3.5 rounded down.

This book was enjoyable and I appreciated the Birds Eye view into the life of a 90s/00s pop star. I did find the prose a little clunky and the time jumps between section/chapters made me struggle to read it. If it wasn’t for that I would have enjoyed it more.

I did really love watching Amber mature and I think the relationship between her and Gwen was the star of the show. I was so happy to see the author embrace a positive female friendship. I also really enjoyed the end where we don’t necessarily see everything but knows where she ends up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon books for an ARC.

Honey!! is a work of art!! This book is a must read for any millennial who grew up loving pop culture. Honestly, there is something here for people of any generation who find themselves drawn to grocery store magazines and Top 40 radio.

This time of pop culture is so ~specific~ and Isabel Banta captures it perfectly!! I was 8 years old listening to Backstreet Boys, and 12 years old watching Britney and Christina on the covers of magazines. While the characters are fictional, this book is a sharp reminder of the way we, as a society, were nothing short of cruel to the pop stars we claimed to idolize. The characterization is bold, the writing is honest, and I was crying by the end!!

For lovers of Taylor Jenkins Reid and MTV, this book will truly send you back in time. Gorgeous gorgeous debut by Isabel Banta!!

Thank u thank u thank u Celadon Books for my copy!!!

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked Honey. As someone who was a preteen - teen during the years the book takes place, I enjoyed the pop cultural nostalgia. But what really made this book stand out was a sensitive portrayal of the major figures at the heart of it. I enjoyed going along Amber's journey, and I enjoyed how some tropes and things I expected did not turn out as planned. I recommend this to fans of "Sweetbitter" or "Open Book" - or fans of both!

If you loved the Britney memoir, this is the novel for you. If you hated the Britney memoir because you wished it had better quality writing, this is even more the novel for you.

A book hasn't smacked me so hard in the face with its opening pages since True Biz. A book hasn't made me go "wait this is a debut?!" so loudly since The Henna Artist.

This is a dripping, oozing treatise on young women's sexuality and how badly we treated it, with equal parts commodification and disdain, at the turn of the millennium. It so perfectly captures the pop music and culture, I would call it the first true Y2K historical fiction I've ever read.

Even in the midst of all its deeply physical sexuality, the memoir-like first person prose is also highly introspective and poetic.

Though the later parts of the book felt a little anticlimactic, I can't criticize those choices too much because I believe they come from the author treating her characters more kindly than the music industry and celebrity culture treated our real life pop idols. This isn't a depiction of dire cruelty and spirals out of control. It's a much more positive and empowering coming of age imagined for a Britney-like figure.

This books takes me back to the 90’s between the songs and how things were in that era! Amber’s story from auditions and trying to keep at least one friend super hard vs making more is so relatable. She didn’t have a lot of support and didn’t have a helicopter mom like the tie girls.
This story is well written. The author took so much time to develope amber’s character. I really liked to!

Honey is perfect for fans of Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau and The Woman in Me by Brittany Spears. It’s got all the components—famous female lead, coming of age, female friendships, and even some romance. The writing was well done but admittedly I did not love the periodic excerpts with interviews and song lyrics. It broke up the story awkwardly and didn’t make sense with the placement.

I keep gravitating towards these types of books, but never fully fall in love with them. I think a main reason for that is the book just focused so much on sex. I wanted to know more about Amber and find new depths to her as she grew up, but all we got was her talking about sex. While she very much felt like a one dimensional character to me, I will but the disclaimer that she did have character growth in other areas. For one, she started to stand up for what she wanted more of (which really was just more songs about sex lol). The main redeeming part of this story was her relationship with Axel. I just REALLY wish we got more of them, especially since Wes got so much of the book.

If you followed the careers of Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, and the popular boy and girl groups of the late 90’s/early 00’s, this book will probably be enjoyable for you. It was a quick read and several events and settings felt nostalgic.

Was the writing amazing? Eh, not really. The characters felt fairly flat and I can’t say I had strong feelings about any of them by the book’s ending. However, this would be a great beach read for a millennial looking to reminisce on the pop stars of their youth.

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

3.5 ⭐️
I really liked the premise of this book, but found that it left me wanting just a little bit more. The story was really interesting for the first half and I did like the ending, but I felt like there was a piece missing-- not sure if it was the fact that the writing itself was a little stilted or that the plot kind of circled around the same 2-3 things without a lot of variety for the second half. However, I thought it was a unique story, and definitely made me reflect on how we treated real-life pop stars in the early 2000s (and now). I did really like this, and would even read another book from the perspective of one of the other "it" girls that were highlighted.

Thank you to Celadon and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

SYNOPSIS
- Honey is a biographical style story of Amber Young, an aspiring singer.
- Young chronicles her life beginning with childhood auditions and her roots, then a teenager being recruited into a girl group, and finally, a young adult trying out singing as a solo artist.
- Basically, we watch as she rises to become a young & famous pop star in the late 1990s & early 2000s.

MY THOUGHTS
- Coming-of-age story.
- Nostalgic. Millennial readers will be reminded of pop idols of their childhood. Think Britney Spears & Christina Aguilera.
- Love how it captured the culture of the time period.
- Told from Amber’s POV & in biographical style. There’s intermittent media pieces at the end of some chapters - song lyrics, headlines, article blurbs, & wikipedia entries.
- Solid writing. Interesting portrayal of Amber coming into her sexuality.
- Overall, I would say nothing major happens. Interesting observations.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫3.5 stars. nostalgic + coming-of-age story. millennial readers will enjoy. nothing major happens, but good writing & interesting observations.

Thanks to Celadon and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on June 25, 2024.

Loved the nostalgic vibe and I especially loved how some chapters had radio interviews, song lyrics, and even quizzes you would see in J-14. The pacing was a little bit uneven, but I still finished this quickly. Great beach read option that isn’t a romance. 3.75 rounded up to 4

“Honey” follows the story of Amber Young as she navigates the music industry in the late 90’s / early 00’s. From her start on Star Search, to joining a girl group (albeit briefly), to clawing her way as a solo artist. Subtle nods to Britney, Christina and Jessica.

I truly wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. It had great potential - nostalgia of the 90’s / early 2000’s pop era but really only scratched the surface for me. I didn’t find myself rooting for the characters. I didn’t feel any hurt or angst. For me this book was good, but not great.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

“Notoriety is preferable to obscurity, hon. This is America’s favorite kind of foreplay.”

“America is depraved and crazed, so it can’t get enough. It digs its teeth into her.”

If you have read Britney Spears’ book or were at the age to witness her meteoric rise, and the subsequent rise of many other young blonde girls alongside her, then you will devour this book. It’s like taking a peek into that time when grown men were telling 16 year old girls to be sexy. Oooh but not THAT sexy. Be desirable. But oooh no, not slutty. Be confident but yikes, don’t be a bitch. Because if you do ANY of these things no one will like you/your label will drop you/you will be trashed in the media/your career will be over. Exhausting, right?

This was quite a page turner and was just such an eye opening peek into what those poor girls’ lives must have been like back then. If you were ever sucked into that 90’s boy band and pop star drama, I’m certain you will love this book too!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Celadon Books, and the author for this gifted copy of 𝑯𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒚 that I buddy read.

As an elder millennial music lover, this book spoke deeply to me. I am really appreciating the way that there has started to be a surge of material, books, fiction and nonfiction, exploring the ways that we treated the late 90s/early 2000s pop princesses, and, by extension, women and girls at that time. Amber experiences so many problematic encounters and ridiculous media commentary on her choices, her body, etc., that her music is a secondary part of her career and story. I really appreciated what they did with her friendship with Gwen, fighting back against the stereotype that there's only room for competition. Music themed fiction is always absolute catnip for me, and this one excelled.

What a fun, bingeable read! Miss the 90s days of MTV actually playing music videos and TRL episodes. What a sense of nostalgia reading this!

Loved the whole concept of this book, but the end did feel abrupt. Though the Wikipedia was a good summary, I was dying for more juicy romance details!

Thank you Net Galley, Celadon Books and Isabel Banta for this ARC! Will continue to watch for future Banta books!

Honey is a book very reminiscent of the 90’s pop era. It just resonated with me and brought on feelings of nostalgia. I loved the coming of age journey and following the characters through the different stages of their lives until they make it in the industry. It was fun to see all the behind the scenes and that it's not all rainbows and butterflies.

I really enjoyed the characters. I thought they were fun and were just trying to find themselves in an industry where it's pretty much cutthroat. They felt real, their reactions and the way they acted was truly valid. I loved the relationships they formed, that they weren't always easy, that growing up with all that pressure can't be easy and is demanding on teenagers. The industry is brutal and I couldn't help rooting for them!!

I thought it was great that the book was split into parts, that there were song lyrics, interviews, articles and emails. It made the book more engaging.

✨️Thank you to @celadonbooks, @macmillanaudio & @isabelbanta for my gifted ARC & ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! This one really surprised me. I was expecting a decent book but I was actually hooked on how good it was. It felt like the author carefully chose every word going into detail in some scenes and skipping over others where you may have expected more from others almost as to say ‘this happened and you should know but I’ll spare you the details’.

The premise follows Amber Young and her rise to fame as a singer. It’s mostly about her navigating celebrity, friendship, relationships all while in the gaze of the public. They also go into her experience with the labels and managers and how she’s had to deal with them, good bad or indifferent. Overall, this is mostly a story about friendships that really know you on the inside. Like I said. I loved it.

Thank you for NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

wow! i was not expecting for this to make me as emotional as it did. following our main character, amber young, from her childhood to adulthood rising to fame as a popstar in the late 90's/Y2K era felt like such a journey. i definitely feel the inspiration from the pop idols i religiously worshipped growing up in this book and the author did such a great job depicting what life was like back then.

for amber, it was brutal. the industry exploited these young girls to fit whatever image the label wanted to in order to make money. it was tough seeing the blatant sexism and misogyny, but it was relevant at the time. i remember reading headlines and articles bashing my favorite popstars the same way amber had experienced in this. she became a sex symbol at such a young age, discovering herself and her sexuality in front of the whole world, which of course steered the direction of her career. we follow her dating life, her own personal struggles, the way every choice affected those around her and the way she saw herself. there was more emotional depth to this than i thought there would be and it only made me sink further into this book. i couldn't stop reading!

i really enjoyed the characterization in this. i know the writing style may not be for everyone, but it worked for me. the author's use of metaphors and the prose overall humanized amber and you quickly learn to empathize with her struggling to identify herself differently than the way the world looked at her. many decisions about her career and life weren't made by her and she was helpless to do anything but follow if it meant her dreams coming true. i absolutely adored the friendship she had with gwen in this - it's what made emotional! at times, they were all each other had. they were the only ones who truly understood what the other was going through and i loved that the author allowed these two popstars to support each other rather than make them enemies (like the tabloids did). i also did adore the slow burn romance because the way amber handled it was a culmination of how much growth she had since the beginning of the book. it was done so well!

this was such a great debut and i highly recommend it! i loved the nostalgic vibes and the passion for music as well. really enjoyed this one! it comes out june 25 2024!

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!