5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Honey is addictive, a bit terrifying and having just finished I almost want to go back to the start and read it again.

I loved the writing style, being in the head of a female serial killer as she justifies her actions and fights her urge to kill was perfectly mixed in with the relative normal day to day of her university life.

Yrsa was a compelling character, she was almost likeable, if incredibly brutal and calculating, although her turmoil over Felix showed some small trace of humanity (just not much). I also found Candice terrifying.

The ending of this one will be living rent free in my head for a long time, it was chilling.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Australia for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Female serial killer!? Need I say more? This was epic!!! The controversial topics this book covers was amazing! I loved it

Hot girl homicide!!! This book was unhinged and I devoured it. It was very reminiscent of My Sister, The Serial Killer.

The novel follows Yrsa, a PhD candidate who studies and teaches sociology at Cambridge, as she balances the relentless demands of academic life with a far more unsettling ambition. Beneath her scholarly composure lies a fervent desire to rid the world of predatory men. She's so incredibly real for that. Me too, girl. With each act of violence she commits, the psychological intensity of the narrative deepens, revealing the moral fractures beneath her justification.

The book resists easy categorisation. It operates as a dark crime thriller generally, but it also interrogates complex questions surrounding justice, power, and morality. I loved how it shed some light on and explored the intersections between politics, race, sex, violence and love through the eyes of a female serial killer. It was a fresh and unique take. These themes are deftly explored through classroom discussions and Yrsa’s interactions with her students, where theory and lived experience collide in provocative ways.

Imani Thompson crafted a fresh, witty and structurally assured novel. The characters are convincing; eccentric at times, sure, but grounded in emotional realism and the overarching narrative stays tightly controlled. The dialogue is sharp and intelligent and well suited to the academic environment it inhabits. I always appreciate it when the narrative voice suits the style and story of a book.

Honey is a compelling and thoughtfully written book overall. Some of the academic passages feel overly dense, sluggish and slowed the pacing a bit, but the novel largely sustains its tension and intrigue. I was hooked the whole time, which I often don't find with thrillers like this. I will say that the ending felt somewhat abrupt and insufficiently resolved which, along with the pacing issues, is why I'm giving it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Nevertheless, this was a really fun and albeit lowkey relatable (not like that, I promise!!!) read and it's likely to resonate with readers drawn to contemporary fiction that blends crime, psychological thriller and mystery, along with a witty, critical lense on societal issues.