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!

Coming of age story for a pop star. It was interesting to read this book. You’re in the mind of a young pop star as she grows up in the lime light. It was a good read even if a bit boring.

For fans of Daisy Jones and the Six, this is the story of Amber Young and her rise to fame as a teenage pop star

I love story with multimedia approach to telling a story. There’s interviews, magazine articles, and song lyrics to help tell the story. I could see some of my favorite pop stars as a kid in these characters. It was slow at times, but i enjoyed the story.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

As someone born in 1990 and who grew up during the rise and fall of boy bands and pop princesses I wanted to love this book. The premise sounded amazing and I was so intrigued however I found it kind of dull. It all just seemed to fall flat for me. There was something about the writing that just did not do it for me. I will say I found the last half of the book much better. Parts of it did make me feel like I was in the early 200s so that was done well. Also I liked to try to imagine what pop start each girl represented while I was reading. I feel like the story had so so much potential but it left me wanting more but not in a good way.

This nostalgia-rich book was a fun ride but at some points it was almost TOO much and it pulled me out of the storyline because I was continually trying to tie in the real life equivalent. Overall - solid read, but maybe not my favorite.

A fantastic read! Reminded me a little bit of a Taylor Jenkins Reid story, in case you're into her books. A talented singer trying to make it in the industry experiences all sorts of trials and tribulations throughout her career. The story will capture your interest right from the start.

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I wanted to love this. I wanted the drama of 90s-2000s pop stars. And this didn’t deliver for me. I felt like absolutely nothing interesting happened and this could have had way more. I wanted addicting. I wanted glitz and glamour and this fell flat.

Also, I discovered just how much I dislike song lyrics in my books. There was a lot of that here.

Born in the 90s and a 00s girly through and through, it was a no brainer that this was a book I needed to read. This was such a great book and put me in mind of the rising stars during that time, and gave a little more insight into their lives and lifestyles and made for an entertaining read.

I absolutely loved this one. I thought it was done so well and I just pictured Britney Spears the entire time. It was so interesting and addictive but also dealt with deeper topics like sex, feminism, the over specialization of young women, and success as a woman in any industry compared to that of a man. The 90s and 2000s vibes were immaculate as well.

Feels like I am supposed to be reading like a Britney/Christina/Jessica Simpson diaries?

Felt a little flat for me.
Fun though!

This book was just okay for me. It had so much potential and I was excited about it because 90s pop star, hello! But I just felt like it fell flat for me.

I listened to this on audio and Brittany Pressley did an amazing job, but I didn't really connect with the characters and felt like the book and relationships of the characters were not complete. I was left feeling like I needed more.

I also have come to realize, I do not like song lyrics in my books. Most of the time I just skim over them (if physically reading) or tune them out on audio.


I definitely felt this book had a lot of potential, but unfortunately it was lacking and left me wanting more. Ultimately, this book is forgettable and probably won't recommend much.

I absolutely loved the quotes in this book. It was beautifully written for a time based in the 90's about a girl names Amber who was a rising pop star. Her life changed after joining a pop girl group. I enjoyed this book and will recommend to my friends and family.

I absolutely loved this book. It definitely gave early 2000s vibes and I wish I could listen to ambers music in real life. Not only was it a fun read but it also brought up some difficult conversations and made me truly root for amber.