Scan barcode
msrae89's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Self harm
Moderate: Racism, Medical content, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia
Minor: Alcohol
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I came in ready for the drunk Vegas marriage romance, I was not expecting such a real and kinda heavy look at how lost you can feel after graduation. Working so hard towards something, having clear cut steps the whole way, and then being thrown out into the professional field is petrifying. Grace was putting up with much more than I would ever have to, so it's no wonder she needed a serious break. Though, if my friend dropped out of contact for a month or more, I would also be angry and worried. This writer has such a beautiful poetic style it really lends itself to Yuki's storytelling, but almost made the relationship feel more scripted than I would expect.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, Self harm, Racism, Drug use, Alcohol, and Sexual content
strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book starts off with a drunken marriage in vegas. That alone was enough to pull me in, especially because it was with two women.
I enjoyed the book and I’m very happy that Grace (the main character) was able to work through her problems with a therapist. However, by the end of the book she still hadn’t told her father about her wife. Wack!
I enjoyed the book and I’m very happy that Grace (the main character) was able to work through her problems with a therapist. However, by the end of the book she still hadn’t told her father about her wife. Wack!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Mental illness, Self harm, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Cursing, Terminal illness, Drug use, and Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment and War
chasingpages1's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Racism, Abandonment, Sexism, Mental illness, Alcohol, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Drug use, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Blood, Cursing, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
narbine's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I feel like this was a book saying “this is why arranged marriages can work” without actually saying that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Self harm, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug use and Cursing
olliebranch1's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I really wanted to like this book and it started off promising. But even as a self proclaimed hopeless romantic the language in this book was way too flowery for me. There’s just nobody in the world who speaks this way which kind of took me out of trying to relate to this character.
Grace, our main character’s best friends were meant to be seen as the strong, empowering and messy individuals, but in some ways they just seemed toxic. One friend in particular seemed quite ab*sive to the point where it was hard to see her good. Also the whole I love you so much it hurts thing is exactly what I don’t want younger readers to be reading. Codependency is not a good thing kids.
Grace, our main character’s best friends were meant to be seen as the strong, empowering and messy individuals, but in some ways they just seemed toxic. One friend in particular seemed quite ab*sive to the point where it was hard to see her good. Also the whole I love you so much it hurts thing is exactly what I don’t want younger readers to be reading. Codependency is not a good thing kids.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Toxic friendship
ridesthesun's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This was a really really lovely dive into character/personal growth and identity. The prose was simply gorgeous, and the characters are so wonderfully complex and real. I really enjoyed the balance of romance with personal growth and familial/friend relationships. No one's perfect, no one's a villain; we're all just trying our best and failing each other and ourselves sometimes, but we can always grow and do better. We can do best, whatever that looks like for us.
These lonely creatures absolutely stole my heart ❤❤
These lonely creatures absolutely stole my heart ❤❤
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Self harm, Alcohol, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Misogyny, and Mental illness
Minor: Lesbophobia
courtnoodles's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Abandonment, Racism, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Cursing, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, and Misogyny
cassielaj's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It took me a little while to get this book, but once I did I appreciated it. The characters are strong and fun and unique — definitely the highlight. And it exposes some important questions about expectations, perfectionism, and burnout.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
Moderate: Cursing, Abandonment, Medical content, and Self harm
Minor: Sexual content
criticalgayze's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I always love being pleasantly surprised by a book. I went in knowing next to nothing other than I always stan when a queer book breaches the gates of the Target Books section.
When I entered the world of Honey Girl, I expected a romance. Then you have the initial premise established, and I assumed it would instead be a romantic comedy. However, what you really get is a journey of self-exploration in which the romance is just accepted and becomes one of a multitude of facets in the journey. (Side note: I found this idea of accepting the shotgun Vegas wedding to be an interesting plot point, and I actually found myself impressed with and appreciative of the choice that it was not played for a schtick or used on its own as a means for panic.) So, instead of "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood, you end up with something that has the ache and injustice of Brandon Taylor's Real Life with the earnestness and hope of Emily Austin's Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead. As a late 20s millennial, this new genre of aching millennial self-search is really doing it for me right now while also making me very sad every time I pick one up.
I also really appreciate the vast array of characters seen in this novel that feels akin to a Casey McQuiston cast.
While I was appreciative to find such great substance in a book that I did not know to expect it of, I did feel that it overstayed its welcome some in the languishing of emotional torment. In a novel surrounded by love and joy as a romance + a friendship story + a family story, it became cumbersome to have the main character both experience so little joy within herself and to be beset by so much critique from others, and I would have appreciated a little more levity in the narrative. I also found that there were some awkwardly millennial lines. For example: While true, the line "Consent is sexy!", feels very out of place in an otherwise deeply emotional story.
There is a lot to love and appreciate here, just be ready to sit in some intense emotions.
Quotes:
"It’s the second time you’ve said yes, but you don’t remember that yet. So, you say yes to this, to this replica lock in a replica city." (Page 5)
"'You need help,' Ximena says seriously, but doesn’t move when Agnes smiles and leans on her shoulder.
'My therapist would be thrilled to hear you say so,' Agnes says." (Page 13)
When I entered the world of Honey Girl, I expected a romance. Then you have the initial premise established, and I assumed it would instead be a romantic comedy. However, what you really get is a journey of self-exploration in which the romance is just accepted and becomes one of a multitude of facets in the journey. (Side note: I found this idea of accepting the shotgun Vegas wedding to be an interesting plot point, and I actually found myself impressed with and appreciative of the choice that it was not played for a schtick or used on its own as a means for panic.) So, instead of "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood, you end up with something that has the ache and injustice of Brandon Taylor's Real Life with the earnestness and hope of Emily Austin's Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead. As a late 20s millennial, this new genre of aching millennial self-search is really doing it for me right now while also making me very sad every time I pick one up.
I also really appreciate the vast array of characters seen in this novel that feels akin to a Casey McQuiston cast.
While I was appreciative to find such great substance in a book that I did not know to expect it of, I did feel that it overstayed its welcome some in the languishing of emotional torment. In a novel surrounded by love and joy as a romance + a friendship story + a family story, it became cumbersome to have the main character both experience so little joy within herself and to be beset by so much critique from others, and I would have appreciated a little more levity in the narrative. I also found that there were some awkwardly millennial lines. For example: While true, the line "Consent is sexy!", feels very out of place in an otherwise deeply emotional story.
There is a lot to love and appreciate here, just be ready to sit in some intense emotions.
Quotes:
"It’s the second time you’ve said yes, but you don’t remember that yet. So, you say yes to this, to this replica lock in a replica city." (Page 5)
"'You need help,' Ximena says seriously, but doesn’t move when Agnes smiles and leans on her shoulder.
'My therapist would be thrilled to hear you say so,' Agnes says." (Page 13)
"'Which god am I praying to?'
'Pick one,' Meera tells her, straightening her kurti as she steps out of the kitchen. 'Choose wisely.'" (Page 19)
'Pick one,' Meera tells her, straightening her kurti as she steps out of the kitchen. 'Choose wisely.'" (Page 19)
"Three is a good number against the world, it turns out." (Page 39)
"I think lonely creatures ache for each other because who else can understand but someone who feels the same dark, black abyss?" (Page 49)
"No one told her astronomers, the ones that publish research every few months and get tenured at universities and navigate programs at NASA, that those astronomers don’t have sun-gold hair. They don’t have sun-browned skin. Those astronomers don’t have ancestors that looked at the stars as a means of escape and not in awe." (Page 63)
"'I’m sure it was hard. It’s hard when you have a plan. Plans are so goddamn hard.'” (Page 103)
"'I thought I wanted to be out of my tank,' she confesses with a whisper. 'But the ocean is big, you know, and I am very, very small.'" (Page 121)
"It’s always the goddamn brains." (Page 180)
“'I told everyone I’m a lesbian,' she says. 'Maybe he thinks it’s a phase.'” (Page 261)
"I think lonely creatures ache for each other because who else can understand but someone who feels the same dark, black abyss?" (Page 49)
"No one told her astronomers, the ones that publish research every few months and get tenured at universities and navigate programs at NASA, that those astronomers don’t have sun-gold hair. They don’t have sun-browned skin. Those astronomers don’t have ancestors that looked at the stars as a means of escape and not in awe." (Page 63)
"'I’m sure it was hard. It’s hard when you have a plan. Plans are so goddamn hard.'” (Page 103)
"'I thought I wanted to be out of my tank,' she confesses with a whisper. 'But the ocean is big, you know, and I am very, very small.'" (Page 121)
"It’s always the goddamn brains." (Page 180)
“'I told everyone I’m a lesbian,' she says. 'Maybe he thinks it’s a phase.'” (Page 261)
“'I said yes to you once, and I haven’t learned how to say anything else, since.'” (Page 276)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Racism, Medical trauma, and Sexual content