I really struggled to finish this book and almost marked it DNF. There were too many characters to follow and it felt a bit convoluted at times due to how many different plots and themes were running through the story at once.

Unfortunately I have not been able to connect with this book and so after multiple attempts have had to mark as dnf.

Not well-written at all, sorry. Really stereotypical descriptions and characters, and just a ridiculous plot! Could not recommend.

Wow. Just wow! This book!!!!
I was hooked from the moment the cover and the plot were revealed by this author and the publishers and I’m so glad I got to read this via NetGalley. It shows how toxic and intrinsic social media can be, and I also love a revenge drama! Brilliant book, can’t wait for the next from Scarlett Brade!

After reading the description I had such high hopes for this book, even the beginning was promising…
However, ultimately I found it really disappointing. The constant reminders regarding the main characters’ tight friendship were tiresome, we got the message the first time. It was also very unrealistic at times and extremely frustrating.

It took me a while to finish this book but despite not loving it, I’m still glad I read it. I just won’t be recommending it as the best book I’ve ever read.

A very stylish, shocking, timely thriller - I love a revenge angle and this absolutely delivered. But, it is also a layered look at relationships, mental health, and social media. Five star read.

Unfortunately for me this was a DNF at 30%. I really struggled to like our main characters and found the whole plot quite unbelievable. It's a no from me unfortunately.

LOVED The Hive. The twists, the moral ambiguity of it all. It's weirdly something you could definitely see happening in society today. Which is actually pretty scary if you think about it. But this was a wonderful read. Read it in one sitting, could not put it down.

Really great book that had me completely absorbed from the very start. It was the first thing I’ve read by Scarlett Brade but it definitely won’t be the last! Can’t wait for more of her work.

The Hive is a phenomenal thriller from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out The Hive asap.

I was sucked in by the prologue of The Hive but then it lost the momentum by going back a year.

I have chosen to DNF this rather than continue as I'm just not connecting & finding myself eye-rolling at the characters & the things they are saying & doing.

Great start, but by 25% I'm not into it at all.

The Hive is an intensely gripping thriller, that highlights the dangers of social media. It was a very fast paced read, with lots of twists and turns. One of the highlights for me was the friendships between the main character and her friends.

The Hive is a revenge thriller on steroids which follows a group of friends lead by the wildly unhinged Charlotte on her revenge journey against her equally unstable ex Lincoln.

This is a difficult one to review because while I couldn't stop listening to it, I also spent a whole lot of time rolling my eyes at it's ridiculousness. It's a fast paced, gritty and quite dark novel that will keep you enthralled, providing you're prepared to suspend belief for a little bit.

I listened switched between the audiobook and ebook and found the full cast of the audiobook brought the whole thing to life, especially the sections which has the social media commentary. Although do NOT get me started on the narrator for 'Oirish' leprechaun-eske Poppy!

I'd definitely recommend it as a really fast paced gripping revenge thriller for those who are able to throw themselves fully into the story and run with it. A very interesting debut from Scarlett Brade.

TWs for premature birth, infant death and abortion.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre Books and Scarlett Brade for this digital copy!

Revenge. Love. Envy. Friendship. Sisterhood. Rage. The Hive is all these things and more. What a debut! I went into this one somewhat blind and I'd advise you to do the same. A psychological thriller in which social media is a central character alongside Charlotte, Zaheen, Trix and Poppy, a group of friends that go through more than your average friend group.

This was a very gripping read and hard to put down. It draws you in and before you know it, you're compelled to keep reading to discover the next part of the story. While at times it was a little out there, there are original elements which added something extra. The friendship and love the girls have was such a great part of this book, I really enjoyed their group dynamic and relationship! Overall, The Hive was a great, modern psychological thriller and I can't wait to see what Brade comes out with next!

* Please research any trigger warnings before reading *

A fast-paced and enjoyable read which kept me flipping through the pages. I really enjoyed the way the social media was used and that the author had a lot of interesting points to make, but thought the execution was a little clunky unfortunately.

‘The Hive’ is the debut novel by Scarlett Brade.

Charlotte Goodwin looks directly at the camera and reveals a chilling truth to the thousands watching her Instagram Live broadcast. She has killed her ex-boyfriend’s new partner in cold blood. But she is not finished yet. The viewers must now vote to decide whether he should live or die. The public display sends shockwaves rippling through the online community and the numbers of viewers skyrockets. But as Lincoln’s past is revealed, how will he be judged?

This debut has got to be one of my favourite books of 2022. With a sizzling storyline and strong females, this topical story certainly packed a punch and kept me gripped throughout.

The story is seen through the perspective of Charlotte and starts in the present time, when she’s live broadcasting the death of her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend and how she has got to this moment in her life.

The story then travels back to the past when Charlotte first meets Lincoln, a successful boxer and influencer, Charlotte is an admin assistant and she falls for Lincoln’s charms and good looks hard. But when tragedy strikes and they break up, Charlotte finds it hard to move on especially when Lincoln moves on with a new woman and has his new relationship flaunted in her face.

This story is a powerful and triggering story that certainly makes for thoughtful and topical reading, as we join a woman on a journey to breaking point.

Charlotte is a fantastic lead, she’s strong and passionate and as her relationship and life unravels around her, so does her sanity and this truly is a sad reading. She is supported by a strong network of friends, who have all been there for each other during the hardest of times, whether that’s drugs, abuse or loss, they are always there to help.But they are struggling to help Charlotte particularly, as the life that she could have had is always there to be seen on ‘The Hive’ the social media platform that is rife with gossip and updates and keeps Charlotte informed of Lincoln’s news. Charlotte becomes addicted to social media and is consumed with passion to help put her life together but ‘The Hive’ is always there to catch her at her worst.

The story is topical in that it focuses on social media and life in the limelight. Nothing is private and everyone has an opinion, whether it’s good or bad and the author cleverly included social media posts about the rise of Lincoln and demise of Charlotte. I absolutely hated Lincoln, a narcissist, vain and he constantly gaslit Charlotte and made her double think everything.

Powerfully written, thought-provoking and packed with attitude, ‘The Hive’ is a fantastic thriller about the strength of the sisterhood, the toxicity of social media and the determination to seek vengeance and all these factors made this uniquely written and gripping debut impossible to put down!

You can buy ‘The Hive’ from Amazon and is available to buy from good bookshops.

Love them or hate them, it's impossible to deny the impact influencers have on social media. The right endorsement from a prominent figure can be priceless to a brand. What if somebody tries to influence something that really matters, however? What if, instead of asking their followers to choose what they should wear or what they should eat that day, they are tasked with deciding if a person is going to live or die?
This is exactly what happens at the start of The Hive and it's a stunning opening. Charlotte is on Instagram, streaming live from The Hive, a popular gossip channel. She has already announced that she is responsible for the death of Heidi Dolak but Lincoln Jackson is still alive – for now. Comments and replies on Instagram feature throughout the novel and here the response varies between shock, disbelief and amusement. While some immediately state #VoteLive, others think it's a laugh to choose #VoteDie – but before we discover the result of this grim poll, the narrative takes us back to the events that brought Charlotte to this point.
It would be easy to deride Charlotte as a naïve, immature young woman who is bedazzled by fame and falls instantly in love with celebrity heavyweight boxer, Lincoln Jackson and ignores the numerous red flags. However, as the book progresses, what becomes clear is that she has been shaped by her past, and despite her apparent confidence, is vulnerable and desperate for love and a sense of family. It's ironic then that she has actually found that, only not in the arms of her narcissistic boyfriend. The Hive is a gratifyingly dark revenge thriller but it's also a fascinating examination of the power of friendship and the love that's shared by the four women who have supported one another through their respective traumas. It's worth saying here that although much of what is discussed occurred years in the past, there are still references to some distressing subjects, including abuse, loss and poverty.
Understanding the depth of friendship between Charlotte, Trix, Poppy and Zaheen really adds to the emotional weight of The Hive. The first-person narrative ensures it's especially harrowing watching Charlotte unravel following an unbearably tragic event and I thought the reaction from her friends, from their patient support through to their distraught pleas to her later in the book, was pitch-perfect. I believed totally in their relationship even though the situation they find themselves in is obviously a dramatic one.
Lincoln Jackson is a brilliant character; he is patently awful and just what you imagine somebody constantly feted and criticised would become. As an exploration of the dark side of social media, The Hive is chilling; in spite of the #BeKind movement, people are consistently encouraged to judge the appearance and actions of others, and as Scarlett Brade imagines what those suffering mental turmoil could be driven to, it's impossible not to consider what the future holds.
The Hive is an unsettling, thought-provoking contemporary thriller; written with an immersive immediacy that meant I couldn't put it down, I thoroughly enjoyed this assured debut and look forward to reading whatever Scarlett Brade writes next.

This book had the chance to be something really spectacular, an investigation of social media and the impact it has on our lives, and how tragedy can warp a person past all forms of reasonableness. It starts off with a bang - our main character, Charlotte, is live-streaming as she points out the dead body of her ex's new fiancee. Then the camera pans to show her ex. And the choice is the viewers - will he live or will he die? Vote now!

Okay, so it's an explosive and interesting start. But then we flash back to the start of Charlotte's relationship with Linc and from there the book starts going downhill. Charlotte and her group of 'sisters', her hive of bonded female friends, are a group of hot messes who seem to have a series of bloody and violent confrontations in their past, each saving one another from dire circumstances. But honestly, they're all freaking disasters. One has had her children taken off her because she's such a mess, but instead of turning her life around, she just drinks and smokes the night before her custody hearing. Another is plainly a criminal, living off the grid as a forger. And every decision these girls make in support of their 'hive' is just ... really toxic. There seems to be a litter of ruined lives and dead bodies in their wake, so Linc and Heidi are just the latest in a long line.
I like a good revenge thriller, and I like an exploration of feminism and the tragic consequences of relationships gone wrong, but this book wasn't that. It just read like a teenager writing elaborate stories about how she was going to get back at her cheating ex, and how she was going to get away with it, too. Although I finished this, it wasn't with any real degree of enjoyment, and I won't be reading more from this author, I don't think.

The Hive is a book that throws you straight in from the start and leaves you desperate to know what has happened to get to this point. And it proved to be an intriguing read, a revenge thriller full of thought-provoking reflections on friendship, love, obsession and the terrifying impact of social media.

Charlotte is a fascinating character and my feelings about her certainly changed throughout the book. At times I wanted to scream at her for the situations she gets herself in as she spirals, but as more of her story is revealed, and we learn more about her ex, Lincoln, it is hard not to feel some sympathy for her - and when you add in the social media scrutiny, it becomes even more complicated. What Charlotte does have is three of her oldest friends who certainly have her back - but how far are they prepared to go to support her?

Read it and decide for yourself whether you are #teamlive or #teamdie!

Should he live or should he die? A key question to ask yourself when reading this absolute gem. What is the worst thing a man can do to a woman? How far will a woman go to seek revenge? So many questions have popped into my head reading this book.

I’m unsure how any written review will do The Hive justice. I’m aware I’ve started off this review with ramblings but I just don’t know if words are enough for this book.

Charlotte is a brilliant character and I’ve loved the journey through this book with her. You can almost smell trouble brewing when she meets and begins dating famous boxer Lincoln- who is a complete and utter douche! Yes I’ve put it out there early, I despise him- he’s the arrogant and self centred chauvinist that makes me question why women fall at his feet.

With that said, he plays a central and integral part in the plot of this one. Charlotte and Lincoln have what seems to be a perfect relationship brewing. That is until he feels she’s trapped him or outrun her purpose.

This is where things really ramp up, I have been completely caught up in the ping and been unable and unwilling to put this down. I have devoured The Hive in just one sitting. I have zero regrets , I just wish I could experience the reading of this one for the first time all over again.

Brade has transported me, I have been with the characters in this watching the events unfold. This shows she is a talented writer- I have felt the tensions, the upset and frustration as I’ve read.

The road between Charlotte and Lincoln becomes rocky, but through it all. She has the best and strongest friendships. An aspect of this I have loved. The theme so strong throughout and her girls so supportive that she literally has been able to rely on them even in the darkest times.

This is a book that has completely played with my emotions. I’ve felt rage, upset, anger and frustration. I’m a bit exhausted but wow what a ride I’ve been taken on with this one.

The Hive is definitely a book that everyone should read!! For anyone who has read it, planning on reading or now wants to read- I absolutely want to know if you are vote live or vote die. I think based on my opinions of the character it’s safe to say I’m vote die!!

The Hive is a wonderful debut and I’m definitely converted as a huge fan of Scarlett Brade. I have nothing negative I can say about this book. It is absolutely fantastic.

A must for the TBR!