Thank you, Random House and Ballantine Books, for the gifted copy of Mad Honey. {partner}

Genre: Fiction
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 10.4.2022
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

“How similar does someone have to be to you before you remember to see them, first, as a human?”

Summary:

“Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising a beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in, and taking over her father’s beekeeping business.

Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.

And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can’t help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can she trust him completely . . .

Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge the flashes of his father’s temper in him, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.”

Review:

So, Mad Honey is going into my 2022 Book of the Year stack. It’s stayed with me days after finishing. I wish I could put into words the profound impact that reading this story has had on me. But, I genuinely can’t even begin to describe how poignant this book was to read.

Mad Honey is one of those books that is nearly impossible for me to review without giving any of the key plot points of the book away. I had a general understanding of the book, but I didn’t do any additional reading on it – I’ve found that this helps me not to have expectations for the story and where I think it should go. With Mad Honey, I wholeheartedly encourage you to do the same.

The first chapter was a little slow, but it ended with a bang, and, for me, the story took off from that point. But, it wasn’t until that 50% mark that I was sincerely invested in this book. I learned a lot from reading Mad Honey and I think there are many people who could stand to pick this one up and read it.

🤐The less you know, the better
🎭 Family drama
👩🏽‍⚖️ Courtroom
✌🏼 Two perspectives, dual timelines (moving backward & forwards)

❌ self harm, suicide attempts, domestic violence

I could write pages about Mad Honey, and I’ve spent a lot of time discussing it with my husband. So, if you’ve had a chance to read this, I would love to chat with you!

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BOOK INFO
Format: 464 pages, hardback
Published: October 2022
ISBN 1984818384 (ISBN13: 9781984818386)