Reviews

Here Is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan

braddy7's review against another edition

4.0

So uniquely and exquisitely written. I was surprised at how deeply this book engaged me.

thebookboy's review against another edition

5.0

Simply devastating.

I loved this book so much that it actually hurt my heart a little to let it go once I'd finished reading it and I finished the whole thing in a frenzied couple of hours. It's a taboo subject - how can you feel after the man you're having an affair with has died and yet you can't tell anyone? It is an extra level of loneliness in grief - tinged with a nasty crust of the fact that the whole arrangement was a betrayal to begin with.

I adored the verse, the keen observations - the painful little recollections of the happiness battling against the responsibility - the battle the woman couldn't win. Masterful stuff and undoubtedly one of the most powerful books I've read this year.

5 stars.

nicjohnston's review against another edition

3.0

Here is the Beehive is the first novel for adults from Sarah Crossan and it is magnificent.

The tale of an affair, a death, duplicity and how worlds can collide in the most unexpected ways. Told entirely in verse, the language is smart and succinct. The narrative builds in layers, introducing characters and building the plot in a way that often made me stop to take stock of the richness of the language. It is difficult to like any of the characters but equally hard not to think you can see the traits of most of us in many of them. A strong rounded up 3.5*.

With thanks to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for an ARC for an honest review.

rosepiggott's review against another edition

3.25

If I ever cheat on someone, execute me by firing squad

izziebianchi's review against another edition

5.0

really interestingly written! i really enjoyed the fact that we weren’t asked to feel sorry for ana through justification of her actions, but that we sympathised with her anyway! i did grow to dislike connor the more i read and became convinced that their relationship was very unequal - it was interesting that we only ever saw him through adoring eyes and that his wife were the only glimpses we got outside of ana’s perspective. i liked the fact that ana did not always seem present in her family, and at times it didn’t feel like she cared about whether what she was doing would hurt them - it seems rare in a book to acknowledge the failings of women to their children and family and still allow us to like the character, but with ana it felt like you could understand the frustration of always being let down.

somekindofmiriam's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Loved the writing, but didn't connect with any of the characters. 

veecaswell's review against another edition

4.0

Ana and Connor have been having an affair for three years. In hotel rooms and coffee shops, swiftly deleted texts and briefly snatched weekends, they have built a world with none but the two of them in it.
But then the unimaginable happens, and Ana finds herself alone, trapped inside her secret.
How can we lose someone the world never knew was ours? How do we grieve for something no one else can ever find out? In her desperate bid for answers, Ana seeks out the shadowy figure who has always stood just beyond her reach – Connor's wife Rebecca.
Peeling away the layers of two overlapping marriages, Here is the Beehive is a devastating excavation of risk, obsession and loss.

Having read the author's YA work and being an adult I knew I wanted to read this book, Crossan's verse novels are never disappointing, and Here Is The Beehive certainly doesn't change that. Beautifully written, raw to the emotion and packed with feeling, this book is crafted so well as the author delivers something incredibly powerful until the very last page.

Though in moments I did feel the narrative jumped around a little bit too much, I felt the story was really well told and every character is written with such humanity – flawed and broken and just trying to make it, especially Ana. Ana is the narrator of the story and she is trying to figure out her life post her relationship with Connor and how much of what they had was real and what was made up and how Crossan does this throughout the book is done with such subtle genius.

A heartfelt, poignant story in moments and intense in others, Here Is The Beehive is a great read that once you're in, you just can't stop reading.

(I was sent a copy to review by Netgalley).

abuliast's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

booksaremyabode's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

eimear93's review against another edition

emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0