I read One by Sarah Crossan last year and I was really impressed with the emotion involved in her writing and I really enjoyed the reading the story in verse so I was looking forward to reading her next book Here Is The Beehive. This story tells the tale of Ana, a solicitor, who finds out that the man she has been having an affair with for 3 years has died suddenly. We follow Ana as she tries to unravel the secrets of Connor's home life with his Wife and children which he had kept quite secret in the time they were together. There were some really lovely moments in this book where I was blown away with how a few lines of prose completely nailed a feeling that we have probably all felt at some point in a relationship and yet again I loved reading this book in verse. However, I hated every single character in this book. Usually I'm fine with that and even if they aren't the best example of a human being I can usually find things that are interesting about them, that wasn't the case in this book. The characters were boring, self-involved and obsessive. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen to someone but it never did. By the end I felt like it all fell a little flat. I have to give huge congratulations to the cover deign on this book though, it's beautiful.

This novel is written in verse and tells the story of an affair from the mistresses perspective. Sadly I couldn't really connect to this book.

A riveting and gripping debut by Sarah Crossan, one of the highlights of my reading year. Thought provoking in a philosophical kind of way. Ana has been having an illicit relationship for 3 years with a client. His sudden death and the relationship with his partner, culminates in a realisation that life as she thought is unravelling fast and she’s trying to hold on to her sanity in the only way she knows. It feels excruciating at times, would we the reader make the same decisions ? Fast paced emotive read, would make a great TV series. I believe this is her first adult novel. Loved the cover!

Thanks to Netgalley the author and publishers for an ARC of this book.

I hadn’t appreciated the story was written in verse but I was pleasantly surprised in how easy it was to read; after the first few pages I no longer noticed the form and was very surprised when I finished the book.

Credit therefore must be given to the plot and how it unravels. Although I didn’t like Ana, the main character, it was hard not to feel sympathy for her even as she continued with certain self-destructive behaviour, such as befriending her ex-lover’s wife in an attempt to catch a glimpse of his home life and relationship with his wife.

What is clever about this book is that the more you read, the more information is divulged about all the characters which certainly challenged my initial assumptions. This device ultimately results in a much more nuanced retelling of the usual story of an affair.

A frank, painful appraisal of what it means to love, to have been loved, and ultimately to have lost - all in secret. How can you properly grieve when you have to do so by yourself? Grief is so private and yet so public, so when Ana is forced to process everything from a secret affair, it brings up a whole host of emotions.
A very special book.

Here is the Beehive is not a typical novel about adultery told in a typical way. This is a book that needs to come with a warning - a warning that you're going to read this in one sitting as the story won't let you go.

Ana and Connor have been having an affair for three years, during stolen moments in pubs, hotels, work. Each other's texts are read, then deleted making their relationship invisible to the world around them and only visible to them. Told in verse, the book starts with the end of their relationship where Connor dies unexpectedly, leave Ana unable to share her grief and stand on the sidelines.

Struggling to cope with the grief as it consumes her, unable to speak to her husband about her sudden sadness and distancing herself from her family. She is trapped with this secret and with memories she can't share with anyone. There are no messages or letters or photos from their time together that she can cherish them. It is as if the affair only ever existed in her mind.

Here is the Beehive is gripping and lyrical, the words gliding along as snatches of their past reveal an affair that goes from being magical and perfect to slowly souring with Ana pushing for them to leave their spouses and Connor trying to avoid committing to their future. Secrets unravel about Ana and Connor's life during the flashbacks, and because Crossan wraps you up in the universe of this affair, it's a jolt when their spouses and children are mentioned. There are lives outside this bubble of two.
Usually a book about adultery is a straightforward story to tell but Crossan creates a complex and complicated situation not only in the way that the novel is laid out in verse but with these characters. Peeling away the layers of how a marriage is from the outside to look inside the private world of a long term marriage to the silences, the secrets to keep the peace, the comfort and the companionship. I loved the way the verses whipped you up into the story and pulls you into this complex and consuming relationship. Crossan looks at how betrayal, loss and obsession not only consumes Ana but starts impacting on her family, her work, her life.

I have read some of Sarah Crossan's young adult novels but I am going to try and read more of them and I can't wait for her next adult novel. This is a great read, and I highly recommend it!


Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an ebook of this book.

This was something quite different to my usual reads, but I enjoyed it very much nonetheless. The prose is beautiful, even though the story is challenging in places.

Written entirely in verse, Here is the Beehive follows the tale of an affair, from the point of view of a mistress trying to understand more about her (now dead) lover. She eventually befriends his wife as she tries to uncover more about his life.

The whole thing felt rather sordid in places but I think that was the point - to give an honest and frank depiction of an affair and it's aftermath. I found the story totally absorbing, and read the majority over the course of one afternoon.

Tricky subject matter - people will make judgements about the characters on account of their actions here. But the book itself missed the mark for me. Not for me.

I found this book and the vehicle of verse extremely refreshing and novel to me. Not an uplifting story, and the protagonist isn't' always likeable but it's human and the use of verse makes the emotions described more easily accessible.

Here is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan
I found this story of love and loss powerful to read but the fact that it is written in verse for me made it hard to follow. I have read other books in verse such as the wonderful The Emperor’s Babe by Bernardine Evaristo so it is not the format that made it difficult to access. It is the story of Ana who is devastated when her lover’s wife requests, in a telephone call, that she organises her lover’s will as he is dead.
The affair had been going on for three years and having only spoken to Conor, her lover, a few days previously she finds it difficult to process what she is being asked to do.
The writing is very powerful but I was not fully engaged with the characters. I would like to thank the publishers, the author and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

The story of an affair, written in verse, from the point of view of the mistress who is going to befriend the wife of her dead lover in order to better understand his life. The idea is quite original, but a love story will always be a love story - no matter how sad or frustating it is.

That was probably the point: to tell the truth of the affair, sordid and miserable. Beautiful too, sometimes. And although it isn't Sarah Crossan's best novel, the writing always arouses intense emotions with a very interesting ending.

Woman has an affair. Experiences the loss of her lover and eventually confesses. The ending was a cop out. I hate giving bad reviews, i really like supporting authors. But this book was short unimaginative and sadly uninspiring. This is such a profound topic that could have been explored richly. I really flat experience sadly.

aplacetoread_
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“I want him to tell me that our love shattered you.
I want him to tell me that if you were alive
you would have picked me
eventually.” Sarah Crossan
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"Here Is the Beehive" is a novel written in poetic form that tells the story of Ana, who is unhappily married with two children, and has been having an affair with Connor for three years. When Connor dies at the start of the book, Ana is grieving, but finds herself trapped with her grief; unable to share her thoughts or memories with anyone else. Ana soon becomes obsessed with Connar’s wife Rebecca, while she processes the details of their affair, and contemplates whether Connor would have ever left Rebecca for a life with her.
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Crossann shows how truly destructive an affair can be, not just to the cheated on partners, but, ultimately, to the participants themselves. The relationship in this book is toxic. It consumes and destroys everything it touches.
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The narrative, which is written solely in verse, captured my attention right away. The poetic pages made the style pacey and I imagine many will read this book in a single sitting. I enjoyed the exploration of grief and loss from an alternative perspective.
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Thank you to @netgalley for my copy of this book 🤩

A novel told in verse about a woman dealing with the sudden death of her married lover. This is a really immersive and intense reading experience, you can feel the sadness and obsession pervading Ana's life in the aftermath of her lover's death. Her obsession with Rebecca (her lover's wife) borders on the creepy, at times the novel feels like a record of Ana's spiral into a really dark place.
I enjoyed the way the novel is written in verse, it's very fast paced, but the narrative tends to bounce around a lot from past to present which made me lose track of the story at times. Neverthless,'Here is the Beehive' is a compelling and good read.

A beautifully written book, in verse, about a toxic relationship, this is a fast read but one that got right under my skin. I wish there were more books like this - perhaps there are, I just haven't found them - but this novel in verse thing is so so lush to read when it's well done, and it is so well done here.

It took me a while to get into this book because the style of writing is so unusual. Read an extract and you will see what I mean. The narrative is written as the thought stream of a married probate solicitor, Ana, as she talks to her lover. It opens with a telephone conversation with her lover’s wife in which it is revealed that Connor, her lover, has been tragically killed in a road traffic accident.

There are many twists and turns as Ana gets to know Rebecca, Connor’s wife and each of them peel away the layers of deceit that have surrounded the affair. It is well written and is very thought-provoking.

The ending is fairly good but could have been much more dramatic and impactful.

I would love to see a side story: the thoughts of the ghost of Connor. That would make interesting reading.

This is a short read and is worth the effort.

Sadly I didn’t engage with either of the two main characters, one of which had died. I found Ana’s motivations and self centredness just irritating and at times I wanted to shout at her and her selfishness. The best person in the book was her long suffering husband who didn’t deserve to be treated as he had been. A thoroughly disgusting person with whom I had absolutely no sympathy. All the above just masked a badly written, self indulgent novel.

Very rarely do I come across a book that I feel I should give a bad review - but unfortunately this is one of them.

Such a strange writing style - half a book and I am so glad I had been gifted this book and not spent money.

After 3 years of having an affair with Connor she finds out he has died. With only one other person knowing they were involved.

The writing was more like bullet points - short bursts of dialogue. I do get that this writing style is to accentuate the rawness of Ana's heartache and anger.

For me the book lacked substance and was a weak storyline. Two married people have an affair, the one doesn't want to leave his spouse, back and forth over time thinking it will change. Then for one to die and the one left to be heartbroken and lost. Wanting to clutch on to the memory. And basically that's it.

I see this author has written other books, with good reviews and this one wouldn't put me off trying another of her releases - just sorry this one wasn't for me.

I received this book from NetGalley in return for an unbiased honest review.

A delightful and intriguing approach to the age old story of the other woman who suffers deeply, but is unable to show it, when her lover dies! The verse makes the story fresh and captivating. It is a really good read. Recommended.

I like Sarah Crossan's unusual style of writing and was pulled into this tale that slowly revealed the layers of complexity. Our narrator has just learned of the death of her married lover and we enter her world of grief and the madness that come with it. Very interesting story.