If not for the dual authorship on the cover, I would not have realised this was not written by one person. The story is coherent and flows well and the characters are likeable and compelling. The title is a reference to one of the main characters’ occupation as a beekeeper and the beekeeping theme runs through the storyline - the role of the queen bee, the roles and relationships within the hive and what happens when things go wrong, creating a toxic honey known as “mad honey”. It’s difficult to relate too much of the plot without revealing spoilers but this is a well-written and thoughtful exploration of a complex teenage relationship and the impact of traumatic relationships on those looking on. It is also a courtroom drama and is an interesting and highly accomplished portrayal of both defence and prosecution lawyers’ relationship with the truth. It is difficult to read at times because of these challenging themes, but totally worth it.

With thanks to NetGalley, the authors and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This is a novel that only could have been written today because it touches upon topics that not many mainstream writers wanted to write about until now, certainly not in such a detailed way. The two different viewpoints, Olivia's and Lily's, work well and because you see Lily's story in reverse it keeps you reading, though at times it seemed a little too long. I don't want to give away "the twist" but I do want to add that it's great this novel may bring some topics like abuse and LGBTQ into the mainstream. I also found out a lot about bees and honey, which was an added bonus. A great read to make you think.

I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The writing and plot was a lot more like Jodi's older books and I loved it! The plot line of this story was good and the characters very well developed. I smiled from ear to ear to have Jordan and Selina back and ready to take on a nerve wrecking case. The dual timelines really focused this story and I appreciated the insights it gave of what Lilly has gone through her whole life. That little twist in the middle was at the precise right moment and really gave that "stop and reflect" feeling.

A really good book and very well researched. Loved it!

Thank you Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I have always been a huge fan of Jodi Picoult books. Over the years I’ve grown older with them and with her.

The only time she wrote a book with someone else was with her daughter, so when I saw she had partnered up with another author I was expecting to see a huge change. I was right, but not in its entirety.

Let me explain, I took longer to complete this read because I found it harder to get into and take off. That’s not usual in Jodi Picoult books where I’m concerned I’ve always enjoyed every minute.

However……..once the storyline took off I soon found my feet within its pages. Things started to pace together.

I’m allergic to bee and wasp venom! But at the same time I’m fascinated with the hive activity, the longevity of the Queen bee and the status and workings of it all, plus the male/female concept was so very interesting.

Did this tie in with the theme of the story? Yes 100% it did.
I learnt a lot within the pages and it’s theme choice.
It was good, fascinating and eye opening.
Isn’t that what Jodi Picoult is known for? Picking topics or themes that really open us up, that make us think, who does her research so well.

Could I tell whose bit of writing was whose? No. The authors merged well. I needn’t have had any reservations at all.

I thoroughly enjoyed this experience.
It was well worth me sticking with it.

If you like reading controversial stories, topics of discussion and having a book written in fiction that could be facts, this is for you.

Mad Honey is a cleverly layered, thought-provoking, murder mystery by two authors. The story follows Olivia McAfee, a beekeeper who married a cardiac surgeon, but when her husband reveals his dark side, she divorces and moves back to her family home with her 18 year old son, Asher. Asher’s high school girlfriend, Lily, is discovered dead and Asher is charged with murder.

The two authors blend their writing, revealing secrets and fears, adding suspense, but I found it irritating jumping back and forth around the timeline. This made reading a struggle and I was never really hooked. Perhaps better suited to a different demographic with an interest in beekeeping, which detracts from the heart of the story..

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Hodder and Stoughton for this advance copy.

I always find I learn so much when I read a Jodie Picoult book. I am always surprised how she finds time to write so prolifically while doing so much research.
This book was jointly written by Jennifer Finley Boylan. I have to admit that I had never come across her before and it wasn’t until the end of the book that I realised she is transgender and so I was no longer surprised by the fact that you could imagine yourself as Lily. I intend reading her memoir.
The book is beautifully written and it is hard to tell which author was writing which bit although this is partly explained at the end.
I felt I got to know all the main characters well. The court scenes were slightly on the long side and I have to admit to guessing the conclusion correctly. Reading about the abuse was at times hard.
We all know how important bees are and I felt I learnt more about bees from this book than I ever did at senior school where we learnt about bees very early on in our biology classes. Much more interesting too!
Thank you Netgalley for an advance copy.

To say that I enjoyed this book doesn’t do it justice. It’s thought provoking, I learnt quite a lot and I liked all of the characters.
I really couldn’t decide if Asher was guilty of murder or not and I certainly didn’t guess the ending.
I wasn’t sure about two great authors writing together, but it worked well and I had no idea which person had written which bit.
All in all I found this an interesting book that I keep thinking about.

'You're deliberately attracted to it. By the time it messes with your head, with your heart, it's too late. ' [Mad Honey]

Mad Honey' is as complex as the beehives referenced throughout; becoming more intricate as secrets and pasts are drip fed to the reader, in a non-chronological order. Ostensibly the book is about a murder. In reality, it covers the gammet of domestic abuse, the angst of youth, and gender perception, 'you reveal your most private self...and you find out how many conditions there are to conditional love'. Although left desperate to find out clues to the murder, 'Mad Honey' is a journey of life and accepance and truth.

As a dual-authored book, 'Mad Honey' does well to keep a consistent tone and pace. That said, as the chapters unfurled to reveal their secrets, I became more interested in what was happening in the present than what may have happened in the past to contribute to it. I felt there was a few additional chapters which, frustratingly, held up the final closure. The final reveal, therefore, seems to come quickly and out of nowhere. But perhaps this final simplicity was a relief from the web which was woven. Overall, a fascinating read which not only resonates but is also educationally elucidate.

Thank you NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opporunity to read and review this book.

Hodder & Stoughton thank you for this great book. It was so nice written, quite long but ful of emotions and dialogs, reflecions. And yes there was a trail and there many aspects. There were two timelines, two point of view. A young girl and and a mother of a her boyfriend, desperate to know what happend to that young girl. There were so unique situations and very difficult themes at the same time. Sure the book will remain with me for a long time.

Jodi Piccoult's books have always interested and fascinated, each of her story is based on a pivotal and controversial topic. Mad Honey is one of her new books, which she co authored with Jennifer Finney Boylan.

The book mainly deals about transgender issues and domestic abuse issues. Olivia McAfee seemingly had a good life in Boston, married to a cardiothoracic surgeon until Braden started abusing her. Olivia returned back to sleepy town in New Hampshire and is running her father's successful beekeeping business. Lily and her mother moved to this small town and Olivia's son, Asher and Lily started dating each other. But one day, Lily was found dead and Asher who found the body becomes the main suspect. Olivia then hires her brother, Jordan McAfee to defend Asher and she realizes that Asher had been keeping secrets from her. Can Asher be like his father Braden?

First of all, the writing was engaging and I simply couldn't put the book down. The story divides between the present day, said in Olivia's POV and past said by Lily's POV. I do like the part where Olivia had named all her bees after the singers--Adele, Celine, Whitney etc. and the process of extracting honey from the bees sounds interesting. I have read books previously before featuring Jordan McAfee as the defense attorney (Nineteen minutes and The Pact) so it was interesting to see him back as this was the third book I have read with him as the character. I do like the court scenes and as usual like all her books, made me hate the prosecutor more. I also liked Lily's relationship with Asher and both their friendship with Maya. There are some senstive topics discussed in this book like domestic and sexual abuse as well as transgender issues. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and this book worth five stars!

The end of the book contains the recipes that can be made with bee honey so I can't wait to try them out.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Once again Jodi Picoult has co-authored a brilliant novel. The story centres around Olivia and her son Asher and Ava and her daughter Lily and bees! At times it felt that there was so much going on and so much information I didn’t know where to turn or whether I could process any more. What follows is a fabulous insight into the world of transgender people and the struggles they have with the theme of domestic abuse running alongside.

Without spoilers I cannot really say much else but this is definitely one to be read

I am a huge Jodi Picoult fan and it is almost a crime I haven’t read one her books in ages!

The book was co-written by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan and follows the murder trial of Lily Campanello. Her boyfriend Asher is on trial for her murder.

The book is written from two perspectives, the first timeline is after the death of Lily and is written from Olivia, a bee keeper who is Ashers Mum. Many years ago, she had fled from Ashers abusive father and during the trial, starts to question if her son is innocent.

The second perspective is from Lily herself but her chapters go backwards in time.

The trial follows Jodi Picoults usual style of writing with all the amazing twists and turns. I don’t want to give anything away, but the story line is very in keeping with current times. It was a page turner and the last page brought me to tears.

As I was about to begin reading this book, I saw on one of the author’s IG page that there is already talk of banning this book in parts of America.

How dare they think about banning this book?

To do so is to wipe out or silence so many different women - the ones who loves unconditionally, the ones who survive abuse in all its forms and the ones who fight for survival and for their identity.
God forbid we read literature that moves us and inspires us to empower every other type of woman. Do they really thing banning this book will keep us from doing any of the above?

Mad Honey is a tense and powerful read. I found myself taking my time to read it because the characters were so vivid and real that it felt like the events of the book were happening to women I knew and loved . My heart broke for Olivia, Lily and Ava. It’s an incredibly moving book which spotlights an important issue.

I did guess the circumstance of Lily’s death but that’s no problem. However, for me the revelation and the consequences around Lily’s death was the weakest and most frustrating part of the book. It was dealt with in almost one sentence, and so it felt rushed. That was strange and totally out of character for a novel that was so detailed and all encompassing its portrayal of the issues it covers.

If I substract that element, it was a definite 5 star read that kept me guessing about what happened to Lily , but more importantly thinking about her experience of the world. I would certainly recommend it.

Thanks to Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan, their publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Olivia is a single parent with an 18 year old son, Asher. 17 year old Lily is new to the school and she and Asher fall in love. However, one day Olivia receives a frantic telephone call from Asher. He is at Lily's house and he thinks Lily is dead. Things take a turn for the worse when Asher is charged with murder. This story is very topical as one of the characters is transgender. I recommend this as a very good read. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I absolutely loved this book from the very start. The characters are very engaging and so well written that I felt as though they were all my friends by the time I reached the end of the book. I learned doucj during the process of reading this book, not only about the incredible life of bees but also what it means to be transgender. I consider myself to be open minded but reading about Lily made me realise and understand the struggles that transgender people undergo just to be accepted. This book was simply fantastic and I'm really glad I selected it to read.

I’ve got to say that my enjoyment of this book ebbed and flowed throughout, at some points I was really enjoying it and couldn’t put it down and then it would all get a bit to cliched and then I’d lose a bit of interest. I also didn’t really love the plot twist at the end. I normally really like Jodi Picoult’s books but this one just wasn’t up there for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book has twists and turns along the way. I love how each section is told from the perspective of the different characters. From the parents to the teenagers my interest was piqued trying yo guess who was responsible. I was not a good detective! Worth reading for fans of Jodi Picoult.

This is an absolutely stunning book. I've long been a fan of Jodi Picoult, and always brace myself when picking up one of her books, as I know I'll be in for an emotional ride.

This book was no exception and I was reading it every free minute I had.

If you've read the blurb, you'll know what the book is about, so I have nothing else to say for fear of spoilers.

But just outstanding. Even though the book was co-authored, it was absolutely seamless.

I have been reading Jodi Picoult’s books for years she is one of my favourite authors.

She always writes about controversial topics that make you think.

The book is about Lily who is found dead by Asher…but was it Asher that pushed her down the stairs and killed her?

A lot of the book is in the courtroom and which tells the story of Lily and Asher’s lives previously to meeting and their lives together.

I like the way each charter is a character who gets to explain themselves.

Asher’s mom is a beekeeper and there is bee information throughout the book which is certainly interesting.

This book sensitively covers the topic of transgender and is well written and the characters are believable.

I really enjoyed it but I did find it was slow paced and took me ages to read however as I was enjoying the story I didn’t want to give up with it.

Absolutely superb!!
This is an almost impossible book to describe without giving anything away it has everything you would want and more and I loved everything about it. As I set about reading the story I was completely engrossed in the lives of the characters and more so in the lives of the bees there was so much I didn’t know about them it was so interesting and full of facts. Then as the book progressed and I was getting deeper and deeper into the story there was the shocking, jaw dropping revelation that in no way I had seen coming and it took my breath away!
I’m not going to say so much about the book as I think that this a read to go into with no misconceptions I had just liked the idea of a possible murder story and was interested in the title of the book Mad Honey but never in a million years did I expect to be reading that truly took my breath away.
The writing of the story was done with care and empathy and the words were so beautiful, the lives of all the characters felt real and I really praise both the authors for a book I won’t forget and cannot praise it highly enough I’m sure it’s going to be a huge hit.
My thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.