Thank you so much to netgalley and Celadon Books for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to love this one. The cover really called to me and it did sound interesting. Unfortunately, this one was a DNF. I found the main character to be really annoying and cringy. I didn't enjoy the writing style either.

I hope others love this one but it wasn't for me.

I had high hopes for this story. It was just not keeping my interest. Writing style was great but unfortunately it was not for me.

Honey by Isabel Banta ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was a good character-driven, coming-of-age story. I appreciated the exploration of female sexuality and social norms during the 90s.

I was entertained in this book, and I wanted to see how it ended, but I felt the book lacked. I wanted more in terms of character development. I wanted more in terms of being famous. This book could’ve pushed harder and been more impactful.

I never really cared about the characters. I didn’t really get emotion or understanding from them beyond surface level. I never got any of the glitz and glam of being a pop star. I wanted some “teen pop star being rebellious” stuff.

All in all, it’s a good book. If you enjoy nostalgic books, books about the lives of famous people, or books about the music industry, this one will be successful.

3.5 stars.
I saw this listed as historical fiction and I had to laugh. The 90s was my era but it's still hard for me to think that it was 30 years ago. :)
I listened to this on audio and the narration was fantastic. I am going to have to check out more books with Brittany Pressley reading them to me.
It was an interesting story given that I remember the years that Brittany Spears and Christina Aguilera rose to fame. The struggles that Amber went through definitely rang true for that time. I'd like to think we've grown as a society but women still deal with a lot of misogyny. The cover to this book is so perfect.
Overall, I enjoyed it. A solid debut novel. I just wish some of the events didn't fade to black. The ending seemed rushed and I would have like to have seen the romance develop some more instead of just finding out that it existed though I guess we had a lot of hints along the way.

A very interesting portrait of fame, culture, and how difficult it is to be a girl becoming woman, especially in the 90’s-early 00’s. I enjoyed the prose, and empathized deeply with the characters. Some intense subject matter wasn’t dealt with in a satisfying way, but I suppose you could say that sweeping these things under the rug was the character’s way of dealing with those things with her fast-paced career. Overall, it’s kind of like if Evelyn Hugo mashed up with Britney Spears’ memoir.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this e-ARC!

Amber chases fame for herself, for everyone else, for validation and love she never received. Her journey to making it as a star is hard to read; you see her lack of choice and she is swept in a tide of sex appeal that was created for her.

We watch her give herself away to that first love and cringe.

And when she starts to bloom and find and define herself and a relationship that will fulfill her- the book ends on a wiki page and album dedication? No! I became attached and it was just getting good and I need the story of the good at the end.

If you were a fan of the late 90s and early 2000s popstars, then you should definitely add this book to your tbr.

N'SYNC, anyone?!?! 🙋‍♀️🤩

From gossip magazines to TRL on MTV, you will relive it all!

Thank you for my copy, @netgalley

“Honey,” by Isabel Banta, is set in the era of of the late-1990s/early 2000s musical era. Think Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, and Christina Aguilera. While their music may not be your personal jam, it was an interesting time in the music industry. As with any industry - all it takes is a lucky (or fortunate) break. In the case of this book, we follow Amber Young - who got just that lucky break. See if this story sounds familiar - an all girl band is formed, but Amber decides to go solo. She finds herself being pitted/compared to two other singers - Gwen (actually a former band member) and Savannah. Amber begins as the opening act for a popular all boy band - ETA - before she gains her own following. Over the years, Amber becomes more mature, calling more of her career’s shots. On the positive, this book mostly held my attention. I did find the idea of this book very interesting and kept seeing “real life” stories repeated on the pages of this book. However, Ms. Banta’s writing style seemed hesitant - like the reader wasn’t quite allowed all the way into Amber’s life. For instance, things were discussed on one page and then dropped within a few paragraphs. There wasn’t delving into any of the characters, things were very on the surface. The story skipped about in a few places, making following the thread a bit confusing. However, the overarching story (while a good idea) couldn’t always save this story. This book includes lyrics, articles, and concludes with a Wikipedia-like page, obviously written after the story concludes. I think if one would like a walk down memory lane to this time period, it’s not a bad book - I just felt the writing style wasn’t my cup of tea, but it wasn’t horrible, just not as deep as I would’ve preferred. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

I did enjoy this story but felt like it was only half way done. We didn't get the full and raw feelings from the characters. I feel like there was a lot of filler chapters that were unnecessary. The last couple chapters were amazing. I loved the growth in Amber and wish we got that Amber earlier in the story. Oh and I loved the format with the news articles, lyrics and interviews.

Posted to Goodreads and Amazon

The nostalgia is there for me with the book Honey. I wanted to love this book but I just could not connect with the character. I found myself checking to see how soon the chapters would end & how many pages I had left. I read a lot of reviews that really enjoyed this book prior to reading so maybe my own expectations are also what let me down. Sad that it didn’t hit the heart strings for me or take me back to the teenage years of the early 00s- but thankful for the opportunity to read a copy from NetGalley nonetheless!

I’m afraid I really didn’t connect with this book, but to be fair, I think I’m just too far past the target age who would find this novel appealing. I do see how fans of the 90’s pop singers would probably be engaged and entertained by this book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was so fun to read! Think of it as a behind the scenes look at your favorite early 2000’s pop star and her rise to fame. It gets a little poetic and wordy at times but I still really enjoyed it. Thank you to @celadonbooks and @netgalley for my copy!

A coming-of-age story that follows the rise of singer Amber Young as she navigates fame in the late -90s and early 2000s era of pop music.

The book depicts the ways in which the record companies defined the female pop stars of the era and how the world would see them. The good girl, the diva, the whore. Little did how we regarded them have anything to do with who they really were. This book shows some of the interiority of one such pop star and, thus, redefines the narratives of some of the most famous pop icons we idolized and hated, over sexualized and underestimated.

This is my era of pop music and I wanted to love this book. To me, it had all of the makings of a book that would resonate. The nostalgia, the behind-the-scenes glimpses, the examination of misogyny in the music industry. Unfortunately, for me the story fell a little flat. I didn’t connect with any of the characters, the relationships felt unearned, and the weird music that played behind the spoken song lyrics removed me from the action.

I enjoyed listening to the audio and really liked the narrator, Brittany Pressley, who is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. I’ve seen a lot of very positive reviews for this book, but for me, it missed the mark. Honey was a book I liked ok, but didn’t love.

Thanks to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the advanced copy of this book and audiobooks.

Honey is a coming of age story that follows Amber Young and her rise to fame as a solo pop artist which takes place in the late 1990s and early 2000s era of pop music superstardom. The book was well written and was set in different timelines. This was a touching and heartwarming book that will have you turning pages till the end. Overall I enjoyed reading this one and would recommend this to any reader but especially to readers who grew up in the 90s that enjoyed watching MTV. Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this book in exchange of my honest review of Honey.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

I was Amber’s age during the time frame of this novel so I was excited to read a story about a rising pop star. This music was the soundtrack to my high school and college years. Unfortunately, the overall story fell flat for me. It just never went deep enough into all the topics it tried to address.

I did like the writing style, how it was written like an autobiography with lyrics, interviews, and magazine articles interspersed throughout but I longed for more of the 90s-early 2000s nostalgia. There were things briefly mentioned but honestly, the story felt like it could take place during any time period. Overall, a good debut novel.

I also listened to the audio as well as reading an e-copy. I really enjoyed the narrator and thought she did a good job. I do wish that when we were given song lyrics, they had been sung rather than spoken.

Banta's writing evokes the captivating rise and struggle of young pop stars. I couldn’t be the only one thinking about Britney the entire time while reading.

However, Honey falters slightly in its execution. While the premise is intriguing, the plot can feel a bit scattered at times. The sheer number of influences mentioned raises expectations that aren't always fully delivered upon.

Despite this, Honey is a compelling read for those who crave a behind-the-scenes look at the pop music industry. The story reminds us of the humanity behind the carefully crafted pop personas and the challenges young stars face in navigating fame. If you're looking for a nostalgic trip with a dose of harsh reality, Honey is worth a read.

This book fell flat for me: the fun was suppose to be in being a teenage pop star, the glitz glam and fun and that portion of the story was sincerely lacking. No attachment to the character with minimal character growth.

3.5 stars

As someone who enjoyed Britney Spears' memoir and Daisy Jones and the Six, I was so excited to read this book! Honey follows 90's pop star, Amber Young, from her rough childhood to her rise to fame. I liked how it was written like an autobiography and had news articles and lyrics sprinkled in. If feels very true to the time it is set in and it was interesting to reflect on how women singers were talked about and treated back then versus today. There were times while reading that I was really invested in what was going on, but there were also times when it dragged on. I really liked the last 25% of the book because I felt like that was were there was the most character growth, I just wish that had been more prevalent throughout the whole book. Overall I liked reading it and if anything I felt a little sad that it didn't quite live up to the potential that was there. I wish the author had just gone for it and made the book more raw and dramatic.

4.5 🌟 For all those obsessed with early 2000s pop and boy bands, this is for you. I primarily read fantasy but books about fake celebrities are my kryptonite. The main character will not be for everyone, which is kind of the point. She’s very much a you love her or you hate her, or in some cases you love to hate her. She’s real. She makes mistakes like any child star does trying to grow up in the public eye. She reminded me a lot of Britney Spears or Miley Cyrus in her Can’t be Tamed era. For parents she is a nightmare. There is much discussion about her being a bad role model for her audience, which is something very relevant in today’s culture. I’m glad it was brought up. Her responses to the criticism were handled so well and is a good reminder that is it on a celebrity’s job to raise your child. Something I enjoyed was that our main character wasn’t a huge success right off the bat. She struggled to find her voice and make the charts. She was constantly being compared and pitted against her competitors, which happen to also be girls around her age. I appreciated the commentary on the double standards of male singers vs female singers. This book was hard hitting at times, but also so much fun! I loved all the 90s/early 2000s nostalgia. It is full of interviews, articles, and magazine quizzes that remind me of being a teenager and reading J-14 and Tiger Beat like it was my religion. This book felt like a trip down memory lane. It is a reminder of the pressures of being famous and that celebrities are people too. I really enjoyed the format of the epilogue. It gave me much needed closure!