Following the Britney memoir, Honey feels claustrophobic and right on the edge os seedy with the pitch perfect pop culture references,and too close to the truth. It has been compared to Daisy Jones but the uncovering of the history in a linear first person perspective feels closer to Evelyn Hugo to me, and I was pushing on despite the creeping unease of this reading experience as Amber's rise to fame (or more accurately, her endless pursuit of acceptance and love) is chronicled like an never ending merry go round. I don't know I enjoyed it about half way through because the constant male gaze made my skin crawl, however realistic it is, but I just couldn't stop reading it. And I am so glad I didn't, for the euphoria of Amber discovering her autonomy and voice finally eclipses the visceral references to desire for a thoroughly satisfying ending.

This book is so enthralling from the beginning to the end. The main character Amber was so likeable and her journey from a nobody to a superstar was well chronicled. Her love interests were described beautifully and just how a young girl would feel. The supporting characters all had a part to play in the book without taking over the storyline. I particularly loved the ending which was years later - a proper epilogue!

3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book a lot and very nearly gave it the full four stars. It's a shiny, fun, sometimes deep story about teen pop stars in the 90's/2000's. The characters are familiar if you lived through those times and there was a nostalgic air about the writing, for sure. There are male and female characters in the main story although it focuses on the females. They certainly get treated differently to the male stars and all the positions of power are held by middle-aged men. Mistreatment, and the pressure of fame at such a young age, are key themes in the book...and this is what led to my ultimate decision to not give four stars.
I felt that there were some punches pulled and that there were things left unexplored in the relationships that female stars have with their management teams, other stars, the media, and the fans. In this time of oversexualising young women and pitting them against each other, the public generally accepted it and didn't really question whether it was right or not - it was just part of the machine. I was definitely a part of that, devouring gossip magazines that had 'circle of shame' articles to call out less than flattering pictures, and salacious stories about fights/hook-ups. I think that more could have been written about how these things play out from the inside, but I appreciate that would have made for a much darker book.
The central coming of age theme is brilliantly written and rings true in terms of universal things that girls go through as they grow up and try to figure out who they are as opposed to who everyone is telling them they should be - in Amber and her friends case, it's literally everyone whereas non-famous girls just have to contend with their parents, peers, and magazines.

Took me straight back to the 90s and early 00s right back to being a little girl who idolised all the pop princesses like our lord and saviour Miss Britney Spears. Loved the inclusion of song lyrics, Wikipedia etc etc. It didn’t grip my attention from start to finish but it’s definitely an enjoyable read!

As someone who was growing up in the nineties, this took me right back and I loved it.

This was a quick, easy read and the author did a great job of capturing the 90s cultural references of the time.

The book is a work of fiction that reads like an autobiography and it so much more of an addictive read as a result of it.

I liked the reflection of media attention on young popstars at the time and just how damaging and impactful this could be.

I enjoyed reading about Amber as a character.

This was the perfect nostalgic throwback and I could not put it down

There was much about this I enjoyed, the treatment of women in media, the push in certain areas to pit women against women. At times I struggled to empathise with characters but overall this was decent read. (Copy received via Netgalley in return for an honest review).

I was really intrigued by the premise of Honey, not least because it is set in my era. The late 1990s and early 2000s was a period where I was just getting into music myself and Isabel Banta does an absolutely sterling job of recreating this time, particularly the pressure on popstars to look and behave in a certain way. As a young person, I may not have always recognised this, and I found it interesting to look back on these times in a different light.

Honey is told in the first person by Amber, and this gives the reader plenty of opportunity to get to know her and understand the way she is thinking and feeling at different points in her journey. I often felt sorry for her, and I ultimately wanted her to be happy. She's surrounded by some interesting characters, especially Gwen, Wes, Axel and Sonny, who all play an important part in her life and despite never hearing directly from their point of view, Isabel Banta gives us a good idea of what they are like, which helps us to sympathise (or not) with them and understand their motives.

I also loved the song lyrics, Wikipedia entries, magazine articles and quizzes which broke up the main text. These are absolutely spot on as I remember them and really helped to create the atmosphere of the time in the novel.

Isabel Banta is a debut author and I look forward to seeing what she does next!

At first I thought this was going to be another 'girl becoming famous and getting exploited' narrative but the author takes it in a much more subtle direction. I loved how Amber gradually gains self awareness and uses it to push her career in a different direction. The friendship between her and Gwen feels messy and real. I've read so many books where the female protagonist is punished for stepping outside her box so this was a refreshing telling. Interested to see where Isabel Banta goes next.

Honey takes you back to the late 1990’s and early 2000s when a multitude of strong female vocalists filled the pop charts - Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera are the names we remember as they challenged strait laced thinking with their carnality and tight, skimpy outfits and songs filled with sexual innuendo and references.

Yet, the challenge and sexuality brought by these young women and girls was for the majority controlled by white, middle class men of a certain age who ran and owned the record labels and industry. They pulled the levers, and the young women were often left to negotiate their own way through the maelstrom of fans and notoriety.

Honey is most definitely a coming of age and growth story, it explores that experience, not the predictable and known ‘Me Too’ theme but, the themes of being plucked from obscurity, of self-belief, of finding yourself and your voice, of friendship, of love, all amidst an industry that profits from sex and sexuality that judges and condemns the young women charting their way through it.

Amber is a teenager, desperate for love, affection, attention and approval. Abandoned by her father at a young age, she wants to be loved and wanted. And for her, the only route is her voice, and like many she sees fame and the music industry as the answer and the prayer.

Amber isn’t alone in her desperate desire for fame and success, and this is clear throughout the book but, what is special are the relationships and friendships she cultivates on her journey, in particular her friendship with her supposed Pop rival Gwen.

Honey is a great beach read, it will take you back to the heady Pop days of the 90’s and Noughties. You will want to listen to the bubblegum pop of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and maybe even the Spice Girls while you read and are transported to the heady and wild world of the famous and notorious!

Thanks to Bonnier Books, Zaffre and NetGalley for the arc of Honey by Isabel Banta in exchange for my honest and sincere review.

This book fell a little flat for me, unfortunately. Which is a shame, because I was so ready to love it.

‘Honey’ follows Amber Young, a young girl from New Jersey, who’s navigating the teen pop music scene during the late 90s-early 00s, as her career takes off.

I think this book did a great job of capturing that time period, and understanding what it must of been like to of been a teen icon at the time. These sort of teen stars tend to be the subject of deep fascination for many, including myself, so it was interesting to peel back the curtain and see the reality of what it might of been like inside of that fame maelstrom. The boybands with their gelled hair, the pressure on the girls to fit into a category of either being sexy or virgin-like so that they can be ‘marketed’, the gaping maw of the media ready to pounce onto any wrong move, and the strangely detached way that these young stars lived while so fully under the microscope of the world.

However, I just didn’t find myself very inclined to like any of the characters, and by the last 100 pages I was quite checked out. I didn’t find the story to be at all engaging anymore, not like it had in the first half of the book, and my attention kept wavering away from the page. I’d had my fill.

I did like the inclusion of song lyrics, Wikipedia pages, magazine and radio interviews ect.

Overall fun, and compelling, but, ultimately, despite brushing up against heavier topics, lacking the depth I was hoping for. However, if you grew up during the Britney/Christina/NSYNC era, the nostalgia alone might be enough to keep you entertained and engaged throughout the story.

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

I DNF Honey at 10%. I guess I went into Honey with some preconceptions: Daisy and the Six, Almost Famous, Britney Spears' Memoir. It just wasn't what I expected. It felt like a Young Adult book rather than an adult fiction. I found myself flicking forward to understand how the story was going to pan out really early in my reading and felt the story was flat and didn't peak my interest.

I'm sure others will love this book, but as a women who was a teenager in the 90s it didn't give me what I was looking for.

I was bathed in nostalgia reading this book. I loved it. It reminded of the early noughties - when Britney was at her zenith. I really loved this book and will continue to recommend it to everyone.
I just reviewed Honey by Isabel Banta. #Honey #NetGalley

What a rollercoaster of a story. Peeling back the layers of the pop idols. The fame, schedule, pressure and rivalries. It's not a pretty picture of what we expect from our stars.
From an early age wanting something different from her reality to the self destruction and ultimately happiness.
A book which will make you think about the music industry and pop stars in a very different light

I have just finished this book and I want to bottle this feeling of pure happy joy at the ending of this book,

Honey is a book which begins as something that feels like Daisy Jones and The Six crossed with I'm Glad My Mom Died as we are introduced to the character of Amber Young who we are told "broke up Gwen and Wes" creating a sort of mystery of how did things get to that point. We are then catapulted back to Amber's childhood where she tells the story of how she came to become a pop star, starting with when a talent agent happened to see her perform at a school talent show.

Amber very much is the titular honey and there are many, many, many men in this book that simply address her as "Honey". At times this is a difficult book to read as Amber is only 17 years-old when her singing career really begins and from the start her sexuality is not really hers as you see her record label manipulate her into essentially playing into the madonna / whore dichotomy: they already have young, virginal pop stars so they need Amber to be the whore. We see the small ways that Amber is seen not as a complete human and men find ways to touch her in seemingly innocent ways but also make jokes about her being "legal". There is a really sinister undercurrent to the book.

I didn't fully understand Amber's storyline with Wes as it was hoping but I think it was something which worked really well in the fuller context of the book as we began to see how Wes was just another pawn to industry whims but there was also a feeling by the end of the book that maybe Amber was really a full person to him either.

As the book progressed and we were able to see the ways that she reconceptualised the life that she had created as something for herself, I really enjoyed the story progression, I feel as though Banta did an incredible job writing this book as this is a story told in first person perspective and it really feels as though Amber matures as the years go by.

The ending of this book was absolutely fantastic and felt earned by the story that this book had been telling. I would have loved to spend more time with Amber but I think there is a certain message about the way that the lens shifts away from her as she is able to reclaim her story as something that it only for her and I can really appreciate that.

REVIEW
cw: alcoholism, objectification, misogyny, body-shaming, termination, queerphobia
In this coming-of-age story, it's 1997 and Amber Young has always wanted to be a singer. When she's offered the chance to join a short-lived girl group 'Cloud9', and soon after embarks on a solo career, she begins to discover the price of fame. Over several years, we follow her rise to fame alongside her friend and musical rival Gwen Morris, and Wes Kingston, a member of the biggest boy band in the world, 'ETA'

What a debut! I couldn't put this down. I empathised with Amber immediately and wanted to hug her so many times. She was such a likeable, yet fallible character. I found the commentary on the differences between how boy bands and girl bands were (and likely still are) treated infuriatingly realistic, from the objectification, and the focus on their weight to the manufactured fights and conflict. My heart broke for Amber when she was dating Wes. I've never understood the idea that pop stars need to seem 'available' or with the 'right' person in order to be marketable to their fans, yet it's still being perpetuated today. The parallels with real-life late 90s recording artists were obvious (at least to me) but worked really well and perfectly captured the era. I loved all of the references to 90s culture including TRL, the teen magazine Q&As, mall tours, and the Teen Choice Awards. It made me nostalgic for that time, that excitement for a new music video or magazine with your favourite singer.
The book also did a great job of showing the late 90s visceral consumption of female pop stars, and how their sexuality was used to exploit them, and subsequently vilify them. I found the commentary on middle-aged men in the press and music business pitting teenage girls against each other in their pursuit of money infuriatingly realistic. Even though I think the real-life pop stars this book is based on probably had much worse experiences, I'm glad that our fictional singers only mentioned a few predatory moments. Still, the author did an excellent job showing how these young pop stars could easily become beleaguered, and jaded.
The supporting characters were all well-observed. I loved Amber's friendship with Gwen, and the boyband dynamic of the members of ETA felt authentic. I loved Axel, the music producer. He was a good friend to Amber and the other singers and was such a sweetheart. There are a few relationship storylines interwoven and without spoilers, I was rooting so hard for both Gwen and Amber to get their respective HEAs.
I particularly enjoyed the way this book was edited. Including Wikipedia articles, song lyrics, and interviews added such a rich depth to the story. I felt like I knew these recording artists, and their music by the end. Despite the rage and frustration I often felt at the way the music 'machine' treated these young women (initially young girls), I loved the way the author showed Amber's development, as she slowly grew in confidence, learning to trust her own instincts, and finding her voice. I won't spoil the ending, but the way I squealed reading that final Wiki page? So happy.

Overall Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Heat Rating: 🔥.5

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own*

Favourite Quotes:

I’m interested in the differences between our groups. How they perform in long-sleeved turtlenecks, covered up like presents for girls to unwrap, while our paper is already discarded on the floor.

I’m starting to think that no unscathed kid has ever entered this industry. You have to have some emptiness, some cavity, that needs filling.

Sonny says Lolli is very happy. In fact, I’ve reinforced my own image. This is who I am, who I’ve always been. Being called a slut and a whore won’t impact my career. Haven’t I been called these things already? Notoriety is preferable to obscurity, hon. This is America’s favorite kind of foreplay.

"You have many things inside you to say.”
What a thing to hear, after a lifetime not hearing it at all. If he’s right, if there was a well inside me once, when did it run dry, rust over? When did I decide the water was all polluted?

“It’s really amazing,” she says sleepily.
“What is?”
“That we’re friends. An entire industry wants us to hate each other. Maybe we have, a little bit. But we also really love each other.”

“What did you want to be?”
“What I am now. I just imagined it differently.”
“Different how?”
“I imagined I would be happy.”

I watch them closely; these men, who have helped and hurt me in equal measure. They have both benefitted from my career, but we all pretend it’s the other way around.

I wonder if two people can really be happy if there’s no one else to see it.

Other men were pans straining in rivers for gold: I could be what they searched for. But I don’t want to be metal anymore.

I am the glass people press their hands against, but inside the tank, twirling in wonder, there is some other, fragile self.

It's fascinating how the book brought to light the contrast between our past perceptions of the entertainment industry and the discomfort we may feel now when reflecting on the experiences of young individuals within it.

The nostalgic elements of the book did resonate with me, however, the abrupt scene changes throughout the book threw me a bit.

The book picked up around the halfway mark and recaptured my interest. However, I'm sorry to say that I felt a disconnect with the characters and their stories towards the end. Not every book resonates with every reader in the same way, and that's absolutely ok

I really enjoyed this, the story of Amber growing up in the spotlight in the 90s, it was a total throwback to my childhood. I’m a 90s kid, and so many things in the book made sense.

I loved the friendship between Amber and Gwen, that is the kind of friendships that everyone should have at least with one person. Someone who is there when you need them, just a phonecall away at any time. I really felt bad for all the young characters in the book, Amber, Gwen, Wes, and the rest. It was like living back through the likes of Britney, and Cristina Aguilera etc, being sexualised at a young age, being made to do so much more than they should have.

If you like throwback reminiscent stories with a load of drama thrown in for good measure, you’ll like this one.

This was a wonderful character study drenched in infamy and scandal – unpicking the glitz to show the grit beneath. I loved how this was a tale of reconnecting with an inner artistry and unlocking your voice.

I really wanted to like this book as the premise is brilliant. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. The characters weren’t likeable or well developed. I stopped reading at 30%. Thank you for the opportunity to try this book.

As someone who came of age in the early 00s, the premise of this book intrigued me from the start. The book offers a vivid portrayal of Amber Young's rise to fame as a pop star in the late 90s and early 2000s. Amber's journey, from a small-town girl to a member of the girl group Cloud9, and her experiences navigating the tumultuous music industry, were both engrossing and nostalgic.

The narrative delves into the darker aspects of celebrity life, highlighting the intense media scrutiny and personal struggles that young stars often face. The friendship between Amber and Gwen, another pop star, is particularly well-developed, offering a poignant look at the complexities of relationships under the spotlight. Gwen and Wes, who are also prominent figures in the music industry, add layers to the story with their public relationship and interactions with Amber.

Banta does a commendable job of capturing the era's atmosphere, effectively transporting readers back to a time when MTV's Total Request Live was a cultural touchstone. The book explores significant themes such as the objectification of female artists, the impact of public opinion, and the struggle for personal agency within a highly controlled industry. Amber's infatuation with Wes and the resulting drama adds tension, providing a realistic portrayal of the challenges faced by young celebrities.

However, while the book effectively captures the atmosphere and pressures of fame, it occasionally felt a bit predictable. The plot twists, especially involving Amber's romantic entanglements and career struggles, sometimes lacked the depth needed to keep the narrative fully engaging. The linear structure, though clear and straightforward, left little room for surprises, which may have contributed to this predictability.

Overall, this is an insightful read for anyone interested in pop culture and the behind-the-scenes realities of the music industry. It's a nostalgic trip back to a time when pop stars ruled the airwaves, offering a fresh perspective on their often-overlooked personal struggles. this is a solid exploration of the highs and lows of pop stardom, deserving of three stars.