I have read all bar one of Dawn O'Porter's novels and the one I haven't read is sitting on my desk just waiting for me.

I had, however, forgotten how much I liked Flo and Renee, the two protagonists of Paper Aeroplanes and Goose, until they popped up in her latest, Honeybee.

Still two very real, very mixed up girls with very different personalities but plenty of personal challenges, I soon was deeply invested in their stories. Both have complex and sometimes tragic family histories with dead or disengaged parents. And the star of all of this series is the island of Guernsey where the two girls - like O'Porter herself - grew up and to which Flo has returned after university and working in London, and Renee after a few years in Spain.

Flo was always the quiet serious one. She's now working as an office manager - showing a cool, calm exterior whist her emotions and hormones rage under the surface. The last thing she needed was Renee getting a job as the company's new receptionist - especially when the two girls are now sharing a flat.

Renee still mourns her mother and jumps in and out of relationships without a lot of thinking. Flo can't stand her mother, and drowns her insecurities - both sexual and professional - in booze.

A book with a 22-year old alcoholic is quite a rare thing - and O'Porter handles the topic sensitively. We wouldn't have expected Flo to go down that route, but when we hear of the black-outs, the unkind words from casual one-night-stands, and learn of her deep insecurities, we can understand how it happened.

The one reflection I offer - and the reason this is a 3- rather than 4-star review from me, was that when I got to the end, I had the sense that in many ways, not a lot had actually happened.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy.

**Listened to the audio book as well as reading the electronic version**

I have really enjoyed Dawn O'Porters books in the past, and i'm a big fan of her in general.That is why it pains me to write a negative review.

But this book was just so slow!! Nothing happens!! I appreciate it was more of a character driven narrative rather than a plot driven one. I have read Goose and Airplanes - and it still didn't grip me. (Not realising before reading that it was linked to Porter's early books - which I loved by the way!)

It just felt really ploddy and I didn't enjoy my reading experience.

I preferred the audio book than the hard copy as the narrator really tried to bring it to life - which I didn't necessarily get from just reading.

I really hope Dawn O Porter's next book is back to her usual top form and I feel more engaged!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6819768319

I love Dawn O'Porter's books. Warm, honest, straight talking, always with female friendship at the centre - they make me want to be her friend! This one is more of the same, and I really enjoyed it.

A tiny negative might be that took me a while for the two main characters, friends Renee and Flo, to emerge as distinct entities - for a while it seemed that they might both basically be versions of Dawn O'Porter (and therefore larger personalities than your average person!). But their distinct personalities did emerge and as the book went on their relationship felt very real, and the end very touching.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Was eager to read Dawn O'Porters new book after listening to a Podcast episode of "I Weigh" in which she was a guest speaker. Unfortunately this was not my cup of tea at all. O'Porter clearly has a talent for writing, but she seems to still be finding her genre.

Dawn O'Porter's Honeybee tells the story of two friends, Renee and Flo, who reunite after years apart. Each character grapples with her own struggles and the complexities of navigating adult life, which brings both ups and downs.
This novel is perhaps an easy escape for some readers, but may not resonate with everyone due to its themes, which include mental health issues, alcohol abuse, and references to 9/11. The narrative is engaging and warm, making it an enjoyable read, but wasn’t mind-blowingly fantastic. Certain plot elements felt predictable, which diminished the overall impact of the story.
While Renee and Flo's journey of self-discovery and honesty is compelling, their character development sometimes feels inconsistent with their age and experiences. Their insecurities and revelations don’t always align with their actions or beliefs, leaving me wishing for a deeper exploration of their characters (but that might be because I haven’t read Paper Aeroplanes yet)—perhaps if they were portrayed as slightly older, their struggles might have felt more authentic.
I only discovered at the end of the book that Honeybee is the third instalment in the Paper Aeroplanes series. I appreciated it as a standalone story, but I hope it didn’t spoil any key elements from the earlier books, as I plan to read them next – I want to know more about Renee and Flo and how they got to this point.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with this book and the opportunity to review it.

I read all of Dawns books so was excited to start this one. When I read the names of the characters I was very pleasantly surprised as I didn’t realise it was the third one of the paper aeroplanes series. I love Flo and Renée, their characters are two years older than me so I feel like they remind me of my youth. This book has some serious topics that are dealt with in Dawn’s usual style of humour, it made me laugh and cry. It wasn’t quite a 5/5 but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and would 100% recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for my advanced reading copy.

Witty, thoughtful and provocative, a story about two young adults navigating adulthood on the idyllic island of Guernsey. A lot of issues are covered and I didn’t always get everything, but there’s great style and characterisation and verve.

Renee and Flo, childhood friends from Guernsey, reconnect at a funeral and decide to live together, despite their differing personalities and lifestyles. Renee, a carefree 22-year-old aspiring writer, still lives on the island, while Flo, a more serious marketing professional, returns from London after a personal crisis. As they navigate their renewed friendship, they face their own struggles, secrets, and fears, all while adjusting to adulthood, grief, and new responsibilities. The story blends humor with emotion, capturing the complexities of friendship and the challenges of growing up.

Dawn O’Porter is the queen of in-your-face novels. Throughout her books she’s tackled many subjects few others would dare (remember the train scene in So Lucky?) and her latest novel is no exception.

Several years after the last instalment of Renée and Flo, they’re back in Guernsey after a few years of widening their horizons off-island. Neither of them are in a great place in their lives, and they haven’t talked for a long time - but circumstances are about to throw them back together and it’s going to get messy.

The book explores some really difficult subjects - alcoholism, grief, career difficulties, family breakdown - and yet it’s not as bleak as it sounds. It is uncomfortable though. Like, I full-body cringed reading some scenes, because O’Porter takes some of the worst turning-up-naked-to-take-an-exam-you-haven’t-studied-for nightmares and puts them down onto the page like she isn’t just destroying any peace you will ever have again.

It’s the humour and the humanity that makes the book though. The author adds just enough of each to stem the tide of awfulness and avoid overwhelm. Everything that happens to Renée or Flo feels like something that could happen to any of us - maybe just not all of it at once!

Mostly the girls’ stories are about that weird period in your early 20s when you’re grown up to have finished full-time education, to live on your own and support yourself, but when most of us are not quite old enough to have the first clue how to actually be an adult with any measure of success. Even if I suspect I’d have more in common with the boring homebody background characters than either Renée or Flo, I related to many of their worries.

O’Porter grew up on Guernsey and she talks of the island with such warmth and fondness that I’d really love to travel there. Her exploration of what - and who - constitutes home goes right to the heart of not just Renée and Flo’s stories, but the reader’s also. Overall a brilliant addition to the series, and a big leap in maturity too.

I really enjoyed this book.
It had a bit of everything: friendship, grief, love, heartbreak, and I feel the mental health aspects were covered really sensitively.
I really felt everything along with the two lead characters and found myself getting rather emotional at points !
I didn’t realise it was a sequel which is a credit to the author and shows it works well as a stand alone book. I will be hunting down the previous instalment now!

I'm a huge Dawn O'Porter fan. I love the way she writes her female characters. This book is a sequel to a YA book which I've not read however this did not detract from the story at all. Flo and Renée find themselves back on Guernsey where they grew up. Adulthood is not going to plan for either of them and with very witty and sensitive writing we ride along with them as they try to find out who they are and where they are supposed to be.

An excellent read with a special shout out to Aunty Jo, I'm right there with you lady!!!

I really enjoyed this book as the characters were so down to earth and relatable. I found parts of the book endearing, funny and uplifting. Dawn O'Porter has been a great job with this book and I again will await more of her stories, as I know afterwards I will feel good and it will keep me hooked throughout.

This was an easy, nostalgic read and a lot of it made me laugh - I loved the immaturity of Renee as a counter to Flo (who I related to more). I didn’t realise this was part of a series until after I had read the acknowledgments but that’s credit to the book as a stand-alone piece. I agree with some reviewers that there were a lot of themes, perhaps too many to be explored properly. I enjoyed the setting and importance of Guernsey, I didn’t really get the bee theme, and the menopause / 9/11 stuff felt a bit at odds, but I appreciate they might have been close to the author.

Honeybee is the second book from Dawn Porter that I have read, and I really enjoyed this book about friendship and Adulthood.
Renee and Flo are childhood friends and realise that Adulthood is not all that is cracked up to be, Renee wants to fulfil a career as a writer, but she hasn’t left her childhood home on the Island of Guernsey that she live with her aunt, and she doesn’t really know what to do with herself apart from partying and not taking life too seriously. After all she is only 22. Flo has a job in a Marketing firm in London. But something happens and she rushes back to Guernsey and transfers her job to their branch on the Island. She takes her job very seriously
The two girls happened to meet at a funeral, and they rekindle their friendship. As the two girls enjoy their company together. Renee persuades Flo to move into her flat. But the two girls’ personalities are far part then they where when they where children. Is this a recipe for disaster?
Honeybee is the second book from Dawn Porter that I have read, and I really enjoyed this book
This is an endearing story about friendship and Adulthood getting though grief of a loved and taking responsibility for one’s life. Although this was such an emotional ride It had some funny moments too This is a great read. 5 stars from me.

I have greatly enjoyed Dawn O'Porter's previous books so I was keen to read Honeybee. I did however struggle with it a little; it didn't capture me as quickly her previous stories and I found myself leaving big gaps between reading. It's not a bad book, but I did find I wasn't motivated to keep going. This may entirely be me and not the book, sometimes you're just a bad combo.
(Copy received via Netgalley in return for an honest review)

I hadn't realised these characters had been written about before. It made no difference, so can definitely be read as a stand alone. Honeybee is all about female friendships and our flaws, I would recommend it, I enjoyed it.

Honeybee by Dawn O’Porter is all about female friendship and growing up. This being the third book about Renee and Flo’s friendship we follow the two into adulthood now. Flo returns to Guernsey from London starting a new position within a marketing company she is all about being professional and no fun at all. Renee being her absolute childish self that we know from the other books (note I only read the first and third, they work perfectly fine as standalones) gets a job at Flo’s new work place. What could potentially go wrong. While I enjoyed seeing both holding onto their friendship and growing up I at the same time was so annoyed with them. Yes you were supposed to be irritated by Flo’s behaviour so the job is well done because I actually at some point wished to not get Flo’s perspective anymore. Renee annoyed me with a lot of her childish and sexual decisions that I personally did not want to know about. But Renee grew in this book massively and took responsibility which I was glad to see I just wish there would have been more of it earlier. The ending was although rushed great.
The writing is as usual easy to follow and reads quickly. I would take into account that I am not a young adult anymore which probably contributed to me getting annoyed with certain traits and behaviours of these characters.
I give it a solid 3 stars as I think it portrayed friendship and the mental health issues very well.

When I heard that Dawn O'Porter had a new book coming out I was excited, an author I have gravitated towards for over a decade. However when I realised that this was not just a new book, but a new tale from the characters that made me fall in love with her writing I was on edge. I actually had to check my goodreads to remind myself its been 11 years since I first met Flo & Renee in Paper Aeroplanes. I, like them, was also a teenager discovering the world and everything it meant back then, while navigating turbulent times, and I always felt a comfort in that book I couldn't put down at 16.

Now 22, Renee & Flo's lives haven't panned out exactly how their younger selves imagined they would, work wise, life wise or romantically, and we follow them back to Guernsey for a funeral. Its such an untapped resource, that depressing ageing and fizzle out of friendships as you get older. Distance and paths cause you to space yourself out from people, and Renee & Flo are no different. Both dealing with their own struggles, their reunion is first met with that awkwardness of two people who know each other so well and yet, now have secrets and fears the other knows nothing about. As we the reader are reconnecting with the characters, so too are they with each other. Our own distance and nostalgia blending on the page with them. I was reminded instantly that I loved them. These two friends, who couldn't be more different, the forced proximity as they re-adapt to the place they grew up and the person who was once the most important in each of their lives.

O'Porter's portrayal of friendship is always my favorite, but here especially feels real, as you see Renee & Flo attempt to fix what broke them and fit their new selves into their new friendship years later. Honest, funny and heartfelt as always, I couldn't put it down and immediately it left me wanting more. A stellar addition to their story.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for an early arc in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable read. It had me wanting to shake both Renee and Flo at various points but this was a reflection of how caught up in their lives you became.

The underlying friendship between the women was central to the story as they dealt with their own struggles.

Would recommend but unlikely to re-read.

This is the first novel of Dawn O’Porters’ that I have read and I wasn’t disappointed. I loved the idea surrounding womanhood and the struggles with friendship. Flo and Renée, the main characters I enjoyed that they both had flaws and were returning back home to Guernsey to try and work through their flaws. There were some funny parts, but also there were many parts that you wanted to jump inside the book and give them a hug and tell them that it would get better. I would definitely read more by Dawn O’Porter.