This sounded like something that would be my favorite book, but it sadly didn't work for me at all. The main character wasn't likeable, and while I normally am not bothered by reading about unlikeable characters, I found myself completely uninterested in the story because of how the MC was portrayed. I'm so disappointed this book wasn't for me.

I was intrigued by the description, but ultimately really struggled to get into this. I often do root for unlikable characters and have a soft spot for them, but it was hard to feel a connection to Jean and I ultimately didn't feel invested in her story. That said, I think the writer has a strong voice and that this might be someone's cup of tea - it just didn't happen to be mine.

This satirical story about Joan, an overprivileged drug addict trying to find her way in life was just too over the top for me. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting into this story or feeling anything for Joan and her wacky family and friends. This was a meandering tale of Joan’s life trying to write a book about her life. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This book was published in the US by Dutton on April 15th, 2025.

Ashley Winstead’s Bitter Texas Honey is a messy, biting, and darkly funny portrait of a “formerly” bisexual woman crawling through the wreckage of addiction, patriarchy, and self-delusion in search of—well, something. Set against the humid backdrop of Texas politics and family dysfunction, this novel follows Joan West, a would-be writer and former leftist party girl turned legislative intern, as she tries (and fails) to wrangle meaning from her chaotic life and half-finished novel drafts.

Joan is not the kind of protagonist who invites admiration—she’s obsessive, self-sabotaging, and desperate for validation, especially from men who barely earn it. Her hunger for literary greatness, filtered through the lens of male mentorship and artistic masochism, is both cringeworthy and painfully familiar. The novel’s sharpest moments come when Winstead skewers this dynamic, laying bare how patriarchal conservatism infects even the most radical of intentions. Joan is a woman taught to distrust her own interiority, and it shows.

The book teeters between satire and tragedy, and I mean that as a compliment. Winstead’s prose is feral and funny, stitched with wry internal monologue and sudden moments of tenderness that gut you. Joan’s addiction to Adderall is handled with nuance—never romanticized, always uncomfortable—and the threads of generational trauma and mental illness, especially through her cousin Wyatt, pulse throughout the novel like a quiet scream.

That said, the ending left me wanting. There’s something unresolved in the book’s take on artistic transformation—Joan’s recovery arc gestures toward healing without quite landing it. I wasn’t sure if the satire ultimately condemns or indulges Joan’s choices, and while that ambiguity is probably the point, I found myself craving more clarity. What does it mean to write your way out when the world keeps writing over you?

Still, Bitter Texas Honey is a feral little book with a big, confused heart. It’s for the recovering girls, the too-much girls, the girls who highlight their own breakdowns and call it research. Read this if you’re tired of tidy narratives about healing—and ready to wade into the murk instead.

📖 Read this if you love: messy femme narrators, dark humor laced with addiction and ambition, and books that blur the line between satire and sincerity.

🔑 Key Themes: Addiction and Control, Patriarchy and Artistic Legitimacy, Mental Illness and Family Estrangement, Writing as Obsession.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Drug Use (severe), Suicide Attempt (minor), Animal Cruelty (minor), Fatphobia (minor), Drug Abuse (severe), Alcohol (moderate), Racism (minor), Sexual Content (minor), Alcoholism (moderate), Child Abuse (minor), Ableism (minor - a particularly problematic character uses the R slur twice), Emotional Abuse (minor), Toxic Relationship (minor), Suicide (moderate), Sexual Harassment (minor), Grief (minor), Mental Illness (moderate).

I did some deep diving with this story, and really loved the journey that it took from the beginning writing process (the short story that started it all!) to where it ultimately wound up. Thank you for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I am working through my backlog, and will be momentarily posting reviews for the stories I have yet to get posted but have finished reading.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.
I couldn’t get into the story, or root for the main character. Sorry not sorry but her political beliefs weren’t for me. Being from Texas, I will always gravitate towards books set here, but unfortunately this one didn’t hit the mark. Stunning cover though.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. I was so excited when I saw this book was pitched as the same vibe as Royal Tenenbaums {one of my favorite movies} however it personally did not meet that expectation. The whole plot felt almost too political which isn’t something I usually like in books. Love the cover though!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This charming novel has smartly-written characters and will keep you laughing! Bitter Texas Honey is an impressive debut that explores friendship, family and grief in an entertaining and offbeat way. This story is perfect for fans of Jen Beagin and Coco Mellors.

Very well written, I found myself immersed in the book even though all the characters hard to relate to. If you are looking for a book with unhinged characters this is the book for you. I will absolutely recommend this to customers at our library.

Unfortunately, this story was more character-driven than I'd hoped/expected and I did not have enough interest in the character(s)/story line to continue. I read about 30% of this one and then put it down; I may pick it up at some time in the future, and loved the Austin/Texas references since it is my home state!

This one didn't quite work for me. While I don't mind political commentary in my stories in a more general context, this one was too specific. All the references kept pulling me out of the story.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for providing this ARC for my voluntary and honest review!

This was a tough one for me to get through. The author is clearly a talented writer and Bitter Texas Honey was filled with really successful satire. HOWEVER. The MC was so painfully unlikeable and had zero development. The storyline was repetitive and a bit too dark/over the top for me.

I thought I'd step out of my usual reads and try this different read. Unfortunately, I'm reminded by these books aren't really my jam.

First, I found Joan insufferable. She's a staunch republican only in that it felt like she regurgitated opinions that had been said around her. She's completely supported by family and "works" as an unpaid intern. She has the comfort of money and being white and pretty to insulate her from her awful drug addiction to Adderall and alcohol and all her political ideals that actually go against her own wellbeing. I don't find anything funny about addiction, being selfish and self-centered and insulated by a terrible family with money.

I kept thinking, with each chapter, that we'd see Joan get a harsh reality or wake-up call and she'd do some introspective work and become a marginally better person. Instead, I got all the way to the end still disappointed that she still found her life and her opinions so amazing that she deserved to be a published author - deserved it more than anyone else in her life or orbit. Ugh.

This is definitely a personal experience. If you typically read satire and terrible characters making equally terrible decisions, you might find this funny like others did. This was just not it for me.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Such a messy book for those that like to read their lit fic with some unhinged themes and messy vibes. This book was charged with political intrigue in my opinion, so be wary of that! But it was a fun time.

Bitter Texas Honey by Ashley Whitaker; not for me. I was expecting different vibes from the cover and blurb and unfortunately wasn't into it.

For stereotypical Texas conservative Joan , she was a character lacking conviction- she always seemed like she knew who she was but was still kind of lost. Described as a “hot mess”, our main character,Joan, starts mostly like an observer of her own life, without her own thoughts in her head. But Joan was still figuring out her own conservative ideals, balancing between her hypocritical and selfish behavior.

A talented writer that tries to write a main character with horrible belief system and terrible behavior behind it, which doesn’t quite land. So the overall novel feels confused on what it wants to do- are we writing this through the perspective of a conservative lens or that through a progressive lens to capture the hypocrisies of some modern conservative women? Being a character novel without a strong main character left the story a little flat; she needed to show a little growth or development for it to work. There were definitely hard to read moments, like the dismissiveness toward mental health.

Her family interactions were the most engrossing parts of the story; mostly when she ventures into interacting with her conspiracy theorist father a 1/3 of the way in. Based on the description, these moments should have been more integrated throughout the story. I haven’t seen Fleabag but I didn’t get any Royal Tenenbaums vibes though. It’s probably pretty hard to write a story when pretty much every character is horrid. The author definitely has a talent in writing, I would be interested to see what they do next. This just wasn’t the right story for me.

Well written, but tough to like or empathize with.

I think there was a point in time where a book like this could have been written and understood the way the author intended, but the politics of America as they currently stand make a story like this tough to swallow for many readers.

The protagonist, a non-religious Mitt Romney conservative, would not have been truly inherently problematic at the moment the story takes place, but in hindsight it’s tough to swallow and difficult to relate to given what this kind of thing has precipitated.

It’s hard to empathize with a protagonist who proudly stands on a value system that inherently lacks empathy, so the best you can do as a reader is pity her situation, which generally doesn’t feel like a successful reaction to elicit about a central character.

The fact that our protagonist (along with almost everyone in the book) is a severe addict really didn’t help. I’m not a fan of addiction narratives and if you are you’ll likely not mind this as much as I did, but I think either way it’s difficult to go along with the idea that EVERYONE present has serious substance abuse issues.

What the author got right and what saves the book is the relationship between the protagonist and her cousin Wyatt, and the fact that the problematic value system this family employs ultimately leads to tragedy because the characters won’t recognize that what Wyatt is struggling with is serious mental illness. As sad as the situation is, it’s also what redeems our otherwise deeply unlikable protagonist, as she’s the only person in Wyatt’s life who cares more about him than “how things might look” and is thus somewhat more able to accurately assess what is happening to him and what he needs.

It’s certainly a well-written book and the message is mostly on point, and the humor that is there is good. I think this needed to be funnier to be both more enjoyable to read and easier to empathize with. It’s a story that had great potential and maybe one we need to be aware of, but the true message of this (which for the record, is a good one) got muddled in the execution.

This is a case of it’s not you (the book), it’s me - but this just didn’t work for me. I appreciate satire but just found myself so annoyed by the main character that I couldn’t relax into the book at all and ultimately decided to dnf. Thank you to the publisher for the free book to review.

I thought this would be a fun, quirky book, but this was not what I expected. The main character isn't that likable (no matter your political affiliation). The premise doesn't describe the book's relationships, which is disappointing. I would have preferred if the book was more like the premise.

i loved this book at the beginning. the setting, joan's voice, and her world are so well captured and feel so consuming and real — but as the book progressed, i felt claustrophobic not only in the intended ways but in the lack of movement. the ending didn't change that, sadly. i will look out for future books from this author!