This title was included on the Dublin City FM All About Books show in a weekly round up of recommended reads

After reading some of Sarah Crossan’s work previously, I was excited to read this. Whilst I enjoyed it, I don’t think it was quite on the same level as her other work.

I loved that it was written in prose and I was completely drawn in by the mistresses upset at her lover dying. Not the most pleasant of main characters, it worked well as you certainly didn’t know whether to feel sympathy for her or anger at her. It made you want to read on. That being said, it’s not the most enjoyable of reads and could be a very unpleasant topic for some.

Here is The Beehive follows Ana and Conor, who are having an illicit affair - this is told from the POV of 'the other woman' who is a stereotypical unlikeable protagonist, self centered and making questionable life choices. When Conor passes away suddenly we explore Anas obsession and spiraling grief

I was first drawn to this for it's more unconventional writing style which I'd seen in friends reviews, and also for the 'unlikeable characters' which are often a favourite of mine! Crossman covers affairs/dysfunctional relationships and grief - rec'd if this is your bag!

It was my first book from Sarah Crossan but won’t be the last for sure!

Absolutely loved this, what a unique book!
The style is utterly captivating, and while we only hear one side of the story, it’s still engaging.

It tells the story of an affair, after one of the participant dies.

Thank you NetGalley and Sarah Crossan for my review copy!

After enjoying Crossan's previous novel, I was excited to pick this one up. I really enjoy Crossan's unique writing style - the spoken word narrative really draws you in and keeps you gripped to the final page. I read this over one day, which is a rare occurrence for me.

I wasn't too sure I would enjoy this novel quite as much after hearing that Here is the Beehive follows a woman who is dealing with bereavement after her married lover dies suddenly. It's definitely an interesting perspective - Ana's relationship is/was a secret so her grief must be kept under wraps, and I was surprised how much I connected with the characters and the relationships. Crossan deftly depicts a woman deeply struggling and it feels like an honest account, letting Ana be messy and hurtful and human. Even where Ana behaves abhorrently, I still felt deeply connected to her. As a person, I think I would really dislike Ana but , as a character, she is so interesting. The stream of consciousness narrative made this novel intense and deeply emotional, and it stayed with me afterwards.

With all that being said, although it had a strong start, I ultimately felt unsatisfied by its ending - it seemed too abrupt and unfinished. I wish Crossan had fleshed out the ending a bit more, with more of a resolution for Ana and Rebecca.

A really interesting look at grief from the perspective of a 'mistress'. This is a short read, written in verse, accounting the feelings and thoughts of a woman after the man she was having a long term affair with suddenly dies.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

Extremely profound and heartfelt, this novel felt totally unique, but completely absorbing and even comforting at the same time. Like finding an old friend.

Delighted to have received this and to have finally had my first taste of an adult book written in verse. Beautifully written and packing a punch, Crossan tackles some hard-hitting themes of death, grief, infidelity, abortion and separation through impactful stanzas that paint a picture of a forbidden love story and all the repercussions it creates. The main character Ana was so flawed and her journey really kept you gripped, but not necessarily rooting for her which made for a unique reading experience. Part 5 made me emotional as Crossan tied up loose ends and set her characters on a path towards closure. I'm eager to pick up more of Crossan's writing and have a new place in my heart for novels in verse. Thank you so much to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this free Arc in return for an honest review.

This book was full of twists and turns from beginning to end. The first adult novel from Sarah, I was unsure what to expect theme wise as I already find her YA often have adult elements (previous books covering death, crime, abandonment, abuse etc)

"Ana has been having an affair but when her lover dies she must deal with her loss alone, while trying to keep up the façade the two built. We watch her as she struggles through processing her emotions and what this now means for her living life after him. "

This book was a conflicting read for me as I like a lead I can root for, but a lot of the time I found Ana a bit unlikeable and her decisions frustrating, At the start I found this tricky, but as the book progressed I found Ana's actions and her ways of dealing with loss relatable and realistic.

The style of writing suited the theme, the prose flowing as the story moved forward and in flashback with the added reflections made by Ana, which added to the bittersweet beauty of the story.

I tried to read this last year, and then tried again this year but just couldn't get into the way this is written in verse. So sadly I have given up - this was not for me.

When I started this book I thought oh no, this style of prose is not for me. However, soon the rhythm of the writing had me hooked.
Ana, the key protagonist is a solicitor who has an affair with one of her clients. Both parties are married and when her married lover dies suddenly Ana meets his wife and becomes involved in her life. Although I didn’t particularly like Ana - she seemed cold and selfish, she was well depicted and I felt the description of the affair and the devastating lows of loving someone who you can’t be with was done so well. I hadn’t read any of Sarah Crossan’s work but having enjoyed her writing so much here, I will seek out her other work.
Huge thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read this engaging book.

This novel was written in verse, which was really interesting and quite unique. I had heard a lot about this book and therefore requested it from #Netgalley.
It is written like a memoir of an affair that ends with the death of the lawyer's lover and it also portrays the destructive effect affairs can have on a family.

All in all, this novel didn't really do it for me. It lacks a storyline and the main characters are difficult to like.

What a book, such an unusual concept. I had reservations with this one and I was blown away. A novel written in verse its both beautiful and heart-breaking. I am a huge fan of Sarah Crossan, I adore her unique writing style of poetry format in verse which tells the story making her books easy reads but addictive also. This is a story about so much including an affair, death, betrayal and love

Ana has been having an affair with Connor for three years when he dies unexpectedly and she is left grieving but can't let explain to anyone why she is behaving so erratically. I felt sorry for Ana that she has lost someone she loves and also that she had found love in a complex situation that she couldn't find a way to resolve. It gradually emerges that not only she is she sleeping with someone else's husband, she has a husband and children herself. Life and love are complex and this book certainly kept me enthralled from the first chapter. Finished this one in one sitting! Definitely recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A novel about infidelity and grief. A married family law solicitor has an affair with a married client and after his sudden death pursues a friendship.with his widow.. I liked the unusual.style of writing, read almost as a prose poem and enjoyed the thoughtful nuances.

An intriguing and absorbing book - its subtlety occasionally slips, but it crafts its atmosphere well and ends up being genuinely affecting. Infidelity is a very well-trodden area at this point, but Here is the Beehive still feels fresh. Dark, spiky, immersive. I liked it a lot. Crossan is also unusually good at writing character - Ana, Paul, Tanya and Rebecca are all deeply complicated and well-realised characters, and if Connor somewhat pales in comparison, that's sort of the point.

This is the story of solicitor, Ana, who finds out that the man she has been having an affair with for the last three years has died suddenly; when his wife calls the office and asks her to deal with the probate.
It is written in verse which I didn’t realise when I requested it from Netgalley and isn’t a writing style I am hugely familiar with. However I was pleasantly surprised by the flow of it, and how much feeling could be put across in just a few short lines.
There is a dark and sinister edge to the story as we watch Ana begin to insert herself into Rebecca’s (the widow) life and I wondered how far it would go.
A short read but has an impact, with a raw sense to it, and an interesting look at some of the secrets we keep.

Ana and Connor have been lovers for three years. In cramped hotel rooms, crowded cafes, short messages, and stolen weekends, they build themselves a world in which there is no room for anyone other than the two of them, and from which they return home to different families in the evenings. Then one day the unthinkable happens: Connor has a fatal accident and Ana finds herself alone in the captivity of their secret. What’s more, in the worst role — ex officio, as a probate lawyer, it’s up to him to provide comfort and reassurance to the grieving widow.

How can we lose someone the world didn’t even know was ours? How can we mourn something if we can’t talk about our pain? Sarah Crossan’s novel is a live dissection of two marriages in the shadow of each other, an ex-loving emotional yet cruelly sincere confession of love, loss and a vast maze of forgiveness. A compelling and intimate story, written in Crossan's inimitable free verse, which piece by piece exposes a raw core of love, sorrow and obsession. A unique reading experience that goes straight to the heart. Highly recommended.

This is absolute perfection. Such a wonderfully experimental form that works so well with the themes in this.
A great mix of jealousy, lust, death, grief, torment and at the heart of it is about the two women and their newly found relationship.
Its twisty, hard hitting, shocking.

I was captivated by this story. At times I really disliked the protagonist, Ana for her deceitful behaviour towards her deceased lovers wife, but also for the way she treated her husband and children. The affair consumed her and she seemed to show little care for her family. This book evoked powerful emotions in me. I was wary of the verse style of the book but it was actually perfect for this story. Though I finished reading a few days ago, Ana is still with me. I wish the book had been longer.