Jennifer Finney Boylan had the idea for this story during the night of May eighth 2017. She dreamed about the main characters in her storyboard and in that dream she was co-authoring the story with Jodi Picoult. She tweeted what had happened and almost straight away Jodi sent a private message asking what the story was about. Jodi was impressed with Jennifer’s outline and immediately wanted to make the dream come true. This is how their collaboration was born. The idea stayed with them until Lockdown 2020. They agreed that Jodi would write Olivia’s story and Jennifer would be the voice of Lily, but that each author would write one chapter of the other’s character. Their collaboration was managed through the Internet.
Olivia is a single parent who left her abusive husband when their son Asher was six years old. They live in close harmony in Adams, New Hampshire and are ardent beekeepers. It is their life blood. When the main story begins Asher is a strapping, handsome and popular six footer, eighteen years old and captain of the school ice hockey team. Each summer time he coaches children in his spare time. He is in his last year in school and looking forward to going to University. He is happy, kind and gentlemanly.
Ava is also a single parent who has had serious parenting issues with her husband, forcing her and Lily to leave their home. They have moved on several times because Lily has been bullied. She and Lily have recently settled in Adams, hoping for another new start. Lily has changed and is ready to give her new school a good go. Ava is a ranger and being near to the coastline is very exciting for her. Asher meets Lily when a boy is hitting on her. He tells the guy Lily is his girlfriend and thus the boy leaves Lily alone.
Lily and Asher actually become a couple and both of the teenagers soon fall deeply in love. They tell each other about their families, go on dates and enjoy each other’s company. Soon they have an intimate relationship, they are serious and life is good, until it isn’t. They squabble and Lily takes a timeout. Days go by with many unanswered calls until Asher knows he has to break the stalemate. He goes to Lily’s house to try to talk to her, but when he gets there the door is wide open and Lily is on the floor at the bottom of the staircase. She is bleeding and non-responsive, so Asher carries her tenderly to the lounge sofa. Asher is found alone with Lily when Ava returns home, still cradling his precious Lily. The police and ambulance are called but Lily is pronounced dead. Olivia goes with Asher to make a statement. Asher is eventually charged with murder, still claiming he did not kill his girlfriend. So the preparations for the court case begin with his uncle Jordan taking control. He is mourning the loss of Lily and very scared.
This is a heartbreaking, powerful and riveting story. The storytelling is simply fantastic and the characters are vibrant, imaginative and engaging. I loved them all (apart from the two hateful and abusive husbands). I am in awe of the meticulous amount of research undertaken to enhance the story, adding even more authenticity and interest. The storyboard is enticing, filled with action, mystery, thrills and twists and turns. The issues explored are relevant and challenging: the power of untold secrets, abuse, the right to claim your identity and love and loss. I loved the back stories of both Olivia and Lily. These chapters gave poignant stories that helped the story become complete and explained the situation from the beginning.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Hodder & Stoughton through my membership of NetGalley. Thank you very much for my copy of this novel, sent in return for an honest review. These are my opinions of my own reading experience. It is a really well earned 5* review from me. It is a real page turner, totally unmissable and it will stay in my mind for a long time.

A Five-star read where the emotion within pours from the page. I have been a fan of Jodi Picoults for a long time, and so I was eager to get my teeth into this one, and I was so happy, there was a difference to the story, as there is a second voice, but it’s well done and kept together, there is a very nice compliment to the story. This will put you through the emotional wringer, I had to wait a week to write my review, as every time I sat to write it, I just could find the words. It did feel at times like they were hitting targets with some topics, but that seems to be a theme within books recently, and they did it better than lots. But the story and the underlying depths just swept me in and kept me hooked.

I thought this book was written really well and the two authors blended together seamlessly. I liked that it was a legal drama in the style of Jodi Picoult's older novels, and I was invested in finding out what had happened to Lily and whether Asher was innocent.

What turned me off a bit was that parts of it turned into more of a lecture than a story. Jodi's books usually allow more opportunity for debate, which is one of the things I enjoy most about her work - but this was very much more didactic - there's no real debate on it, you feel sorry for Lily's situation, and that's it, I'd defy anyone to feel differently. Gender identity is such a complex topic and the novel was really only able to explore one aspect of it - as it says in the book, you meet one trans person, you know one trans person. This novel barely grazes the surface really.

All of the characters felt like real, 3D people, and I think this story will stay with me for a long time.

However I really disliked the ending. I'm not sure what the point of it was, and it was also hugely frustrating.

I truly cannot put into words, just how much this novel effected me and how much I took away from this book.
I started reading this book and having read and loved all of Jodi’s previous novels, I knew that at some point the reader would be faced with a moral dilemma, coupled with a legal dilemma.
As soon as I begun this book journey, I knew I was in for a rollercoaster of a read, back to Jodi’s thought-provoking, tense, earth shattering novel.
I devoured the first half of the book, fully expecting a twist to be revealed at some point. However, I did not see the actual twist coming! Wow! Just wow!
The second half of the book took a different turn and I felt like instead of exploring the murder trial, we were now learning the lives of two women who had lived through and survive two life changing events.
I had so much warmth and love for Lily. Reading her story, it really hit home. I sat there questioning myself, have I ever made someone feel as Lily did, have I ever discriminated. Have my actions ever hurt someone. I truly believe that I am an accepting person, and try and educate myself, but this book. It educated me towards feelings that a person may feel, when going through what Lily did. Lily was one of the bravest literature characters I’ve come across. I just wanted to give her a big hug.
We then meet Olivia, who is working through her own demons. I felt like I knew Olivia. That she was someone who I would turn to for advice and she would never tell me of her troubles. I have a friend like that, and she reminded me of her so much.
Jodi and Jennifer have obviously done extensive research on bee-keeping and at first, I did think that the indepthness of learning about this may have been too much. However, it was perfect for the novel and the relationship between the Queen Bee and Olivia, just made so much sense.
Books the learn you something, as well as opening your eyes to something, really are a rarity. Jodi and Jennifer tackled some horrific tops, but did them perfect justice.
I am a huge fan of court room dramas. At some stages in this book, I didn’t want it to cut to the courtroom as I just wanted to learn about Lily. This is highly unusual for me. However, it was nice to see a return of a familiar character and mention of one of my favourite Picoult novels. The courtroom scenes were done perfect, as Jodi always does and a felt like a person in the gallery. I could just picture the scene.
It is hard to review the book without spoilers. But this book for me, had EVERYTHING that I expect from my favourite author. I cried reading this book. Lily will always have a place in my heart.

Mad Honey - Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan
🌟🌟🌟🌟.💫

LIKES
☀️ I can’t say too much without giving anything away, but I really like the decision for this to be co-written. It added a whole other layer of depth and understanding to the entire book.
☀️ How it properly addressed social issues, and why particular stereotypes and assumptions are so damaging.
☀️ I truly felt the pain each character was experiencing.
☀️ The multiple POV. Both were equally compelling and woven together seamlessly.
☀️ All the commentary about the bees! This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I found it so interesting.
☀️ This felt like a classic Jodi Picoult book! I’ve missed her juicier, courtroom style books so much.
☀️ The acknowledgements 🤍

DISLIKES
🌙 I couldn’t help but feel it slightly absolved abuse behaviours to a degree. While for one character it was made clear how toxic their actions were, with another it was sort of brushed over and almost forgotten about.
🌙 I wish the drama towards the very end hadn’t happened. It felt rushed and very out of the blue, so much so it wasn’t believable. It had already finished brilliantly well in my mind without it.

I highly recommend picking this one up when it releases on November - it’s definitely one of the best thrillers I’ve read in a long, long time!

(Review will be posted to Instagram nearer pub date)

I normally love Jodi Picoult’s books and would put her down as one of my favourite authors BUT this fell a bit flat for me. I loved learning about bees and the intricacy of their being but it dragged. It was predictable and underwhelming. Lily almost became irrelevant? 3 stars because of the educational aspects of this books that are super important!

A brilliant read.

From the outset, the strength in the character’s voices and how their lives are woven together, grips you.
With each chapter, you jump between characters, Olivia to Lily and back again. And the to and fro of your emotions creates charge.
There are so many well executed and surprise twists, it truly keeps you on your toes.

Olivia and Asher manage their bee farm and it seems like their life is bliss. Asher and Lily are young and in love and Olivia is free from her tortured marriage and living the life she wants. But there are shadows from all three character’s pasts and they will rear up in the most unexpected ways; devastating and emotional ways

Without giving too much away, this book raises a salient and topical subject regarding secrets within relationships and whether there is a right time and at what point in any relationship where you should disclose secrets to your partner or whether they should remain personal to yourself only and should be kept that way for survival reasons. I am so grateful to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me with a copy of this book.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan is an outstanding book written by two successful authors about love and transgender. It is a love story, the love of a mother for her child and a love story between two teenagers who love truly, madly and deeply.
Lily is in a relationship with Asher, does he know that she has transitioned from male to female, does he care or love her anyway?
When Lily dies Asher is charged with her murder and we go through the trial not knowing whether Asher is guilty or innocent.
The storyline is outstanding and informs the reader as well as telling a love story.
I enjoyed this book enormously and would highly recommend this book.

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan was a triumph of collaboration. The authors managed to craft a storyline that had depth, twists (didn’t see that one coming) and great credible characters. Jodi always brings extensive research to her subject matter but in a way that’s woven through the story and just makes the characters real and credible. As always, she educated and challenged. I felt the insight into the domestic violence aspect was very well done and I won’t introduce spoilers but suffice to say Lily’s story really got a string message across. The coming of age romance, the courtroom drama and the secrets and lies make for riveting reading. This was definitely a four and a half star read.

It's been a good number of years (10 I think?) since I last read a Jodi Picoult book, so I leaped at the chance to read Mad Honey by JP and Jennifer Finney Boylan.

First things first--massive kudos on the way they have written the beekeeping sections of the story; it's extremely clear they have done their research into the topic. Bees and the theme of bees/beekeeping are brought up throughout the book as a metaphor, but gladly never in a cheesy or heavy-handed way. As a bee enthusiast, hats off to the authors.

Plot wise, I fairly enjoyed reading this book, but I did find it slightly predictable in places. I unfortunately picked up what the first plot twist was going to be rather early on, so I wasn't as surprised as I felt I could have been. That, however, is just a me thing; I do this all the time and it's a curse.

I found the story started off very strong, but my interest did start to dip just after the halfway mark. Thankfully, I kept going and made it to the end to learn what really happened. I do think, sadly, that had I not been reading this book for a review, I could have very easily put the book down and forgotten about it, as the drive to know what happened wasn't fully there for me.

Some good points to touch on, however: Liv's history and her abusive relationship with her ex-husband is so heart-breaking to read as we see how it slowly escalated until he gaslighted her, and then her fear that she was too late in escaping and her son had started on the same path. Lily's reflections on her relationship with her father, her fears about who she is, and her coming into her own as she's finishing high school were equally gut-wrenching as we, as the readers, know that she ultimately dies early in the book.

My only minor gripe is that there are a lot of time jumps between Liv and Lily's POVs, and I felt they were sometimes sporadic with their timings—each time jump moving forward each time to the present, then suddenly jumping further back again. I wished both stories moved more in tandem with each other.

Overall, the story was really thought-provoking and it made me question who to root for as the story progressed, as it cast doubt on our main characters at each turn (as a mystery should!).

3.5 stars as it wasn't 100% for me, but for folks who love a good mystery and JP's other works, I think they'll really enjoy this book.

A return to Jodi’s older style books and I have to say I absolutely loved it! Read in one day.

I’ve not read anything by Jennifer Boylan before but I’m definitely going to have a look at her own novels now.

What an amazing story. I’ve read a lot of Jodi’s books and wondered how coauthoring would work - but it absolutely did.
Tell the story in the order it was, rather than chronological, meant it wasn’t predictable at all. And there’s a red herring or two threaded in as well.
Compelling reading, amazing story.

It has been a long time since I picked up a Jodi Picoult book and the premise of this one really pulled me in - a mother finding her son accused of murder.

Olivia is a single mum who has started her life anew after an abusive marriage and she now supports herself and her son, Asher, by beekeeping. Asher is, on paper, an ideal son - supportive of his mother, a good student, a star hockey player and popular with his peers. Then he meets Lily, a girl who has moved to his school and they fall in love. Like Asher, Lily too lives with her single mum. Then, Asher is found holding a bloodstained Lily and when she dies, he is accused of her murder.

The first half of this book had me hooked, I loved finding out about - in her voice - Olivia, her failed marriage, her bees. Lily's voice was also crystal clear as she told her story and her love for Asher. Then half way through the book there was a twist that I hadn't expected and then the book seemed to change direction. I'm not tell you what the twist is - you need to read it for yourself and I will not spoil it for you. However, after that the book, in my mind, started to almost preach at the the reader. Asher's trial was excellent and the cross-examinations first class, but at times, I did feel as if I was being lectured. What I did appreciate was the way that Lily was allowed to tell her story backwards. Each chapter took us further away from her death and allowed us to see what life had been like for her, how it had shaped her. I'll finish now as I don't want to give away the ending.

There was so much about this that I loved; the character of Olivia, her relationship with her brother, the love affair between Lily and Asher, the way that we went backwards into Lily's life, the trial and the bees. I would have loved to have given this a five star and if there had not been so many 'lectures' in the second half of the book, I would have. Such a shame.

One of the best books I have read in a long time. I couldn‘t put it down as i wanted to find out how it ended.. Well written and a very real possibility that could happen to anyone if you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It also makes you think how humans are quick to judge perceived differences.. I liked the facts about bees too and how a hive works. Just Brilliant.

Lily and Asher are a young couple, very much in love, but they both have secrets they are too frightened to talk about in case their love isn’t strong enough to take the fallout. After a tragic event no one’s life will ever be the same.

This is a story that twists and turns throughout. So many social and moral issues, that at times it’s hard to keep up. Using so many topics does dilute the effect and they do not get the impact they deserve. If you have a moral or social compass then it would definitely be whirring about!

The story comes from the POV of a couple of characters, which I like, but didn’t care much for the timelines that the plot used. The court scenes were good, though “murderer” was bandied about without complaint from the defence! Jordan was definitely a favourite character ;)

Although I enjoyed the story, the ending was not as good as I expected, and after the first half of the book I did lose interest at times. I think the book is overly long and a little repetitive at times. The denouement was quick and unsatisfactory, surely a little bit of a fuss would have been made by the innocent parties?

On the positive side, I now know a lot about bees!

3.5* upped to 4*.

Thank you NetGalley.

There is so much to unpick in this book! Jodi Picoult's books always tend to have hard-hitting topics, and this was was no exception. What I personally loved about Mad Honey was all of the layers - there is so much going on under the surface of a seemingly normal murder trial, although it's better to go in not knowing much because then you get the full impact of it all as it unfolds. The characters feel so real because of and despite all of their flaws. Just brilliant! As a trans woman herself, Jennifer Boylan adds the authenticity to the trans character in the book and I loved how the two women's writing styles complimented each other. A must read for any Jodi Picoult fan!

I absolutely loved this book. I'm a huge fan of jodi picoult anyway so I was expecting to like the book. That said it totally surpassed my expectations. Full of twists and the bees and honey background worked really well.

All the stars for Mad Honey. Reading this book I realised just how much I love Jodi Picoult novels. They used to be such a major part of my reading repotoire but lately I've been distracted by other genres. But this book reminded me what I've been missing out on. Fab story, courtroom drama, intrigue and love. Highly recommend x

I really loved the authors’ notes at the end, describing how the book came to be.
‘What would I like you to take away from this novel? Absolutely nothing. I’d like you to give - a chance, a thought, a damn. Like gender, difference is a construct. We are all flawed, complicated, wounded dreamers; we have more in common with one another than we don’t. Sometimes making the world a better place just involves creating space for the people who are already in it.’
We can but hope.

I think a good word to describe this book is wow! Not only did this story educate me but also made me think about and understand what it must be like to feel different because you do not feel or associate with the male or female gender you are assigned at birth.
This story tells of family relationships and their breakdowns with the devastating consequences they sometimes bring. I especially enjoyed the bond between the mothers and their children, who had a natural instinct to protect their child whatever happens. It is also about young love and how a romance begins with two quite vulnerable people Asher and Lily. Their story is heart breaking when a tragedy occurs as lives are turned upside down, some of whom never recover.
Asher’s Mum Olivia is a beekeeper, having moved back to her hometown after fleeing an abusive and controlling marriage. While Eva, Lily’s Mum had also fled an equally bad marriage.
This book is interestingly co-written with both authors writing a chapter and taking on a character. The subject matters are cleverly researched that leads to thought provoking and acceptance.
My thanks to Net Galley and the Publisher for the ARC.