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kybennett's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Addiction, and Alcoholism
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
2.75
TWs for mental illness, self harm, racism
This book is pretty heavily marketed as a romance - drunk vegas wedding and everything, but I want to say up front that it is less of a romance novel and more of a novel about other things that happens to have a romance in it, which isn't a good or bad thing, it just comes down to your preference. Anyway though, I liked this book a lot, but I was expecting to be in love with it and then was a little bit forlorn when it only hit the 3 star mark for me. 3 stars from me is still a pretty solid rating though, so I'm not about to tear it apart. If you love this book, please don't think I'm hating on your fave.
I thought that the way the relationship dynamics were explored was truly *chef's kiss* - not just the romantic ones, but familial, both biological and found. If you know me, you know that found family is my lifeblood, and there was plenty of that here. Our main character, Grace was extremely believable and I really just wanted her to be okay. She went up against racism in academia, her military dad's strict parameters for her future, and mental illness that went untreated for a large portion of the book, which I thought was handled pretty well. Some of the side characters jump off the page and seem to have entire lives of their own even though the narrative doesn't really give them a lot of page time. Shout outs to Ximena, Agnes, Raj, Meera & Raj & Meera's father, Baba Vihaan. I loved spending time with these characters so much. Any problems I did have with this book had nothing to do with them. The stories that Yuki tells on her radio show paralleling Grace's own experiences was also a nice touch.
The romance in the book did not take precedent, which I did appreciate, but at the same time I did want a little more from it. I don't know exactly what I was looking for, which sounds stupid, but I just know that what I was looking for wasn't entirely there. I also think that the editor of this book could've suggested that the author cut down on the use of certain phrases. I feel like I read about how Yuki smells like sea salt about 500 times, and it kind of got old? However, that's not what bothered me most. The thing that annoyed me the most about this book was the constant use of Grace's first and last name. Grace Porter, Grace Porter, Grace Porter. Porter. Porter. Porter. It's explained that she often goes by her last name because her father is military, but that still really does not explain why all of her friends - even Yuki, who has never even met her father, refers to her as Grace Porter over and over through the whole narrative. There were times where I thought that the book should've just been called Grace Porter instead of Honeygirl, because that nickname wasn't used as much as the title would like us to believe.
Overall, I did like this book a lot and the issues I had were slight in comparison to the things I liked about it! I would really recommend it to anyone who loves wlw romance with some serious life stuff in it, too.
This book is pretty heavily marketed as a romance - drunk vegas wedding and everything, but I want to say up front that it is less of a romance novel and more of a novel about other things that happens to have a romance in it, which isn't a good or bad thing, it just comes down to your preference. Anyway though, I liked this book a lot, but I was expecting to be in love with it and then was a little bit forlorn when it only hit the 3 star mark for me. 3 stars from me is still a pretty solid rating though, so I'm not about to tear it apart. If you love this book, please don't think I'm hating on your fave.
I thought that the way the relationship dynamics were explored was truly *chef's kiss* - not just the romantic ones, but familial, both biological and found. If you know me, you know that found family is my lifeblood, and there was plenty of that here. Our main character, Grace was extremely believable and I really just wanted her to be okay. She went up against racism in academia, her military dad's strict parameters for her future, and mental illness that went untreated for a large portion of the book, which I thought was handled pretty well. Some of the side characters jump off the page and seem to have entire lives of their own even though the narrative doesn't really give them a lot of page time. Shout outs to Ximena, Agnes, Raj, Meera & Raj & Meera's father, Baba Vihaan. I loved spending time with these characters so much. Any problems I did have with this book had nothing to do with them. The stories that Yuki tells on her radio show paralleling Grace's own experiences was also a nice touch.
The romance in the book did not take precedent, which I did appreciate, but at the same time I did want a little more from it. I don't know exactly what I was looking for, which sounds stupid, but I just know that what I was looking for wasn't entirely there. I also think that the editor of this book could've suggested that the author cut down on the use of certain phrases. I feel like I read about how Yuki smells like sea salt about 500 times, and it kind of got old? However, that's not what bothered me most. The thing that annoyed me the most about this book was the constant use of Grace's first and last name. Grace Porter, Grace Porter, Grace Porter. Porter. Porter. Porter. It's explained that she often goes by her last name because her father is military, but that still really does not explain why all of her friends - even Yuki, who has never even met her father, refers to her as Grace Porter over and over through the whole narrative. There were times where I thought that the book should've just been called Grace Porter instead of Honeygirl, because that nickname wasn't used as much as the title would like us to believe.
Overall, I did like this book a lot and the issues I had were slight in comparison to the things I liked about it! I would really recommend it to anyone who loves wlw romance with some serious life stuff in it, too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Racism, Mental illness, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: Violence
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