It’s that time of the semester again! Procrastinating finals time. I mean…doing finals time. Anywho, I for one have been reading when I reach the point where I can’t look at a screen for a minute longer. My most recent read, “Honey Girl,” written by Morgan Rogers hit a little too close to home, but in a good way, as well as being a lovely sapphic romance. With such a solid book like this one being Rogers’ debut novel, it’s exciting to know there will probably be more works coming from this author in the future. 

“Honey Girl” follows main character Grace Porter, a 29-year-old astrology student with a strict military-trained father who wanted her to pursue medicine. Porter just got her PHd, is constantly worried about proving herself to her family, and because of her job hunt and the yearning to be enough, is perpetually stressed. As she’s celebrating the end of her academic career in Las Vegas with her friends, she winds up getting drunkenly married to a woman from NYC named Yuki. Yuki isn’t there when she wakes up the morning after, but a business card left behind brings Porter to her new wife’s radio show, where she talks about loneliness, monsters, and the mysterious “Honey Girl” (nicknamed after her golden hair) she married. 

As the novel progresses, Porter decides to spend time with Yuki for a summer to take a break from the hard work she’d been doing for years. As this unfolds, we explore her relationships with family and friends, mental health, and how Porter’s search for a job is hindered by employers’ blatant racial discrimination. All of these converge into a crisis for her where she is unsure what she wants, what she’ll do next, or even who she is. 

I really enjoyed this book because it tackled so much. Don’t get me wrong, I like to indulge in sunshine-and-rainbow rom coms, but this novel showed that not everything is like that all the time and felt actually realistic. The relationships Porter has are thorny, and never are attempted to end in a happily ever after. The characters pursue what works and needs to be done for themselves, and navigates race and mental health in a raw way, showing that difficult conversations with people and seeking help can be healing. 

As someone who is in college and is severely burnt out, a lot of the content hits home. It was relieving to read about someone who may be feeling the same way I do, and cathartic to watch as she works through it and has the support she deserves. Plus, let’s be real- the cute romance between Porter and Yuki throughout it all is also a great and wholesome plotline. 

If you’re looking for something that may be escapism while also not exactly freeing you from the dreads of college but may feel reassuring in some ways, pick up this book! If you want a layered sapphic romance, read this book! It is most definitely worth the read. 

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 monster hunts