Title- Honey Girl
Author- Morgan Rogers
Series- standalone
Rating– 3.7/5
Genre- Adult contemporary FF romance
Trope- soul mates?/drunken night in Vegas/parent approval
Steam level- 2/5
Cover– cute and shows contemporary vibe
Comps– none that I’ve read. I need to find more LGBTQ reads
Plot/Blurb-
With her newly completed PhD in astronomy in hand, twenty-eight-year-old Grace Porter goes on a girls’ trip to Vegas to celebrate. She’s a straight A, work-through-the-summer certified high achiever. She is not the kind of person who goes to Vegas and gets drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn’t know…until she does exactly that.
This one moment of departure from her stern ex-military father’s plans for her life has Grace wondering why she doesn’t feel more fulfilled from completing her degree. Staggering under the weight of her parent’s expectations, a struggling job market and feelings of burnout, Grace flees her home in Portland for a summer in New York with the wife she barely knows.
In New York, she’s able to ignore all the constant questions about her future plans and falls hard for her creative and beautiful wife, Yuki Yamamoto. But when reality comes crashing in, Grace must face what she’s been running from all along—the fears that make us human, the family scars that need to heal and the longing for connection, especially when navigating the messiness of adulthood.
First chapter-
Grace doesn’t remember the name of the woman she married in Vegas last night. She has two great friends who are giving her a hard time of bending the rules during her tipsy night but she has to keep the secret, and also hopes to fill in the missing pieces to figure out who her wife is.
Character Development- learning to stand up to her father, learning that not everything needs planned, choosing love
What I would change- the third person present tense feels a bit awkward and forced. Especially with the flash back so it wasn’t now but in the past.
Quote-
“Who is your siren? Who is your fellow lonely creature who sees into the very cores of you and knows which song to sing? What song do they sing for you, and do you follow? What would happen if you did?”
“The sun was watching when you were born. I think the sun saw something in you, something bright all it’s own, and it picked you. It dripped sunrays from the top of your scalp to the very ends of your hair, and it made you fucking glow.”
Setting- Portland & NYC
Prose- average
Character goals/motivations- being the best in her field
Theme- “good enough” for a parent’s high expectation. Choosing love or career
Vivid sensory descriptions- average. Nothing stood out
Dialogue- realistic
Diversity- FF relationship. I love the ethnic diversity in her friendships too, Raj was a fun character, and how they seem to actually know her & are there to listen in a supportive system. Mental diagnosis of anxiety and depression.
Conflict/tension/obstacles- I could’ve been happier with more
Pacing- slower
Thoughts while reading-
Page 29-I don’t enjoy the “soul mate” vibe I’m getting from her one night stand/wife. For me to be on board with how she feels for “Mystery Girl” I wish I had one scene of them together to show their connection.
Page 38- we’re introduced to her dad, Colonel, and stepmom. So it’s taken a few chapters to set up how her life is looking in present moment with the relationships she has, her perception of them and their expectations of her. I’m hoping for forwards momentum soon. Does she want to find the Mystery Girl? Does she want to focus on getting the best job? Does she want to surprise everyone and change her outlook on life?
Page 85- I love Yuki’s talk show and their phone conversation dialogues. It’s much better than the narration.
Page 104- started skimming some, got a little bored
Halfway- this novel has beauty at its roots with learning what path to take as a 28 year old who has spent a decade in academia to please her father. The third person present tense is distracting for me to fully sink into it. Some of Yuki’s podcasts are becoming a little monotonous now. I love the deep philosophical meaning of life chats, but am also waiting for something more grand to happen to the characters
Page 202- the birthday slides of August 26 for so many different years was unique
Page 214- uh oh, big blowout fight. What is Grace going to choose? Yuki or a job? Portland or NYC?
Page 242- I wasn’t expecting a psychiatrist plot but it makes sense since this isn’t a typical romance novel with the action beats.
Page 293- this was a heavier romance read than others. I’m glad it had a happily ever after ending but it felt weighed down a bit so not like the romcom style but more realistic.
Cassie Swindon 