Here is the Beehive

By Sarah Crossan

Published by Bloomsbury

What it’s about?

From blurb:

It happened,  
            again and again 
            and 
again and again and again. 

Together 
                apart. 
In love 
                in aching. 

Tangled 
unravelling. 

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. 

What I think:

To say I enjoyed this book is probably incorrect. It’s more of a reading experience.

I loved Sarah Crossan’s YA verse novels so was really excited to receive an advanced copy of her adult verse novel.

This is such a raw and intense book.

When Ana’s lover, Connor, dies she is overwhelmed with a grief that she cannot share.

Ana is not a particularly likeable character. Despite being married with two young children, she is instantly attracted to Connor and before long they are having a passionate affair.

She makes so terrible decisions that put her marriage and career in danger but she is unable to think or act rationally as her passion and grief consume her.

Ana believed Connornwould leave his wife and when she meets Rebecca is shocked to find that the woman she imagined for so long bears no resemblance to the real person.

The verse style adds to the intensity of the emotions throughout this book. At points I had to put it down as there is such a harsh truth and beauty in the words.

This book is not going to be for everyone, but it is haunting and extraordinary.

Thank you Bloomsbury and Netgalley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Here is the Beehive is published later this month and you can preorder from:

Waterstones: click here

Amazon.co.uk: click here