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jamiewill's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
rballenger's review against another edition
5.0
Type of read: Commuter Read.
What made me pick it up: Jodi Picoult is an author who will always have a place in my TBR pile.
Overall rating: A broken love story for the 21st century. 'Mad Honey' gutted me, like to my core, gutted me...but that's not an uncommon occurrence when I open a Picoult book (one of the many reasons they are one of my favorite authors). I loved the detail and purpose that was included in 'Mad Honey.' It wasn't just words on a page, it was diving into the life of the main character. It's walking with them as they live out the story. It's crying with them when they hurt and laughing with them when they find themselves in those horrible yet hilarious situations. I'm so thankful that Picoult and Finney Boylan came together to create this beautiful telling of life, love, finding oneself, losing everything, and finding a way to pick up the pieces. I would 100% recommend 'Mad Honey.'
Reader's Note: 'Mad Honey' includes and in some instances describes in detail, self-harm, harassment, physical abuse, death, and LGBTQ+ themes.
What made me pick it up: Jodi Picoult is an author who will always have a place in my TBR pile.
Overall rating: A broken love story for the 21st century. 'Mad Honey' gutted me, like to my core, gutted me...but that's not an uncommon occurrence when I open a Picoult book (one of the many reasons they are one of my favorite authors). I loved the detail and purpose that was included in 'Mad Honey.' It wasn't just words on a page, it was diving into the life of the main character. It's walking with them as they live out the story. It's crying with them when they hurt and laughing with them when they find themselves in those horrible yet hilarious situations. I'm so thankful that Picoult and Finney Boylan came together to create this beautiful telling of life, love, finding oneself, losing everything, and finding a way to pick up the pieces. I would 100% recommend 'Mad Honey.'
Reader's Note: 'Mad Honey' includes and in some instances describes in detail, self-harm, harassment, physical abuse, death, and LGBTQ+ themes.
kjcopeland2004's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
knelson3502's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kylee901's review against another edition
4.0
What a book! It was a book I had a hard time putting down, I wanted to know how it was going to end. Each of the characters had their own flaws. I love that Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finley Boylan each wrote for the characters, they brought this book together beautifully. This book could have went quite a few different ways because it seemed there would could have been more than one person with a motive for murder. Definitely a twist I was not expecting!
mayasowerby's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
laelyn's review against another edition
3.0
This is my first book by either Picoult and Boylan, but I've heard only great things about both. I was also in the mood to let a book make me cry once again so I was all for it.
To say I enjoyed "Mad Honey" is maybe not true. It handles a tough subject, or really more than one of them. It tells the story of a boy and a girl who fell in love - until the girl died and the boy is accused of her murder. Through the perspectives of the dead girl, Lily, and the mother of her boyfriend we read about both the past that lead up to her death and the present proceedings surrounding the investigation of her death. It's an emotional novel, well written and not shying away from more difficult topics. There's one big twist, though I do think most people will see it coming. It doesn't take away from the story at all, though. Even if you guess the twist, it makes the story even more interesting and heartbreaking. Now, does it make sense that the twist exists? I don't think so, the crucial information should have been available to most of the people involved before. I still liked it though, even if it was a little too dramatised.
Now, while I though the premise was interesting, I wasn't absolutely in love with the novel. For one, a lot of it was written as more of a courtroom drama, and I don't really enjoy these. I rarely find them very engaging. I'm also not the biggest fan of stories being told backwards, so while I really loved reading Lily's perspective I couldn't fully get into them due simply to the way they were written chronologically. Generally, the pacing was rather slow and the story at times meandering. I admit I skimmed a page or two. I didn't care about most of the characters either, really mostly felt for the two pov characters but noone else, though that is very subjective, of course.
It's still a good book though, and one that focuses on different themes and subjects relevant to our society today. I also really loved all the beekeeping information and now want to keep my own hives. So there's that.
Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc!
To say I enjoyed "Mad Honey" is maybe not true. It handles a tough subject, or really more than one of them. It tells the story of a boy and a girl who fell in love - until the girl died and the boy is accused of her murder. Through the perspectives of the dead girl, Lily, and the mother of her boyfriend we read about both the past that lead up to her death and the present proceedings surrounding the investigation of her death. It's an emotional novel, well written and not shying away from more difficult topics. There's one big twist, though I do think most people will see it coming. It doesn't take away from the story at all, though. Even if you guess the twist, it makes the story even more interesting and heartbreaking. Now, does it make sense that the twist exists? I don't think so, the crucial information should have been available to most of the people involved before. I still liked it though, even if it was a little too dramatised.
Now, while I though the premise was interesting, I wasn't absolutely in love with the novel. For one, a lot of it was written as more of a courtroom drama, and I don't really enjoy these. I rarely find them very engaging. I'm also not the biggest fan of stories being told backwards, so while I really loved reading Lily's perspective I couldn't fully get into them due simply to the way they were written chronologically. Generally, the pacing was rather slow and the story at times meandering. I admit I skimmed a page or two. I didn't care about most of the characters either, really mostly felt for the two pov characters but noone else, though that is very subjective, of course.
It's still a good book though, and one that focuses on different themes and subjects relevant to our society today. I also really loved all the beekeeping information and now want to keep my own hives. So there's that.
Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc!
sydmount's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful book overall! I wish they completely eliminated the Mike character tho, he was so irrelevant.
samaraaax's review against another edition
5.0
god this book.
At first when I discovered this book I thought it was gonna be a regular little suspense novel about a dead girl and her boyfriend on trial for the murder so because of that I put it off for the longest time and never gave it a chance and god do I hate myself for that. This book was so beautiful and heart wrenching in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. I absolutely loved Lily and her background and everything she went through was so heartbreaking to read I found myself needing to pause the audiobook a few times to cry, and cry I sure did for Lily. I know that Lily is a character I’m gonna be thinking about for a long time and I hope everyone who reads this book learns a little something or even gains a little empathy for the struggles trans people have to go through everyday. I, myself, have never known much about transgender people but that doesn’t mean Ive never seen the horrors that they face time and time again especially this past year with all these laws wanting to basically erase them and make their life’s ten times harder. I’m glad I read this book because being written by a trans women I felt like I was learning a lot and I’m so grateful. Overall, fantastic book and characters who I know will stay with me for a long time.❤️
At first when I discovered this book I thought it was gonna be a regular little suspense novel about a dead girl and her boyfriend on trial for the murder so because of that I put it off for the longest time and never gave it a chance and god do I hate myself for that. This book was so beautiful and heart wrenching in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. I absolutely loved Lily and her background and everything she went through was so heartbreaking to read I found myself needing to pause the audiobook a few times to cry, and cry I sure did for Lily. I know that Lily is a character I’m gonna be thinking about for a long time and I hope everyone who reads this book learns a little something or even gains a little empathy for the struggles trans people have to go through everyday. I, myself, have never known much about transgender people but that doesn’t mean Ive never seen the horrors that they face time and time again especially this past year with all these laws wanting to basically erase them and make their life’s ten times harder. I’m glad I read this book because being written by a trans women I felt like I was learning a lot and I’m so grateful. Overall, fantastic book and characters who I know will stay with me for a long time.❤️
maddie14_'s review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.5