Honeybee by Dawn O’ Porter @harpercollinsuk a NetGalley review. Renee and Flo are best friends in search of how you become an adults and whereas an adult you fit in the world. Flo is still grieving for a her dad and Renee is lost in world where she’s trying to find her true self. I love this authors books, @hotpatooties is always great at blending tough subjects with comedy and this book is no exception. This story see addiction, grief and perimenopause and menopause being discussed, around a coming of age story, with that light hearted mix of comedy. The author s writing is like a breath of fresh air as she talks about these subjects with an honesty and rawness and as always never shys away from such subjects and because of that honesty the characters she writes about feel real, like someone you may know and about subjects you can relate to. Flo is vulnerable, she’s lost in a family that hasn’t really talked about the events around her fathers death, yet she’s brave and intelligent and incredibly focused but just needs to know in many ways that she is loved by her mum. Renee is vivacious, on the outside she is confident and fun yet again she is vulnerable, trying to transition from being a teenager to an adult, expecting adulthood to click in automatically with all the dreams you thought would come true when you were a child. Renee thinks she should be one thing but surprises herself when she finds the person she’s comfortable with. Yet Renee is so much stronger than she thinks and is adulting before she even knows it. As well as being incredibly funny this book has its rude naughty side and its serious side and this is what makes it an enjoyable read, laughing one minute and reaching for the tissues the next but because of the way it’s written it’s more of a laugh out loud read. The only thing for me is that I wish that was perhaps more from certain stories in the book, for example more from Renee’s auntie Jo and what she was going through and perhaps more from Flo and getting over what she was going through (without giving anything away), in many ways it ended to soon. I will definitely recommend this to family and friends and it’s a easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me 📚

I found this a difficult review to write as, although I quite enjoyed the book, I wish I had known it was the third in a series, I found it a challenging stand alone.

The book centres around two young friends; Flo and Renee, who meet back in their hometown of Guernsey after not speaking for quite some time.

Renee dreams of becoming a writer, but, her dream isn’t progressing and Flo has a secret…

It’s well written and I think had I read the earlier books in the series and/or I was a female in my 20’s reading it, I’d have enjoyed it more. As it was I found the young characters frustrating and irritating at times, but, I was saved by the elderly neighbour, Lillian.

Overall, it’s a good, easy, funny, well written read. I’d just recommend the others in the series first.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the opportunity to preview and I wish the author every success as I believe this will have a wide audience.

This was a very easy & enjoyable enough read about friendship, grief & loss. About finding yourself & learning from your mistakes while navigating adulthood.
I will be honest though I could not relate to either Renee or Flo and found them quiet frustrating, I did like the older women though.
Overall an enjoyable just not really for me.

A cute coming of age read focused mainly on the friendship between Flo and Renee. The book also gave a good feel of the island of Guernsey.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Honeybee by Dawn is a story about two 22 year old friends Renne and Flo who were raised on the Island of Guernsey though the friendship drifted apart as they left the Island.
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However for different reasons they have both come back to Guernsey to live and hope to spend the summer of 2001 together and become adults.


For those of you who don’t realise this Honeybee is a follow up book to Paper Aeroplanes and Goose!. Although I have seen some reviews saying it should be stated that the books are connected and it should be advertised as such.

As a reader who has not read the previous books which I am not the target market for, I can see why they did it. So this is a review by someone who has not read the previous books.

Of the two leading Characters Flo and Renee, while it took me time to get to know them, it was daily easy to work out whose perspective the story was being told from most of the time.

With each character having their own definitive story line, which allows readers to get to know them.

At this point I need to add that the story does deal with a number of issues such as the death of a parent (in an historical sense) and addiction.

While none of these subjects are done in a way for shock value and are treated with care with the addiction one being very profound.

Another Joy of the novel was the Friendship between Flo and Renne. Some of the scenes were very funny and did make me laugh out loud.

The story is set in 2001 when the main characters are 22 and the major event 9/11 brings the climax to the novel. Showing how this event even had an effect on a small Island.

There are times when novels use major historical events as a backdrop to the novel which fails to have the impact the novelist helps.

But in this Dawn O’Porter used the event as a key point to the story where everything changes.

All in all, while Honeybee by Dawn O’Porter may not be an all time classic it is still a great story of friendship and change.

For best friends Renée and Flo adulthood isn't all it's cracked up to be. They soon discover that sticking together is the key to living their best lives. An easy read with enjoyable characters.

I had no idea this was a third instalment to an established series!

I’ve read Dawn O’Porter’s other works but haven’t made it to Paper Aeroplanes.

Luckily, you can get stuck into this one without the context of the other two books and no trouble following the history between Renée and Flo.

It captured the strange in between of finishing university and suddenly trying to juggle still being young but having to now be an ‘adult’.
As well as touching on a lot of other very tough subjects.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.
3/5 ⭐

As my first book by Dawn O’Porter, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I’m not sure if I was the target audience. That being said it was an easy read, and I did enjoy being transported into the lives of Renee and Flo who in their early 20s have just returned to the island of Guernsey form which they both seem to want to escape. To say their lives are a little messy and that they get themselves into a few scrapes would be an understatement. I love the older women in the novel - perhaps because I have more in common with them -who are dealing with their own problems of menopause and grief. Overall an enjoyable read and I’ll be looking for other books from this author. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for an honest review.

This book was an interesting book about friendship and loss grief. It has good pace and flow. I would recommend.

I really enjoyed this book, I think it was a really interesting mediation on friendship, loss, grief and finding yourself. would definitely recommend

After enjoying Cat Lady, my expectations for this were high, but I ended up feeling a bit let down.

When the story opened in 2001 with two 22-year-old girls, I thought we’d follow their lives up to the present day, when that didn’t happen I was a but put off. I can see how many people might find these characters relatable, but as someone in their 30s, I lost interest by the end.

I would have loved to see how their lives turned out later on. Not knowing the characters from Paper Airplanes or Goose, where they were in their teens, probably didn’t help my investment, either.

I’m also unsure who this book is aimed at. I don’t think 22 year olds would fully appreciate the message here, and older readers might just find themselves frustrated by these characters and their decisions after 300+ pages.

Overall, it was a steady read but didn’t quite hold my attention.

I loved Cat Lady. so much. of course i was excited to read another Dawn O'Porter book. but sorry this wasn't it for me...

basically this book is about figuring out and navigating adulthood, making mistakes, being lost in the process. but the cheating part annoyed me so much. like girl wtf were you thinking??? the resolution of it all also felt underwhelming. like by over 90% mark everything was still messy, and suddenly it's over.

i also hate the fact that the cheater man could get away with it?? poor his wife. it was mostly fucked up, even for the sake of learning from mistakes. so sorry i didn't enjoy this book as much as i hoped.

Thank you for approving me to read Honeybee! I've read and loved all of the author's previous novels but this one just didn't quite work for me. Although it follows two women - Renee and Flo - who are in their 20s it felt like it was written for a younger audience in many ways. It felt like the two women were still teenage girls and I couldn't relate to that. It felt like there wasn't a lot of nuance and although they were dealing with some difficult things it felt like it was handled on quite a surface level. I'm sad that this didn't work for me but I will definitely read more by the author in the future.

Had a lot of fun and thoroughly enjoyed this brilliant novel
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

In much the same way as with all of Dawn's books, I was a bit repulsed by Flo and Renee and very early on I was reminded that Dawn (or her editors) don't label female genitalia correctly but as with Cat Lady and So Lucky, I moved past that very quickly and soon fell for them both. I haven't read Paper Aeroplanes (I gather these characters appear in that) and was a bit confused with the timelines, Renee and Flo are at the very edge of Gen X in the early 2000s, and I am probably a little older than the story's target audience.

Alcohol dependency, bereavement, grief, relationships and feeling out of place in society are key themes, and they were introduced in a slightly offhand, superficial way until suddenly they each hit you round the head with a mallet - nicely done.

All in all, a little love story to Guernsey, to enduring friendship, the combatting of challenges and a really touching way to deal with the end of relationships. It's great - but I will harp on about calling a vulva a vulva until that one lands!

It's a 4 1/2 out of 5 for me.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This was an interesting read. I'd say, especially for people who are trying to find their way in life. How to navigate and to realise you're not a complete screw up, even if it looks that way. It's a raw and real story of how we as women face challenges along the way. We might think we are alone in it, as people don't like to talk about or show the non-instagrammable stuff in life. But really, we're all going through the same things, maybe in slightly different ways. It's the perfect book to read if you're unsure about your life and also a good read when you do think you have your life together. Also, after reading this I'm longing for a visit to Guernsey!
⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Multiple POVs/Timelines
Island life
Troubles in life

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘯é𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘭𝘰, 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥.

𝘙𝘦𝘯é𝘦’𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘍𝘭𝘰’𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘱?

𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳… 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘙𝘦𝘯é𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘍𝘭𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 – 𝘪𝘧 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

Dawn O'Porter is now my go to read. I love reading about female friendships and I think she explores this perfectly in this third installment. I laughed a lot and love love love her witty writing style. Can't wait to read more from this author.

I have loved all of Dawn O’Porter’s books over the years and was thrilled to receive a copy of her latest ‘Honeybee’. Having read ‘Goose’ and ‘Paper Aeroplanes’ I was familiar with the characters of Renée and Flo from the island of Guernsey.

The novel opens with the girls (now women) attending the funeral of a girl from their year group at school. Renée and Flo drifted apart years earlier after a falling out so this funeral brings them together once again. It is a tale of female friendship and how ultimately, we are all winging it.

I love the frankness of O’Porter’s writing. She tackles topics we need to read about and become more able to talk about- addiction and menopause to name but two.

It was nice to engage with these two women once again - from sending paper aeroplane notes in class, navigating the choppy waters of adolescence to becoming their respective wing women. The extended metaphor of the honeybee is writ large - returning to your very own hive, where you are loved and appreciated.

School friends Renee and Flo drifted apart after they left home after a falling out. However when they return seperately to their native Guernsey they bump into each other at a school mate's funeral.

As they reconnect the two young women rekindle their friendship and start to open up to each other about their problems. However have they actually grown up yet or are they both still hampered down by the past?

A humourous coming of age story that will strike a cord with many. It's probably aimed more at readers in their late 20s or 30s. However, it is good to see references to the menopause via Renee's aunt. Another great read from Dawn.

I feel like Dawn O'Porter is a fearless writer.
To her there's no topic worthy of the old "hush hush" or "sweep it under the carpet" tactic. She tackles societal prejudices, misconceptions and taboos head on...and really bloody well at that.

In honeybee I loved yet another release of the reality of life- and being a woman. Breaking archaic gender stereotypes, affairs, alcoholism, menopause, menstruatation, absent matriarchs, not knowing your place in the world... she exposes it so we can all learn to confront it. To be open. To try to heal. And for society to just.do.better.

I love this book. I love her.