens to one of the teens and the other is blamed both families lives are changed forever. Beautifully written and thought provoking, this novel was impossible to put down. As always with Picoult’s books, this book is educational as well as entertaining, the facts about bee keeping and the bees contribution to the environment were fascinating.

This is a very different Jodi Picoult book; written in conjunction with Jennifer Boylan. The book is very quick reading and very easy to follow the characters. It delves deeply into the feelings of an 18 year old senior in high school who is transgender. After moving cross-country with her mother, she enrolled in a new school and falls in love with a young man, also a senior. They have much in common in that they are both estranged from their fathers. I think there was a lot of research done of not only the feelings of a transgender but exactly what is involved along the way in changing from one gender to another . I found the book very informative and interesting. There were several surprise twists along the way which you don’t see coming.

Wow!

This book was packed full of information on beekeeping, love, friendship and murder. I was a bit irritated that it took to long for the defense to get a second opinion on the autopsy. This book was eye opening on trans people and I was shocked to read Lily’s story. This book will stay with me for a long time. Thank you Net Galley for the eARC copy.

This book took me forever to read. A little slow to start but once it got going…whew.
Asher is a high school senior, captain of his hockey team, and only child of Olivia.
Olivia is a beekeeper, a use survivor, and doting mother to Asher who will always have her sons back no matter what.
Lilly is new in town and Asher rescues her from the creepy goalie on the hockey team. The two become a happy teenage couple until Lilly is found dead and Asher is accused of murder.
As the trial progresses Interesting details about the young couple and their relationship emerge and has everyone questioning what happened the night Lilly died.
At one point I thought I had it figured out but once again Jodi Piccoult proved me wrong.

Mad Honey
By Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan
Release date: 10/04/2022

We begin with Olivia telling us about her sons Ashler who she loves very much. She’s taken over her dad's bee farm, and through this book, you become quite intrigued by beekeeping. 🐝🐝🐝
Her son Asher meets Lily at school and they fall in love. When Lily ignores Asher for a specific reason for a few days, he goes in search of her. When Asher finds Lily at the bottom of her steps, dead, his whole life turns upside down, he’s charged with murder. His uncle Jordan Mcafee (from 19 minutes) returns to this book and I was glad to see and read about him again. Truly a poignant character.
There’s a big twist mid-book, so I can’t reveal much more - however, it's wonderful to read about it and learn more, the words of Jennifer Boylan should help all be a little more understanding in life.
5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 [̲̅S̲̅][̲̅T̲̅][̲̅A̲̅][̲̅R̲̅][̲̅S̲̅]

#madhoney #jenniferfinneyboylan #ballantine #netgalley #netgalleyreader #familydramabooks #legalthriller #igreads #instareads #bookstagrammer #bookstagram #bookworm #bookblogging #bookstack #arcbooks #bookshelves #tbrreads#bookaholic #penguinrandomhouse

I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult so I couldn't wait to read this book. This book was absolutely phenomenal. The characters were so real and the issues they faced were just as real. There was a huge twist that I did not see coming. Once I reached that twist, I could not put the book down until I read the last page. What a fabulous, raw story.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for an advanced copy of this novel on family, secrets and honey cultivation.

Moving to a small town to restart a life that is not going the way one wants it is a common trope in fiction and even nonfiction. The hope is that the small town, the slower ways the difference in air, the increase in sunlight, even the animals, of in the case of this novel the insects will change things, make the past less intense and let the healing begin. However trauma, like the past is hard to forget, and sometimes hard to escape from. Mad Honey by bestselling author Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan is a story about leaving the past behind, the secrets and damage that make that hard, and the world of bees and the honey they create.

Olivia McAfee has returned to the small town that she grew up in to take over the family business of honey cultivation with her son Asher. Fleeing the big city and her husband a big time doctor and full time abuser, Olivia hopes that a return to the familiar will help her and Asher heal and forget. Lily Campenello has also come to the same town in New Hampshire with her mother to complete her last year in high school, and hopes that this year will be better. Soon she and Asher are friends, until something happens. And Oliva is left wondering what her abusive, violent husband might have passed on to her son, and what other secrets are being kept from her.

The story keeps surprising the reader right up to the end, with a plot that sounds like it should be hard to control and keep track off, but that both authors keep control of. There are changes in time and narrative focus, but again the reader is never confused or lost and as the plot is revealed everything makes sense. The characters not cookie cutter, or designed just for this scene, but characters with full lives, and stories that give the reader a lot to care about, and feel empathy for, which is rare in a lot of books today. There is a lot about bees, and honey and history, but it fits will with the story, and never clogs the narrative. A book that is both educational and thrilling.

Jodi Picoult has never written the same book twice, and the research she does is just astonishing. Egyptology, nursing, wolves, Galapagos, honey. Not that I am short changing the work of Jennifer Finney Boylan here, but the steady hand of Ms. Picoult keeps the story moving, with a strong sense of family, and gives the reader a chance to learn something about agriculture that might never have occurred to them. Another great book, not just for summer reading but for all times.

Ever since I read My Sister’s Keeper on my honeymoon in Cancun, my favorite thing to read on vacation is a Jodi Picoult book. I saved this book to read on our recent vacation to Grand Marais, MN, and it did not disappoint! I was immediately drawn into the story and stayed up late to find out what happened. The story has a big twist in the middle, which I think was handled nicely, and I appreciate the co-author’s expertise in the subject area. This will be a quick bestseller. Add it to your TBR now! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a review.

TW and spoilers.

Well, I found the book that triggers me. Violence? Turn the page. Language? Turn the page. graphic sex? Kidnapped, killed children? Rape? Gay relationships? You get the idea. This book hit too many nerves for me.

A beekeepers son is charged with murdering his girlfriend. What follows is a dual timeline of the trial and all of the past events that led us here, with a spattering of beekeeping information, Olivia is a battered woman who left her husband. Asher is accused of following in his fathers footsteps. Lily is a transgender teen who had been horribly horribly bullied by her peers and her father. Other characters have secrets of their own.

I enjoyed the information about beekeeping I was ok with Asher and Lilys relationship. The trial moved ok and I enjoyed the back and forth. The ending was lackluster and frankly a letdown. The violence on transgender youth was too much, the domestic violence on top of that was too much in one book for me.

Once again, Jodi Picoult shows she is a master of words. This book is beautifully written and full of complexities and complicated characters. There are twists and turns and each page is captivating. I finished it in a day because I could not put the book down!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this Netgalley ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautifully written book. So very many emotions I felt. This book took me away from this crazy world and filled me with all the feels.

I loved the story. I loved how much I know about Bees.. Just amazing.

This story ripped my heart out and gave me hope all at the same time.

I love that Picoult extensively researches the topics she writes on; I learned so much about bee keeping from this story!!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Emotional as well as suspenseful, Mad Honey is a buzzing beehive of a story with many separate yet interconnected pieces. Part teenage love story, part murder mystery, and part courtroom drama, it's a page-turner that swarms readers with compassion and empathy at the same time that it asks them to consider their own inner prejudices around a sensitive topic. Challenging them to learn to love people for who - instead of what - they are.

Told in dual perspective, the book follows Lily Campanello, an 18-year-old-girl who is navigating her first brush with love while also tackling her own sense of personal identity, and Olivia McAfee, a mother, a beekeeper, and a domestic abuse survivor whose son, Asher, has been arrested, accused of murdering his girlfriend. The narrative flits back and forth between the past and present, giving rise to a bevy of real world issues, obstacles, and complications. Not only are there delicate secrets revealed about the characters, but there are also poignant themes about depression, abuse, abandonment, judgment, and acceptance.

I was drawn in by the plot, by the characters. They were well-developed and dimensional, making it easy for me to connect to them. Whenever Lily was toiling over who she was, over whether or not she could share the most private personal parts of herself with Asher, so was I. Whenever Olivia was questioning her own son's guilt or innocence, terrified that he might be violent like his father, I was right there with her. I cannot count the number of times I was suspicious, skeptical, surprised. I cannot tell you how overcome I was with curiosity, with emotion.

There were so many times when all I could do was hold my breath...and wait. Just wait for whatever was going to unfold next.

This is absolutely a story designed to give readers pause, make them think. Force them to ask questions. It's tragic in a lot of ways, upsetting, too, but also moving. The twists are the sort that surprise, perhaps even astonish because of the way they come together one single thread at a time, but I have to admit I liked the sense of trepidation, doubt, and worry I carried with me the entire time I was reading. I didn't know where I was being lead but I knew I wanted to follow. I didn't know how the story would end, if things would conclude the way that I hoped or anticipated, only that I wouldn't put the book down until I finished--heart torn, still sticky with tension, from my chest.

A soul-stirring read, indeed! Seamless collaboration. Great social and psychological insight into difficult topics, too.

Special thanks to NetGalley, Random House, and Ballantine Books for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Mad Honey was a roller coaster ride. Did Asher kill his girlfriend? Is he a violent abuser like his father? Or is he a teenage kid whose main crime is confusion at the ups-and-downs of new love? Will Asher's mother support him unconditionally?

Mad Honey is told from alternating perspectives: Asher's mother, Olivia, a beekeeper and former domestic violence victim and Lily, Asher's deceased girlfriend. Both perspectives kept me rapt. This book takes twists and turns, making a long story fly by. We learn so much about Asher, but only from the perspectives of the two women closest to him. Each of the characters came alive for me, mostly through their pains, but occasionally through their joys.

There are tidbits about bees sprinkled throughout the novel. We learn the title comes from poisonous honey used in warfare: mad honey is created from angry bees eating rhododendrons. People injured and killed by mad honey are tricked by its innocuous look - expecting sweetness and luxury rather than a weaponous substance.

I really liked Mad Honey. It was hard to put down. Highly recommend. Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I requested to read and review this book for free from Ballantine Books. This book is a powerful story about love, forgiveness and strength. It has drama, romance, mystery! Lily is a strong women that has know who she is for a while. Asher is the boy next door. Olivia is there to guide Asher as best she can. And the same can be said for Ava Lily mom. This story will keep.you guessing until the very end. Secrets have a way of coming out both good and bad. Being true to yourself is the only way to be. Love can find its self in many different ways. Public opinion is sometimes a blessing and a curse that you can't escape. Can tragedy make way for something great. Can we reinvent ourselves if needed? This book is for a mature reader only. It can be read anywhere.