Honey Girl
Ratings57
Average rating3.6
Honey Girl is the kind of book that somehow seems to take itself far too seriously and not enough. It is rote with flowery, indulgent language to tell its story of a drunken Vegas wedding and a young woman adrift in a life of high expectations. It is also littered with quirky side characters seemingly taken straight out of a CW drama, complete with pop culture references and startlingly honest witticisms. Also, it kind of turns into an extended therapy session in the last 60 pages or so.
Grace Porter is the high-achieving daughter of a strict military father who, after finishing her doctorate in astronomy, finds herself at a loss for where to go next. The feeling of completing her father's plan for her isn't enough, the jobs dominated by pretentious white scientists are not enough. So, naturally, she goes to Vegas and gets herself drunkenly married to a stranger. As one does. Unable to hold it together after going home again, Grace gets in touch with her mythical wife, Yuki, goes out to New York to spend the summer with her, and maybe even falls in love with her. But even still, there's the question - is it enough?
Grace Porter is one of those main characters that only vaguely resembles a real life person. I mean, the inspiration is clearly there. I've known high achievers and military brats in my life. I actually knew someone who abandoned their doctorate in physics and astronomy when they realized the pressure was not worth it. They made chocolates at a bakery for a while afterward (now they work in UX). But Grace never reminded me of any of them. Maybe it's because we're meeting her in the middle of a breakdown, but there's little conception of the strictly controlled, meticulously put-together woman that is supposed to be coming apart here. Instead, Grace comes off as extremely fragile. Admittedly, it's difficult to write about someone losing it without it coming off as contrived, but from her Vegas wedding (I don't drink, so I don't even know what it's like to be that inebriated) to her skin-picking, it all felt like things that were tacked onto this character. The claim by her father and others that Grace frequently “runs away” when things get hard was particularly frustrating because at no point was it mentioned that she had a history of this (only that her mother does). Besides, spending a summer in New York after completing your doctorate is far from running away. It's just getting a different perspective.
The events that play out in Honey Girl are of course maximized for drama and entertainment, but there is something deeply indulgent about this book. It reminded of fan fiction, actually, and considering the premise (“drunken Vegas wedding” is right up there with “pretending to date” and “there's only one bed”) I wouldn't be surprised if it had its roots there. It reminded me of being a teenage girl and imagining what my life in my twenties would look like - I would have friends that I would gush with love for, lovers I would speak in poetry to, a life that had all the overly witty dialogue and quirkiness of the teen dramas I saw on TV. As I actually came into adulthood, I realized that not only was this ridiculous, but I didn't even really want any of that. I don't think Morgan Rogers came to the same conclusion. The relationships between Grace and her two best friends, Agnes and Ximena, and the family she works with at a tea shop were borderline nausea-inducing. No one actually talks to their friends like this, no one takes referring to their friends as “siblings” that seriously. And the fact that she has these deeply intense bonds with these people is probably why the introduction of the idea in the third act of the book that she abandons relationships for her ambitions comes so out of left field for me.
Yuki Yamamoto is one of things I liked about this book. When she arrives its like the whole story seems to just relax. She's that different perspective the book needed (though her fixation on monsters and mythical beasts is probably another allegory that this story didn't really need). All the dialogue that between Grace and her besties, stepmom and coworkers felt so try-hard, just suddenly seemed to flow when it was just Grace and Yuki. I'm not sure what it was exactly, maybe Rogers had a better concept in her mind of Yuki as a character than the others. Even in all her strangeness, Yuki felt very real. That said, I wish I could have known a little more about what brought Grace and Yuki together in the first place. The flowery language of the opening prologue was pretty, but I wish it had at some point unraveled to show a real woman who found an escape in another. The story in general flows better when Grace is in New York, even if the conflicts between Yuki and Grace don't entirely make sense (marrying someone with a doctorate is a bit like marrying someone in the military - you have to be prepared to bounce around the country a bit). I didn't necessarily feel their chemistry or love, I think I was interested in what being around Yuki revealed about Grace.
This book is a weird 3 stars for me, and is perhaps closer to a 2.5. Not because it is a middling achievement, but because it has some solid moments and some borderline disastrous ones. I came very close to abandoning it in the first 50-60 pages, worried that I would have to put up with a whole book of characters talking in absurd poetry at each other. Thankfully, the lyrical nature of the prose does taper off after a while. But the fact there's so much effort put into wit that isn't even funny, characters with all these details but don't seem remotely realistic, make this book seem really rough and amateurish. Honey Girl does have its charm, and I like to think there is a place in the world for contemporary lesbian romances with such indulgent flourishes and contrived narrative devices. Clearly, this type of work has an audience. I think I'm just looking for something more grounded.
When I first heard about this book, it was described as a romance, I think, and it's definitely not that. Romance is an element (how could it not be, with the whole drunken-marriage-in-Vegas setup to the story), but this is much more of a coming-of-age/character study. The writing is gorgeous and poetic, exploring Grace's crisis in the year after she graduates with a PhD in astronomy and without a job. I found Grace somewhat frustrating as a character, but she's supposed to be about 10 years younger than I currently am, and I certainly can't say I always made good decisions in my late 20s. Long story short, this isn't quite what I was expecting but I very much enjoyed it. Effortlessly diverse cast of characters and beautiful prose. I felt for Grace and all the other characters trying to make their ways in a difficult world, but still having each other. Content warnings on the author's site here: https://www.morgwrites.com/content-warnings
Beautiful, sweet, messy, I loved a lot about this book. I didn't love the present tense or the constant referring of our two primary protagonists by their first and last name together. I call people by their name so infrequently I'm half-afraid my friends think I don't know their name - I'm certainly not calling em First Last all the time, and I doubt anyone else does either lol.
Seriously, there is so much to love in this book, and if anything from the summary or even one review sticks out to you, I can't recommend it enough.
tried to give it a chance but clearly it feels like there's no plot, & the narration style isn't really my cup of tea
I'm kinda sad This book didn't grip me. But I just found myself skipping pages. I do think this book discusses a lot of important topics and would be a definite favourite for people who can connect with the writing style.
I loved this book. I love Grace Porter and Yuki Yamamoto. I genuinely do not understand why this book doesn't have higher ratings. The characters are so weird and wonderful. I couldn't help but to compare Grace Porter with Bette Porter randomly while reading. Highly accomplished and under pressure biracial lesbian with a stern dad. (At least the Colonel is only similar to Melvin by being stern and not homophobic.) They are obviously not the same character, but there were definite similarities. I loved Yuki's fondness for monster stories and lonely people. I just loved this book. It wasn't literary excellence, but it was beautiful and I enjoyed every minute of it.
OUCH that hurt a LOT more than I was expecting it to, but it was also FANTASTIC!!!!!! It sounded like a very light and fun book, but in reality it was Surprisingly raw and realistic!!!! I'm very VERY impressed with how wonderfully written this was!!! This book has made me had to stop and really examine myself, and while I can't do it justice, I can say that this was WONDERFUL!!!!!! It took me longer to read than I expected purely because it kept making me think too hard so I had to walk away!!!!! I Highly recommend this to anyone who wants a diverse, realistic contemporary romance that has a happy ending!!!!!!
This is a really sweet, beautifully-written book that I think will resonate a lot with a slightly different audience. Which isn't to say that I didn't enjoy reading it–I did–but I think that this book is so granular in its representation of 20-something queer people of color that I think it will resonate most with folks in those demographics. I think its depiction of post-grad burnout will also be relatable for a lot of readers–I was a little thrown by how Grace so clearly had no goal point beyond receiving her PhD in astronomy. I obviously don't have my PhD nor do I know much about jobs and like...I get that she was stressed but I also feel like there can't be that many types of jobs you can do with an astronomy degree and I was sort of thrown that she just seemed to have genuinely no idea what she wanted to do after graduating. Which again, a lot of that was her burnout and dealing with the High Expectations of her father etc etc. But it felt more like a problem an undergrad student would have when needing to choose a major, or deciding if they want to go to grad school etc. Post-PhD seems like...you got it narrowed down pretty far??? (Again I understand she was super burned out and needed a break before she could really focus but it still seems like it would have...come up at some point. Even just “do you want to stay in academia or do you want to work for NASA” or whatever and from Grace's POV it seemed like it never did??)
I also think that this was sort of billed to me as “2 drunk strangers get married in Vegas, romance ensues!” and like...that does happen but it's sort of a b-plot to “codependent queer found family group gets therapy”. (also if you saw my tweet asking if people thought if it was weird for a brother and sister to cuddle in bed overnight with their shared best friend: this is the book that prompted that tweet. I still think it's kind of weird but in the context of this book it just seems like these people are constantly touch-starved like sad fanfiction characters.)
Anyway, if you're looking for a book with women of color wives, an important queer found family friends group, and a love letter to therapy...and I think a lot of you are...this is for you. Also think this would have a lot of appeal for older teens. Despite the age of the characters it's less explicitly sexual than your average SJM book and these characters are all uhhh moderately emotionally damaged so they feel like they're processing a lot of teenage-y emotions.
tried to give it a chance but clearly it feels like there's no plot, & the narration style isn't really my cup of tea
A practically perfect Millennial novel. It was real and sweet and angsty and filled with some truly precious characters. It isn't just a romance. It is for anyone who's ever had a quarter-life crisis and believes in found family.
yet another battle of me vs a character driven book
yes it's beautifully written and yes i related to and liked the characters but i just needed more plot from this in order to fully enjoy it
This book was more quarter life crisis than romance and I was not prepared. Do not recommend listening while exercising, unless you want to cry for multiple reasons. 5/5 for unexpected feels.
This is a coming of age story with romance tropes but it's not a romance. Much more literary fiction or women's fiction, read if that's your vibe.
Less of a romance novel than I thought it'd be, though there is plenty of romance herein. More about the character Grace falling apart and finding her way again after going so hard after a goal for so long, and realizing she's didn't end up where she thought she'd be/she wanted to be, because of stupid things like, oh, systemic racism.
I liked the found families of both Yuki and Grace (moreso Yuki's than Grace's, though I liked Raj a lot), I liked them as a couple. I'm not sure why Grace assumed that if she and Yuki were going to make it work, why it needed to be her alone that made all the changes in location, career, etc., when they never had a conversation about it. I don't think I've been Full-Named in a year as many times as Grace Porter was in this <300 page book, by multiple characters, nor been called [Insert Word Here] Girl either. Everyone had a different identifier for Grace when they weren't full-naming her! Yay for talk therapy!
Overall though, basically I agree with everything Stephanie said. This was fine, but I didn't love it as much as I wanted to.
CW: self-harm.
Honey Girl is deep, funny, relatable, and at times romantic. Morgan Rogers balances the trauma of being lost in self-doubt to discovering true love by accident.
It is hard to believe that this is Rogers' debut novel, because they knock it out of the park at the start. Honey Girl is a quick read with hidden depths. Rogers fills the story with diversity, which y'all know I love.
Quote: “I just want to slow down. I just want to stop.” (Loc. 960)
When I mention diversity, I do not just mean sexuality or nationality. Rogers also deals directly with mental health issues. I have said the above quote too many times and could relate to many of the issues told in Honey Girl.
Rogers tells Grace and Yuki's story in a lyrical third-person point of view. Yuki's voice is beautiful and poetic. I think I could listen to Yuki's radio show all day and I wish it was longer. I was fascinated by the stories with the story and how intense and filled with multiple meanings. As Yuki was telling the stories, I was repeating them to my mother.
Honey Girl is a book that would make a great addition to any English or Literature class. It has so many themes as it addresses patriarchal impact, religious influences, and our own journey to happiness.
(Laugh) I have neglected to mention the friendship and romance in Honey Girl. I definitely want to have coffee with Yuki. This is a slow-burn romance that focuses on the foundations of friendship, love, and the families we choose.
Rogers gives us a little bit of everything in this book and it is fully balanced. This is more than a romance. It is a journey through Grace's moment of crisis and we are lucky enough to tag along with her friends and watch it unfold and change. I think everyone should hit the “pause button” and spend a little time with Honey Girl.
I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.