When I saw that John Boyne and Jane Casey, amongst a host of others, had heaped praise on this novel from Irish author Sarah Crossan, I had to read it. Told in poetic prose, this story is told from the viewpoint of Ana who has found out that the man she has been having an affair with for 3 years is dead. She was his solicitor. The prose flows beautifully. So much is expressed in such a succinct, original and powerful way. I devoured it in a couple of hours. One of the best books I have read this year.

The style of this book is unusually written, at times I didn’t think it flowed well and seemed a bit disjointed.
Ana is having an affair with her client when he suddenly dies. His wife Rebecca contacts Ana to discuss his will (Ana) is a lawyer. Ana subsequently grows closer to Rebecca and all of the time juggling a lie, her family and her job.
Although it’s different to anything I’ve read before, I found it easy to read.

I feel very bad that I haven't been able to finish this book. I feel it is somehow a reflection on me, as the verse style narrative is well written and cleverly done. It was just very hard to concentrate on the content as a result, as I was always examining the line structure.
I think this is a book I could come back to, and maybe one day I will finish it and probably feel very differently about it. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy in return for my honest opinion.

Here Is The Beehive is utterly stunning, deeply affecting. I ploughed through it in a couple of sittings. So emotionally astute.

I have enjoyed Sarah Crossan's YA books - she is an innovative author who uses verse to tell her often powerful stories.

Here is the Beehive is a successful transition to adult fiction - powerful, emotive and truthful story telling at its best

Whilst the story was good, I found the style of writing to be massively confusing and limited clarity as to who as being spoken to, when and why. Not what I was expecting and not something I would repeat.

Taken from the blurb: ‘ How can we lose someone the world never knew was ours? How do we grieve for something no one else can ever find out?‘

I loved the premise of this book. The writing is uncomfortable, real, raw, unflinching - beautiful in places and ugly in others. I raced through this and I imagine it will linger.

I love Sarah Crossan’s YA - she is such an exceptionally talented author - and was so looking forward to this. It wasn’t what I expected and is very different in scope to her YA novels - but I couldn’t look away from this and would definitely read more writing for adults from her.

Having read and loved just about everything that Sarah Crossan had written, I was super keen to get my hands on Here is the Beehive.

The story opens with Ana finding out about the death of Connor, the man she has been having an affair with, from his wife Rebecca when she calls Ana as lawyer and executor of his will. She wonders if it is a joke, that the wife has found out, but truth is that Connor was killed in an accident. What follows is Ana’s grief told through the years of memories and the difficulties of the present. How can she grieve for the man she loved when their relationship was an affair. In response Ana becomes involved in Rebecca’s life.

This is a difficult subject to read about. We should not feel at all sorry for Ana, and yet she’s a grieving person trying to cope in a situation where there is not and cannot be any support. This novel also tells the story of a difficult life, the affair is destructive and toxic, and their secrets infiltrate and corrode every part of their lives. The saddest part is the children’s reactions to the damaged marriages.

I found this hard to read. The novel is beautifully written, evocative and powerful, and yet the story is uncomfortable. Very clever writing from an expert story teller.

I was engrossed in this for a day. It is delicious, uncomfortable and raw. Oh so good!
This details the thoughts and actions of Ana as she navigates the depths of her grief for a man that was never hers, but also the stolen moments they shared and the unknown parts of him she feels compelled to understand.
There were so many layers to Ana's life and so many dysfunctional relationships, it was toxic but compelling reading. The portrayal of how lost she is, how closely she seems to risk it all was written so well and yet there was always a part of me that felt compassion for her and wanted her to find some peace.
I can see this book as a film or drama.

This is the first book I've read by Sarah Crossan but it certainly won't be the last. Very rarely do I read a book in one sitting but I couldn't put this book down until I'd read every last word.
I loved the dialogue style of writing which in parts felt like poetry. My favourite part of the book was how vital pieces of information were held back - I hadn't realised she was married or had two children until much later on.
I loved the observations of marital troubles, being in love and being left. That feeling of obsessive love really shone through in the book so much so that I felt emotionally drained for the rest of the evening.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing and the author Sarah Crossan for letting me read and review an advance copy of this book.

This book is basically to be about a married woman’s grief after her lover dies. I knew that the author had created her own style for this book and it is certainly different. There is a realism to the story, just not quite enough substance to it. Not the book for me, but I shall certainly look out for the authors next book.

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest review,

I absolutely adore Sarah Crossans YA books and knew I had to read this one.
As much as I love her books this one spoke to me in a way I can’t explain. It was beautiful, moving and I felt the characters emotions as if they were my own. The love, fear, pain, jealousy, and the flutter were almost tangible. I will be purchasing this as soon as it’s available. A must read!

I have just finished the last page and feel entirely breathless and discombobulated.

Starting the novel, I didn’t expect much. The verse - a surprise to me - meant that I expected something trite and difficult fo get into. Instead, I found something beautiful and impossible to put down. I found something real.

A quick read, but such a believable one. Perfectly portrayed, flawed characters and beautiful prose.

Can not recommend more highly.

I have enjoyed most of Sarah Crossan's YA books so I was intrigued to read her adult debut, but it felt messy and confusing and it didn't really work for me. I struggled to follow the story and all of the characters blended together.

I really enjoyed the style of writing this author used and was gripped from the start, my only criticism is that I wanted it to go on, I didn't feel ready to stop and wanted to know more. I look forward to reading more from this author!

I feel like there wasn't enough of anything in this book. Not enough detail or character development for me to really care about anyone in it. It was also rather short, because of the style it's written in. Ana, the main character, seems to have a substance abuse issue, but it's only very vaguely referenced, with no resolution. Same as everything else really, no resolution or depth. I assume that the way it is written is supposed to mirror the mental state of Ana. It's stream of consciousness and back and forth all over the place in time. I found it hard sometimes to figure out if something was past or present and if it even mattered. She is very cold to her children, referring to them as her husband's only chore and seems to hate her husband for no particular reason. I just didn't understand a lot of how she acted. Both she and Conner were so unlikeable, I just didn't enjoy reading it.
I did however like the style in which it was written. The format makes you read in a certain way, placing emphasis and pauses which make the writing flow nicely. I think I would try another of her books if they are written in this same style, unfortunately I disliked Ana so much and lacked understanding of her personality and actions that I didn't enjoy it.

When I started this book I wasn't sure I would like it, never having read a book written in verse before. However it kept me gripped and read in one sitting. It's a story of an affair between Ana and Connor,both of which are married and have children. I didn't really like Ana as she seems very selfish and unkind. Connor just seemed weak but after an accident and the story of their affair is told I felt enormous pity for the pair of them. An interesting and gripping story

Here is the Beehive is absolutely beautifully written. I was completely captivated by the writing style, which is unlike anything I’ve ever read before.

I requested an advance review copy because the premise intrigued me - the story of a woman whose affair partner has died. The story was well told and I was thrown off by various reveals that came throughout the book and made me question what I thought I knew about the characters.

The only reason I’m giving 4 stars rather than 5 is that not very much happens, really, which is probably the point. I think, given the reveals throughout the story I was expecting a bit twist at the end, which just didn’t seem to come.

Thoroughly enjoyable, though. I gobbled it up in about 2 hours!

Many thanks for the free copy.

Thanks to Sarah Crossan, Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC of HERE IS THE BEEHIVE.
I was unsure of reading a novel written in this way, more like prose, as I'd not read any of Sarah Crossan's books previously.
In no way did it detract from my enjoyment, in fact, the sparse, at times rather brutal writing, takes the reader to the heart of the story.
Ana wasn't likeable, at least not here, and I thought it was clever of the writer to include little of the backstory because she is judged purely on her actions within the affair. I hadn't realised she was married or had two children until much later on.
An accurate depiction of an affair, not from personal experience, but from friends who have made an affaire their raison d'etre, their whole reason, in every thought and every breath. As usual, there is one half who is keener to make it permanent than the other, as it was here. Conner played her, having his cake and eating it, as so often happens, and she became a lesser person because of it in my view, by ignoring her children's needs and blaming her husband for her unhappiness. A very raw telling.

I really enjoyed the fact that this novel was written in verse as it made it feel a bit like a stream of consciousness so I felt like I was inside Ana’s head. Ana isn’t a very likeable character, she seemed to be quite narcissistic and self-centred and I’m not sure if this is because of the situation she found herself in or because this was her personality type. Her contempt for her husband and her lack of consideration for her children was frustrating and even though she was grieving it felt like this was how she would have usually behaved. Although I do think that her irrational and destructive behaviour was a convincing portrayal of grief. I’m not sure what the positives of her relationship with Connor were - it just seemed like she was obsessed with him and obsessed with being better than his wife.