I just couldn’t get into this book or the storyline! I had to DNF this book sadly! Maybe I’ll try again at a different time to see if it’s a better fit for me then!

This book was PERFECTLY AMAZING from A to Z, loved the storylines, the characters! Thank you everyone at NetGalley and Isabel Banta for the ARC ♥

This is one of those books where I start reading and I just can’t stop, I didn’t want to stop. I loved Amber, I loved how imperfect she was. I loved how messy she was and how no matter how messy she was IRL, the media always made her out to be messier. It was such a good reminder that the media, the tabloids, are just looking for interactions and have little truth. I loved how she took ownership of herself, it’s not her job to censor herself for people’s kids and I like that she said that! Just a very good book, I’d definitely recommend it.

This reminds me of Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo but Popstar flavored and without the interviewer aspect. It didn’t grip me like that story did. I think it’s because I couldn’t tell what this was trying to say. Sometimes it would “expose the industry” and other times it would just gloss over things and say that in the end it was the artist’s choice. It was also very predictable which had me skimming a bit. Idk I felt like there wasn’t a clear message and not enough in the plot to keep me hooked either.

If you grew up in the 90s and early 00s, and were a fan of the pop groups at that time (or, like me, maybe still are), this book will bring back so much nostalgia for you. The writing style will remind you of reading an artist’s autobiography (think: Jessica Simpson and Britney Spears - ones that the author pulled her inspiration from).

Honey is a coming of age story about Amber “Honey” Young as she navigates becoming a pop sensation, growing up in the music scene, becoming a sexual icon, relationships and friendships, and everything that comes with being a star in the music scene.

The nostalgia was a huge part of why I was excited to read this, but the plot sort of fell short for me. I get that it was written to be in the form of an autobiography of sorts but told in the form of a story, but so much of it was about how whiney Amber was, her competition with best friend Gwen, and her constantly sleeping around with Wes (often behind Gwen’s back). Part of it was messy and chaotic and missed the mark for me, unfortunately.

If you remove that aspect of it, you will be transported back to your younger self in the 90s, and it’s lovely. I, personally, was just hoping for more of a story, and that’s ok too.

Thank you to the author, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

As a lover of the music scene, especially pop queens and boy bands, I loved this book! It made me so nostalgic for the 90s and early 2000s when I was growing up with posters all over my walls and magazines everywhere.

i love a good coming of age story and this was so unique. i loved the main character’s story and development throughout

This was a lot more introspective than I thought it would be. I expected bubble gum fluff but instead got beautiful and deep. Loved it.

I was so excited to receive this arc. Thank you to Celadon books and netgalley. Growing up in the 90’s this book was right up my alley. It was hard to get into at first with all the going on auditions info and her career just starting out just seemed to be in info dump. Once I got paced the first 25ish pages it really picked up and I was really enjoying it. I seemed to mirror Britney Spears and her relationship with Justin Timberlake in the early 2000’s.

Think… 90s/OOs Daisy Jones & The Six meets Britney Spears and Christina Aguleria.

If you’ve ever looked at 90s/00s pop stars and said I want to be INSIDE her mind… look no further. Honey gives you an inside look at the glitz, the glam, and the drama that comes with fame in the 90s. Amber Young starts her career as a child model/actor, moves on to a girl group and then eventually, a solo singing career. She navigates the cutthroat world of music, deals with fame, and tries to hold onto her true self and fleeting friendships. It's a rollercoaster of emotions, from the highs of sold-out concerts to the lows of industry backstabbing.

I have seen soo many middle ground/”eh” reviews of this one so I went in with pretty low expectations but it was soo good! Definitely gave me all the Daisy Jones/Songs in Ursa Major vibes but set in the 90s. I did connect a lot of it to Britney’s latest memoir but it didn’t detract from the story. I highly recommend this one for all 90s music lovers and Hollywood centered book lovers.

This book captured me from the very first page. It’s rare that I find a book where almost every character on the page is rich and complex and interesting, but Honey achieves this feat. I really loved Amber and how she grows throughout the book. I also have to shout out how grateful I am to the author for not making this book include a girl v. Girl rivalry for Gwen and Amber, but rather giving them a dynamic and real friendship that changes and grows with them. This book is mainly told from 1997-2003 and it uses the time so wisely— it uses time to help the characters grow and let situations develop, so nothing feels rushed. This may be my favorite read of 2024 so far.

It’s the late 90s, and high school student Amber lives in a cramped New Jersey apartment with her alcoholic mom and angsty brother. Her life is forever changed when she gets selected to join an up and coming girl group. Fast forward a few years and she’s a full-fledged pop star, Rolling Stone cover and all. But along with fame comes constant public scrutiny of her body, clothing and sex life. She loves to sing…but is being in the spotlight really worth it?

This story was very fun and will definitely appeal to both nostalgic millennials and Y2K-loving Gen Zs. Think of it as a novelization of Britney Spears’s song Lucky. And yet its take on these subjects is refreshingly modern. It avoids relying on lazy narratives of an innocent girl victimized by the industry or a feud between pop princesses. For instance, Amber balks at the objectifying way in which the industry sexualizes her, but she is also written as someone who is a sexual being and enjoys being sexy on her own terms. And she and the pop star who the media likes to cast as her chief rival are actually close and supportive friends. I love that this book also depicted some of its side characters as pop stars in healthy queer relationships hidden from the media.

Overall, this book was a lot of fun, while also raising important concerns about the way society treated famous women in the early 2000s. I’d recommend it for anyone who devoured Britney’s biography and thought, “gimme more.”

This book had so much potential. The main character, Amber, was interesting, but I didn't feel like I really got to know her. Everything that happened to her was just touched on and then the story moved on to the next chapter. I wanted more.

And the random articles and song lyrics, and excerpts were just out of place, and took away from the story, instead of adding to it.

Overall, it was easy enough to read. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a gifted ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐⭐⭐/5

This is not a typical book I would pick up, but I wanted to give it a try. The way Amber's character development grew really helped me to enjoy the book. Anddd the nostalgia of this book!!! I do have to say this book took me longer to get through than most. I feel towards the middle it kind of dragged out, but once I got to the end of the book I was really happy with the ending.

Honey by Isabel Banta is a coming of age novel about Amber Young, a teen pop singer and her rise to fame. It's set in the 90s and early 2000's and since I was about the same age as our MC, some of this was relatable and/or brought a bit of nostalgia. I found myself wishing I could actually listen to the music she (& the other musicians featured) sang--much like Daisy Jones and The Six. Though there was never a big WOW factor, it didn't need one and I really enjoyed reading this debut novel. I am looking forward to reading more from Isabel Banta.

This book was a pleasant surprise. Overall, I loved how Amber developed as a character throughout the course of the book. Because of how she was raised, I appreciated how at times she was an un-likable character as it made her character arc even more substantial. It was also cool to see the flavors of famous pop stars and bands embedded throughout the story. My 90’s kid heart was forever enthralled with this coming of age tale.

I'm an 80s baby that grew up in the 90s. #isabelbanta just took me on a journey that felt like an insiders view of my fave pop star princes and princesses. #Honey is Christina, Brit and Justin, Jessica, NSync, Backstreet ... the list could go on and on. I remember the stars being pitted against each other. Remember the fast romances and even faster declines. This felt like the rest of the story that those of us on the outside never got to be a witness to.

Thank you #netgalley!

I enjoyed this more than I had expected, this is not my typical read. This book hit me with so much nostalgia, I was obviously a huge fan of all female popstars in the 90s and I loved the fell of this novel. I love that this is popular again, 5 stars

Honey felt like a real, dirty and gritty representation of pop queens of the early aughts. Isabel Banta did not show the sparkling, glittery form of the Britneys, Christina’s and Jessica’s of her world but instead dove deep into what we now know those women faced.

First of all, Amber was a great MC. You could tell even from an early age how she was going to grow into her skin. She made the book feel real and raw and vulnerable. I loved being able to see her growing pains and the way she navigated her career, relationships and the media.

I also thought this was a great way to showcase how we know that famous women, especially teens and young women in their 20s were treated by media and the public in general. From paparazzi, to PR relationships, to their own families this book felt memoir esque instead of fiction. I loved the way it ended with Amber coming into her own and truly living her life.

I listened on audio as well as read and I really enjoyed doing that. The audio book is short and sweet but seeing the articles in the physical format was definitely worth it.

What an incredible debut novel! Isabel Banta draws you into this story from the very first page. We first meet Amber Young as a tween girl in the 90s with a powerful voice who is discovered at a school talent show. Over the next decade, the book follows Amber as her star rises. She meets two other pop singers early in her career, Gwen Morris and Wes Kingston, and her relationships with them become intertwined with her stardom.

This story might be about pop music, but the writing is rich and the characters multi-dimensional. I loved how the book juxtaposed the lightness and carefreeness you might see about a pop star in the media with the darkness and depth that could exist in their real world. Amber is such a real and raw character brought to life in this book.

I also really appreciated the theme of feminism in the music industry, which was interwoven throughout the story. Overall I cannot recommend this book enough. It is definitely in my top books of 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.