I absolutely devoured Honey in less than 24 hours. Although fiction, I fear this could very easily be a factual account of some young starlets life. The song lyrics and layout were amazing little additions to the story and added to the vibe of the book. From the beginning my heart ached for Amber. She was such a likeable character. Even though not many of us can relate to being a pop star, I feel all of us women can relate to her in many other aspects of her life and through situations she endured.

In the 90s, Amber Young is a teen who wants to be a famous singer, and she wants to be liked. Audition after audition, she works hard to make her dreams come true - until one day she books an opportunity to be in a girl group. She quickly befriends Gwen, another girl in the group with major star quality, who convinces her to go solo. She gets to open for a boy band, crushing hard on one of its members, Wes - who is rumored to be dating Gwen. Her label tries to sell her as sexy, which she is happy to embrace, but not everyone is a fan. Amber has to navigate her dreams, growing up, and trying to find love in the spotlight.

Wow. I absolutely loved this! And for a debut??? Incredible! If you’re a millennial who grew up with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, this is definitely worth picking up. This story did such a great job depicting the struggles of young women in and out of the industry. I loved Amber and her journey of self-discovery and expression. I appreciated her struggles and successes. I could’ve read this in one sitting, and I think it would make for a fantastic tv show that I would absolutely binge watch.

Read if you like:
🪩 Nostalgia
🧑‍🧑‍🧒 Grew up in the 90’s & early 00’s
🎤 Popstars
🎶 MTV

If you are a 90’s baby like me & watched MTV and VH1 after school, lived though the Christina vs Jessica vs Britney drama years, this book is for you!

I really loved the way I felt moments throughout the book that reminded me of childhood and made me see particular moments in pop culture history during those years differently, especially the hyper sexualization of young female pop stars and also the ‘purity’ and ‘role model’ discussions and why that was a big reason why I had to sneak listening to pop music growing up because my own mother didn’t think it was appropriate to listen to/look up to those artists in these conversations, especially those being sexualized by adult men.

For me the story did feel a bit disjointed and the ending did feel a bit abrupt but all in all it was a nostalgic fun read that I would recommend to my other 90’s babies for all the vibes!

Thank you to Celadon for my ARC and to Macmillan audio for my ALC in exchange for my review!

This will be THE millennial read of the summer. What a fantastic debut! After reading this book, I look forward to reading Isabel’s future work.

If you were a huge fan of pop princesses, boy bands, TRL, teen magazines, CDs, music videos, MTV, and Teen Choice Awards back in the day, you will really love reading this reimagined narrative. It reads like a memoir and delves into what stardom and fame may have looked like for these huge stars in the 90s and early 2000s. I could imagine all of my favorite childhood stars and their famed lives as I read this. I really enjoyed the nostalgia I had while reading this book.

I couldn’t put it down. Although it was a fun read, it was definitely not all fluffy and light and navigates some tough topics. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed Amber’s poignant and thought provoking coming of age story.

I was super excited to read Honey as it was one of the June BOTM options. This book about late 90s/early 2000s pop stars is right up my alley as a self-proclaimed pop princess. This is a fun book reminiscent of all your favorite bubblegum pop stars and boy bands of that era. This is a great option to throw in your beach/pool bag this summer. I really wanted to love this book as a 4-5 star read (more like Daisy Jones and the Six where I know I’m reading about a singular artist who inspired the fictional story). The challenge I had with Honey is that Amber Young felt like such a mashup of artists and their stories we have come to know. While the book is set in the late 90s/early 2000s, the featured artists kept giving me more One Direction or BTS than NSYNC or 98 Degrees (i.e. Wes = Harry Styles). Gwen and Amber seem more like early TSwift and Olivia Rodrigo than Jessica Simpson and Britney. Also, this book really only skims the surface of the inappropriate power dynamics of young artists and their record labels, eating disorders, sex, drugs, and alcohol abuse. Shout out to hit producer Axel who definitely gives Ryan Tedder vibes. Thanks to Celedon Books and NetGalley for my ARC!

I loved this! The subject matter is what drew me in, but I really think the writing and the characters here are something special. For readers of a certain generation, this is going to really resonate.

I wasn’t sure what to except going in to this book, but I was so impressed! As a millennial growing up in the era of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and boy bands this book hit a sweet spot for me. The author has a beautiful writing style, and I connected with many of the main character’s thoughts. Anyone who has ever been a teenager or young adult will likely relate to the struggle to fit in and desire to be loved by others. At its heart, this book is the story of Amber’s journey to loving herself. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I really enjoyed the love story and who she ended up with! This was a 5-star read for me!

Favorite quotes:

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩—𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭. 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.

Thank you to Celadon, Libro.fm, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book and audiobook. This review is voluntary and all opinions expressed are my own.

My immediate thoughts are 4 stars.

It ended well but I just feel stressed. This book was more than anything else sad.

----Update Full review below after digesting for a few days----

Honey reads very autobiographical. And is an unflinching look at celebrity and oversexualization and double standards set for girls and women in our society and pop culture. And it's all told through the lens of late 90s nostalgia. I was a child in the 1990s but I was right in the middle of the rise of boy bands and pop artists like N*Sync, Brittany Spears, and Backstreet Boys. I collected the merchandise, ripped the pictures out of magazines to hang on my wall, and because of that there is this deep tie to my childhood in this novel, albeit from the other side of course.

I read this book early as part of Celadon Books' read along with some other book influencers, and we really all kind of felt the same at the end of it. Before I get into the minutiae of the book itself, I think its important to talk about overarching thoughts. This book was written really well, it felt like reading an autobiography --but a little more removed and clinical about details in it. There was a lot of wider commentary about how women are treated in the industry and the things that make them "valuable". There were lots of aspects of the novel that really felt like "girlhood" to me. We see Amber's life as a child, a teen struggling to make it, scandal, finding her niche, and growing into a powerhouse. This book also focuses a lot on female relationships as well, and our friend soul mates.

I liked seeing Ambers growth throughout the novel, going from placing her entire life in the hands of a boy, to her relationship at the end (of which I cheered for) to being a footnote in her story. I loved that her story didn't end with her "finding a man" or "getting the guy". You see her grow and her career change, and all of these humanitarian efforts, and her putting her dreams and her career over chasing a dude. I LOVED that for her.

I don't want to write a spoiler filled review, and that's honestly kind of hard I think. I think the best way to experience Honey, is to go in having an idea about it, but not knowing too much. Throughout reading it I honestly spent most of the time sad, not just for Amber but for girls in general. For people who have no privacy from the public, for entire lives being a performance, for being exhausted to your bones, for becoming ghosts of ourselves.

That isn't to say that there isn't victories in Honey, there certainly are. The novel ended on a high note, but at the end I still felt like I needed a cigarette and I don't even smoke.

Thank you so much to Celadon Books for the gifted copy of Honey --my opinions are always my own.

Thank you so much to Celadon for an advance copy!

This book will be out June 25th, 2024.

When I first heard of this book and read the description, I knew right away that this book was going to be the one for me. It had all the elements that truly at my core is who I am: a millenial with a love for my teen years in the late 90s/early aughts and the love of pop music.

I thought this book captured that time period of 1999 to 2004 so perfectly. Obviously being a young adult during that time vs being a teenager at this time are very different. We were the first group of young people to grow up with the internet, the last generation to not have cell phones as a teen and now we are entering our midlife approaching 40. As someone who was knee deep into the pop princess, boy band, TRL culture, this was exactly what I needed to fill my soul.

Amber Young has this talent that is beyond her hometown. She has this big ambition and knows she is good but her mother plays along for a bit but ultimately stops supporting her. That is until she gets close to 18 years old and the idea of getting out of her small town grows more and more. After a series of events Amber meets fellow girl group member Gwen Morris.

The two girls relationship was interesting to follow over the years. Amber looked up to Gwen and in some ways was chasing her approval and was trying to make her proud. It came across as very frenemy and yet there was a LOT of love.

There was a moment that really irked me about Gwen. This next section is spolierish but I felt it was important for me to note in my review: We learn that Gwen has feelings & is dating privately her fellow dancer Tammy while publicly being linked with boy band member Wes. I felt that Gwen was a little dramatic in how she reacted to learning about Amber and Wes's relationship. Should Amber have told Gwen earlier? Sure but she left Amber's apologize and iced her out a long time that was unnecessary. But in the end, I think they truly needed one another to survive the business.

"I think a good song is like an affair. It lingers long after it's over. You can't forget it, especially when you try to. It's the lover who stays in your head. Who drives you made."

Amber & her relationships to men. From the very beginning you knew that Amber craved that wanting and acceptance from men. As soon as she reconnected with Wes Kensington (they met as children on Star Search), those butterflies came fluttering through and she was smitten. I wanted to root for him. But like most men, they just let me down and Wes was no exception. For whatever reason Amber just was not "good" enough and there was a moment at the end that just made me angry at him. Just thinking about what he says to Amber makes me raise my fist to him. What I do wish we got to see more of was the intimacy relationship between Amber and Axel. Granted one could say that their time working on the album was them growing their intimacy. I would love to have seen it beyond where the book ended.

As a whole I just really enjoyed this book and it kept me engaged the whole time. I was anxious to see where Amber's story was going to go and with majority of pop performers when/how their fame fizzles. I thought it depicted what life was *likely* like for pop singers during that time (and honestly in any decade). The pressures from old men. the pressures from parents to be an "good influence" to kids, the pressure to stay thin, comparing yourself to your peers all are common challenges to being a female pop singer.

If you couldn't tell from this lengthy review, I really enjoyed this book! This may not be for everyone but those who like me were deep into the TRL & pop world maybe entertained like I was!

And if you made it to the end - thank you!

4.5

{3.5 stars}

Thanks to Celadon Books for the gifted copy. All opinions below are my own.

Honey is the story of a young girl who gets into the entertainment industry in the 90's. She details how she is chewed up and spit out before finding fame and how it is not all it is cracked up to be. Lots of pop culture references in this one, from Star Search to the peak of boy/girl band hysteria.

This one felt a little more soapy then I generally like in these coming of age music stories. I was hoping for something along the lines of Daisy Jones or Songs in Ursa Major. But this was less about the music and more coming of age. Amber goes from fairly naive to burnt out and jaded pretty quickly. The focus was too much love and sex to really envelop me in the nostalgia of the era.

I made it to 40% and was just bored. This felt pretty flat, and I am the quintessential 90s baby so this was heartbreaking! Some parts were so nostalgic but it just felt slow and repetitive to me. If you're looking for a similar title, try Hayley Aldridge is still here (that was a clear winner for me)

This book just took the music era and conception of young women in the industry and tour it apart. Brutal honesty. And I LOVED every moment. I filled these pages with tags - so many lines, so many words just hit hard.
I was a college student in the late 90s/early 2000s. This book took me back - I could envision Brittany, Christina, NSYNC, and all those pop stars.
The media's representation of the female "virgin" and "pure" female artists pitted against sexy and sultry - all the pressure of their bodies, no one supporting them or looking out for their best interest.

I really wanted to love this book as I was such a fan of 90s/00s bubblegum pop! While this book told an interesting behind the scenes story, I had difficulty connecting to any of the characters. Overall, I enjoyed this story and it was fun to relive the music and fashion of my youth!

Amber is a young girl who wants to be a star. She lives with her single mom, with a drinking problem, and her older brother and she's coming to age in New Jersey in the 1990s. She meets Wes when she competes on Star Search. A few years later, she meets Gwen when the are grouped together to form a girl group. Gwen and Amber end up going solo, Gwen ends up in a fake relationship with Wes and Amber ends up in a real, but hidden relationship with Wes. The stress and unrealistic expectations of these stars is frightening. Sadly, this is the industry. They all have their ups and downs, but luckily Gwen and Amber's friendship survives. They all make it to the other side. It was kind of cool having Amber's Wikipedia entry rather than a traditional epilogue, but I wouldn't have minded reading about her and Axel. This was an enjoyable read.

When I first read the synopsis for Honey, I felt certain this book was written for me. I am a pop music and pop culture fan, raised in the 90s on Britney, Christina, Spice Girls, *NSYNC and Backstreet Boys. I am intimately familiar with the culture of the VMAs and TRL, of Disney child stars turned MTV mega stars being hounded by paparazzi and sexualized by the media.

So yes, when I found out that Honey’s plot revolves entirely around this era of pop culture, I was extremely excited. And while the nostalgia is absolutely there and is, in a way, fun to relive, I also found myself wanting more.

Maybe there is such a thing as being TOO much the intended audience? Maybe I’ve spent far too long deep in the weeds of my own feminist analysis of the 90s pop princess phenomenon, but unfortunately I came away from Honey feeling simply like there was no new ground tread here.

Honey still gets 3 stars from me for the nostalgia factor and I did really enjoy the female friendship factor of this book, given how women artists continue to be pitted against each other in the media. I would say if you are still reeling from Britney’s memoir and looking to read something similar but fictional, then Honey might be a great choice for you!

Thanks to Celedon Books and Netgalley for an E-Arc of this book.

I went into this with high hopes, but unfortunately, this wasn't what I thought it would be. I found the writing to be fairly flat and predictable making the characters not very interesting. This was also very clearly bastardized from Britney Spears' life story and was not done in a compelling way.

For some people, this is going to be a fun and easy read, but I was hoping for a bit more nuance and criticism of the industry, given what we know now about how women in this industry were treated during this time. I feel like Banta maybe just wanted a vibey book with romance and a surprising amount of smut rather than how the marketing came across to me.

Another '90s music book! Where there this many books written about the 1960s during the 1990s? I thought I'd love it but it was just okay. I didn't find the characters to be super compelling or well written. Amber's relationship didn't feel quite real so it was hard to care. I think people hard core into stories about pop stars might like it though.

Following the story of Amber was an interesting journey, and as someone who grew up watching people like Jennette Mccurdy on television, only to later ready about her life behind the screen, I appreciated the realistic approach regarding the rise to stardom. The world building was my favourite aspect of the novel, as Banta made the unlucky events that Amber was going through seem realistic and a learning experience for the reader. The almost autobiographical approach to the storytelling was most definitely conducive to the message the author is trying to put out. In all, I found this to be a great read!

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.