I tried really hard to get into this book, but I struggled with both the characters and the plot. Unfortunately, it was a DNF at 50%

I could never get the audio to download on netgalley and bought my own book. The beginning was so good. Then it changed. This book has a lot going on in those few pages. I felt like we were checking boxes to check boxes. I think it could have been flushed out a bit and less is more in my opinion.

Thank you to both NetGalley and the publisher for giving me copies of this book for review.

This was not for me, unfortunately. Rather than be negative and talk about all of the things that I did not like (which was most of the book, if I am being quite honest) I will say that the narrator made the audiobook version of this slightly more bearable. Had I been forced to read a physical copy myself, I don't think that I would have been able to finish this book at all. Additionally, I am not going to post this to my Goodreads since I don't want to spread a one star review slamming a book that doesn't have a lot of reviews to begin with.

This story is extremely character driven, and if that's something you're into, it may be worth giving this book a shot. There truly is very little plot with a large, central focus on the daughters and their mother. Also, if you enjoy books that address current events and concerns pertaining to real life issues (though MANY debatable topics are mentioned, none are explored deeply) then this could also be interesting for you as well. If the thought of reading a book about bugs doesn't appeal to you, then I will say that there is a lot less focus on creepy crawling insects than the title alone may lead you to believe.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this and I will be passing my copy along to my mother since I feel like this could be something she would be interested in.

An eventful family drama that covers many relevant issues. I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The story flows easily and the characters are complex and likable.

The Fehler family Is devastated when their father unexpectedly dies. Many things come to light after his death and may make their lives extremely different if they cannot find a solution. Their family is being torn apart trying to find this solution. Will they be able to work together to find the right way to solve all their problems?

This family drama has many colorful characters that keep the story interesting. Hallie Ricardo does a wonderful job narrating this book. I recommend this 9 hour and 35 minutes audiobook highly. I am grateful to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for a honest review.

I didn’t care for this one. It wasn’t horrible it just didn’t keep my attention. I will try to give it another go soon though

I'm not sure how to review this book. It was an eclectic mix of family drama, conspiracy theories, and the lengths a mother will take to keep her family safe. It is a story that I will think about and ponder often.

The Hive is a family drama centering around the five women of the Fehler family. The family owns a supposedly prosperous pesticide company. Some of the girls expect to step into their father’s shoes and others can’t wait to escape their small, Missouri town. When the family patriarch passes away, many secrets come to light. This is a family survival story which focuses on strong female characters. Living fairly close to where this book was set, I can vouch for the local color. I found this book to be a little slow, however despite that, I really enjoyed how the women rose to the challenges in their lives. If strong women characters are your jam, then I think you will like this book!

The Fehlers have always been bug people for four generations. Proud but the four girls know that their lives can amount to more than just bug girls.. Robbie's four girls don't know a life any differently from rural Missouri life but as they start to come into their own life choices and lifestyles they realize their place in the family and the family business might not have to be as stuck as they first assumed. A surprising twist to the family legacy jump starts them to step back and reassess what they always thought was the definite plan for their futures. Great audio book and narrator - fantastic use of narrators for each chapter as we move among the Fehler women to truly learn about their strengths, weaknesses, and struggles.

Absolutely stunning family drama! A fantastic read for those who enjoy slow paced, character driven stories. The novel focuses on a family of women in the conservative Midwest at the beginning of Obama 's administration. The beginning does a great job of setting up the traditional (oppressive) patriarchal views of the community. With the death of the father figure (flawed, and yet the memories of him are quite endearing), the daughters and their mothers are left reeling and must turn to eachother to make it through.

I thought this was beautiful.

The Hive by Melissa Young was not what I was expecting. The story is about a family in the pest control business which I found interesting because you see it from a different perspective. I enjoyed learning about each member of the family and seeing how they interact with each other but as the story progressed I found that I lost some of that love as the took an odd turn. It was less about this family and their dynamic and more about social issues. It felt like at every turn a new social issue was arriving and being dealt with and it made for chaos in a bad way. The kind of story telling that feels disjointed and unfulfilled. It was like the author kept coming up with new storyline ideas for characters that could be in other books and said hey I will throw it in this book. I feel like if it had stayed on the path it was taking and didn't keep throwing in all these plot changes and social issues that needed to be dealt this it could have been an amazing story but for me it fell short.

Topic warning: self-harm.

The Hive by Melissa Scholes Young is a modern middle American tale with similar aspects of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. The book is in Missouri before and after the election as Obama in 2008. The book does a good job of understanding fear the conservative Americans felt and are feeling about the world. It also shows different perspectives without belittling the the characters beliefs.
Like a Little Women, The Hive follows four sisters who learn to survive on their own together. Each sister is different and has different views of the world, but love each other deeply.
Maggie is the oldest, and like Meg she is exactly who she thinks her family needs her to be.
Jules is just like Jo. She is a free spirit who uses what her parents taught her. But also thinks deeply on how those lessons should be played out.
Tami is the beautiful one like Amy. Tami has always had the attentions of men. She is learning how to navigate life with eyes always on her.
Kate is the baby of the family. She is the sister who watches everything and everyone. She does her own thing, but unlike her sister Jules she keeps quiet about her differing opinions.
The author does a good job of being descriptive of different political stances, while staying neutral about her own personal beliefs. The Feller sisters are raised in a conservative white part of America, and the book does a really good job setting that scene for readers. It touches on how racism can linger and be dormant in society and in families. That it takes addressing the issue for change to happen.
The Hive is a snapshot of everyday life for these Bug Girls. It gives a realistic peak into feelings and opinions of lower middle class America.


Audiobook Notes:
The narrator says Missouri odd.
At the end of chapter 18 when the second dog joins the family, there is a quote by Grace asking if they can keep the dog, should that be actually Kate saying that?

Melissa Scholes Young second novel, The Hive, is a moving depiction of five women — four daughters and their mother — after their patriarch unexpectedly dies, leaving the family bankrupt.. The strongest parts of The Hive are the sections that focus on relationships between the women, as they reestablish their lives. At times though, the political messaging about disenchanted midwesterners who would turn out for Trump years later feels heavy handed. The narrator was lovely.

I've been interested in reading this book for awhile but just couldn't get into it. The change of narrators was very confusing and I disliked the whole doomsday prepper storyline.

I try to read diverse books, but that extends beyond just race, gender, sexual orientation etc. I also want to read books with diverse thoughts and the characters portrayed in this novel certainly had extremely different political opinions that those of my own. While I did have a difficult time relating to (or even caring about) the doomsday prepping storyline), the themes in the book were fairy ubiquitous: loyalty and protection of one's family, desire to explore beyond a small town, financial struggles, discovering one's own identify etc. I was most compelled by the storyline of the sister who is a first generation college student and lacks support from both her family as well as the institution. She demonstrates how the environment in which one is raised can influence their thinking but does not dictate their destiny or the ability to change their viewpoints.

I really found nothing to connect with in this novel, and I’m not even sure why this story exists. I requested this from Net Galley because I saw that it was a story about four sisters, which always signals to me that it’s going to be some kind of nod to Little Women. This isn’t do much a nod as a flashy billboard since the phrase “the those little women” is used numerous times in The Hive, but for no clear reason.

I felt that only two of the four sisters had distinct personalities. This book really wants to engage with the idea of preparation (or lack of it) but I again ask, to what end? What am I supposed to do with this? Though the book supposedly took place in 2007-2008, I often felt like this was forgotten or at least that it was hard for me to see this time frame—I think too many books I’ve read lately that use this time period overestimate the amount of texting we were doing from 2000-2010.

I don’t know. I just really didn’t get this. I did learn some stuff about bed bugs, though.

I had a hard time getting into this story. While the plot synopsis sounded interesting, I found myself uninterested in most of the characters. Their struggles felt somewhat stereotypical and they never really felt like fully formed characters. I never got to a point in the story where I couldn't stop listening or was looking forward to diving back in to the story. If this was not an advanced review copy I would not have finished listening.

This story may be more engaging to those with more in common with the characters and their particular values and views.

Great family story around a family with 4 daughters. Audiobook narration enjoyable.

ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, but the opinions are my own.

This book just didn’t do it for me. I liked it at first and found it kinda interesting, with the bug facts and all, but once the prepper nonsense, misogyny, and affair came on, I couldn’t handle it anymore. Unfortunately this one just isn’t for me, and life is too short to read books you don’t want to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of “The Hive” in exchange of an honest review. I liked the concept of this, but I don’t feel like this was the book for me. The exposition really slow in part 1. I had a hard time figuring out the tone, while I understand there were five different perspectives, phrases like “throwing shade at her” felt a little awkward to me for some reason. I liked the idea of the sisters and seeing how they react to their childhood/parents in different ways. I love the concept of the “hive” of a mother and four daughters making their way through life but it felt a bit flat to me. I appreciate how much the book is trying to do, especially with mentioning race, gender, class, politics, etc. but I just wasn’t super compelled by it.

This was a meh read - I liked the characters but the story didn’t make sense to me and I wish I would’ve gotten more out of it.