Overall I thought this book was okay but it didn't blow me away. I did, however, like it more than I typically enjoy these sort of coming-of-age stories, so that was a win in itself. The nostalgia was also a great touch - I was definitely the right audience for this book because I grew up in the age of boy/girl bands and loved watching TRL every afternoon, so the book being set in the late 90s/early 2000s was perfect. We only ever got to see what the media wanted us to see the this look behind the curtain was really interesting.

The story was a bit dry and hard for me to get into in the beginning, it took a while for me to feel invested in the book. I liked how it spanned over years and we saw Amber grow into an adult. The reason for my middle of the road rating is that while I thought this book was okay, I never really felt attached to the characters or the story itself. It was enjoyable enough but not a book I feel will stick with me. I did really like the epilogue and how the story all wrapped up though.

Did you grow up in the age of the pop princesses like I did? Then this book is for you!

All Amber Young wants is to be a singer. Growing up poor with an alcoholic single mother, she knows she has minimal chances - but she also knows she's talented. She gets recruited to be a part of a girl group, Cloud9, but quickly realizes the group is going nowhere. Fellow future star, Gwen, convinces Amber to leave the group like she does to strike out on her own. We follow Amber's journey to stardom through opening for the biggest boy band in the world, ETA (and reconnecting with Wes, whom she met as a child on Star Search), through her first album release, to pushing for herself and getting what she wanted (to work with Axel, a star producer), to maintaining friendships (with Gwen) and figuring out her complicated family life.

All in all, a solid debut novel!

3.75 rounded up -

Ever since I read Daisy Jones and the Six, I’ve searched for a book about fictional celebrities with a tumultuous romance that breaks my heart with a backdrop of the glamour of fame but could never find it… I am so happy that Honey delivered exactly that with a nostalgic 2000s twist. This book follows the rise to fame of Amber Young, a fictional pop star in the early aughts from New Jersey, and the trials and tribulations that come with growing up in an exploitative environment in the spotlight.

I loved the longing in this book - for fame, for love, for belonging. I loved how relevant this story felt, two decades later, in the era of new pop stars like Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan and pop stars with a longtime reign like Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus, and in the era after the end of Britney Spears’ conservatorship. This book is my favorite reminder - that celebrities really just are like us behind the recording studios, red carpets, and publicity stunts.

I would’ve liked the ending to be a little more fleshed out - mostly, I would’ve liked to see the evolution of her relationship with Axel rather than just a flash forward to the future.

What a lovely debut! I can’t wait to see what this author does next. Thank you so much for this eARC!

"Honey" nostalgically captures the life of an early 2000s pop star but it missed the mark for me. Amber’s character development seems under done in the beginning, making it hard to connect with her. The book reads more like separate diary entries than a cohesive narrative, disrupting the flow. While it has its nostalgic charm, "Honey" falls short of delivering a smooth, engaging story.

It’s almost Britney, bitch. This book had me feeling all the 90s music nostalgia and I loved it. I’m a sucker for any books that are reminiscent of musical artists that I’ve enjoyed in IRL and this one absolutely nailed it. Such an enjoyable read!

“I don’t know anything about them, but they all, presumably, know something about me, have some crescent-shaped idea of who I am. The full moon is always there, isn’t it? Even if the light isn’t reflecting on all of it?”

honey by Isabel Banta has some of the most beautiful lines I’ve ever read! Crazy that this is a nostalgic book about 90s/00s pop stars and boy bands and all the stuff us millennials love… and then it’s just amazingly written and deep.
It’s sexy, nostalgic, heartbreaking, and real. I love a look behind the screens of stardom, and this is one I haven’t really seen done yet so I loved it— especially because I grew up watching the “scandals” of Britney, Christina, and Jessica. I LOVED them then and I love this story now for what I hope is a more accurate depiction than the media gave us. If you’re a millennial I DEFINITELY think you should read this!!

I enjoyed this book! As a millennial girl who grew up obsessing over all of the 90s and early 2000s pop queens, this book was right up my alley. I really liked the way that the author included magazine interviews, emails, lyrics, and Wikipedia pages to help tell the story. I thought that was fun.

I did feel like I kept waiting for something more to happen or the story to go a bit deeper, but it stayed pretty close to the shallow end.

Overall I did enjoy reading it though!

If you ever had an interest in what it would be to be a pop singer, this book is for you. Such a refreshing book, don’t think I’ve ever read a book with this setting. Can’t wait to see more from this author. Audiobook was great!

Dear Honey,

Thank you for breaking me out of my reading slump.

Forever yours,
Madalyn

Honey is a fun, sexy, and page turning read! The concept isn’t revolutionary but the delivery? the prose? excellent! I’m not one for romance but I adored the relationships in this book. Where can i find a man like Axel? Seriously.

The characters were great and very human. I loved trying to spot the inspiration for each celebrity (i think there’s a hint of 1D/NSYNC and T-Swift in here but I’m not sure). I also loved how Amber wasn’t instantly successful. She was unapologetically flawed and constantly discovering herself. She felt authentic. If she was real, I would admittedly love to hate her.

The author captured the craziness of pop culture. As someone invested in PR and heavily influenced by Twitter, each plot point flowed together realistically and I truly can’t criticize much of the story here.

I’m ashamed to admit I went into this book searching for its flaws. Looking to make comparisons to books that have come before it (ie the Taylor Jenkins Reid universe) but I came up short. This book is unique and satisfying. It delivers on its promises and adds a little bit of spice. Loved the casual lgbt representation!!

5 stars!! Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Honey sounded like it would be a great book about the music industry and what women experience trying to become famous. While it was interesting, the writing didn't grip me and it unfortunately left me wanting more. This felt like a debut which left me wanting more from it.

Though I was really looking forward to this one I found myself a bit disappointed. @tenderbench does a great job summing it up in her review, but I just wanted MORE. More from the MC, more from the writing. I wanted to feel more gritty yearning. There was just something lacking here. Though I do think Banta is a talented writer, this did feel like a debut. I think she's still finding her footing. The best part of the book was Amber's sessions with her producer. It's the most alive part of the whole novel and had the most depth. While part of this was on purpose - the rest of Amber's life/relationships are pretty shallow (aside from one female friend), the writing itself also felt shallow. But these parts I wanted to get lost into! Also the social commentary, while appreciated and important, stuck out and didn't feel woven in, they felt obvious. There was some random tense switches from first to omniscient that brought me out of the narrative. Much of the dialogue felt boring and a little pointless. Amber claims to be desperate but her desperation is missing and her personality felt very one note and flat. I did appreciate the female friendship and exploration of sexuality.

3.5 stars.

"Honey" by Isabel Banta will make any 90s/early aughts kid reminisce and bask in the nostalgia of a bygone era of TRL, Y2K, 9/11, pop culture frenzies... or it will make you frustrated that it doesn't quite go far enough. It will remind you of the continual media circus Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, the Backstreet Boys, Usher, and *NSYNC went through as many things that happen in this book are dramatized versions of real-life events that happened during my youth. It is all about first loves, coming-of-age, popularity, the limelight, insecurities, fiction versus reality, friendship, attraction, bodily autonomy, and music. It feels all too real to the experiences myself and many young girls went through during the late nineties and early 2000s when a size four was considered "plus size" and when men gleefully made countdown websites dedicated to young stars who would be turning eighteen. This book shines a spotlight on these dark times in a compelling way. Amber has always wanted to be a star, to get the attention she so desperately craves but does not get from her mother. The beginning of the story is quite enticing and gripped me thoroughly, but it all peters out towards the middle-end of the book. I particularly loved the conversation about having kids, the reasons women feel like they have to have them even if they know in their soul they don't want them. There is also an interesting bit about how mothers hate Amber because she is seen as a role model, which she never asked for, and how the media manipulates everything to sell more magazines/newspapers/get more clicks online. Amber struggles to remain herself, to keep her bodily autonomy, to reclaim who she is and how she looks, when everything else is against her. Honestly, Banta could have set this in 2024 and the result would be the same because very little has changed since the 90s. I also liked the radio/magazine interviews, TV clips, and music performances sprinkles throughout the book. It helps break up the monotony of Amber continually making and performing music, the drama between her and Wes, and her friendship with Gwen. There is a lot to like about this book, though it can feel a little repetitive at times. Definitely worth checking out for those of us who remember this timeframe. Finally, I loved Brittany Pressley's narration. She is one of my favorite audiobook narrators, and she perfectly encapsulates the 2000s-era pop stars depicted in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Isabel Banta, Celadon Books, and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary ARC/ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

Honey by Isabel Banta ARC review

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I really had a lot of trouble rating this book. It really made me think about the music industry as a whole. I believe that this author is incredibly talented to have created such a complex pop star book! I also enjoyed the nostalgia that this gave me!

This book follows Amber Young and her journey growing up in music industry and in the public eye. Her journey is far from smooth and is filled with predatory people. It’s almost scary how realistic this book seems at times. What I wasn’t crazy about were the slow parts. But I do recommend reading this book!

It’s out now!

Thank you Celadon books for the ARC

This was a fun nostalgic romp for me as a 90s baby!! Some bits in the middle dragged on a bit for my taste but I also might have just recently oversaturated myself with books about early 2000s/90s popstars, which is entirely my own fault haha. Overall very enjoyable read, great experience! I look forward to any future works by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for this free copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to read this book. 90/2000’s nostalgia is right up my alley. Unfortunately, this book fell a little flat for me.
Honey follows the story of Amber Young as she begins her journeys into the music business. The story is fiction but is told as a biopic. Amber’s story progresses as she moves from girl band member into her solo career all while navigating her coming of age story.
I didn’t find the story to be very entertaining or engaging. It didn’t leave me wanting more. I did like the nostalgia factor but I feel like it could have been done better.

I devoured this book, even more than I thought I would. This story captures everything I could have wanted from a nostalgic 2000s rise to stardom -- the fame, the success, the glamor, the love triangles, it’s all there.

What’s also there is the tension of the expectations placed on Amber juxtaposed with the star she wants to be -- her over-sexualization to fill a “market niche” at the time, the rooms full of men deciding what young girls want to hear from her, the constant battles to write her own music -- Amber’s journey captures so much of what we’ve come to know about the experience of the pop stars we grew up with.

Most of all, though, I was drawn in by the writing. I’m in awe of Isabel Banta’s work, and I can’t believe this is a debut. The characters were well rounded and the story was juicy, I couldn’t put it down!

This book could’ve gone on for thousands of pages and I would’ve been happy. Such an introspective and unique way of looking at a rising pop stars life in the early 2000s. I felt so drawn to Amber as a character and found the narrative so captivating.

Thank you Netgalley and Celadon Books for the advanced readers copy.

A debut novel by Isabel Banta, Honey follows the tumultuous career of the rising fictional pop star Amber Young in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.⁣
I was a young adult in the 90s but I absolutely remember a time where pop music and very young musicians topped the charts & appeared on TRL on a daily basis. So many things went sideways in the music industry during this time, and Honey touches on a lot of it. ⁣ This books reads like YA but has several steamy scenes and adult issues. There is also a Celadon Books Honey Mixtape playlist on Spotify and I enjoyed listening to that companion soundtrack!

A very solid debut! As a young adult myself in the 90’s and music being a huge influence and main activity in my life, this book was very nostalgic to me and I enjoyed it immensely! Looking forward to seeing what’s next from this author.

This nostalgic story follows Amber Young as she manages becoming an adult while also becoming a pop sensation. The writing was absolutely beautiful. The characters were interesting and fun and real. The story was well told, captivating, and allowed me to self reflect on my own understanding and interaction with celebrity culture. The coming of age commentary felt so real and genuine in a way I don’t feel many others capture.