The cover and description are what drew me in on this one, following the rise of a 90's pop star. The story was a little choppy throughout and it felt too surface level overall but I still enjoyed it. Thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy - pub day is today!

As someone who was a teenager in the early 2000s, this book was wonderfully nostalgic for me. As the mother of a preteen girl, the coming of age story spoke to me.

I found Amber, the protagonist, compelling, and enjoyed reading about her rise to fame, and her development of self advocacy in the process. I found the story really interesting - the characters of her mother, Wes, Gwen and Axel were all well written. I loved the writing style itself - it is written in present tense, making the reader feel like they are on Amber’s journey alongside her. I also loved the small snippets of other types of writing between the chapters, for example song lyrics and magazine interviews, which further centered the book in the time period.

Overall a solid and enjoyable read.

Honey honey honey….what can I say.
This book was what I expected. Nothing too crazy, but I didn’t hate it either.

This is my first title by the author, and while it was written well….in a sense… I had some issues with characters and the unnecessary ******* in the book. (Don’t need to say too much, but you’ll figure it out.)

<b>I DO LOVE HOW ITS 90s-00s theme. Really brought the nostalgia out for me, but overall, the book was okay.</b>

It’s a coming of age story and most if not all stories like this are really an “okay” rating. So maybe my opinion is too biased, but that’s just how I feel. Not my genre I guess, but the stories are worth a try to read.

This story reminded me of Britney Spears life in a way. It’s triggering if you really think about it. But this story really can portray a life of those in the media. Especially pop star singers

Thank you to @celadonbooks and @Netgalley for this #gifted book in exchange for an honest review.

This book brought me back to when I was a young, teeny bopper, in the90’ns, absolutely enthralled in all things pop music. I listened to the music, bought all the magazines that had pop stars in them, and constantly begged my parents to let me go to a concert. I could actually hear the music as I was reading the book. It probably helped that the book is structured like a song and we were also shown song lyrics & articles to help tell the story.

I particularly liked that we were shown both sides of the life of a popstar: the flashy and fun side, along with the nitty-gritty behind the scenes.

I read Honey as part of the Celadon Read Together Initiative.

“Honey is a coming-of-age story that follows the meteoric rise of singer Amber Young as she navigates fame in the late-90s and early-2000s era of pop music superstardom

Isabel Banta’s debut novel, Honey, redefines the narratives of some of the most famous pop icons of the ’90s and 2000s. It reimagines the superstars we idolized and hated, oversexualized and underestimated, and gives them the fresh, multifaceted story they deserve.”

I’ll be honest—Honey is not a book I would have chosen or been pulled to pick up off bookstore shelves myself, but it is one I’m glad I read and am also surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Finding good books that I wouldn’t normally read is probably one of my favourite things about ‘readalongs’ and ‘readtogethers’.

Right off the bat, this book screams 90s. It brings you right back into that pop world that was so prominent of the ‘90s and early ‘00s. Amber Young reminded me soo much of Britney Spears and I couldn’t help but think of her as I read about Amber’s Journey into fame and stardom.

Although this book is heavily focused on a young girl’s dreams of becoming star, it is also so much more than that—it is real, emotional, heavy and raw. Amber’s story pulled at my heartstrings, and even though there were some points in the story where I was frustrated with Amber and the decisions she made, there were other times where I wanted to just hug and console her. Amber was SO alone and had to go through so many hardships alone and I just wanted more for her.

I did love the fact that she had a strong friend in Gwen, but it’s also very sad that this friendship was mostly sustained through missed phone calls and voicemails.

I would recommend this book to anyone who grew up in the 90s or loved following the pop world of the time. I would also recommend the audiobook because it was excellent and Brittany Pressley’s voice added so much emotion to the high and lows of Amber’s journey into stardom.

Thank you to Celadon, LibroFM, Macmillan Audio & Netgalley for the gifted copies.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC!

Taking place during the rise of 90s pop music, Honey follows the career of young singer, Amber Young, from girl group member to adult solo artist. As someone who always had a Britney Spears or N’SYNC album in my CD player growing up, I was excited for a fictional take on pop stardom, hoping for an “inside scoop” into the music industry. And while parts of the book checked that box, especially when Amber steps into her own as a lyricist, a good portion focused on her love life vs. experiences with fame, which didn’t hook me as much.

The writing, however, was wonderfully descriptive from start to finish, and there were some passages that spoke directly to my millennial soul! For me, the lyrical tone was the real star of the show and I’m looking forward to seeing what this author has in store for her future novels.

Thank you to Celadon Books and to NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I loved this book and felt like I took a trip back into time. This book reminded me of when I was a teenager and listening to Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, and all other girl singers and girl groups of the time.

I had never read anything by this author, but I really enjoyed this one and will look for other things by her.

I don't understand why so many books these days lack the hook. You know those first ten pages that are supposed to draw you in making you want to invest your time in reading the authors words. Instead, we get this, " This is why I hide my voice away, I think. I have pushed all my urges down, past my ribs and into my gut, because I am afraid of the hair growing between my legs, the hard buds in my chest. When I asked about these changes, arriving too soon, my mom said, "You're becoming a woman," and I started to cry.

It makes absolutely no sense.

The main character was underdeveloped and lacked substance.
The writing is very chopping.
I wasn't sure if she was writing in first person or making stuff up as she goes.

I gave it two stars just for the cover.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH.

This was SO nostalgic, I felt like I was transported back in time. YM magazine, HOW DID I FORGET. Asides the complete nostalgia, I thought it had such a 2020 internal dialogue from the greasy producers, to the identity crisis' these young girls had at the time, and their relationship with sexuality. This felt like 90s popstars meets "Lullabies for Little Criminals"

It was not always a pretty read, but I loved seeing that Wikipedia entry at the end with a HEA.

On that note, I loved that the chapters were broken up by years, and her journey was shown through songs, interviews, apple genius etc.

Thank you to the author, Celadon and Netgalley for the ARC.

I had high hopes for this book, but unfortunately I didn’t love it. I was excited for the nostalgia as I was born in the early 90s, and while there was some of that, it definitely wasn’t as “feel-good” as I thought it would be. Or at all, really. I almost stopped reading it a few times, but I am glad I stuck with it.

This book follows Amber’s rise to fame as a pop star, showing allllll the nitty gritty, at times heartbreaking and painful parts that came with that. I never had aspirations to be famous, but this book solidified that for me. It did truly break my heart for what these KIDS went through to get to the top! It was very eye-opening in that regard.

Overall, while I didn’t love the book, others may. I definitely think this author has promise!

Thank you Net Galley and publishers for the advanced copy!

If you grew up in the late 90s/early 2000s, you were possibly hit by the pop fever of female singers. Christina Aguilera, Britney, Jessica Simpson, etc. they make up the character that is Amber Young. She was really a mix of Christina and Britney. She loved singing and found it as a way for her to find affection. When she decided to make it into a career, Honey shows the ups and downs of that choice.

I had higher hopes for Honey, but parts of it fell flat for me. I was glad to have the incorporation of the music in the book as it showed not only Amber's changes as a singer but also those of the pop behemoth she was a part of. There were a lot of characterizations that I didn't understand the motivation for. At times the characters, even Amber, came off as very one note. I wish we could have seen past the early aughts and into Amber's future life, as highlighted by the Wiki page insert at the end.

Honey is the debut novel for Isabel Banta. I think she holds a lot of talent for future novels. I'm intrigued to see what she writes next.

Rating: 3.5

I think books that center around music, musicians, and a fictional journey just aren’t for me. I will say that this book is written well, and for the most part I did enjoy it.

This rating is coming more from a Fave storyline Fact that it wasn’t a good book. It was!

For someone like me who was in high school in the early 2000's...I truly lived and breathed all the boy bands and female pop stars as they rose to fame. I loved NSync, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, etc. and could still to this day give you way too many details about each of their lives. This book was so much fun to read, because it  took me back to those times, and made me feel like I was reading the story of another up and coming pop star that I somehow had forgotten about. 

The author does an incredible job of creating this character's story as if she was truly real, along with all the other performers and groups that are of course fictional, but pull so many details from the real thing back in the day. I loved the super short chapters and the way months would elapse to get you to the next important thing happening, as it kept the book moving along at a fast pace. This book definitely had Daisy Jones and The Six vibes, just told during the 2000's instead. 

If you are an elder millennial like myself I think you will enjoy and appreciate this book. And if you're not, I still think you will find this story pretty entertaining. Read it regardless for a fun escape!

It took me a little while to get into this book, but once I did I was flying through it. Overall I did enjoy the book, but I do think some of the chapters were a bit flat

2⭐️. I found these characters to be pretty insufferable and vapid. I could see the broader messages and context the author wanted to touch on….because it was blatantly written. I wish we had more character development, just let dialogue to let us really get to know the characters and have more depth into the word. This had so much potential, but it was written more in a YA lens than I would’ve liked.

Thank you to Celadon Book and NetGalley for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

"Honey" by Isabel Galant is a nostalgic dive into the late '90s and early 2000s pop era, capturing the behind-the-scenes struggles and triumphs of Amber Young as she rises to stardom. The book vividly portrays the music industry, the pressures on young female artists, and Amber's journey of self-discovery and personal growth. While the pacing felt uneven at times and I wished for deeper character exploration, the inclusion of period-specific articles and interviews added a rich layer of authenticity. Overall, "Honey" is an enjoyable read that beautifully evokes the era's spirit and offers a heartfelt coming-of-age story.

Thank you Celadon for the gifted ARC!

HONEY was a highly anticipated read for me. I am always searching for a book to give me the same feelings DAISY JONES AND THE SIX did. With HONEY being set in the late 90s/early 2000s, I was even more hopeful this would be a major win for me.

While I enjoyed this overall, it isn’t a new favorite. Something was missing for me.

I enjoyed following Amber on her coming-of-age journey and her rise to stardom. I thought the music industry pieces, especially the parts about the press and the stories the record companies want released about their artists, were incredibly interesting. I enjoyed the friendship between Amber and Gwen. I enjoyed Amber becoming more comfortable with her talent and wanting to take over more of her career. I loved the inclusion of articles, interviews, and sites like Wikipedia to add to the story. And I really loved the ending.

I still feel like it needed something…more. I had some issues with the pacing and I didn’t really find myself invested until about halfway through. I also feel like we didn’t really get to know Amber, which is odd considering we’re hearing the story from her.

With that said, I still enjoyed the read and the nostalgia it gave me.

I really loved this book! Love that it was set in the 90s so I could relate to the throwbacks and get a glimpse into what it might’ve been like for young girl stars at that time. Amber Young’s personal growth was fun and beautiful to watch, and the support of specific people who were part of her growth was really lovely too. Very Taylor Jenkins-Reid-esque which I love! Really impressive for a debut novel from Isabel Galant!

Five stars for this debut novel which is powerful in its realistically gritty portrayal of young teens fighting for fame in the world of pop music. I placed the book cover into my photo from South Africa because the protagonist's God-given singing voice is what opens the window of opportunity for her to pursue her dreams. One thing I really liked about author Isabel Banta's story telling was her ability to describe difficult situations without gratuitous shock value. Every curse word or crude behavior is needed: from a mother's alcoholism and resulting cruel, cold-hearted behavior that hurts her own daughter to the take-no-prisoners fight for fame in recording studios, casting couch rooms, and agent interviews. Light touches of history are interspersed among the page-turning story of teenager Amber Young's attempt to make a career for herself with what she loves to do-sing. The historical references include some popular song titles of various years to occasional references to big national news. All of these flow smoothly with the plot. Nothing seems forced; nothing interrupts Amber's narrative. Of course, readers also share Amber's heartbreak with attempts to find romance and her disappointments with physical intimacy. I highly recommend this book. While some readers may feel that Honey is not timeless literary fiction, it is a book I recommend ! Honey is absolutely entertaining, has many insightful moments about relationships, a touching ending, and has the potential for easy adaptation to the big screen or a streaming TV series!

I wasn’t prepared for the amount of quotes I’d be highlighting in this one! 😂

💋 Amber Young is working her way through stardom in the nineties reflecting on her identity along the way. 💋

Let me begin by saying wholly nineties nostalgia! This book brought me back to what it felt like to be watching these stars rise from the outside.

This story takes you behind the scenes of what could have been your favorite artist’s world… think Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore but it also holds up for more recent artists as well.

I loved how Amber struggled with love throughout the entire story; how to love herself and what it means to be truly loved by someone else.

There were so many moments that made me feel seen and were hard to read because they hit so close to home at times.
Her struggles with self image and self worth were so easy to identify with.

I’m a sucker for romance so if you’re like me I will say there is some spicy romances and soul sucking romances in the book but only one had my heart and I appreciated the mock Wikipedia entry at the end!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

🫧 Nostalgic
🌱 Growth
💋 Romance
💖 Friendship
📸 Celebrity
🎭 Character Driven

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

👉🏼 #bookstackcityreviews

🎁 Thank you @celadonbooks for the #gifted copy of #HoneyBook (6/25)!!

❓Do you like to reflect on the past or do you prefer to just keep looking forward?