Unfortunately this was not my cup of tea. The writing was a little disjointed, and the characters were two dimensional. It was hard to relate or care for them. Honestly when I was a few chapters in, I forgot the main characters name multiple times and had to go back. I feel like it rushed into the story and didn't give a good background of the characters and the interactions btw characters felt very robotic.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

As a late 90’s baby, I was so excited to read this book! And it did not disappoint. I felt like I was growing up with Amber, learning and making mistakes right along side her. I’m glad I was reading a digital copy on my phone because I legitimately could not put it down. I’m excited to read more from Isabel Banta!

Thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for sending me an ARC 💛

Oh, how I loved this! Anyone who loved/loves '90s/2000s pop music should read this.

Banta does a great job of capturing what the world sees and focuses on with young stars, especially during this time period. She also humanizes the stars and makes a clear statement of what's real vs what is perceived.

In addition to enjoyable narrative writing, I liked how articles, songs, interviews etc. were sprinkled throughout the book. It was a fun format and also helped move the story along.

I am two years older than Amber so I was instantly pulled into this book and could picture everything about this era. Here's a list of things that came flooding back to me, for better or for worse.

- Star Search
- flipping through CDs
- MTV's TRL
- the normalcy of discussing the sex lives/virginity of young pop stars (WHY?)
- magazine quizzes
- mall performances
- the movie Ghost
- Felicity
- tiny iPods

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

<I>She is, as she will insist in every interview, just an ordinary girl. But America has a way of making its own gods. It revels in it. It lights the bonfire and watches the flames lick the sacrifice.</I>

Amber Young, is another pretty face from another small town. She isn't exceptional at dancing, or making people laugh-- she's known in her hometown for her singing voice and her boobs. However, the opportunity of a lifetime strikes when she's given the chance to join Cloud9, a girl-group band based in LA; and from there, Amber drives her career faster and further than she ever imagined possible. Branded a sex-symbol by her record label, Amber grapples with her budding sexuality on display for all of America to feast upon and struggles to connect with the revolving door of people in her life.

Brassy and sassy, HONEY by Isabel Banta sheds light on the music industry in the late 90s/early 2000s-- specifically its treatment and exploitation of young pop stars. HONEY also explores mysongny, America's ironic treatment of famous women (be sexy and risky on camera but HOW DARE YOU be caught actually having sex in a consensual relationship), the corrupt and often stalkerish behavior of paparazzi and the consumption/judgement of unconsensual photographs. This book tackles a lot-- but it never felt overwhelming or preachy. This is Amber's story, told through Amber's eyes and mind and heart.

Amber is young, ("so, so young" as she calls herself) and is forced to grow up on display; but her naivety is never really lost throughout the course of the story-- something I think is incredibly realistic for stars that shoot into fame at a young age, but could be off putting for some readers because her decisions aren't "mature". However, her journey from teenager pop star to something more was moving. HONEY was a book I picked up and couldn't put back down.

Honey takes me straight back to high school. Those were the days of the Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and more. And while this book doesn't pattern any of the characters straight off of any of these real life people and the persona the projected to the public, for anyone that lived and breathed that music during that time, you can see pieces of these real people get melded into the fictional characters. It's a behind the scenes view of what real pop stars go through where they are molded into certain personalities by their labels and management so that they're filling a niche for every fan, whether that's really who the person is or not. It also explores how relationships are manufactured by the same people to build interest and publicity and how difficult it makes it for very real people to have very real relationships. In this book Amber is branded as the bad girl, wears skimpy clothes and doesn't shy away from intimacy in her encounters with men. Those are elements are personality and ones she doesn't feel bad about, or even think she should feel bad about, but gets attacked in the media for not being a good girl like her friend Gwen or fellow pop star Savannah. This is something that blows up when she gets increasingly involved with an old acquaintance that has been hand-picked to be Gwen's relationship. It's interesting and insightful when Banta mixes in the media elements, magazine and TRL interviews, reviews, quizzes, etc. that allow you to step away from Amber's perspective and be reminded of how she and the others are being portrayed publicly. I wish more time had been devoted to how Amber really felt how she's portrayed and explored her sometimes complicated relationship with Gwen more - I think that would have made it more enjoyable on a deeper level, but it was still fun to read on beach read type of level. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book overall, but did not feel connected to the characters. The premise was entertaining and I empathized with Amber throughout the book, but I did not feel immersed into the world of this story.

I absolutely loved this book! It grabbed me from page 1. It’s an easy read and since I was a teenager in the 90s, I could relate to a lot of the content. Character development is great. Amber is a likable FMC and reading about her journey to the top kept me engaged throughout the book. Secondary character development (Gwen, Wes, etc) is great as well. I actually purchased the Book of the Month version as a gift to a friend because I loved it so much and know she will love it too. Amazing debut for Isabel Banta! 5 star hands down!

Thank you to @netgalley, Isabel Banta and Celadon Books for an ARC of Honey in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Celadon Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

It is hard to believe this is a debut novel. This was a 1990's/early 2000's blast from the past. It was a very fun and fast read with medium pacing.

The author spends the first quarter of the book fleshing out the main character, Amber.
She comes from a broken family and lives with her functioning alcoholic mom who becomes absent as Amber enters the circus of fame. Her mom doesn't get much credit for taking Amber to multiple auditions and encouraging her to set realistic goals. Amber doesn't care for school or a college track, she wants to sing. Despite her being a dime a dozen in a cut throat industry, Amber doesn't have to struggle too much to find fame. This is where I think the book lacks, Amber struggles, but never enough to draw out raw emotion from the reader. Her struggles are quickly glossed over. She becomes part of the machine, touring, media, recording, rinse and repeat.
The supporting cast all have their assigned part to play just like the 1990's to early 2000's. The virgin, the bad girl, and the girl next door. Amber takes on the role of provocative bad girl. She doesn't argue it, she leans into it. Even in her inner dialogue, she comes across as jaded and fame hungry, always seeking the validation of others.

Perhaps, the most disappointing character was that of Wes. I thought he would be the calm to the chaos, but his character evolved into a self serving narcissist. There was so much buildup to the slow burn of their relationship, that by the time if all came crashing down, it felt like a waste. Perhaps that was the point, and that is true of most first loves built on infatuation.

Even as Amber matures, her character doesn't really develop past the superficial. The last 25% of the book fell flat and felt repetitive.
Amber may have powerhouse vocals on the inside, but she never truly found her voice.

I actually really enjoy this one. I don't read contemporary that often since I am primarily a fantasy girlie. If I have learned anything about my tastes when it comes to contemporary novels it's that I enjoy ones that follow some kind of band, that could be the Disney child in me that adored shows and movies like Sonny with a Chance, Camp Rock etc. Now that I am an adult I still very much enjoy those things, but with more adult themes and messages.

Does the FMC make you want to scream into the void at times? Absolutely. This is very much a coming of age novel as she is going to make so many mistakes and have horrible taste in men. You're going to wish you could be apart of the village for her because it's what she needs. At the beginning I liked the friend that she made, but her selfishness made me lose interest in her. She pretty much took the things our girlie wanted and when she finally had it, she made her feel bad about it.

The more love interests that get introduced into the story the more hope you have for her and her choices. I was eating this book up.

Thank you Celadon Books for the arc!

Isabel Banta’s debut novel, Honey, is an absolute delight! The cute bubblegum pink cover immediately drew me in, and the story kept me completely hooked. Will Amber manage to hold onto her true identity, or will it be lost to the provocative "bad girl" persona carefully manufactured for her by the media?

This fictional tale of a girl's rise to mega pop stardom reads like an authentic memoir, exploring both the glitz and the gritty realities of fame, perfectly encapsulating the essence of the sparkling, star-studded era that was the 90s/00s. The story doesn’t shy away from the darker side of the spotlight, shedding light on the exploitation and commodification still so prevalent in the music industry today.

One of my favorite details of Honey was the inclusion of song lyrics and interview snippets between chapters. It added such a fun, immersive layer to the story that further enhanced its exquisite world-building, somewhat reminiscent of Daisy Jones & The Six.

All in all, Honey is a total vibe, especially for the millennial girlies like myself who grew up idolizing pop icons like Britney and Christina. It's a delightful deluge of nostalgia that will whisk you away to simpler times when life was all about Tiger Beat quizzes and Lisa Frank everything. If you're looking for the perfect beach read for summer, Honey definitely fits the bill!

All my thanks to Netgalley & Celadon Books for the ARC!

I wanted this to be ghostwritten by an actual 2000s pop star so bad! This was not the case, but Isabel Banta (shoutout to a fellow Hoo!) does a solid job of evoking the strangling pressures of being a young adult pop star in an era defined by vicious cultural perceptions of women in the industry. The novel follows a fictional teenager, Amber Young, who is rocketed into stardom when she is discovered by an agent at a school talent show. "Rocketed" might be the wrong word here: I liked how the story presents a more realistic portrait of "overnight fame" as something highly engineered and difficult to achieve. In general, the novel does a good job of showing how much of pop star personalities are designed and created by studio executives, who control everything from female artists appearance, to their artistic direction, to even their most intimate relationships. This novel clearly draws inspiration from recent musician & actor biography such as Britany Spears "The Woman in Me" and Jenneatte McCurdy's "I'm Glad My Mom Died", which serves to increase its realism often at the cost of originality. Banta does such a good job of mimicking real people and events that the story looses intrigue: it is pretty easy to guess the direction things are going to take and how each character's journey is going to progress. My favorite thing about the story wasn't necessarily anything to do with the plot, but how Banta includes clever details at the start of each chapter: fictional Wikipedia pages, interview transcripts, even the silly quizzes you'd find in InStyle or Teen Vogue. Fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid will likely find a lot to love in the intimate character portraits and evocative time period: I only wish the story had succeeded in feeling unique.

Thank you, NetGalley and Celadon Books for this advanced reader's copy for review. I kept seeing this book everywhere and it was a Book of the Month choice, so I knew I wanted to read it. It is a coming-of-age book about Amber Young, who becomes a pop star in the late 1990's and into the 2000's, alongside another very driven singer and dancer, Gwen Morris. It felt very reminiscent of the images projected during that time of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake. Christina was projected as the very sexy one with her song "Genie in a Bottle", while Britney was supposed to be more covered up at the time and she was dating Justin. They all knew each other from the Mickey Mouse Show. In the book, Amber was pushed as the "sexy" and "not a virgin", while Gwen was dating Wes Kington, member of the biggest boy band in the world, ETA. In secret, though, Amber has had a crush on Wes since they met early on in both their careers. Amber and Gwen are pitted against each other in the media, but in secret, they are really friends, although with their touring schedules they don't see each other very other. This book shows the difficulties of teen stardom. It was a fun debut and I look forward to what this author brings next.

ARC REVIEW: Honey by @isabel.banta ✨🍯💕

I cannot begin to describe to you just how good this book was. It felt very much like a memoir through its fictional first person recount of the early years of Amber Young, and I loved it.

Amber began her singing career in 1997 in the girl band Cloud9 before venturing off into a solo career. Over the course of the next several years, Amber’s music, gossip and criticism’s of her life are intertwined so heavily as a rising pop star in the early 2000’s.

I loved the notes all throughout the book which really tied the theme together from song lyrics, news/magazine articles, and her Wikipedia page to sum up the narrative happening on- and off-page.

This story felt truthful, raw, and depicted a young female pop star rising to fame SO WELL. The ugly side of society, and the industry were showcased so well. This novel was sad, hopeful, and exciting all at once.

I already purchased a signed pre-order copy of this debut novel by Isabel Banta because I loved it so much. I will certainly recommend it to you, as well as all your friends!

Thank you so much to NetGalley(@netgalley), and Celadon Books(@celadonbooks) for allowing me to review an ARC of Honey. I want to especially thank Isabel Banta (@isabel.banta) for writing my favorite book of 2024 thus far!

#honey #cloud9 #isabelbanta #early2000s #debutnovel #bookofthemonth #netgalley #celadonbooks #arcreview #bookreview

Thank you to netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review. Honey is a solid four star book that follows the life of Amber Young from childhood to superstardom, it shows all her growth as a person from her insecurities to her life fulfilled. I was happy to read along as Amber grew up in a difficult environment. I would recommend this to a friend.

As someone who was a young adult during the heyday of Britney Spears and N'Sync, I found this novel compulsively readable. The author did an amazing job capturing early 2000's in all its glory as well as its awfulness. I felt both nostalgic reading about the fashion worn by the pop stars of that era as well as cringing at just how much rampant misogyny and sexism was normalized by the industry as well as the fans back then. For those like me who grew up during that era, this book is a nice time capsule of a time not that long ago but also one that feels quite far away. For those who didn't experience the 2000s as a young adult, this book is still an interesting, absorbing story about one young girl's rise to music fame and the triumphs but mostly trials this brought her.

This book is so good!!!

It really did feel like I was back in the day reading pop magazines and imagining I was married to Aaron Carter (rest in peace) and thought I could legally change my name to “Britney Spears” down to the interjected magazine blurbs and pop quizzes. It made me feel so nostalgic and happy to revisit that era. I love the refreshing focus on female friendship. The book also shined a very bright light on the music industry, that has been exposed during the past few years and what celebrities have to endure to get all the love and attention.

I would recommend this book to anyone that was a part of the pop revolution of the late 90’s and early 2000s and to anyone who wasn’t.. because to me, this book feels exactly like it. I’d be bumping some Amber Young from my hip clip, that’s for sure.

Thanks Celadon Books for the ARC and the opportunity to read this awesome book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

5 stars for this good-time of a book. I very much enjoyed Honey. It had everything that a summer read needs - entertaining story, relatable characters, and easy to follow while drinking margaritas at the pool. It was a wonderful book and I would definitely recommend putting it in your carry-on with your sandals and sunscreen.

Such a good coming of age story and I feel like I read this at the perfect timing. I really really enjoyed this! Such a good storyline and characters- this is one of the best books I've read so far this year.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't really know what to expect from this novel but I was pleasantly surprised. It reads quite like an autobiography which was actually very appropriate for the subject material and story being told. It was definitely a very nostalgic read and took me back to the days of Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC posters covering my bedroom walls. It did feel relatable in some aspects and told through the lens of this decade, you can truly see how problematic the media can be at times to famous people. Overall it was a solid read.

This was an entertaining debut novel by @isabelbanta If your most formative years were the late 90’s/early 00’s, like me, then I recommend this book to you. I felt like Amber was a cross between Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. And Wes was kind of like Justin Timberlake, but ETA was a cross between *NSNYC and BSB. There’s many mentions of TRL that immediately made me picture Times Square and Carson Daly. See what I mean? This clearly screams Pop music from my teen years.

This book reads a little YA, but I found it to be an easy read. I’m impressed that this is Isabel’s debut novel.

Thank you Celadon and NetGalley for my ARC of this book.