Here is the Beehive, a take of sorrow and desperation after Ana incidentally learns that the man she has been having an extra-marital affair with has been killed in a car accident. What follows is her story of life before and after Connor’s death, and Ana’s desperate struggle to grieve for a man that no one in her fold was even aware of.

Sarah Crossan writes like no other. Her beautiful, poetry like prose is so engaging that the book almost read itself and I could not put it down until I’d finished the entire thing.

Aside from the exquisite writing style is the execution of the story. I felt every bit of Ana’s pain and desperation. Sarah writes with such pure emotion that it’s difficult not to be engulfed (I failed miserably) by it all. This really is a must have book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Books UK for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Connor, his wife Rebecca and Ana his lover. This book highlights the dangers and many many secrets of having an affair. Events happen and both Rebecca and Ana are left alone to deal with loss, lost love and even an obsession that could destroy everybody.
A very interesting tale told with insight and a quick read.

Even though I loved the description of this book it took a long time to adapt to the style of writing and the short sharp paragraphs were, at first, incredibly off putting.

I thought the fact that the book was written about an affair was bold. I was instantly cross with both Connor and Ana and felt, as I do in real life, that if you’ve fallen in love with someone other than your wife/husband do the honest & decent thing and leave.

The book however did improve drastically and became more interesting when Ana befriended Connor’s wife.

All in I felt it was a very realistic look at an affair and highlighted some of the perils that could befall. I would definitely recommend this book!

I enjoyed the style of writing from this author and was easy to get into , but felt the story lacked substance. I kept waiting for something to happen and it just didn’t.
Saying that I think she portrayed the character well and gave her raw real emotion.
Easy read if you don’t want anything to complicated.

I've heard much about Sarah Crossan as an author, and this is the first novel of hers I have read. Unfortunately I did not particularly care for the style of writing, although others may love it. I found it distracting (and to be honest thought the formatting on my Kindle was up the spout!).

The story itself is good; a tale of loss from the mistress's point of view, one whose grief cannot be acknowledged, and I found her story very sad. Her desperation for him is heartbreaking, as is her loss of confidence and self-esteem.

I read Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan in one sitting. It is an engrossing tale of grief and betrayal.
Ana is married but having an affair when her lover dies suddenly. She has no one to turn to, and through flashbacks and inner monologue we see how this affair impacted her personal and professional life. Told through verse, the writing is stunningly beautiful and emotional.

What a great foray into adult fiction! I ha e read a few of Crossan's books for younger readers but this one is by far my favourite. Dark themes of a tortured love and grief make you turn the pages as you need to know more, much the same as, Ana, our protagonist. This is the story of a woman who loses the man she loves, a man she should not be with, a man who has been a secret for years. How can you grieve if no one knows he ever existed? A compelling read and I hope the first of many adult offerings from Corssan.

I was blown away by this book. It presented itself in almost poetic form. The words flowed through me and I was living Ana, and Connor’s lives. I don’t believe I have ever read a more lustrous and real story of an affair and it was fantastic to Feel the emotions, see the Actions and glimpses of ‘not quite truthfulness’ amidst all the dishonesty. A really amazing deep and haunting read. Well done to Sarah Crossan.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thanks so much to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Read the book in2 sittings....easy prose and a story that keeps the interest. The ending came suddenly and abruptly......leaving a feeling of dissatisfaction..Nevertheless an enjoyable read

Here is the Beehive is a shocking but incredible novel. It unashamedly demonstrates the power of addictive, painful and forbidden love. We see in Ana the way that two lives can be wrecked by a love that cannot publicly exist. Every word is perfectly crafted, and this book will stay with me for a long time.

This is the first of Crossan's books that I've read, but I will be looking out for more now.

This is a bleak tale of betrayal and loss. Well written, but overwhelmingly sad and without hope. Not for me.

Here Is the Beehive is the author's first foray into "adult fiction". I have read two of her books previously that were aimed at younger readers and I can tell you with complete certainty that this is not suitable for kids the way the other books were.

It quickly becomes apparent why this book is aimed at the adult market rather than children. While the other books focused on child protagonists this one features an adult female. The story is also about the sudden death of her paramour. It is also chock full of swearing, which I have absolutely no problem with, but also meant that the book transported me in a different way than the others had.

Once again, the story is written in verse, which I still absolutely love. There is something about it that completely immerses the reader in the story.

The topic is one that I haven't really approached before. What happens when your "lover" dies? You can't tell anybody, but it must affect you both emotionally and physically. Here we see the far-reaching effects and how it takes over the life of our protagonist and takes its toll on not just her personal life, but her professional life also.

Our protagonist Anna is a startlingly well written character. What she is going through is obviously a great ordeal, but due to the circumstances some may say she deserves little sympathy. I thought she was a fascinating character and even though I didn't want to feel sorry for her, I did. I didn't feel much of a connection to her overall, but I did think she was a great lead character.

The overarching story was absolutely brilliant, but, while I thought this was a great read, it didn't hit the highs of either Moonrise or Toffee for me, perhaps due to not being totally in love with the main character.

This is still a fascinating read, and one that I am sure people everyone will be recommending. I'm glad to say I'll be right there promoting it with them. I really do think you should read this one.

Here is the Beehive is the first novel for adults from Sarah Crossan and it is magnificent.

The tale of an affair, a death, duplicity and how worlds can collide in the most unexpected ways. Told entirely in verse, the language is smart and succinct. The narrative builds in layers, introducing characters and building the plot in a way that often made me stop to take stock of the richness of the language. It is difficult to like any of the characters but equally hard not to think you can see the traits of most of us in many of them. A strong rounded up 3.5*.

With thanks to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for an ARC for an honest review.

This is a different more mournful and adult tone compared to her other books. Although the format of telling the story through verse is still the same there isn't the same hope or positive possibilities of her previous books. At times, it was hard to continue due to the morose nature but it was very beautifully written. This is a book that you need to be in the correct mindset for but it has a beauty that needs to be appreciated.

I have read and loved some of Sarah Crossan books. Unfortunately, this one was not my favorite.
I loved the writing of Sarah Crossan like always, the short sentences, the rythme, but the story didn't work for me. The characters either, the deep feelings of Ana was too repetitive for me.

I read this book over two nights and was transported to a whole new world and a whole new meaning of novel writing. Sarah Crossan has such a unique style that draws you right in. The story is written in verse and is beautifully done. So much so, that you forget you are reading verse. Whether you are a poetry fan or not, this story is brilliant and should be read.

The story revolves around Ana and dips in and out between past and present in short scenes that say so much in so few words. The emotional impact of the writing is stunning and I felt every bit of Ana's grief and I watched her world tumble and fall apart around her as she struggled to make sense of something she could never share.

This is a powerful story of love, loss, betrayal, and grief. The book is so well written and the style is addictive. I found myself saying just one more scene, one more page until my eyes closed and refused to allow me to continue. The pace of the story is perfect and I have no doubt that Sarah Crossan's first entry into adult literary fiction is going to be raved about and hit all the bestseller lists.

I’ve read nearly everything Sarah Crossan has written and this is the first book I’ve read of hers that is aimed at an adult audience. As usual, the writing is lovely - she is such a talented author. However, the plot was all about a married woman who was having an affair with a married man, and it was all about miserable marriages and toxic dinner parties. Totally not my kind of subject matter.

The writing was five stars; the content was one star. Averages out at three stars, so still an ok book, but not one I’ll go back to.

I have previously read two of Sarah Crossans books and liked them, unfortunately I can't say the same about this one. I'm not really a big fan of romance books and requested it because it was an author I'd read before. I couldn't read it and didn't like from the off!

Sadly, this is the first Sarah Crossan book I have not enjoyed. It is the first adult book written by her that I have read.
I started by having some sympathy with the narrator but it did not take me long to start to feel uncomfortable with that sympathy. Yes, she was the Mistress, so she could not be seen to be grieving. She did not exist.
Having said this, I do think that the author is very clever with the drip feeding of information about the narrator (I am not sure that we ever learn her name). There does seem to be an interesting twist at the end but I had already fallen out of love with the book and did not properly finish it..

SARAH CROSSAN– HERE IS THE BEEHIVE

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Two confessions. Firstly, before reading this novel I had never heard of Ms Crossan. Secondly, I loathe poetry, as I simply don’t have the patience to understand it – my loss, I know.

“Here is the Beehive” is a novel written in poetry form. Not prose. Sometimes sentences are two words long, aligned to the left, sometimes to the right, sometimes some words of a paragraph indented within it for (to me) no particular reason.

The opening:


The only way
out
now
is to stay busy,
so I have borrowed
Anna Karenina
from my mother and will not
allow myself to cry
until I have read it.

Twice.


Third confession.
I nearly
gave up.
Then I realised that as there were so few words
on each page,
I was storming through it.
And
that I was
enjoying it.

Sarah Crossan is a brilliant writer. She must be, to engage someone like myself. Some of the images she creates with so few words are excellent. So though it took me some while to get into it, and work out who the characters were, I can only offer five stars. To give fewer would be churlish.