I was hoping to love it, but this was OK. It geared a little YA-ish, which isn't bad, but I wasn't looking for that. Seemed to be loosely based on Britney Spears life and lots of 90's references, which was fun! Didn't love the characters, and I need more likable characters . Good debut, and I will be interested in more this author writes!

I enjoyed this but definitely think it had the potential to be a little richer in terms of depth. It felt a little bit of an echo of Daisy Jones and the Six and Britney’s “The Woman in Me” but without the spark and dynamic main character of Britney or Daisy. Amber was just so blah and I can’t quite figure out why because her backstory should have sparked grit or anger or something! Wes was also obnoxiously boring and when most of the book relies on the reader caring about a love triangle, the characters have to be able to carry it through. I would have liked to see a deeper discussion about the misogyny of the industry and the insane pressures but it was mostly just glossed over. The cover is eye catching and it is enjoyable enough but I think it could have been more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon books for the advance electronic copy. All opinions are my own.

This is a well written coming of age story. It reminded me a lot of On the Come Up by Angie Thomas which is also a wonderful coming of age story. So if you enjoyed that I would say you will likely enjoy this as well.

Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for the eARC of Honey. All opinions in this review are my own.

I was very excited about the concept of this one, but I feel like everything was very surface level. Maybe this is intentional because it is a comment on how pop stars are only know for their stage personas and not the person behind it, but I struggled to finish this one.

Really nice!! It reminded me a bit of Daisy Jones & The Six , but more Britney Spears. A very fun read.

This book was just so so for me. I really liked the fresh insight into pressures of celebrity culture on young women. I felt there wasn't enough meat to the plot and was ultimately bored, listening to it at a high speed.

This was an enjoyable read! I think the way it is marketed as a coming-of-age story of a young singer navigating the nineties and noughties’ pop music era was very accurate & fans of Daisy Jones & The Six (including myself) would be pleased. Learning about the song production process throughout was also interesting and it felt very well researched on the part of the author.
Though I enjoyed Amber’s character development, I felt as though some aspects of her storyline fell flat. Some of Amber’s interactions lacked depth and it made it hard to become invested in any other characters.

I loved this book so much(4.5). One of my favorites of the year. My only regret with it is I didn’t read it sooner. The cover is beautiful. I loved reading about the evolution of Gwen and Amber. Their friendship and their individual journeys as well. The girlhood of it all. I really enjoyed the authors writing style. Her use of descriptive language. The similes and metaphors. I liked that after it all Amber and Gwen got their happy endings. I’d definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sharing this with me.

I really loved this story. It was like living back in the 90's during the Britney and NSYNC days. I would read more by this author.

Enjoyed this story and am glad I read it. Reminds me of the 90s pop stars. 3/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for the Arc!

This was an enjoyable read with a predictable storyline. The characters, especially Honey, are likable, though not particularly complex. The plot moves at a steady pace, but it lacks the depth or emotional pull that would make it more memorable. It’s a good book if you’re looking for something easy and heartwarming, but it doesn’t leave a lasting impression. The writing is straightforward, though at times it feels a bit repetitive for me. Overall, a pleasant read but not one that stands out from the crowd. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a coming of age story by a debut author. Amber is chosen to become a singer in a girl band and ends up successfully going solo. The time period is the 90s. We see her career and personal life as they unfold. As I read this I kept thinking about Britney Spears memoir and what we learned from her about what life was like behind the scenes for young singers and actresses. It was disheartening to once again see how young girls and women are treated. I liked the fact that another female pop star who Amber was often pitted against was actually a confidant and friend as they navigated their careers and lives. I will be interested to see what this author writes next.

Honey is the coming-of-age story of Amber Young, a singer who is scouted at a young age to join a girl group called Cloud9. It is the 90s, the era of girl pop stars and boy bands. We follow Amber's rocky childhood, her ups and downs, her relationships, her meteoric rise to stardom and her journey to self-valuation and ownership of her voice and her talent.
At many times heart wrenching, Honey addresses the objectification and manipulation of women and girls by the media, the double standard, tabloid lies, misogyny, power dynamics, and male control of the music industry. There is a nostalgic vibe as Amber's life is set against the events of the late 90s/early 2000s, which resonate with many of us.
I loved Amber's friendship with fellow pop-star Gwen and how they supported each other even when the media tried to tear them apart. I would have liked more time with Amber in her forties, more than just a Wikipedia article at the end. Honey is a well written, addictive and immersive music story.
Thank you to Celadon Books for an ARC to review.

this book was just ok. It was hard for me to get through and it fell pretty flat for me. This one just wasn't for me

DNF pretty early on, just couldn't get into this one. The writing itself was good, I just couldn't connect to this book.

Thank you net galley for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

“Honey” was a fun read about the development of a pop star. There were some sexy moments, but I found the story to be a bit choppy. It didn’t live up to a similar story that I loved “Daisy Jones and the Six”, but generally it gives you that vibe. I just didn’t grab a real emotional story from this novel and just found there to be some salacious moments that could be attention grabbing. I liked it fine enough, but it was not a favorite. 3 stars ⭐️ . Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy for review.

I had a tough time with this book, because I enjoyed it, especially once I really got into it and couldn’t stop reading after a certain point. What I really struggled with was the weird mix of prose and poetic verse - it can be done well and I’ve read some books that just weave the two together so seamlessly. This was not that. At times, the writing was choppy and frustrating. Sometimes beautiful and poetic, while other times, it felt like it wasn’t even edited in places. That’s what really got to me. But I enjoyed the story. I enjoy the sex positivity, the girl power, the female friendships. I also really liked the nostalgic magazine quizzes and Wikipedia-style entries. It gave more context that would’ve been so weird written into the chapters. And I really felt good about the ending, though it did seem to all wrap up a bit quickly.

Overall, enjoyable read, with some weird writing quirks I didn’t love.

I love reading about famous people especially singers so I was very excited for this. I found it pretty boring and won’t be something that sticks with me.

I loved this book so much that I read it TWICE. The writing is GORGEOUS and the character arcs are lovely and the romance is a perfect slow burn. Honey has completely changed the way I think about celebrity gossip. On the edge of my seat, waiting for Banta's next novel.

I really enjoyed this novel about a young woman's rise to pop-music stardom in the late 1900s, early 2000s.

Amber Young doesn't have much going for her as a kid: Her dad left when she was a baby and started a new family, her mother has a drinking problem, and her grades aren't great. But, she can sing.

We go along for the ride as she experiences the hallmarks we've read about in real life: the sexual exploitation of young girls, competition with fellow young singers, first love with the member of the boy band she tours with, how she's portrayed in the media vs. her real personality, etc. It's interesting, emotional, and juicy. Amber deals with a roller coaster of issues which can, at times, weigh the narrative down. But her true friendship with her main singing competition and her connection to a producer do bring moments of joy and profundity.

While I did read parts of the eARC, I’d suggest listening to the audio because you get different narrators giving you entertainment “reports” throughout Amber’s narration. It's a neat feature. Banta's done a great job with this debut!

If you love the Britney, Justin, Christina, Jessica of it all, check this one out!