Synopsis (from Goodreads):

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.

Mad Honey is a riveting novel of suspense, an unforgettable love story, and a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves.

Review:

This book had me on the edge of my seat!  Did Olivia's son kill his girlfriend?  A parent never wants to believe their child would harm anyone.  But Asher is his father's son, and Olivia's ex was a violent abuser.  Could Asher have inherited his father's brutal way?  There's so many layers to this novel.  

Themes:

This is a story of guilt and shame.  There's a mother's guilt that her child had to witness domestic abuse.  There is also guilt that she even considers that her son harmed his girlfriend.  But the evidence is pretty convincing.  She even feels some guilt that she has kept her son from his father.  Don't all boys need their dads?  But Olivia also feels intense shame that she ever got into an abusive relationship in the first place.  This makes it hard for her to open up to her family about what was going on.  But Olivia will need to be honest with her brother, the lawyer defending her son on the charge of murder.

Setting:

When I think of small towns, I usually only think about the upsides: people know you, and support you in times of need.  But this can also blow up in one's face.  For Olivia, her son's arrest is all anyone needs to blame her for raising a murderer.  She is shunned and loses most of her business as everyone decides Asher must be guilty.

Storytelling:

I liked the different viewpoints in each chapter.  We see the story through the eyes of Olivia, Asher, and even the deceased girlfriend, Lily.  I found Lily's chapters particularly heartbreaking.  She had been through so much and had such a bright future.  Even with the different voices, the reader doesn't know how Lily died until the very end, making for a riveting read.

Story:

The story spans over a year's time, from the arrest of Asher to the resolution of the trial. But the novel also chronicles Asher and Lily's relationship, as well as Olivia's terrible marriage.  This gives the reader lots of information, but not necessarily in any order.  It's up to the reader to piece together what happens.  

Trigger Warning for Domestic Violence

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  October 4th, 2022

Author:  Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan

Publisher:  Ballantine

Genre:  Literary Fiction

Page Length:  464 Pages

Format:  E-Book

Source:  NetGalley

Recommendation:  This is a riveting, and sometime tough to read book.  The subject matter, with it's themes of domestic abuse, had me putting the book down for a while until I was ready to jump back in.  But the payoff is an outstanding book about the secrets we keep and the consequences of those decisions.  This book made me think.  And your heart will break for the main characters.

Synopsis:

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.

Review:

I have been in a severe reading slump for the past several months.  Although I have plenty of books to read, I just haven't been motivated to read.  But Emily Wilde's Encycloaedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett, was the book that made me fall in love with reading again!  It was full of engaging characters, set in a small village, and had a charming romance.  The story was full of mystery and intrigue, as well.  I just loved this novel so much, and I hope the next book comes out soon!

What I Liked:

Characters:

Emily is an unconventional main character.  She is messy, not conventionally pretty, and incompetent in social situations! But, she is lovable, all the same.  I really like that Emily is in her thirties, and has no thoughts of finding a mate.  Emily is in love with her research.  And who wouldn't be? It is about chronicling all things related to faeries!  She is so absorbed in her work that she doesn't know how to make friends, or even recognize when someone is interested in her.  I felt that she set herself apart from others because she really didn't know how to relate to most people (and perhaps didn't want to get rejected from others).

Wendell is her colleague, and fellow Faerie researcher, who follows her to the small Nordic village where Emily is studying the local Fae.  He is her exact opposite, easily charming anyone he meets, and effortlessly getting others to do his work.  Although Wendell exasperates Emily with his ways, they do get along quote well, and accept each other for who they are.

The people of the village don't know what to think of Emily, and (of course), don't like her at first.  The village has strict traditions of hospitality, which Emily hasn't bothered to learn about.  So on her first evening at the pub, she immediately gives offense by refusing to let someone pay for her dinner.   But Emily eventually wins the affections of the people with her knowledge and assistance with the Fae.  

I really liked the townspeople.  They were naturally cautious about outsiders, and needed to see that they were being respected by Emily and Wendell.  As they come to see Emily as a deeply caring person, the villagers slowly begin to cooperate and help Emily.

Setting:

Emily is researching the Faeries of the Nordic regions of Europe.  Winter is setting in, and there is a stark, yet majestic  beauty to the landscape.  Full of forests, crystal-clear lake, and towering mountains, this is already a magical setting.  The author does a wonderful job of integrating the landscape into the story, and made me want to visit this fictional place!

I loved the small village, where Emily is quite the outsider.  Having lived most of her life as an academic in England makes her ill-equipped to handle the unforgiving weather.  At first, Emily is constantly cold, and hungry, as she must learn how to chop wood, make a fire and fetch her own water.  As expected, the townspeople find this hilarious, but do step in when they realize Emily really doesn't known how to do things.  They teach her how to survive in their harsh climate, showing Emily great patience.

Romance:

Although Wendell and Emily are colleagues, and are used to each other, they are really thrown together in this situation.  The reader gradually sees that Wendell is in love with Emily; but the character herself is oblivious.  There is also the mystery of why Wendell is in the village in the first place.  Is he really there to do research on Faeries?  Or is this just a ruse to spend more time with Emily? I love how the friendship evolves over time.  As I really liked Emily, it was lovely to see that others really valued her as she was.

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  January 10th, 2023

Author:  Heather Fawcett

Publisher:  Del Rey Books

Genre:  Fantasy

Page Length:  336 pages 

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  Overall, this was a highly entertaining book with characters and situations that made this a quick and enjoyable read.