Unexpected, compelling, heart-felt - oh,, and timely. Very timely. Even though when going into this book I knew it was a collaborative effort, it is seamless, and beautifully written. A story filled with love, many kinds of love, and mystery, and more than one social issue, it is also well-researched and (BONUS!) includes recipes. Don’t forget to read the author notes after finishing the book.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan follows the story of Olivia and Lily. Olivia is a beekeeper and single mother. When her son is accused of the murder of Lily will she believe his proclaimed innocence or not? The book was gripping and told through alternating chapters of Lily (going backwards in time) and Olivia (moving forward). I read it quickly over a couple days. (Note: If close minded not the book for you).

When a teenage girl is found dead, her boyfriend is accused of murder. Bad Honey recounts the trial, it's lead up and what immediately follows alternately through the eyes of Lily, the victim and Olivia, her boyfriend's mother.

The story is engrossing. Everyone has secrets and Ms Picoult dishes them out slowly and deliberately as their stories unfold.

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors, and Mad Honey is probably one of my favorite books by her so far! I was not familiar with her co-author Jennifer Finney Boylan, but the two of them did a great job writing together seamlessly. The storyline of this volume is very current and could be easily be a newspaper headline. I don't want to give too much away as there are some unforeseen twists that make this story great. Overall, it's a story about love - love between husband and wife, between parents and children, and between lovers. What extremes would you go for the ones you love and why do we seem to hurt the ones we love the most? I learned so much from this book about identity and acceptance. It's a journey through love and heartbreak and ultimately hope in the strength of the human spirit. I can not wait for this book to be released so that I can recommend it to everyone I know! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the honor of reading an ARC of this book!

One of my favorite books this year! I always look forward to Jodi Picoult books because the story is so compelling, but it also provokes thought and then you always manage to learn something as well. It was such a good story and you could feel the connections to the characters as well as their connections to each other. Love love love this book.

This book was so good and I had a hard time putting it down... Picoult knocks another one out of the park. Besides the fact that the writing was so well done and I just kept having to get to Lily's next chapter, then having to read another chapter from Olivia (resulting in me sometimes not being able to stop reading and reading far longer than I should have), the book is extremely timely and important. It's an important voice and Jennifer Finney Boylan handled it extremely well. I have always considered myself an LGBTQ+ ally, and I am never ashamed of trying to learn more so I can do better, but this one gave me all sorts of insight and had me in tears so often. It was beautiful, heartbreaking, and just so so good. 4.5 stars, plus a .5 stars for giving me another Jordan McAfee book.

Mad Honey
Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan
Ballantine
Publication: October 4, 2022

Mad Honey is co-written by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan. I dare you to decide who wrote which chapters. It’s seamless.

The story revolves around two families headed by single women: Olivia McAfree and her son, Asher; and Ana Campanello and her daughter, Lily. Both women have escaped their pasts and moved to New Hampshire to start fresh lives. Olivia is a beekeeper and Ana is a Park Ranger.

Asher and Lily fall in love. Then, tragedy strikes and all lives are upended. It was a twist I didn’t expect and it almost broke my heart. But, the story carries on and we learn about beehives and honey (and it’s healing processes) and about transgender lives. I know. It seems there is no connection, but of course there is.

The story is told by Olivia and Lily. Lily’s chapters are written backwards and I found that it confused me at times, but it didn’t interfere with the story and it enhanced the character development of Lily.

My favorite scenes were when Olivia is tending to her bees. That’s where the title comes from, after all. Mad honey is explained in the book, “The secret weapon of mad honey, of course, is you expect it to be sweet, not deadly. You’re deliberately attracted to it. By the time it messes with your head, with your heart, it’s too late.” (P. 781 in arc ebook.)

I enjoyed this book and give it four stars. I recommend it to those who are comfortable with LBGT stories.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow! I loved this fiction book, but it was full of non-fiction facts as well. So entertaining and informative. I was completely immersed in the story.

This book was excellent! 2 great authors collaborated on a topic that means something to them and the result was a powerful family drama that had suspense, meaning and well developed characters. This book touched me, surprised me and I will be thinking about it for a long time in the best way. Highly recommend this book!

Reason I picked up the book: I'm a huge fan of Jodi Picoult's books, so I was very excited to get an e-galley of her newest novel.
And what's this book about?
A soul-stirring novel about what we choose to keep from our past and what we choose to leave behind, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wish You Were Here and the bestselling author of She's Not There.

Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising their beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined that she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in and taking over her father’s beekeeping business.

Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.

And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can’t help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can trust him completely. . . .

Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge the flashes of his father’s temper in Ash, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.

Mad Honey is a riveting novel of suspense, an unforgettable love story, and a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves.
Recommended for: Anyone who enjoys a good read with a twist.
Favorite paragraph: My father taught me that beekeeping is both a burder and a privilege. You don't both the bees unless they need your help, and you help them when they need it. It's a feudal relationship: protection in return for a percentage of the fruits of their labors.

He taught me that if a body is easily crushed, it develops a weapon to prevent that from happening.

He taught me that sudden movements get you stung.

I took these lessons a bit too much to heart.
Something to know: I haven't been reading a lot during the pandemic (hence all the Becki guest reviews on here) but I binged this book in two to three days, because it was THAT good—as are most of Picoult's books, too.
What I would have changed: Not sure I would have changed anything.
Overall rating: 5 stars out of 5.
Where can I find this book? Click here to pre-order on Amazon—it will be out on October 4, 2022.

Powerful. Buzz-worthy.

“Mad Honey,” by Jodi Picolut and Jennifer Finney Boylan is a book that reminds me how much I love reading. Scheduled release date October 11, 2022, mark your calendars. This is one you’re going to want to get your hands on ASAP.

Set in a small rural town of Adams, New Hampshire and told from the dual perspectives of Oliva- Asher McAfee’s mom, and Lily Campanello- Asher’s girlfriend. The novel starts with a Soren Kierkegaard quote, “Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” That precisely is how this story unfolds, Oliva telling the story forwards, and Lily telling hers backwards.

Oliva and Lily both lead lives with marked before/after points, and escape to Adams for a chance to start over. For Oliva, it is a homecoming to the town she was raised in. As a single mother, she leaves behind an abusive husband and raises her son in the house she grew up in. Taking over her father’s beehives, the book intrinsically weaves in historical stories and facts about honey throughout the storyline. Lily, bullied as a child, leaves a life behind in the Pacific Northwest and hopes the people of New Hampshire will be kinder. For a while their lives intertwine harmoniously when Lily falls for Asher. She loves him, but can she trust him?

The novel has a couple of remarkable twists that leave the characters questioning how well they actually know one another. It asks what is the difference between keeping secrets and personal privacy?

I wish I could go into more detail without spoiling this gem, but I won’t. I will just tell you, for me it was such an important read. Picoult often uses her storytelling to challenge your moral compass and I often find myself wondering what if? This was another book I couldn’t put down, couldn’t wait to find out what happened next, and yet was sad when it was over.

In the author’s notes at the end of the book, we find out that Picolut and Boylan wrote alternating chapters however their editing and voices blended effortlessly. I’m eternally grateful to Netgalley, Random House and Ballantine Books for the gift it was to read and review this one early. Can’t wait to get a copy for my bookshelves.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️-thank you #netgalley for the ARC of this book. I am a really big #jodipicoult fan and it was an honor to be offered this book. Asher is a high school boy in love with a girl named Lily. One terrible day Lily falls down stairs and dies. Asher is the first on the scene and is devastated. Olivia his mother tries her hardest to help her son through. However, when Asher is accused of Lily’s murder how will Olivia react? Told from Olivia and Lily’s point of view this book has you thinking t about how far will we go for the people we love. Whether it be romantic love or the love of a mother. As always, Ms. Picoult does not disappoint!

Picoult and Boylan co-wrote this together after a twitter conversation during the beginning of the pandemic, It’s the story of two families who have left husbands and wind up in the same town (on a different timeline, but the same town, nonetheless. Their children meet and are dating when Lily suddenly dies and Asher ends up the primary suspect in her death.

Things aren’t always what they seem and as their stories and lives cross, a gripping story unfolds.

“ People want the world to be simple.

Yes! This is what Jodi Picault does best, murder, mystery, trial, backstories … Stories ripped from today’s headlines and put to you as to make you think harder, think gentler . And ask yourself…” What do we conceal from the world and what do we put out there? What is the difference between a secret and privacy?”

Olivia has fled an abusive marriage, she is quietly raising her son Asher. Asher is now a teenager and he’s dating Lily, when Lily is found dead in Asher’s arms it’s pretty clear that he has killed her. But Lily has deep secrets of her own!

This is my first book by Jennifer Finney Boylan and I do hope that there are more books written by these two authors together !

I really, really enjoyed this book! It was so just… everything! It hooked me from the first page and kept me hooked the entire time!

This was such a great book, as Picoult always delivers. I really enjoyed the different perspectives of Asher's girlfriend and his mom narrating. I can't pin this book into one category- at times it's a court drama, a murder mystery story, and a growing up story. This book kept me wanting to read more and more!!

Riveting was the perfect adjective for this book. What a beautifully crafted story of young love--with some unexpected turns. Each plot turn made it harder to set the book down, so a quick and captivating read in the best of Jodi Picoult craftsmanship. Her co-author, Jennifer Finney Boylan, doesn't change the Picoult unveiling of detail. Told in turn by Asher's mother and Asher's girlfriend was a great choice. I may reread the book and use the chapter headings to make a timeline, which I started wishing for as I read, but couldn't stop moving forward. A must read (maybe twice!).

Mad Honey, by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, is the kind of book that made me fall in love with Picoult's novels many years ago. Her last two, while good, were not my favorites. I'm so glad that I didn't give up because this one has renewed my interest in reading everything she publishes. The title had me researching and learning more about "mad honey" and the storyline kept me reading until there were no more pages. Put this one on your TBR list! Thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is Picoult at her finest. I didn’t like her last one as well but this one is one of her best . I love the centering of the story around the boys and how it plays in to the interpersonal relations of the characters.
This one is one of her best .

Mad Honey, Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
October 4, 2022, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine,

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is everything PIcoult does best, including mystery, courtroom and interpersonal drama. I felt like flashes back to The Plain Truth and Change of Heart, two of my favorite Picoult books. The premise of the book came to Boylan in a dream, and woven together with Picoult's creates a masterpiece.

To go into too much detail about the plot would ruin the book for the reader -- but I urge you to read this important book. Lily and Asher are in the midst of a high school romance when she dies and he is arrested for her murder. The book bounces back and forth from Asher's trial from the events leading up, told in both Lily and Asher's mother, Olivai, a beekeeper's voice. Both women are complex and bring their share of drama and trauma to their lives and relationships. Boylan and Picoult leave you guessing and on the edge of your seat, while weaving in education on incredibly important topics. A light read this is not, but a worthwhile read it absolutely is.

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer @jenniferfinneyboylan @jodipicoult @ballentine #junepridemonth #madhoneybook