The chapters were jarring at times. Chapters would start with it being unclear of setting and context. Did not look how it ended.

Premise of book is good, it seems to need some more editing.

[opinions are my own] Fun and rewarding read. Grace is relatable on many levels. Could not put this one down!

Honey Girl is already one of my favorites of 2021 and it’s only February. There’s just so much I loved. It follows 28 year old Grace Porter who after getting her PhD is having a bit of a life crisis as she figures out what to do next. And then she goes and drunkly marries a girl in Vegas named Yuki. Add that on top of a flawed relationship with her parents and the pressure to be perfect Grace is going through so much. The first thing I loved about this book is the representation of the experience of Black women in academia. Grace is fighting so hard just to be treated with equal respect as her white peers and as a fellow Black woman in academia I connected so deeply with her experiences. And I am sure I am not the only one who would if they read this book. The next thing I loved about this book is the representation of Black mental health. Mental health remains such a stigmatized topic within the Black community. We have our parents telling us that therapy is not something Black people “do” but rather we should suck it up and keep pushing forward. Let me tell you it is toxic and Grace’s journey to realize she needs the help of therapist and that is perfectly okay is absolutely beautiful. She does not need to be the “Strong Black Woman” all the time like society wants us to be. Once again that representation was everything to me. And of course I loved the adorable queer romance in this book. Yuki and Grace’s relationship journey was so unique and fun but also challenging at times. At the end of the book all I wanted was more of their relationship! I also loved the diverse cast of characters. This is how you write a diverse friend group and make it seem perfectly natural. And speaking of friend groups the found families in this book goes to show you that you can pick who you want to be your family. Finally, I wanted to say that the book itself is just so well written. I found myself literally screaming at the beauty of the prose. This book is 100% a must read. Go get it now!

The premise of this book sounded so interesting, but I don't think the book was meant for me. A lot of it felt forced to me. Honestly should not have been marketed as a romance book in my opinion. The growth of the main character was well done though. Just not what I expected.

When I tell you I was crying finishing this last night....

I think if you take anything away from this review, it should not only be that I recommend this book so highly, but that it really wasn't marketed well. While there is romance, I don't think I'd call this a romance book. I'd just shove it under the adult contemporary category and call it good. Why? Because this book focused on Grace's growth as a person, her mental health issues, her education/job search more than it did the romance. I think that could be really disappointing to people who went into this expecting the same fill-in-the-blank plot most traditionally published rom-coms have. I'm not really a romance reader, even if I do dabble in the genre from time to time, so this...worked for me in ways romance books usually don't.

I really, really appreciated Grace as a character. I wasn't always happy with her, she often did things that I never would do in a million years (like take a plane all the way to NYC, get married while drunk in Vegas, etc.), but she also did a lot of things I would do (bottle stuff up, try to be the best at everything even if it breaks me, etc.) I am so grateful to have seen such a flawed depiction of a person on page. Grace was there...bared with all of her flaws and I still wanted her to be okay because...I feel a little like Grace does right now in my life. I don't know what I want to do anymore. When I feel out of control, I'm anxious, which is like 24/7 at this point. And when something scares me or it gets to hard, my first instinct is always to run.

(Don't mind me getting personal here.)

It was refreshing to see characters mess up like that on page. And it was refreshing to see that Grace didn't use Yoko to fix it. She didn't want to be taken care of and fix. She wanted to fix herself, take back control of her own life, and I just loved that storyline.

Also...Morgan Rogers can WRITE. I haven't read a romance book this well written since Red, White, and Royal Blue if that tells you anything about how wonderfully it was written.

I'd also like to note that this book really reminded me of Radio Silence. There's a podcast about scary stories. There's queer characters galore. There's the stress of being good enough to not only please your family but yourself. There's so much friendship, possibly more than there is romance. And sure, this might not become the next Radio Silence to me because it takes a lot to top that book, but it's so wonderful as it is.

This was the first book I read in 2021 and I was not disappointed. Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers was everything I didn't know I needed in a romance. I laughed, I cried, and I applauded. The character of Grace Porter, a PhD student in astronomy, is trying to find her way and not dissapoint her strict military father. Yer she wakes up, on a whim, married to a woman she has no idea or anything about.

Positives: The diversity of characters. That Grace's queerness wasn't something to be damned or saddened by (which we get so much of sometimes) was refreshing. Her friends often called her on her shit. She had a chosen family that was amazing. And that Morgan Rogers can turn a phrase! She is so beautiful and poetic. She makes me want to be a better writer.

And so many people can relate to Grace- under pressure to be an overachiever

My only negative is that some narrative was a bit choppy. And I got lost time wise in a few spots but that was it.

I loved it. I will def read whatever Morgan has for us next!

One month of 2021 down and I already have a book that will definitely be making it to my favorites of the year. Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers is everything that I needed and wanted. It healed me in so many ways with it’s ethereal, romantic writing and rich, complex characters. The story follows Grace Porter, who has just completed her PhD in astronomy and is grappling with life after graduation, a complicated relationship with her parents, and a drunken night that resulted in her marriage to a mysterious woman.
“What happened in Vegas is tucked away in her suitcase. It is under her shirt in the shape of a key. It is hidden in her hair with the last little bits of dried petals. It hides in the gold ring wrapped around her fingers like a brand.”

I really do not want to give much away with this book since I went into it only knowing basic details and I suggest other readers do the same. I will suggest adjusting your expectations if you are going into the book expecting a romance. Honey Girl has pretty much been marketed and categorized as romance, but it is so much more than that (which is not to knock romance at all by the way). This is much more of a contemporary coming-of-age novel about love, friendship, and family. We don’t really get into the romance of the story until a quarter of the way into the book, but it is completely worth the wait.

“All four of them squish together in the bed. They hold Grace together, hold her bursting seams closed.”
The love that Grace shares with her found family was one of my favorite aspects of this novel. Her friends are her family and they are all woven into the story in a way that makes each one distinct and complex. By the end of the book, I knew exactly who each character was. Morgan Rogers so tenderly writes each character, making me fall in love with every single one. I felt homesick for this book and it’s characters the moment I finished it.

Grace’s relationships with her parents is where she struggles the most. As a mixed-race child, Grace has to deal with a father who is a strict military man and a mother who is a free-spirit. I appreciated the way her issues with her parents were handled and the reasonable resolutions we arrive to by the end of the book.

“Us lonely creatures have to stick together.”
A central theme of this story is Grace’s struggle as a black lesbian woman in STEM. I can’t speak on the representation, but Rogers does a great job of depicting a woman who is sick and tired of her accomplishments being minimized based on the color of her skin, on top of the typical pressures and stresses of academia. These struggles have a very real effect on her mental health, which I appreciated reading about immensely. Honey Girl focuses a lot on mental health and loneliness in general in a way that was so healing. I have not read a book that has dealt with mental health in such a way in a long time and I absolutely loved it. I cried multiple times…and I rarely ever cry while reading.

Which brings me to the romance of it all. I don’t want to spoil anything about the romance since I enjoyed slowly uncovering the mystery of who Grace married as I read. What I’ll say for now is that I loved the the longing and yearning that is infused into Morgan Rogers’ writing. There was a specific kind of magical, ethereal quality to her words that I was enchanted by. It was so romantic. Although Grace’s relationship with her wife is not the main focus of the book, I felt like it was just enough to satisfy me as a reader initially expecting a romance.

Honey Girl wrapped me up in its warm, cozy embrace and healed me a little bit. I would highly recommend reading this beautiful piece of contemporary fiction when it releases on February 23rd!

**E-ARC provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.**

First of all, I went into this book not knowing exactly what it was about. I knew it had to do with a black woman as the main character, that it was adult, and it was queer. That was literally it. Imagine my surprise when it was exactly what I needed. I'm not black, I'm not queer, and I'm not getting my Ph.D. in astronomy like Grace Porter. But I have anxiety, this overwhelming sense to do my best, and the impending graduation coming up. Reading this story about a girl who is trying to figure out how she can fit into this career that she is finally being thrust into punched at my heart. The therapy aspects made me so happy to see as someone who has gone to therapy in the past. I was literally trying not to cry while I read the last 20% at work. This book is beautiful and is going to help SO MANY people, especially Black and Queer women. I'm going to be screaming about this book for weeks, months. I am so excited to buy my own copy on release day. This debut is wonderful.
I will add there are trigger warnings for self-harm, depression, and substance abuse along with things. Morgan Rogers' website has the full list of trigger warnings.

Maybe my ears were messing with me, but I kept hearing this book promoted as a rom-com, or at least elements of one, and then when I read it, I was very confused because it kept not being that. But it is a wonderful story about what you do when some many of the things you've thrown yourself into don't love you back, or don't love you back the way you need to be, about burnout and loneliness and found family and love and finding a new way forward. I think Grace will do very well. <3.

Oh, what to say about Honey Girl. First off, I would like to thank the publisher for giving me the opportunity to join the blog tour for this book. It was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, so I was so excited when they reached out. My feelings on this book are so jumbled and all over the place. I am going to try my hardest to articulate how I felt about this book.
I will start with the positives first. I really loved our main character Grace. I feel like in books we don’t get enough showcasing that time out of college and in your late 20’s where you feel so lost and are fighting to find your place in this world. I think as a theme that was explored perfectly. I also loved the aspect of found family. Grace has surrounded herself with such an incredible group of supportive people and chose to make them her family.
Now, for the negatives. Most of my issues with this book really came from the pacing of the story. It just felt very all over the place. There were things happening that I was really interested in, especially her time with Yuki, however it all felt very glossed over and there was long time jumps that didn’t really fit. That being said, there was times where we spent a ton of time on things that I didn’t feel really invested in or what was important to the story. Ultimately the timeline jumping all over the place really pulled me out of the story and left me not really wanting to pick it up.
This book was INCREDIBLY diverse, however as someone who does not identify with so many of the diverse aspects I will not say if the representation was done well.
Overall this ended up being a 3 star read. I am happy that I read it, however it just fell a bit flat for me.

First of all, I wouldn’t approach this as a romance even though it’s being marketed that way. Personally, I’d consider this a Contemporary New Adult.

I knew I was holding a 5-star read before I finished the first chapter. It started as a fun, light hearted tropey that quickly became a portrait of the millennial experience as a driven, queer, person of color.

Overall, Honey Girl is a story about how our missteps can become opportunities for new beginnings. This story felt like one I’ve heard in the voices of people around me but haven’t seen on the page yet. While this story does get heavy at times, it’s easy to fall in and devour this story.

More often than not this book felt like looking in the mirror, with the mixture of relatable experiences and humor. This book will be on my mind for a while and well worth the read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for providing a free copy of the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Grace has always strived for perfection. After 11 years of running herself into the ground, she now had her doctorate in astrology. She is certainly not the type of girl who would get drunk and married on her trip to Vegas. However, that is exactly what she does. With her job prospects dwindling, Grace decides to take a chance on her wife and visit New York for the summer. But the expectations that her father and herself have put on her have her buckling under the pressure.

So first of all, I think so many people face this issue when they graduate. I don’t have a doctorate, but I definitely struggled when I finished my undergrad. I love that this book explored how it can feel trying to find yourself in a tough job market in a very small field. That said, I can only imagine how much harder it was for Grace, because of the assumptions companies made about the color of her skin. While I hated that she faced that, I kind of loved how she handled her one interview. Now, the marriage. What a beautiful story. Two lost lonely souls trying to figure everything out. It was just delightful. Yuki was such a quirky character, I loved everything about her and their growing relationship. I also loved all the side characters in this one. No book is complete without some amazing friends, and this one had them in droves! One of the things I loved most about this book was that mental health played a large part, and that Rogers didn’t back down from really diving into that. Grace’s mom pushed her toward therapy as a tool, and seeing Grace struggle but also learn how to succeed for herself through her sessions was so wonderful. I can’t wait to see what Morgan Rogers comes out with next!

“Goodnight, my lonely creatures. Are you listening? Are you there?”

Where to start? This was an absolutely stunning debut. Rogers' writing is lyrical and emotional and raw. Her characters are fierce and multifaceted, charming and strong, and I loved all the interwoven relationships with their complexities and flaws and love for each other. While the featured relationship is the romantic one between Grace and Yuki, forged after a chance meeting in Vegas, equally important are those of friendship and family, from Grace's bond with Raj to her strained relationship with her father to the loyalty and unwavering love of Ximena and Agnes.

So much of this book hit really closely in ways I didn't expect and I'll have to mull on those feelings for a while, but I cannot recommend this book enough. I felt this book in all the soft places I have tried to hide. I saw myself in Grace and Yuki and cried with them. So many of my own anxieties and fears and dreams were reflected on these pages that it was almost uncomfortable at times, but it was still so beautiful.

For all the lonely people out there looking for a voice to answer back, here it is.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

For most of her life, Grace Porter has done everything right. She's followed her father's (aka the Colonel) orders, living life according to the rigid "Porter way." Now she's twenty-eight, with a newly acquired PhD in astronomy. On a girl's trip to Vegas, Grace strays from her workaholic, straitlaced ways, gets drunk and marries a girl she's just met. Upon returning home, Grace feels burned out and less fulfilled about finally attaining her degree than expected. So she leaves home (and her father's expectations) to spend time in New York with a wife she doesn't remember and certainly doesn't know. In New York with Yuki, Grace feels something real for her new wife. But acknowledging her feelings for Yuki will also mean confronting what made her flee home in the first place.

"I got married last night, Grace thinks. To a girl with rosebuds on her cheeks. To a girl whose name I don't even know. I should be screaming."

I loved this book so much I could cry. (I did cry.) Oh Grace, my sweet, emotional girl, and oh this book. This beautiful book. Do not go into HONEY GIRL thinking it is a gimmicky read because of the Vegas marriage premise. It's a real, heart-wrenching book that will rip and tear at your soul. But don't worry, this is a good thing. Because this is a ridiculously romantic and adorable story, as well as a nuanced coming-of-age/finding yourself (hey, it can happen at twenty-eight) story.

"Have you ever gone to bed thinking of someone you only knew for a night? Have you ever stared up at the sky and wondered where it was you saw yourself, all those years ago? Which star it was you followed here?"

Rogers writes with a lyrical beauty. She gives us Grace and Yuki, two sweet, lovely, flawed, real characters whom I adored. As for Grace, I wanted nothing but good for her. I identified so much with an anxious workaholic crippled by the expectations of her parents. ("Being angry at his unattainable expectations is so much easier than accepting that the only ones I have to meet are my own." -- I think I may need to have this bronzed, as it sums up my life.) Grace struggles with the pressures placed on her by her ex-military father, by intense racism that makes it difficult to succeed in a field where she's extremely qualified, and with mental health/anxiety issues. Rogers handles all of these excellently, covering them so well in her story, along with Grace and Yuri's burgeoning relationship. It seems like it should be too much for one book, but everything fits perfectly together.

Honestly, no review of mine can do this book justice. I love the characters of Grace and Yuri and the supporting cast is excellent (and the book is diverse). It's hilarious and funny yet deftly and kindly covers mental health issues. It also takes an insightful look at racism--especially in academia--and how difficult it makes life for Grace. There's romance, friendship, family, and so much more. I loved it all, and I highly highly recommend HONEY GIRL. I cannot wait to read what Morgan Rogers writes next. 4.5+ stars.

Grace Porter has always been the best, always had a plan, and always worked five times as hard as everyone else. After getting her PhD in Astronomy, she’s supposed to go on to work at the most prestigious company there is—but a disastrous interview, and a drunken Vegas wedding to a girl she doesn’t know snaps the tension she’s been putting on herself and causes everything to come tumbling down. This book is by turns fiercely funny, and cathartically heartbreaking, with the poetic lyricism of This is How You Lose the Time War, and the witty banter of Red, White, and Royal Blue. Honey Girl tore me to pieces and then put me back together again—I laughed, I cried, I said “this is so sweet” out loud multiple times. This book is for you, you lonely creature. Are you there?

Honey Girl follows Grace, a woman who recently graduated with a PhD in astronomy and is now trying to find her place in the world. Grace took a recent trip to Las Vegas where she drunkenly marries another woman who she had a beautiful night with. After their night together Grace continues thinking about this mystery woman, who is now her legal wife.

If you’re going into this book thinking it’s going to be a funny happy-go-lucky type of story similar to something like the movie What Happens in Vegas, you better change your outlook because that is not this book. Honey Girl is definitely on the heavier side due to the characters themselves. Both of our main characters are dealing with heavy life issues, such as finding their way in life, choosing their careers, and many other everyday struggles. This level of seriousness had both added positives and negatives to the plot. For the positives, the emotions the characters were dealing with made them feel real and relatable. For the negatives, it didn’t make sense for these two people to get drunk married in Vegas and it made the way they dealt with the marriage seem absolutely unrealistic. I also felt that every situation got turned into something serious, which honestly got exhausting to read after a while.

There were still many plus sides to the novel! This book was very heartfelt and did have amazing representation throughout it. You see many different races, genders, sexuality, and mental illnesses represented through many of the characters. This book is all about finding comfort in the world and those around you. I also loved the side characters and I want them to all have their own stories! I also wish they were all my roommates because they are so sweet and caring.

While this book wasn’t my exact cup of tea, I believe many other people will love it!

The beauty of this book lies in the poetic, yet honest and articulate, way that Morgan Rogers creates a character and a story that is relatable. I think I read it at a good time in my life because I found myself crying at the uncertainty Dr. Grace Porter feels about her career, her future, her relationship with her friends/family and her relationship with herself. Not knowing how to take care of yourself is something I can definitely relate to and it felt so incredible to know that this is something that some people struggle with as well. The world-building is so simple yet so fulfilling, and Morgan Rogers does such a fantastic job in getting you to care about those in Grace's life.

This seems like one of those books that will resonate differently with each person who reads it. I am kind of glad that I wasn't in a state of romanticism (is that a thing?) when I read this. This is not to say that I think the romantic aspects of the book aren't significant or underdeveloped, but rather I think the focus on Grace herself and her journey in all areas of her life is so much more rewarding to read about. I enjoyed the dynamic of Grace and Yuki and I like that we are given permission to continue their story in our minds.

To be a lonely creature is something that is universal. Morgan Rogers did such a wonderful job in exploring the loneliness that exists within individuals who are surrounded by others but still feel it within themselves. I like to think of myself as a lonely creature as well, and I will recommend this book to all of those who feel lonely too.

Thank you to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Honey Girl has the prettiest book cover ever!
I was excited to start reading Honey Girl when hearing what it was about but after I finished I feel as though the synopsis is a bit misleading. From it, I thought the book was going to be a light romance between Yuki and Grace. The book does focus on their relationship but the main theme is Grace dealing with her mental health. This isn't a bad thing-just more of an observation. I personally did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. The writing style is a bit too "flowery" for me, I wasn't able to connect with any of the characters or get into the story fully because of that. I also did not like the ending, the way it ended felt unfinished to me, like there should've been another chapter. I do think readers will enjoy Honey girl but unfortunately, it was a miss for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for an eARC copy of Honey Girl!

Another favorite of this year. I flew through this book so quickly and I cannot wait to read more from this author. I could not find anything I disliked. The characters were well written and they were my favorite part of the story. I loved Grace and her found family of friends. I loved Yuki too and their relationship as well. This was a lovely book and I will definitely read again.

"It's okay to admit that something can be best just because it makes you happy, and not because you had to tear yourself apart to get there."

The 'I married someone I just met when I was drunk in Vegas' trope has never been so good!

Grace Porter, 28, has always been, or tried to be, the perfect daughter to her divorced parents; an orderly, military father and a care-free, travelling mother. When she finishes her PhD and doesn't end up getting the job she thought she had secured through her hard work and determination, she takes off to Vegas with two friends to try and forget what happened. In a drunken haze, she meets Yuki, a girl who smells like sea salt and sage and has flowers blooming on her cheeks. The two get married in their drunken stupor, only to have Yuki leave Grace behind to return to New York. What ensues is a story of friendship and found family, finding and growing love, confronting our inner demons and our past, owning up to ourselves and our mistakes, and realizing what is 'best' for us may not always be what we thought it was or what we planned/had planned for us and that so many people are in the same space; we are never alone.

Rogers had me HOOKED immediately with her whimsical descriptions of things that can be, simply put, mundane. One wouldn't think marrying someone you just met hours beforehand or finding that love again over radio waves could be whimsical, but Rogers makes it so! The representation in the book is immaculate! Every single character was completely their own, had a fully realized back story, had their own issues, and was amazingly loveable.

I feel like I have been Grace in my head 1000 times. The struggle to please my parents but not let myself down either, hard work never seeming to pay off, being a woman in STEM, thinking everyone else is leagues ahead of you and you somehow fell behind along the way. Obviously Grace deals with many other issues as well, including the unfortunate presence of the systemic racism in academia and scientific fields, among others. Grace's character growth and development is amazing, and so real. It isn't like some stories where the main character has some epiphany and is all the sudden 'cured/solved/better'. We watch Grace struggle and we watch her attempt to become better, and we see that isn't an easy road and recovery is NEVER linear.

This will definitely go down as one of my favourite reads of 2021 and I am honestly highly considering purchasing this book when it is out in stores because I just enjoyed it so much!

Thank you to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN publishers for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own!