*received for free from netgalley for honest review* weird and different, but relatable-ish and interesting enough for a 3.5, would reread in the very distant future

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I’d give it 2.5. Unfortunately, this started strong but just had too many topics going on for me and seemed unfocused. The mothers end of world bunker and MAGA themed stuff also was just too much for me personally because it felt like the author tried to write from that perspective but felt disingenuous.

This is a story about the Fehler family and their family-owned pest control business. The business is an important part of their lives and the four daughters grew up being called “the bug girls”.

Early in the story the family unexpectedly loses their father which changes their lives forever. This book provided an intimate look at this family in the face of economic and personal crisis.

Politics is woven through the story as they struggle for survival for themselves and the business above all else. The family is conservative and there is some questioning of the philosophy as the girls experience personal struggles.

This book was well written and the characters were well developed and likeable despite of, or perhaps because of, their flaws. At times it was a bit challenging to follow the five POVs although Hallie Ricardo did a great job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC of The Hive.

The Fehler sisters have always been “bug girls” - they are the fourth generation of a family-owned pest control business. When their dad unexpected dies, they find out that the business and family are on shaky financial ground and that their dad left part of the business to a male cousin. Each girl has problems in her own life, but they all rally to try to save the family business while dealing with their problems.

The book wasn't quite what I expected based on the blurb, but it grew on me as I listened. The book switches points of view between each of the 4 sisters, as well as their mom, which was really too many narrators. I had forgotten each girl's problems by the time their turn came around again. I think we could have cut out almost all of Jules and Kate from the story and not have lost much more than political snark. It was nice to watch the family finally come together at the end of the book. Overall, this was a fairly middle of the road book for me; I'd give it 3 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

I didn't love this book. It really couldn't hold my attention, so I felt like I forced myself to finish it. I usually love a family drama novel, but maybe this one just felt a little unrealistic to me? Honestly it could be that this book is too "fancy" for me. I tend to like lighter reads. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for a copy of this audiobook for an honest review.

This book wasn’t for me, there was nothing in the book that grabbed me. I couldn’t relate to the prepper story and the focus jumped among too many uninteresting characters (4 sisters and their mother). I was expecting the family to relate like the bees in a hive. The author just says they’re a hive, but I didn’t get any of that from the book. Honestly, I am sure that all of the 5 star reviews are from friends of the author. The narrator of the audiobook was adequate. I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

The Hive is a generational story of daughters continuing the work of their deceased father in the "bug/extermination" business. It isn't as simple as it sounds. Yes, even here, drama finds away to seep in. It is a story of learning and loss, birth and survival. And it helps you realize to appreciate what you have while it is around. The story was well written. And the narration was okay, until it came to the voicing of the male characters which was almost comical and forced.

The story follows the Fehler family and their pest control business which they have owned for years. The four daughters are known as the bug girls. Robbie, the father, dies unexpectedly and the Fehler sisters are forced to figure out their lives and the bug business as they deal with the loss of their father. Grace, their mother, is a doomsday prepper and everything she does and thinks about always has a reason behind it for her family’s future survival. The Fehler family is repeatedly referred to as “the hive” by Grace. As a family, they also tend to bees in their back yard – the hive. At times, I felt that “the hive” was mentioned too much throughout the story. With that said, it is a beautiful story about survival, struggle family, and sisterhood. It was beautifully written and the characters were well developed. This is a perfect summer read that should be added to your #tbr!

I’ve gotten really into literary fiction lately and this one was so good! I loved the narrator and the plot of the story it kept me interested and wanting to keep reading

The Hives

This is the story of four sisters reforging their relationships after the death of their father, while dealing with the family bug extermination business. It’s set in the South, in the type of community that has a survival prepping club rather than automatically labeling preppers completely nuts.

I was immediately turned off by the awkwardness of the prologue, and thought the dialogue was an especially poor indication of how the rest of the book would go. The dialogue is stiff and unnatural. People make hairpin turns mid-conversation that make them seem absolutely unhinged, even disregarding the conservative “prepper” content.

I also felt that “the hive” of the title promised a lovely, literary metaphorical tie between the extermination business, the family, and the community. The book showed little sign of delivering on that promise. Rather than getting into the business and showing readers the interconnected lives of the characters, The author merely tells us repeatedly that they have a family business. The problem extends beyond the big business, too. I lost count of how many times we are apparently newly introduced to the fact that Grace comes from a family business as well—her parents were butchers! I worried I had short term memory loss.

Ultimately, DNF at 24%. I would be fine reading about preppers and even earnestly sexist, business owning fathers, if the story delivered. But I see no sign of the characters being given greater depths, and currently they all read like caricatures. Grace (the mother) is the best developed.

I am grateful to both the publisher and NetGalley for providing an Audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the women in this story, who are learning to stand on their own after the loss of their husband/father. Each one is so different and sees life and love so uniquely that you get five very distinct glimpses into their thoughts and dreams.

#TheHive #NetGalley

TW: Cutting and self harm, racial profiling and racism, radical republican depictions.

What a unique and charming story of the Fehler sisters and their family's fourth generation pest control company!

The matriarch of the family, Grace is a dooms day prepper who is determined to keep her daughters safe from the pending doom of a presidential election and recession. Her husband, Robbie is a right winged republican Obama hater who is stuck in the old ways of life. Women belong in the kitchen, not running a business.

His daughters are all in their own stages of growth and change as one heads to college, another dreams of running the family business, one who is figuring out her sexuality, and the last who has discovered her life is about to change drastically. These little women are the backbone of the story and I found myself greatly enjoying my time with the sisters.

The characters are quirky but somehow manage to stay relatable. I felt like I knew someone like every single one of the characters and for that, I am happy that I took the time to listen to this novel in audio.

Thank you to Netgalley and and Dreamscape Media for an advanced reader copy of this book for my honest review.

The Hive by Melissa Scholes Young has so many topics from death to politics. It also talks about how to live after the death of the loved one and that we really never know a person even when we live with them.

The Hive is the story of class and the fates of four sisters as they take on the legacy of their father's successful pest company. The book also features several modern-day archetypes: the doomsday prepper, the boundary-pushing millennial, the "Boomer" whose stuck in their way and can't keep up in today's society. There are a lot of dynamics at play here and it creates a story of family and endurance that's a joy to read.

I am going to keep this short, as this was just not a book for me.

This book was far too political for my liking. I'd have never read it had I known. It mostly takes place in 2008 and within a very conservative family. A lot of derogatory remarks about Obama and liberals.

Since everything seems to be made political these days, reading is one place where I like to escape that. Unfortunately, this book did not allow me to do so.

The audio was OK- it annoyed me at first, but I eventually got used to the narrator. It was clear- it was more her voice.

The Fehler family has been in the pest control business for decades with their dad Robbie, as the head of the team and their mom, Grace, running things at home and doing all she can to prep her family for doomsday. Their 4 daughters are all expected to take over the family business since they’ve been working in it all their lives, even though all but 1 don’t want anything to do with it.
Then Robbie dies and leave the family reeling with his loss, and then all his secrets come to light as well as the secrets that all the sisters and their mom have been keeping. Thankfully, they rally together and use the mom’s prepper ways to rebuild the “hive “ even stronger. Given the past year’s pandemic situation, her prepper ideas aren’t too bad!
I enjoyed this, however there were times when I fast forwarded some when it started to drag. The narrator was really good though. Clearly distinguished the different characters and brought them to life. She made the story better for me.
Thanks to Netgalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

The narrator for the audio on this book was fantastic! I really liked the Hive. Living in a rural area myself I could really see how a family would stick together for a business. I was also really mad that the father wanted a male heir to help run the business. But sadly that probably happens alot!!this book gave me alot of memoir vibes. Just felt real and honest. You felt like you were listening to Fehler sisters like they were your close friends.

The Hive is a beautifully written story. It’s a book about a midwestern American family with many life lessons on race and class. I loved the small-town life. It’s a must read and kept me wanting more. Throw this one in your beach bag this summer!

Thank you for the early listen which overall I’d rate a 4. It packs a LOT into one work of fiction and it worked for me. I tend to enjoy stories about siblings, especially sisters. In addition, I love a good family saga and an unusual family is even better. The Fehler family is not one I’ve read about before. Similar families maybe, but not as current and contemporary as this one. It’s a small town, family business set in the Obama era. The references to the 2016 election were woven right into the story with one character even driving to Chicago to celebrate (even though she voted against her family). The book got off to a slow start and I considered looking for a text copy but preserving paid off and the characters grew on me. These are all very real people I’ve met at some point in my life. I love how there are four completely different age groups represented in the four sisters – school age to business owner, with a college student and a soon to be mother in there too. I want to meet each of these wonderful women! This is a story of growing up and becoming aware of a bigger world of different values than those of your family and childhood. It’s about questioning and coming to your own conclusions and respecting those of others. Missouri is portrayed in the background and mention is made of famous authors and some history. LITTLE WOMEN is mentioned and yes, there are interesting parallels that a book club could go wild discussing. The Midwest as a distinct region was explored and the lack of availability of planned parenthood was pointed out. I love the family pest business and I appreciated learning what I did about bees and bed bugs. I felt like this was done well with a very light touch which is how I like my educational fiction. I also was schooled on doomsday prepper culture. I’m motivated to prep a bit myself after Grace’s advice that prepping is for living life. As far as the audio production, I would have liked to have different voices of each of the five main women characters. I didn’t appreciate the parts of the book that dragged and the repetition of small things like the labeling of the hairbrushes. As a reader I like to be treated as someone who remembers details. Speaking of details, there were too many – for example did we need such descriptions of ALL the Christmas presents? As a debut author, I see a lot of promise here. I feel like maybe she took on too much – every “trendy” teenage issue seemed to get a mention from cutting, teen pregnancy, first generation college life, lesbian child, grieving a parent/spouse, black boyfriend, girl power…. I could go on! The ending was nice and satisfying. Maybe a bit too much? I will be on the lookout for her next book and know it will be tighter. Perhaps each character could have her own book?? I would LOVE to get to know Maggie, Jules, Tammy, Kate and Grace even more. There’s certainly enough content in this one for five novels in my opinion!

3.5 ⭐️
This was a hot mess but it was their hot mess. A misguided mother who seemed completely crazy will have to raise
4 daughters alone. All of them had struggles, mistakes. And it was a front row seat to their family. This novel was about starting over.
An audiobook for me and the narrator Hallie Ricardo was new to me. She did a fair job and I recommend listening to this.
Thanks Dreamscape Media via Netgalley.