Review - Honey by Isabel Banta

 

 

 

Title: Honey

Author: Isabel Banta

Pages: 337

Publisher: Zaffre

Release Date: 4th June 2024

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

I didn't like to perform. I liked to be loved. 

It is 1999 and Amber Young is about to transform from nice New Jersey girl to one of the most infamous pop stars of her era. Enter Gwen Morris and Wes Kingston. Gwen has the top music video on MTV's Total Request Live. Wes is a member of the most popular boy band in the world, ETA. They're the American teenage dream, two perfect pop stars in love. In Gwen, Amber finds the first friend who can truly understand her - maybe the only person who ever will. But when Amber goes on tour with ETA as one of their opening acts, she develops an infatuation with Wes that threatens both her friendship with Gwen and the career she is so desperately trying to build. Under the spotlight, Amber must reckon with her own desires, agency, and sense of self-and how the kaleidoscope of public opinion can distort everything.  

Isabel Banta's debut novel, Honey, re-imagines the pop stars of the late 90s and early 2000s, who we idolized and hated, oversexualized and underestimated, giving them the fresh, multifaceted story they deserve.

 Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

 

 

 

 

My Review:  

 *I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to NetGalley and Zaffre*

Teenager Amber Young loves to sing, and dreams of being famous.

When Amber's dream comes true and she's offered a record deal, Amber is thrust into the limelight with all the ups and downs that come with it.

Amber becomes friends with Gwen, another teenage singer, and Wes, who is part of a boyband.

As Amber's career takes off, she struggles with how the public perceives her and her desires.

As someone who grew up in the 90s and 00s listening to a lot of pop music by young singers such as Britney Spears, I was intrigued to read this book.

Amber was a mostly likeable protagonist. She hadn't had an easy childhood, and had some unresolved issues that affected her. I was rooting for Amber to be her own person and hoped that things would get better for her. There were a couple of times when her actions frustrated me, but she was very young. I liked Amber's relationship with Gwen, and how they supported each other.

The setting of the 90s was interesting and made me feel nostalgic.

The plot was interesting and held my attention throughout, but I wasn't gripped or surprised by anything that happened. I didn't feel overly invested in the characters. The pacing was pretty good throughout. I liked that there were song lyrics and articles scattered throughout.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.

 

 

Review - Saltblood by Francesca de Tores

 

 

 Title: Saltblood

Author: Francesca de Tores

Pages: 328 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Release Date: 25th April 2024

 

Blurb from Goodreads:

 In a rented room outside Plymouth in 1685, a daughter is born as her half-brother is dying. Her mother makes a decision: Mary will become Mark, and Ma will continue to collect his inheritance money.

Mary's dual existence will take her to a grand house where she'll serve a French mistress; to the navy where she'll learn who to trust, and how to navigate by the stars; to the army and the battlegrounds of Flanders, following her one true friend; and finding love among the bloodshed and mud. But none of this will stop her yearning for the sea.

Drawn back to the water, Mary must reinvent herself yet again, for a woman aboard a ship is a dangerous thing. This time Mary will become something more dangerous than a woman. She will become a pirate.

Breathing life into the Golden Age of Piracy, Saltblood is a wild adventure, a treasure trove, weaving an intoxicating tale of gender and survival, passion and loss, journeys and transformation, through the story of Mary Read, one of history's most remarkable figures.

  

Goodreads | Storygraph | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Bookshop

 

 

 

 

My Review:

 *I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury*

 

 

When Mary's older half-brother Mark dies, their mother decides that in order to still receive Mark's inheritance money, Mary will pretend to be Mark.

As Mark, Mary finds work in a house as a servant, then she joins the navy and falls in love with the sea. For the rest of her life, Mary finds herself always drawn to the sea no matter where she is, and she ultimately becomes a pirate.

I had never heard of Mary Read the pirate before, so I was intrigued to read this book.

Mary was an interesting protagonist. I'm not sure how accurate this novel was to her life, but I liked that Mary found her home on the sea. There were a few side characters that I liked and I enjoyed the interactions Mary had with them.

The setting of the 1600s-1700s was interesting, especially as I don't know much about piracy or the wars at the time.

The novel is told from Mary's perspective as she tells her life story, which was interesting and enjoyable. However, because of this there was often a lot more telling rather than showing, which made it harder to feel immersed in the story. This also meant that, towards the end, I felt that the book was too long, and could maybe have been a bit shorter. Yet, I did enjoy finding out about the historical figure Mary Read, and I would like to read more about her.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read.