This one was fine. I loved the premise, but I think the execution was not well done. I felt the representation was wonderful-- especially the mental health aspect!

As for the writing, it was very repetitive. I wish this book would have been written in first person because if I have to read the name Grace Porter again. I also could not believe her mother called her by her last name. And did you know Grace had hair that looked the sun? Well you hear it about 400 times in the first 10% of the book.

I think the author-- this a debut-- has a great story plan! But there needed to be more editing here,

This is a deeply immersive, beautifully written book about a sapphic Black woman and mental illness, choosing yourself, and waking up married to a beautiful stranger in Las Vegas. I will say that I went in expecting it to be a romance novel and I deeply feel that it is not generically a romance. It very much centers Grace's personal internal experience and the romance isn't even a secondary plot, it's tertiary at best.

I enjoyed this read a lot but I did feel a little misled in terms of genre expectations.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin for this ARC.

This is so much more than a romance. As someone in her twenties and not sure what to do with her life, I really relayed to this book. Plus, the romance and all the side characters were delightful.

Honey girl was a great insight into a relationship between two unlikely characters but shows a strength within the two together and separately. I enjoyed the fact that the characters were not perfect and were realistic in the issues they had with each other and friends as their relationship grows. Great read!

did not finishdid not finishdid not finishdid not finishdid not finishdid not finishdid not finishdid not finishdid not finish

I was excited for this book but it didn't live up to the hype for me. The characters were kind of annoying and I was just trying to get through to the end to be honest.

this was a great debut novel, it had what I was looking for in this type of story. The characters were great and I enjoyed going through this journey.

I'm pretty mixed on my feelings. I have a love hate relationship with accidental marriages. They're entertaining and set us a cute story but they're also so far fetched. I really loved the premise but I wasn't sold on the execution. I was expecting more of a quirky cute romance but that seemed to be on the sideline. It's the post graduation dread of an overacheiver reaching the end of her rope.
I like that it touches on mental health, women in STEM, and LGBTQ+, among other topics. I was expecting more romance
Overall, I enjoyed it but it's likely not one i'll be rereading.

I was really into the premise of this book and yet I just could not get into it. I'm not sure if it was the POV or the way the book started, but from the beginning I wasn't hooked at all.

I rarely feel so conflicted about a book. I do not believe Honey Girl is a bad book, but I can't conclude that it was right for me. There is something about lyrical imagery that grates against me, and the imagery used is frustratingly repetitive. There are constant allusions to sea salt and honey where I would have appreciated narrative.

Who am I to argue with fiction, yes, but I don't think it's really so easy to "accidentally" get married in Vegas. You need paperwork. Perhaps the gays should be allowed to make the same mistakes as everyone else, but the plot tired me even while it was happening. An overachiever reaches the end of her rope. Look, I've been there, and this is precisely the problem: it hits too close to home. The protagonist's father being military was familiar -- too familiar, really, because the story's depiction of a military base is truly nothing like I've experienced.

I was expecting a romance and found echoes of myself in the story instead. It's not wrong; it's just not what I needed right now.

My favorite book this year. Beautiful story telling, found family, it touches on issues of mental health and race, LGBTQ, and women in STEM. Just, this book has it all and it's all done so wonderfully.

Honey Girl was not my cup of tea from the start, but I gave it a try because I've heard just such good things about it. I really loved the inclusion of diverse characters though at some times, it felt a little superficial (like Yuki's roommates). I believe that was because we needed more character development for the characters who were not Grace.

I'm also a bit confused as to how this book was marketed. It was marketed as a romance, a quirky-Vegas love story. But really, it was more about the panic and existential dread that hits you after graduation (with romance peppered throughout).

What a book! I loved Honey Girl in a way I’m not sure I could fully express in words. I felt so many strong emotions as I navigated through Grace’s journey with her. The style of the book and its prose was so beautifully melodic. And even though there are certainly challenges that Grace faces throughout the book, it was also such a calm experience in reading.

But what I think I appreciated most was the journey of not knowing what you’re doing in life - not knowing what you want to do, or if the degree you have worth it, or are the people in your life the people you want in your life? It was such a reaffirming story of exploration and finding a space in the world that’s just for you. A story that allows you to accept that it’s okay to be wherever you are in life.


"Everyone's just pretending they have it together, because they don't realise everyone else is pretending to have it together. None of our dumbasses actually have it together."


As an academic advisor and someone that works with college students every single day, I’m often faced with this kind of reflection and introspection. I encourage my students to give themselves some grace and it allows me to do the same for myself. Reading a book like this is personally validating.

But also, I just loved Grace. I thought she was wonderfully written and her character arc was so honest and real. It wasn’t a perfect arc and because of that, it felt so much more special than the usual arc seen in so many other stories.

I will forever cherish this book, and would highly recommend it. It’s literary fiction mixed with coming of age (for the 20-something) mixed with romance, and it’s so pleasant.

I was super excited for this book. Huge fan of the accidentally marriage trope.. But that’s not really what this book was about. I enjoyed the characters but the plot was a little slow. But what really bothered me was her parents. They were truly awful and I felt like Grace excused them way too much.

I really think this is a book that could appeal to so many different types of readers. It is one of those wonderful coming of age books, where the person is figuring out who they are in their twenties instead of a s a teenager. It is so relatable to finish up years of schooling, working towards a goal, only to realize that you aren't sure if that goal is even what you want as the person you have grown to be. It's hard to feel like everyone else has their life figured out while you are struggling. Adding in the discussion of how race and gender affect your ability to succeed in your chosen profession, and I feel like the story is relatable to so many.

While the romance wasn't really the highlight of the book to me, I did enjoy it and felt that the characters wanted to help each other grow in to the best versions of themselves. It easily could have been awkward, as the two women were married without really knowing each other, but their relationship was totally believable as two people just learning each other.

I think this is a book I'd appreciate even more on a reread, especially when I'm feeling lost about my place in the world.

This was not the right book for me, personally; when early reviews came out, the premise did not attract me, but after hearing more about the book at library conferences and positive reviews from other librarians, I decided I wanted to read it knowing it could be a big hit for patrons. In the end, I did not finish it as I found the writing to be overwrought, and just not what I was looking for in a romance, at least at the time. However, I will recommend this to patrons as I know many people loved this book, and it was likely a "wrong book at the wrong time" situation for me.

Lonely creatures…will always find each other.
Are you there?

Originally, I thought Honey Girl was a queer romance book, but it was so much more. I love books like this where focus is the main character finding themselves with romance being a side story. Another element I like is the deep friendships or found-families. These are so important in people’s lives so they feel supported and not out on their own or feeling lonely.

What really struck home was Grace Porter’s intense need to stick to plan. A large part of this is due to pressure from her military father and his expectations she has adopted as her own. I can also relate to that feeling of failure when life doesn’t always follow that plan.

4 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a brilliant book about mental health and coming of age. It was much less a romance than I hoped it would be and I found it extremely raw. For all that, it is wonderful to see representation of queer found families and healing.

Cute story and loved the characterization. Especially loved the emphasis on familial and societal pressure, and learning how to shape and center yourself in your own story/life.

A coming age story of adults in their late 20's, Honey Girl deals with issues of mental health, privilege, sexuality, learning to love yourself, and when to ask for help.

If you're lost in a sea of expectation and existential dread, this is the book for you. An absolutely beautiful novel that is more than romance.