What a gift to have the chance to read Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan in exchange for my honest review. Thank you Netgalley and publisher.
Mad Honey is Lilly's story; powerful and stunning. Lily, a transgender girl climbs the treacherous mountain of cruelty, abuse and trauma to be accepted for who she is. No plot description or spoilers here. Enough to say the writing is seemless, the characters are typical of the writer's past work, so authentic they feel like like friends and family. Mad Honey has suspense, court drama, family issues and most importantly, shines a ray of light on a topic that often breeds ignorance, contempt and violence. Thanks to the writer's for knowledge that gives understanding, acceptance and empathy instead. I strongly recommend this thoroughly engaging, brilliantly written story. One of the best this year. Five easy stars.

"Imagine a sorrow so deep that it batters the hatches of sleep; imagine drowning before you even realize you've gone under."

I was super stoked to get access to a copy of this highly anticipated pairing of minds and in reading the Afterward notes by both authors, I was super interested and intrigued by how they both wrote, edited and challenged eachother during their writing process to create a truly seamless novel of heart.

Told from two perspectives, both before and after Lily's death and with multiple timeline narratives intertwined, it does get a bit hard to keep track of where you are in the overall story. Though it isn't enough to take away from that natural flow of the progression, I could see it being annoying to some.

Lily and Olivia are very similar, alike in more ways then you initially realize. Both woman are endearing and courageous, broken both in heart and soul, but prevailing day in and day out. It made me wonder if I would be able to do the same in either situation.

As a mom, Olivia's plight spoke to me, freaked me out and made me anxious. As a woman, Lily's struggles resonated with my younger self and angered me by the sheer audacity of humans and their cruelty.

I also REALLY loved the honey and bee knowledge. I always gain such wonderful facts when reading a Picoult book 🥰

In the end, we are all human, above anything else. We all have a soul worth loving, no matter what the "covering" may look like.

"Maybe we are nothing more than the confidences we keep, plastered over with a distraction of skin and bone and shadow."

Special thanks to @penguinrandomhouse & @netgalley for the advanced copy!

Olivia McAfee is starting over after her husband destroyed their perfect life. She and her son Asher have moved back to her hometown and she has taken over her fathers beekeeping business. Lily Campanella knows the feeling as she and her mother have moved back there for a fresh start. Their paths cross when Lily and Asher begin a relationship. After a tragedy, secrets emerge and Olivia and Asher face the hardest test of all.


Thanks to Jodi Picoult and Finley Boylan for the book and also Random House Publishing Group!

Holy cow. I could not put this down! Had no idea what I was getting into when I downloaded this book. I just knew it was co-authored by Jodi Piccoult and that meant I would love it! It wasn’t until a revelation occurred that I realized I recognized the other author’s name as well and everything came full circle.

This was both heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time: a lesson that maybe we shouldn’t love people for what they are…but WHO they are.

Thank you to @netgalley for the early addition!

While I did enjoy this book it didn’t hold my attention like some of her other books. I hate to say it but I could tell there were two authors as, at times it felt like it didn’t flow and that things were thrown together. Still decent, just not one of my favorites.

Another home-run for Jodi! Absolutely stellar book! I've read everything she has written and her books continue to amaze me. She does not disappoint with this one!

I'm a huge Jodi Picoult fan, and this was no exception. Actually might be my top 5 of hers! I love that Jodi's books always teach me something.... this one was about bees. 🐝 and of course, there's murder and a trial and some controversial topic involved.
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I don't want to give anything away, but you've gotta read this one.
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Thank you @netgalley for the early read!

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Was so excited to get an ARC from my absolute favorite author of all time, Ms Jodi Picoult. As always, she did not disappoint. Some huge twists several times throughout the book, and kept me hooked until the very end. Loved it!

This book surprised me. I wasn't prepared for the first big twist, and will admit I almost stopped reading. Without giving away any spoilers, I think the subject was handled well and it's an important read.

Olivia and her son Asher have fled an abusive marriage and settled at the family bee farm in Adams, NH. Asher becomes a hockey star and Olivia is the town beekeeper. As Asher enters his senior year, Lily Campanello arrives in Adams with her mom. Asher and Lily fall in love. When Lily is found dead, Asher is charged with her murder. The book is told in alternating chapters from Olivia and Lily’s viewpoints. This is amazingly effective. All of the characters have secrets which come out during the course of the story. I loved it and highly recommend it. I went into this blind and I suggest doing the same. I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I loved this book about a boy who is charged with the murder of his girlfriend. Past character Jordan (the attorney) shows up with his awesome wife Selena. In this novel, Olivia (a beekeeper living in NH) has a son named Asher who falls in love with Lily. Lily and her mother have found refuge in NH after fleeing Lily's father. After a fight, Asher goes to see Lily and finds her at the bottom of the stairs.

This book also involves courtroom drama.

No review of mine will ever be good enough for this book. I don’t have the language to express how phenomenal this book was. It just simply doesn’t exist in my brain, but I will try. This review will be as spoiler-free as possible; if it feels vague, it’s on purpose.

Jodi Picoult is one of those authors where I will pick up anything she puts out. I don’t even have to know the subject matter to know that I will read the book in it’s entirety. I always learn something when I read a Picoult book and I am always left pondering the moral(s) of the story. Would I do what the main character did? Would I react this way or that way? Would I feel like they did? I haven’t read any of Jennifer Finney Boylan’s work, but I absolutely will be after this. I recommend reading the authors’ notes at the end for important information about the book and co-authoring.

Mad Honey is a dual POV story with Olivia and Lily as narrators. It is a story about love and hurt, abuse, acceptance, and provides a stunning social commentary that I didn’t see coming—and that was the point.

There was an almost fourth wall break kind of passage from Olivia about 40% into the book about being guilty of not making up her own mind, like when people assume someone in a villain or when they said a movie isn’t good and she just blindly follows their mindset. I read through it several times. I can’t pinpoint it, but it was so moving and interesting. That and the line “my beekeeping net became a funeral veil” have really stuck with me.

Olivia’s relationship with Braden foiled to the conversation(s) around sexuality and gender was thought-provoking, especially considering the conversation in the book about secrecy and privacy.

Mad Honey is 5/5 stars (100/5 stars if that would make sense!) for me. Absolute perfection in storytelling. I will recommend this to the end of my days and it will be one of those books that I think about forever. Extreme thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine for the opportunity to read and review such a stunning piece of work.

I'd been in an extremely long, dry reading spell until Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan came along and jackhammered my hardened reader's heart into a million grateful, explosively captivating pieces. WOW, people, WOW! This book was TRULY tough to put down. What a read; there is everything here that a storyteller could offer; legal drama, romance, dark deception, and a deep dive into the pool of what it means to be "seen" in the world. I've been a huge fan of Picoult's for so long, and now Boylan has acquired another committed reader. Please do yourself the favor of reading the author's notes; the story behind the writing of the book is as engaging as the book itself. FIVE GORGEOUS GLOWING STARS.

I have read many books by Picoult and most of them get you thinking about the world we live in. Her subject matter always make you wonder about what is going on in the minds of people who just dont fit in according to others. When I got this ARC from Negalley I was thrilled to read another book by her although it is also co-authored with Jennifer Boylan. What I didnt know was the subject matter introduced in their book. I am one of those people when a book comes out from a favorite author....well its on my reading list. Both authors did a great job.

This is a powerful, moving story of a transgender girl, Lily and what she goes through to be a girl. The information contained in this book is amazing and it makes you understand that not only is this something physical but also a deep mental knowledge is needed. When Lily gets killed and her boyfriend Asher is accused....we find ourselves in the court room. The books switches between characters and their feelings and sometimes I felt I was in the court room with them. A mother always (or should) protect her child, no matter what.

Did Asher kill her because she was trans? What part did Lily's parents play in her mental state? I loved this book even the information about beekeeping was amazing (will never look at honey the same way).

This book will be released October 2022...make sure its on your TBR list. #fivestars #netgalley

This book was amazing. I could not put it down. I won't go into details and ruin the plot line, but the characters and the setting itself, on farm where they raised bees. So so good. I recommend everyone read this book not only because it is wonderful, but the rich story line can teach us all something about life. Loved this book. Best I've read in a while. Highly recommended.

Loved this beautifully written book. It is heartfelt, stirs up so many emotions and makes you fall in love with the characters. Jodi Picoult never disappoints in writing a book that sticks with you long after it’s over.
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, SHAME ON ME. How in the world am I so late to discover the glory of Jodi Picoult. I read one book before this one, Wish you were here, and I was in awe. Now after this one, I’m an ultimate believer that all words Jodi writes are gold. Wow. Another massive win of a read! It was a clever, intelligent, thrilling, keep you on the edge of the seat and keep flipping until your eyes can’t take it anymore kind of read. And that is just the storyline. The writing itself sucks you in. The characters, the pacing and atmosphere of it all, and oh the twist! You become apart of the story and don’t even realize how invested you are until it ends and you want to go back and do it again. ON TOP of all this? I learned things. Trivial facts and big ideas. I listened and I was enlightened.

Sure this book may not be for everyone. There are triggers such as abuse and if you aren’t open minded to begin with generally in life then you probably wont be in this book. But. If you can handle bigger than you things, this is a pretty damn good one to blast off with.

As for the plot- just the synopsis will suffice. It will absolutely ruin the flow if you dig deep.

Thank you Random House and netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

(Spoiler)

Despite being co-authored, this book read like a Jodi Picoult book. The words are beautifully written, the story is interwoven, and despite knowing that there would be a twist, I was still surprised when there was a twist.

I read this one quickly as I had to know if Asher was innocent. I had to know how Lily died.

You know before you start, just by reading the back of the book, that Asher and Lily are teenagers in love. You know that Asher's dad has a temper and is abusive. That is really all you know. You think you know the storyline and it just twists and turns and keeps going.

I think I've read everything Jodi Picoult has written. I was actually hesitant to read this one for a couple of reasons.
I was not really impressed with the last couple of books. I felt she spent too much time teaching us about elephants and archeology and too little time on the characters and stories. Plus, I generally avoid books that are jointly written. Too often the writing of each author suffers in the collaboration. I WAS DEAD WRONG! I loved this book. It has all the elements of a great Picoult book -- engaging and sympathetic characters, a story grounded in realism, a timely story that seems "ripped from the headlines", twists and turns that keep the reader turning pages, and I learned something. Who knew there was so much to beekeeping? Note that the book is written in alternating voices and switches back and forth in time which may be confusing for some. Read the chapter headings to avoid confusion. AND Read this book!!


SPOILER ---

I don't know if this will come out in blurbs and reviews as the publication gets closer, but since I had not read anything about this book (I volunteered to read it based solely on Picoult's previous books) there was a big shocking twist for me about halfway through. The dead girl was transgender. This is a very timely and important story. Although I'm sure some will be turned off by the subject, but it is important! By creating a character that readers identify with and empathize with before revealing that she was transgender, Picoult has opened the door to learning and growing and fosters empathy with a group of persons who are often derided in the media. Hopefully this book will add to the conversation and improve understanding.

I received this ARC from NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and the authors for an honest review. I’ve enjoyed many of Jodi’s Picoult’s books and this certainly didn’t disappoint me. This story addressed many important and relevant issues in today’s world. Domestic violence, transgender teens, homophobic attitudes, legal issues, and many more topics are part of this wonderful story. Asher, a high school senior is accused of murdering his high school sweetheart, Lily. The chapters alternate between Lily (before) and Olivia, Asher’s mother. This is a beautiful love story between two teens with violent backgrounds and out of control fathers. Lily and Asher both have very loving mothers who try to make life better for them. There are many twists and turns to the story. Throughout the book, Olivia , a beekeeper. is busy tending to her bees and Lily’s mother is busy with her park ranger career. This is an emotional and moving story that shows the darker side of some of the characters and big secrets that they keep.