A riveting thriller that delves deep into the dark side of social media and the complexities of human morality, 'The Hive' delivers a chilling narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. As Charlotte Goodwin's shocking confession unfolds on Instagram Live, the tension escalates, drawing viewers into a twisted game of life and death. With richly drawn characters and a gripping plot, the novel explores themes of guilt, loyalty, and the power of friendship in the face of unimaginable circumstances. A thought-provoking read that will linger in your mind long after the final page.

I was really excited to be granted a copy of this book as it actually was on my Amazon wishlist because of booktok. I am now glad that I did not waste my money on it. The premise is create and the prologue really grabs your attention but after its all falls very flat and was not well written to the point I was very confused as to what was happening.

Scarlett Brade uses the revenge thriller element perfectly, it had a great overall feel and thought this was a great debut. It had that overall feel that I was hoping for and it left me wanting to read more. I loved the character development in this book and as a character study. I'm excited to read more from Scarlett Brade.

Unfortunately, I did not download this in time and did not get a chance to read, so I will not be able to give a review. I was really looking forward to it.

Great book that sucks the reader in and keeps you there. I really loved the main characters and how they developed.

My moral compass is all over the place... Murder with reason hits different in the fictional world

All I knew, before starting this book was that it includes in some way the following:
▶ Close female friends - Sisterhood
▶#votedie or #votelive
▶ Aaaand Revenge murder

And now, after reading the book, I cannot believe that this is the debut novel of Scarlett Brade. I will be watching you, you can be sure of that.

This book was so much more than other books or movies, I have read or watched with a similar plot. I loved the madness. The unhinged behaviour. The complicated, intertwined, and messed up past of the whole friend group. The representation of toxic relationships, people, and public figures. And there is so much more that suprised me, kept me hooked, and made me question my moral decisions.

🚩 "At every turn, Linc reminded me that he was giving me the world, and that I should be grateful to him for it." 🚩

I loved to hate every single character! What a ride! 🛝

I would recommend this to anyone interested in a thriller about revenge, (female) rage, and messed up lives.

I do not read that many thrillers, so a special thank you to Netgalley, Independent Publishers Group, and Scarlett Brade for the readers copy in exchange for an honest review. "The Hive" is already out and available to read!

The opening of this book really pulled me in! The tropes were troping, and it was definitely an interesting concept for a plot. I agree with some other reviewers that it felt like a lot of dialogue at times, with not a lot of forward momentum from them and a heck of a lot of repetition. But overall, a fun and quick thriller read. I just put myself in a YA headspace and I was able to enjoy it despite it's issues.

Loved this book it was a quick and gripping read that read like a thriller and i could imagine all the scenes playing out in my head. i could not put this book down and am excited to read more by Scarlette Brade!

A read in one sitting revenge thriller would be my tagline for this novel - as in theme that's what it is and I did indeed read it in one sitting. This morning in fact. Couldn't put it down.

The Hive is more than that though. It's also a novel of friendship that has no boundaries, of traumatic loss sparking a devastating obsession and of the power of social media to have a cumulative, negative affect on metal well being.

I loved the characters even as I despaired of their behavior, there are a lot of emotional layers in The Hive, it is also written in an addictive no holds barred style that I related to.

I flew through this book as it was easy to get through and so enjoyable.
I enjoyed the characters and the writing style
The premise was really great, overall a really good thriller

The characters made this book for me! The introduction is full of drama and promise, and while the events are huge, they were not unsurprising, but the tenacity with which these friends interact is beautifully realistic! There is love and anger and betrayal, and they all make the reader feel with the characters. This makes a story for me, and I recommend The Hive for all the other character driven readers out there.

This book has potential. I like the premise of the story and the first chapter or so was a good start but after that it just seemed extremely repetitive.

There is a lot of back and forth dialogue that seems unnecessary.

That being said I can possibly see the appeal for a younger crowd or someone who just wants to pick up a book that they can easily read and not put much thought into what is happening.

This book was quick and easy to get through,. I enjoyed the story and the way it panned out in the end. The characters were good and the style of writing was perfect. This is the first book I have read by this author, I would recommend it to anyone who likes to read psychological thrillers.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you to netgalley and Zaffre for this ARC of ‘The Hive’ by Scarlett Brade.

Where to start… all I read before reading this was ‘femenist revenge thriller.’ Immediately I was sold and excited to read this and it did not disappoint. This book kept me on edge throughout and I absolutely couldn’t put it down! I will absolutely be looking for this authors future releases!

The Hive by Scarlett Brade I found to be a quick and enjoyable read.
This book kept me on my toes from beginning to end.
I thought the suspense was well woven throughout the book and kept me turning pages.

Thank You NetGalley and Zaffre for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book definitely grabs your attention right from the start. I did feel like it was lacking throughout but it also had enough to keep you reading throughout.

I love a good mystery/thriller and revenge books are so fun to read. Overall the book was ok but I think it had so much potential but just missed the mark.

This prologue! Omg it had me hooked!
Charlotte opens a live feed to her insta where she murders Heidi Dolak and reaches out to her Hive followers for their votes, whether to kill Lincoln, her ex-boyfriend or let him live. Unleashing her story and horrible events that took place before being dumped and left to die by back stabbing cheating, famous boxer Lincoln Jackson. It's a great opening, I was so eager to find out what happened, and the first half takes you on this thrill of a plot supported by a sisterhood of friends supporting each other along the way. What follows is just chilling and horrific tragedy. A really emotional train wreck takes the second half of the book, and I can appreciate the sensitive topics and everything Charlotte unpacks, but it just gets very, very repetitive! You almost hate her character in the midst of the heavy content, and I don't think that was the intention when building up her character.

This won't be for everyone. Trigger warnings ⚠️
Miscarriage, mental health, suicide, addiction, custody battle...

What you end up with here is a fantastic story about sisterhood and finding family in the friendships of life. There is plenty of drama. Social media roasting, cat fights, and revenge plot, A quick but heavy content read.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the free copy in exchange for my honest review. 3.5⭐️

It pains me to give such a low rating to a debut author - I'm really sorry; but I also need to be honest with my ratings.

The only thing I liked about this book was the prologue. Very strong concept, but poor execution. The dialogue-content ratio was poor - too many dialogues without much happening. Extremely repetitive. I saw another reviewer describing it as "rinse and repeat", and can relate.

I didn't like any of the characters or feel anything for them - but the potential was there with their tragic backstories. If that would have been explored more, I'm sure I would have liked them more.

The plot itself was unbelievable. Not going to dive further into that to avoid spoilers.

This book is being marketed as a "feminist revenge thriller" but it's the furthest thing from being feminist I've read all year. It was like reading about middle school drama with a bunch of pick-me teenage girls - the backstabbing and name-calling didn't do it for me. Maybe "friendship" or "girl power" would be better marketing words to use.

I wouldn't deter anyone from reading The Hive though. This is only my opinion, which doesn't mean anything.

The Hive is a progressive thriller that will leave you in suspense for the entire book. Four friends have been through it all - boyfriends, abuse, abortion, breakups. But now they encounter an entirely new situation when one of them dates a famous boxer who is also a social media influencer. Tragedy strikes and these friends will support each other as they get to the bottom of the truth, but who will come out alive?

I want to start off by saying that I enjoyed this book by the end of it. But the beginning of the book was so bleak that I really hated it. This book could also be called, "Four Women Who Made Immoral Choices and Suffered Because of It." It was really depressing, especially the feminist emphasis that there are no good men and only oppressors and abusers. I really found the perspective of this author depressing.

As a story, this was great. It really picked up in the second half of the book and I couldn't put it down, even though I slogged through the first half. The ending has a twist and I really enjoyed the finale, even if it was still a bit bleak. All in all, this is a book about enduring friendships and that bit did shine through.

Please note that this book does discuss abuse toward women and children, though not graphic in nature.

I recommend this book.

Unfortunately I really didn’t enjoy this book. A woman has lost custody of her kids and is in the clubs, has to pass a drug test and is smoking pot, yet crying about losing her kids? Yeah, it’s a no from me.

So, the positives. I thought the premise of this book was really interesting. I believe it was trying to offer a commentary on the way we live our lives through the social media prism, which I enjoy. I also love feminist themes and strong female characters.

However, I found the writing really immature. I think a lot of background information was dumped on the reader in the first few chapters about Charlotte and her friends, their backstories. It didn’t feel organic, it felt forced. And I hated the characters so I really didn’t care.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.