This was a really emotional, sad yet uplifting book which has love and trust at the heart of it. Told from 2 viewpoints, of Olivia and Lily,both before and after the tragic event, the unending love the mother's have for their children and the soul deep love Lily and Asher have for each other becomes apparent and has us rooting for good to triumph in this story. However there's also a lot of sadness in the book which is still there at the end around transgender acceptance and donestic violence.
The Co authors have written, rewritten and edited so well- it reads smoothly as though one author has written it. It is clear they feel a lot of love towards their characters and by the end I think we're all a little bit in awe of Olivia and Ava and hope for good things in their futures.

Another brilliant story by Jodi Picoult, with Jennifer Finney Boylan. Such an interesting premise to the story and as ever wonderfully constructed and written. Highly recommended.

I haven’t read Jodi Picoult for a number of years and I hadn’t heard of Jennifer Finney Boylan so I was coming at this with no preconceived notion’s at all. Firstly, you would never have known this was co-written, told from the POV’s of Olivia and Lily, I assume one character each, and in the past and present, this was an incredibly moving and beautiful story. At times heartbreaking in the extreme but at others totally uplifting. The court case is a good chunk of the book and is so well written, I was on tenterhooks at times worried about Asher’s reactions!

Briefly, Olivia fled her abusive marriage when her son Asher was 6 years old. Since then she has made a living as a beekeeper. Lily and her mother also ran from an abusive marriage and are also happily living in Adams, New Hampshire. When Asher and Lily meet the attraction is mutual and soon they are inseparable but at times their relationship is volatile. Three months after they first meet, and after an argument, Asher goes to see Lily and finds her dead at the bottom of the stairs. He is taken into custody, and then charged with murder, and Olivia asks her brother Jordon, a high profile criminal lawyer, to help.

What I really want to say about this book I can’t as it would be too much of a spoiler, but what I will say is that this book has a message to send - be yourself and don’t judge those who are different to you. Some amazing reveals in the book and a shocking one near the end which I hadn’t guessed. As an aside, I now know a lot about bees and honey and there are some fabulous recipes at the end of the book. Wonderful writing and a life affirming story that will touch your heart.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for accepting my request for an ARC.
I have read and enjoyed a lot of Jodi Picoult’s book but not in more recent years so was happy to accept this new publication. Only when I downloaded the copy did I realise it had a co author, something I just don’t really understand the need for, hence it took me a while to sit down and read..
Fans of Picoult will not be disappointed, it has her trademark style and topics. It centres on 3 main characters, Lily, recently moved to a new town and school, her boyfriend Asher, star of the hockey team and his Mum Olivia, a beekeeper. Story is told alternatively from Olivia’s point of view moving forward in time but reminiscing backwards to the early days of her marriage and Lily’s, moving backwards in time but also reminiscing further back. Reminiscing really is the wrong word as both are coming through a very difficult time. So we have a murder trial, domestic violence, transgender issues, suicide, bullying, bee keeping, fencing, musical instruments. And therein lies the problem with the book, trying to cover too many issues while only one or two deserved a more in-depth examination and some could have been omitted it altogether.
I found the book frustrating at times and confusing but when I finished it, a rather flat ending I think, my overall feeling was one of compassion for the difficulties transgender people must go though. How many books leave you with that sense of understanding for other human beings? For that alone I recommend this book and hope it is widely read.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult, Jennifer Finney Boylan
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published on 15/11/22

No spoilers

An amazing read. Not only a great story but an informative read on so many levels. The narrative is so coherent you would not know it was written by 2 authors. Each voice is authentic and original and I could not put it down. Some major twists and a very satisfying and realistic conclusion. Loved it.
Thanks to the authors, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan
Jodi Picoult focuses our attention on issues which are important in the contemporary world. In the novel Olivia McFee has left her successful surgeon husband as he is abusive and controlling. She has returned with her son, Asher, to her family home and is making a living by bee keeping. Her son, she believes, has no contact with his father but she worries that he has inherited his father’s tendency to violent outbursts.
Another woman Ava Campanello and her daughter, Lily , relocate nearby and when the children become romantically involved both women are pleased that their children have found each other. Then Asher is discovered cradling Lily's dead body and is then charged with first degree murder.
We go back and forth over Asher and Lily’s relationship and gradually piece together why it was that they were not communicating at the time of her death. We also discover what it was that led Olivia to escape from her abusive husband and why Lily had once tried to take her own life. It has all the suspense of a murder mystery and a there is a well-paced courtroom drama. We gradually uncover the truth from amongst the myriad of secrets and lies.

There are detailed descriptions of the beekeeping business and many mentions of the healing properties of honey. At the end of the book are a number of honey based recipes. Although I found the novel engaging I was concerned about the number of different issues which the book tried to tackle and I found the revelation at the end of the novel a little abrupt. However, it was a well written book dealing with timely issues and I shall recommend it. My thanks to the author, the publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to read it in return for an honest review.

Mad Honey feels like a real return to everything I love about Jodi Picoult’s books (though this book was co-written with Jennifer Finney Boylan, an author I now want to find out more about)! It features great characters, interesting moral dilemmas, and has an intriguing air of mystery running throughout it.

We’re seeing things through the eyes of multiple characters: Olivia (mother of Asher, accused of murdering his high school girlfriend) and Lily, who is (/was) Asher’s girlfriend – for Lily’s chapters we see things in the lead-up to her death. Asher maintains his innocent, but the evidence seems stacked against him…

There are some great twists in this novel including one which took me by surprise, and meant that the first half of the book felt quite distinct from the second, but not in a bad way – I loved both parts, but the second half definitely brought some different, important themes to the fore. I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll leave it at that in terms of the plot itself.

I loved the courtroom scenes and the jumping backwards and forwards in time, as we slowly uncover what exactly was happening with Asher and Lily. I liked that the characters are not perfect – they all have their faults in different ways. Nothing is too black & white in their characters which feels much more realistic than when we are expected to believe that someone is perfect.

I thought I’d tire of the information about bees (Olivia is a Beekeeper) but I found it really interesting, and the love story elements of this novel are done really well and never felt too cheesy.

Mad Honey is a gripping, addictive read and I hugely enjoyed it.

Unfortunately I really didn’t enjoy or like this book. The storyline was promising but the characters ruined it for me. They were too perfect to be real.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

This is a powerful, and timely novel. I loved the connection of the natural world and the gentle education around the trans world, it's connection to the bee world - really well done. There are several relationship dynamics at play, including parent-child, spousal, sibling, and friendships. The fact that one character was a trans woman had a place, but was not the identifying dynamic, and the simple acceptance of that is one that's heartwarming to me. It's tragic, but it's a love story. It's also a story about surviving and finding your way at a lot of different stages of life. It had me guessing throughout, as different scenarios were presented. The back story, and dual timelines were presented in a creative and thought-provoking way; this technique can be confusing in some stories, but it here, it really added to the experience for me.

Stunning read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

What an incredible book! I've been reading Jodi Picoult books since I was in my teens (I'm now in my 30s) and I remain captivated by every single word that she writes. It is a really powerful book.

A longer read than I was expecting, this was an unusual book. It brings up several issues such as domestic abuse and transgender teenagers, not issues I expected, but I'm glad to have read about them in this book.

A tragic mystery with a powerful message that will keep you enthralled until the very last word. I couldn't put it down!

I did enjoy this book but I wanted to enjoy it so much more. The first 1/4 or so of the book I flew through and was loving the characters and the pace and then it seemed to just fall of a cliff for me.

It felt like, to me, that every current topical issue was being shoehorned in to stay relevant and it just didn’t work out for me.

I’ve gone with a 3/5 rating here as it did have lots of good bits. The writing was good and the characters strong - I just felt it could have been more!

Another great Social conscious book by Jodi Picoult.
When I started reading this book I had no idea how sympathetic and informative it would be on life for a trans person. Whilst we all read and listen to reports and media on the whole LGBTQ movement. I for one am (or was) quite ignorant about all the problems these people face, whether social, medical or psychological.
This is a great story of a boy meets girl. Both of whom have single Mums as a result of sexual abuse in the case of the boy and in the case of the girl, her father couldn't cope with her wanting to be a girl instead of the boy as she spent her first years as, so the Mother left the family home to protect her child.
Lily's life ends after she falls down the stairs at home, the boy, Asher, is charged with her murder. HIs Uncle is a lawyer and fights for Asher's innocence. He is acquitted in the end, but his best friend, Maya, eventually admits that she and the Lily were arguing and this lead to Lily falling down the stairs by mistake, an accident. Maya is let off after this is reported to the police, saying accidents happen. Strange how the boy was taken to court and aggressively accused of her death and taken through a first degree murder trial. To me this seems a little gender bias and unfair too. He always pleaded his innocence, he just happened to find Lily at the foot of the stairs, but police jumped to conclusions, which thankfully were disproved. But how easily he could have been wrongly judged.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read Mad Honey.

As a massive Jodi Picoult fan I knew I had to read this novel. I've not read anything by Jennifer Finney Boylan before so wasn't sure what to expect from this collaboration.
I wasn't let down let me tell you that!
I loved this novel, the story the writting.
I enjoyed everything about it.

I would recommend everyone to get their copy

Thank you again

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.