Being an 80s baby, this book gave me all the nostalgic feels. It was so interesting to think of characters I’ve “known” my whole life in such a different and unique perspective. Loved the story, loved the writing, and loved the narration. Highly recommend if you grew up listening to Britney, Christina, and Jessica!

Amber felt like a character who was just along for the ride in her own story. It was an interesting read but it didn’t make me feel much. The relationships were a bit shallow overall, I would have liked to be able to connect and attach more with literally any of the characters. Overall it was a good read would recommend to anyone who likes a quick fiction with some heart.

A love letter to all of the 90’s and 00’s pop girlies!

Listening to this audiobook instantly brought me back to my teenage pop girly days. This felt like a story that I knew and couldn’t wait to find out more about. Starting with the younger years and how Amber worked her way to get to the pop diva that she became, felt like I was watching her career play out right in front of me as I was listening to the story.

I really appreciated the chapters where they incorporated the interviews and song demos into the story. Listening to those chapters made it seem like I was back listening to the radio and watching TLC to learn more about my favorite pop stars!

If you are a fan of 90’s and 00’s pop star music and the pop star icons, this one is for you! Highly recommend!

So many things that I liked about this book. It mixes the 1990-2000 everyone wanted to be in a girl group or boy band. But the rising fame and all the things that come with it, It's that question what will you do? Public opinion I'm not sure it would be worth the fame. But I liked the story and characters we have the protagonist, the best friend, the bad boy, the manager and the wild card. It was interesting and it did keep my attention as a big TRL fan back in the day, I think that helped me relate. Over all I liked the story. The audio was good and brought it all together.

Amber Young is destined to become a star. After years of being driven to auditions by her single mom, she finally gets a chance in 1997. She is offered to join a girl group in Los Angeles. Amber’s life will forever be changed as she hits her peak in the TRL era of the early 2000s.

With fame comes problems. Amber is quickly surrounded by people that claim to love her but want to see her crash. She has to learn who is really in her corner and who has the wrong intentions all while navigating life of being a pop star.

Unfortunately, this was not the book for me. I found it boring and not captivating. I really expected it to be more than what it was. The characters were dull and just had no personality.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I liked, but didn’t love this title. It felt like a collage of all the popstars we’ve loved/loved to hate and didn’t bring a whole lot of new ideas to the table. The audio was fun and fast paced however.

4/5

I loved the narration style of this story. Amber is telling the story to us after it has already happened, giving us hints and sneak peaks of things yet to come. It definitely gives similar vibes to Daisy Jones and the Six, but they are different enough to be able both of them. My only complaint is that I wanted more. It feels like there was a lot of build up, but not a lot of payoff.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Int resting story. Lots going on and covered a long period of time. The audiobook was well narrated.

Honey transported me back to the vibrant era of the 1990s, reminiscent of icons like Britney Spears, Christian Aguilar, Jessica Simpson, and the undeniable vibes of NSYNC. The story, while undeniably cute, felt like a familiar echo of experiences already lived. It evoked a flood of memories, akin to flipping through a personal memoir, though at times, it seemed as if I had already traversed its narrative arc.

Wow! the 90's music insdustry, they told you who was going to make and who you would have relationships with. Amber really shows you the cost of fame. Friends, family and lovers. The music singing parts were somewhat cringy. Would have likes a slightly more solid ending,

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for another awesome audiobook.

This was more like 3.5 stars to me - I LOVED the narration (one of my fav narrators) but the heaviness of the story wasn’t for me. I thought I’d like the subject matter but something about the execution of telling the story didn’t quite work. The emotions, characters, relationships were a bit half baked. The narration definitely held up the story a bit, which was nice!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced audiobook!

First off, I take offense to this being labeled as "historical fiction." ;)

But seriously, as al elder millennial, I loved this book. I keep imagining Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Jessica Simpson, and of course Britney, in all of these roles/situations. I really enjoyed this inside peak of the industry, as well as how to make it, you had to fit into a certain label/image that you had to upkeep.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this ALC.

Liked: Brittany Pressley’s narration and the 90’s nostalgia.

Did not love: the story. I was bored and called it quits at 43%.

It just was not for me. I think other readers will enjoy it though!

This book was Britney, xtina, and Jessica Simpson all rolled into one! Did I peep some Gwen Stefani too? I loved it as a teen during this time period, it really connected with me!

Reminiscent of the memoirs of 90s-00s pop stars, Honey is a novel that made me think back to the headlines and news articles surrounding Brittany Spears, Christina Aguilar, Jessica Simpson, and Lindsay Lohan with the lens of an adult 25 years later and think “who let this happen?!”.

Teen singing sensation Amber finds herself competing with friends, immersed in secret relationships, and focused on her image during a critical period of her developmental years. She is exploited for the money she can make with her voice while neglected by those who should be protecting her. She is fat, she isn’t driven enough, she is too sexy, sexy is good, she’s not good enough. Through her lens, we see her and her friends grow and become more experienced in life, love, and respecting herself.

I listened to this book on audio and felt it was an easy smooth listen, though I it was odd to have the “songs” read instead of sung. I did enjoy this book, but I felt it lacked significant depth and emotion. While I recognize this is a novel and not a memoir, it would’ve hit harder with the creation of an emotional connection with the protagonist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I got this book in my Book of the Month box, so I was excited to get to listen to the audiobook as well. If you grew up in the 90s and are fans of Brittany Spears or the like, you will enjoy rooting for Amber in Honey. I enjoyed the narrator, except for spots where the song lyrics. were read. I know that it's a lot to create songs for an artist in a book, but I don't really enjoy songs being read more like poems. The author touched on a lot of really important and deep issues, but it seemed a bit too surface level for me. There wasn't enough of a climax/main problem in the story, so it just felt a bit flat throughout. For those who want a lighter story, this might be enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Isabel Banta for this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

3.75 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book dives in a bit to the nostalgia of the last 90s/early 2000s pop stars by following Amber Young, a teenage girl who wants nothing more than to sing and be famous. With the additional interview transcripts and headlines of magazine articles, it definitely took me back to that space of how media was absorbed and how fixated it was (and still is) on the portrayal of young girls/women. Banta’s descriptions were truly so engaging and I was able to immerse myself into the book, no matter what task I was doing while listening.

I do wish this story would’ve been a bit more fleshed out. I felt like there could’ve been more focus on certain areas/relationships than just giving us an overview of, what I believe, were extremely crucial moments in Amber’s life/career.

I think what saved the book for me was the last 25%. It truly was Amber being comfortable in who she is and what/who she wants, and understanding that she’s grown up in this industry and how it can truly tear up down to your bare bones. I loved her friendship with Gwen and getting those electric moments with her and Axel working together and flowing so well in the studio together. I also wish there would’ve been a bit more at the ending, instead of just the article updating the reader on Amber.

Brittany Pressley also did an incredible job narrating. Truly a voice I could listen to forever.

CW: abortion, sexism, eating disorders, drug use, parental abandonment, pedophilia, addiction

I really liked this one!

As someone who grew up in the ‘90s and 2000s, pop princesses and boy bands reigned supreme—and this book brought me right back to my pre-teen self, screaming lyrics on repeat in my poster-covered bedroom.

While I did enjoy the storyline and trip down memory lane, I do have to agree with some of the reviews that said the characters fell a bit flat and felt one-dimensional. Loved the female friendship, though!!

Also really loved the narrator and the addition of the musical elements in the background of the dialogue. Made the audiobook much more interesting!

(Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Thank you NetGalley for the advance audiobook copy! I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it was so all over the place, it was hard to do so. I felt empowered by the themes of women’s sexuality and liberation, but then, at times, it was overcast by blunt, smut-esque sex scenes. There were times when this book read like a YA, but with adult themes. Everything was rather incongruent & some references seemed out of touch or flat out inaccurate for the time period. I
I felt like this author wanted to do everything and no one told her it was okay to scale back & just pick a few ideas and see them to fruition. It’s definitely a cute story, but the execution felt disappointingly flat for me. I’m not sure if this is the fault of the audiobook, but there were many scenes that were left unfinished and seemed to disjointedly pick up at another time in the story. I had trouble following the plot and I was not sure if this was intentional, an oversight, or the fault of the audiobook formatting.

I got this book as an audiobook from #Netgalley and #Macmillanaudio in exchange for my honest review.
I think this subject matter of a young pop star's rise to fame in the late '90's and early '00's speaks to a lot of people who remember the young stars of that time period and how much media was constantly around them and constant attention was on them and their music videos. Unfortunately, even though some of this story rang true and felt realistic, there just wasn't enough. Too many things felt glossed over. I felt like some really serious things happened (don't want to add spoilers) and they would have had more profound effects on Amber than they did in the story. That kind of thing would have made the story deeper and less bubble gum.
Overall, I think a lot of people who are more the target audience will like this better than I did.