I enjoyed this books although I definitely was more hooked during the first half than the second half. For me the second half was
not as compelling and I wish there would have been more depth to it. But I enjoyed the main character and the pop culture references!

Such a quick read. Reminds of of growing up in the 90s. I will say it was a little juvenile though but I may just be old. I remember how pop stars were treated back then and this was a reminder. Amber went through some stuff in this book. It was almost like reading an autobiography which was interesting. It reminded me of Britney Spears in some ways too. I liked that in brought me back in time.

I couldn’t put this book down! Any 90s kids who grew up watching TRL will love this. There are definitely elements of Britney, Xtina, Jessica Simpson, and ‘NSYNC thrown in without being based on any one pop star. And the author does a great job of capturing what it was like for young female stars during this time.

Also, I want a book about Axel now!

Now this book was an unexpected surprise to me because although it took a bit for it to hook me, once it did I had to read nonstop.

Honey follows the story of Amber and her rise to pop stardom during the 90s and early 2000s. In this fictionalized memoir, Amber walks us through what it was growing up with a single mom while pursuing a career as a child and how grit and determination led her from one opportunity to the next. 🎤

I absolutely adored her friendship with Gwen (fellow pop star) as they navigate their busy schedules, fame, growing up and scandal ❤️‍🔥It was refreshing to see Banta’s take on the role the media played back in the 90s and how it shaped public perception of celebrities, who are ultimately human underneath their image. 🥹

Honey is such an important story of self-discovery, friendship and the power of believing in yourself. If you’re a fan of Evelyn Hugo + Daisy Jones + the Britney Spears memoir, this will be right up your alley! 📝

This was incredible!!! Absolutely loved this novel. This was a nice heartfelt coming of age story set in the 1990s. The writing was fantastic, it was written as if it could’ve been a real biography. Which made getting attached to the character very easy. It was also very thought provoking. I thought it was all very good.

I was so pleasantly surprised by Honey and can't believe this is Isabel Banta's debut novel! Honey follows Amber Young, a rising pop star in the 90s/2000s. She is following her dreams but unfortunately realizing that she does not have much of a say in how she does so. Isabel did such a great job writing this - I felt like I was reading the memoir of a real pop star and was so invested in Amber, Gwen, and their friendship throughout the years. I LOVED the interviews, emails, lyrics, and tidbits from teen magazines between the chapters. It just made this world feel even more realistic to me. If you are looking for Daisy Jones and the Six but set in the 2000s pop world, you will LOVE this book! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 ⭐️
Honestly, I’m surprised more people haven’t made the connection to Britney Spears reading this.. especially if you’ve read The Woman In Me. I could be wrong, but it does seem to be very similar to her story. Didn’t stop me from absolutely DEVOURING this book! I was sucked in from the very beginning. Amber’s story made me sad and at times angry given the situations she was put in. Isabel did a great job at making Amber seem like a very real and relatable person character, especially as a person from the 90’s.

I added this as my pick from BOTM but I received an eARC from Celadon and NetGalley. I’m so glad I did because it made me feel better about my monthly pick. I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you Celadon and NetGalley for the eARC.

What a GEM! Join Amber in the late 90's as she literally comes of age from 12 to 22.

Amber Young has an amazing singing voice. Throw in a bit of pure luck and a bit of persistence and Amber lands a deal and a manager.
As you might guess, it's an uphill battle and a cutthroat world in music. Not a place to make friends and it's incredibly hard for Amber to connect with anyone.

It's so hard to describe how wonderful this story is without giving away the best parts of the story. What you should know is that this is a new take on the music story. Honey, is a tale that you can't guess the ending and will enjoy every moment as you try. Isabel Banta has a great ability to add complexity to personalities - especially to what can normally passed off than caricature.

This is fun, this is great, this is a movie in the making, a story for the beach, a book club and a tale to share. #celadon #honey #isabelbanta #popstar #nineties

Ahhh! Thank you Celadon for granting me early access to this eARC, I'm so excited! As an early-90s' Millennial, I know that this is absolutely up my alley! Full review to come, but I've already started and the nostalgia alone is a real good time!

While "Honey" held my interest with its intriguing premise, I found myself yearning for deeper character development. Despite this, I was compelled to continue reading to discover the fate of Amber. The author explores the pressures of the purity movement prevalent among late 90s and early 00s celebrities, sparking thought-provoking discussions. However, I wished for a richer sense of nostalgia for the era, as the narrative occasionally veered towards an excessive focus on sexual themes without fully delving into their complexities.

What I wanted from this book was a story that was raw, glitzy, and addicting, but what I got was a story that was just weird, dull, and forgettable.

I don’t think there’s a single thing I liked about the book 😬 The characters were boring and didn’t learn a single thing throughout the book, and there were annoyingly graphic spicy scenes, while lacking any real romance. The writing was weirdly gross, like frequent descriptions of unpleasant smells (urine, vomit, body odor), but then there were tons of poetic metaphors and similes that were trying so hard they didn’t even make sense. The vibe of the whole book was just so strange.

I managed to finish it, and wasn’t terribly bored at any point, so there’s that I guess. But unfortunately I can’t recommend this one. Though so far I seem to be in the minority as I’m seeing lots of five star reviews, so make of that what you will.

Thank you to Celadon Books and Netgalley for the eARC of this book.

Honey is a coming of age story that follows Amber who is breaking into the music scene in the 90’s. As someone who loves celebrity stories and books set in the 90’s- this was right up my alley.

I overall really enjoyed this one! It definitely has big Britney vibes and I am sure it was partly inspired by her story. It was very nostalgic reading about TRL and delia*s and other 90’s staples.

I do feel like some of the themes could have been fleshed out a bit more (the author refers to a lot of heavy topics such as abortion, eating disorders, and misogyny) but at the same time this felt very on point with the 90’s where those things were not addressed.

If you like pop music and celebrity, I think you’d enjoy this one!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Amber Young knows she is a talented singer. That doesn’t mean she isn’t shocked and thrilled when she gets the call in 1997 to join the girl group Cloud9. Suddenly she is surrounded by other famous girls, and the local boyband. As she eventually goes out on her own, she quickly realizes that people want her to be sexy, but not too sexy, sex positive, but also a good role model for young girls, pretty, but not too pretty, and smart but certainly not smarter than them…

Oh man this book reminded me of our girl Britney! Also a bit of Taylor Swift in current day, but the Britney feels hit home. I remember growing up and seeing her face the backlash through the years. I didn’t realize how f’ed up it was until I got older, but man did the press put her through the wringer. I thought this book was such a great coming of age story of a young girl in the spotlight. I did this one on audio and really enjoyed reading it that way. I both felt for Amber at times, and also wanted to shake her for some of the mistakes she was making, but had to remind myself she was young and what young girl didn’t make silly mistakes, especially when it came to boys? I really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it especially if you were an 80’s-90’s baby listening to Britney and N*SYNC.

Thank you to @celadonbooks for my gifted copy of this book!

Read this if you like:
•pop culture
•grew up in the 90s/00s
•like biographical written books

This book had daisy jones vibes in some ways and in others it had I’m glad my mom died vibes. The audiobook was well done, it just felt like something was missing.

I have four ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to Honey! Thank you Net Galley, Celadon Books and Isabel Banta for this ARC. These are my honest opinions.

I really enjoyed reading Honey! I have to say, that at first, I didn’t know if I was going to like this book. There were a lot of characters right off the bat. And it was written in a way that really only offered a brief glimpse into how or why they mattered. It was frustrating for about the first 30% of the book. At around 40%, I felt like I figured out who everyone was and how they fit. At about 50%, I was hooked.

Stick with it and you’ll be glad you did!

There are so many aspect of this book I enjoyed. Mentions of bearded dragons, Kissimmee FL, first ever awards shows that I grew up watching. (Cuz the book is set late 90s into early 2000s)

When I first sat down to read this I really wasn’t in the mood, but the next thing I knew I’d read 150 pages. Honey follows Amber Young on her rise to stardom, and shows the struggles she endures to get there. It’s raw, brutal at times, and ultimately a thought provoking story.

I really enjoyed this read and would definitely recommend it.

A story with potential that fell flat. I felt it was superficial and never really got to dig deep into the characters or events to care about them. The growth of the female main character finally grew in the last 30'ish pages. Underwhelming.

I loved this book. It’s always fun to be inside a celebrity lifestyle and how trapped they feel. It’s nice to have privacy as a normal citizen. I would love the finances though

Honey is a knockout debut novel exploring the dark and seedy underbelly of the surge in juvenile pop artists in the 90s/00s. The story follows a trio of young up and coming pop stars and provides us a look inside the exploitation and over sexualization of teen pop stars.

For fans of: Daisy Jones and the Six, I’m Glad my Mom Died and the 90s pop star culture

This coming of age story tackles so many topics; traumatic childhood, addiction, sexual harassment, misogyny, behind the scenes look at how draining it is to be in the spotlight performing night after night. I also really enjoyed the nostalgia provided as someone who grew up only a year or two younger than these fictional characters watching Star search and witnessing the rise and fall of so many child stars.

This is hands down one of my favorite reads of the year and I cannot wait to see what Isabel Banta gives us next, because this debut was everything. Banta has a way with her prose and her ability to paint such hauntingly beautiful emotions and perspectives, especially when it comes to sexuality and exploitation.

Thank you so much to Celadon Books for providing me an opportunity to review this book; all opinions are my own.

Coming of age story set in the world of 1990/ 2000’s pop music where Amber Young is rising to fame. It reads like a Britney Spears memoir and feels really authentic. Sadly documents the objectification of women and how young girls get highly sexualized and exploited in the music industry. I like how it included emails, song lyrics and tabloid articles. Page turning , provocative, eye opening and enjoyable especially if you grew up listening to 90s pop stars like Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears.