Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Format: Audio/E-book - thank you @librofm for the complimentary audiobook!

4.5🌟 - I really liked it!

This is giving early 2000s nostalgia!! I love a coming-of-age story and this was so good on audio!

Character-driven and centered on music this one is perfect for fans of Daisy Jones, Mary Jane, and Britney/Christina pop icons!

Honey had so much potential with its premise of a young girl’s rise to pop stardom, but unfortunately, it fell flat for me. While Isabel Banta’s writing was undeniably beautiful and filled with great quotes, the story itself lacked depth. The relationships, particularly between Amber and Wes, felt underdeveloped and failed to evoke any real emotion. I wanted to be immersed in Amber’s world of fame, wealth, and music, but the pop star element was barely explored, leaving me craving more insight into that lifestyle. The use of song lyrics throughout also dragged the pacing. I was left feeling like a spectator rather than truly connecting with Amber’s journey.

Would recommend for fans of…
💿 The Woman in Me
💿 The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes
💿 The Daydreams

It’s a well-known fact that I LOVE any book that’s set in the entertainment industry. I’m always searching for stories that feel real and authentic and Isabel Banta’s debut novel, Honey checks all of those boxes.

Honey is the story of Amber Young who gets a chance to change her life by joining a girl group in the late 1990s. From there, she faces numerous challenges and setbacks as she fights for her chance at superstardom.

I feel like many pop star stories have a glitzy, romanticized angle that skims over some of the more difficult elements those characters may face, but Banta addresses them head on in a way that can be difficult to read at times. Amber faced many tough situations throughout the novel and it was sobering to think about how frequently those situations happen in real life. Even though it can be a tough read, there’s a happy ending and it was really nice to see the story end on such a positive and healthy note. And even though the story gets heavy at times, there is a sense of nostalgia that runs through the book, giving the story some balance, and I really loved the mixed media elements like magazine quizzes and Q&As.

While the story clearly draws on the stars of the late 1990s/early 2000s (Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake are obvious inspirations), I also saw a lot of similarities to artists that hit it big later in 2010s, like Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, and One Direction, which should make this story accessible for all readers, no matter what era of pop stars they grew up with.

All in all, Honey is a fascinating debut and I look forward to seeing what Banta writes in the future. Honey is out now. Thanks to Celadon and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this book in 24 hours, it was that good. Honey is the story of Amber Young and her becoming a 90's pop star while she's still a teen. The book starts when Amber is a child and realizes she's not that interested in anything but singing. Despite her single mom tried to encourage her to take the traditional path (go to college, get a job, get married and have kids), Amber knows deep down she is not meant to be anything but a singer. Even when she knows and everybody around her tell her she is talented, even when she is discovered and signed by a record label, we see her struggle for a big chunk of the book with imposter syndrome. I loved reading about her character development, how she grows into a woman who believes in her talent and has a better relationship with fame. Honey has The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes, but with the pop craziness of the 90's. Super entertaining, highly recommend.

Such a fun book! Love the references to the 90’s! The cover alone absolutely makes the reader want to dive in and see what it’s all about!

Since moving my brain has not seemed to settle enough to focus on reading, but this book was full of frothy goodness with just enough depth to keep me engaged. Other reviews discuss that wanted to see more of her being a popstar, but I felt you did get that - but it was clouded because Amber never really sees herself the way those around her do. Her insecurities, her ego, her desire to be loved, all of that make it so you see her stardom through her view which feels dampened. The characters are extremely frustrating at times, but that is also equally fitting of their ages. Overall this book was just right for right now, and I'm glad I finally picked up off my TBR pile.

I just couldn’t get into this book or the storyline! I had to DNF this book sadly! Maybe I’ll try again at a different time to see if it’s a better fit for me then!

This book was PERFECTLY AMAZING from A to Z, loved the storylines, the characters! Thank you everyone at NetGalley and Isabel Banta for the ARC ♥

This is one of those books where I start reading and I just can’t stop, I didn’t want to stop. I loved Amber, I loved how imperfect she was. I loved how messy she was and how no matter how messy she was IRL, the media always made her out to be messier. It was such a good reminder that the media, the tabloids, are just looking for interactions and have little truth. I loved how she took ownership of herself, it’s not her job to censor herself for people’s kids and I like that she said that! Just a very good book, I’d definitely recommend it.

This reminds me of Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but Popstar flavored and without the interviewer aspect. It didn’t grip me like that story did. I think it’s because I couldn’t tell what this was trying to say. Sometimes it would “expose the industry” and other times it would just gloss over things and say that in the end it was the artist’s choice. It was also very predictable which had me skimming a bit. Idk I felt like there wasn’t a clear message and not enough in the plot to keep me hooked either.

If you grew up in the 90s and early 00s, and were a fan of the pop groups at that time (or, like me, maybe still are), this book will bring back so much nostalgia for you. The writing style will remind you of reading an artist’s autobiography (think: Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears - ones that the author pulled her inspiration from).

Honey is a coming of age story about Amber “Honey” Young as she navigates becoming a pop sensation, growing up in the music scene, becoming a sexual icon, relationships and friendships, and everything that comes with being a star in the music scene.

The nostalgia was a huge part of why I was excited to read this, but the plot sort of fell short for me. I get that it was written to be in the form of an autobiography of sorts but told in the form of a story, but so much of it was about how whiney Amber was, her competition with best friend Gwen, and her constantly sleeping around with Wes (often behind Gwen’s back). Part of it was messy and chaotic and missed the mark for me, unfortunately.

If you remove that aspect of it, you will be transported back to your younger self in the 90s, and it’s lovely. I, personally, was just hoping for more of a story, and that’s ok too.

Thank you to the author, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

As a lover of the music scene, especially pop queens and boy bands, I loved this book! It made me so nostalgic for the 90s and early 2000s when I was growing up with posters all over my walls and magazines everywhere.

i love a good coming of age story and this was so unique. i loved the main character’s story and development throughout

This was a lot more introspective than I thought it would be. I expected bubble gum fluff but instead got beautiful and deep. Loved it.

I was so excited to receive this arc. Thank you to Celadon books and netgalley. Growing up in the 90’s this book was right up my alley. It was hard to get into at first with all the going on auditions info and her career just starting out just seemed to be in info dump. Once I got paced the first 25ish pages it really picked up and I was really enjoying it. I seemed to mirror Britney Spears and her relationship with Justin Timberlake in the early 2000’s.

Think… 90s/OOs Daisy Jones & The Six meets Britney Spears and Christina Aguleria.

If you’ve ever looked at 90s/00s pop stars and said I want to be INSIDE her mind… look no further. Honey gives you an inside look at the glitz, the glam, and the drama that comes with fame in the 90s. Amber Young starts her career as a child model/actor, moves on to a girl group and then eventually, a solo singing career. She navigates the cutthroat world of music, deals with fame, and tries to hold onto her true self and fleeting friendships. It's a rollercoaster of emotions, from the highs of sold-out concerts to the lows of industry backstabbing.

I have seen soo many middle ground/”eh” reviews of this one so I went in with pretty low expectations but it was soo good! Definitely gave me all the Daisy Jones/Songs in Ursa Major vibes but set in the 90s. I did connect a lot of it to Britney’s latest memoir but it didn’t detract from the story. I highly recommend this one for all 90s music lovers and Hollywood centered book lovers.

This book captured me from the very first page. It’s rare that I find a book where almost every character on the page is rich and complex and interesting, but Honey achieves this feat. I really loved Amber and how she grows throughout the book. I also have to shout out how grateful I am to the author for not making this book include a girl v. Girl rivalry for Gwen and Amber, but rather giving them a dynamic and real friendship that changes and grows with them. This book is mainly told from 1997-2003 and it uses the time so wisely— it uses time to help the characters grow and let situations develop, so nothing feels rushed. This may be my favorite read of 2024 so far.

It’s the late 90s, and high school student Amber lives in a cramped New Jersey apartment with her alcoholic mom and angsty brother. Her life is forever changed when she gets selected to join an up and coming girl group. Fast forward a few years and she’s a full-fledged pop star, Rolling Stone cover and all. But along with fame comes constant public scrutiny of her body, clothing and sex life. She loves to sing…but is being in the spotlight really worth it?

This story was very fun and will definitely appeal to both nostalgic millennials and Y2K-loving Gen Zs. Think of it as a novelization of Britney Spears’s song Lucky. And yet its take on these subjects is refreshingly modern. It avoids relying on lazy narratives of an innocent girl victimized by the industry or a feud between pop princesses. For instance, Amber balks at the objectifying way in which the industry sexualizes her, but she is also written as someone who is a sexual being and enjoys being sexy on her own terms. And she and the pop star who the media likes to cast as her chief rival are actually close and supportive friends. I love that this book also depicted some of its side characters as pop stars in healthy queer relationships hidden from the media.

Overall, this book was a lot of fun, while also raising important concerns about the way society treated famous women in the early 2000s. I’d recommend it for anyone who devoured Britney’s biography and thought, “gimme more.”

This book had so much potential. The main character, Amber, was interesting, but I didn't feel like I really got to know her. Everything that happened to her was just touched on and then the story moved on to the next chapter. I wanted more.

And the random articles and song lyrics, and excerpts were just out of place, and took away from the story, instead of adding to it.

Overall, it was easy enough to read. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐/5

This is not a typical book I would pick up, but I wanted to give it a try. The way Amber's character development grew really helped me to enjoy the book. Anddd the nostalgia of this book!!! I do have to say this book took me longer to get through than most. I feel towards the middle it kind of dragged out, but once I got to the end of the book I was really happy with the ending.