Honey Girl isn’t the story of a drunken Vegas marriage, despite the description on the cover. Honey Girl is the story of a woman grappling with the direction of her life. Yes, there is a Las Vegas wedding, and yes that figures in the story line, but the real meat of this story is Grace, the main character’s struggle to achieve her “grand plan” after finishing her PhD while also trying to deal with years of anxiety, perfectionism, over-reliance on herself and unrealistic expectations from her parents and others.

I found Grace’s crisis of confidence highly relatable. When you are praised and taught to constantly overachieve, the world after school comes as a shock. Unlike Grace, I didn’t also have to deal with racism and homophobia from potential employers. The struggles that Grace faces are very Millennial, and I get that, even as an elder Millennial. That feeling of doing so well in academics and realizing that none of it matters, and that others are playing not only with a different set of rules but almost a whole different game board. Realizing that in your late twenties is a very Millennial thing.

I liked the story and characters in this book, but I wanted a little more from Rogers. I think a stronger edit might have taken this book from good to amazing. There are many side characters that need more time and space. There are messy transitions. Some of the dialogue is kind of canted and cringe-y. There are lots of metaphors that get less impactful as the book goes on. Some of the descriptions are overused (we hear how Grace has golden hair over and over again, for instance). For a debut novel, it’s very strong and I am looking forward to seeing how Morgan Rogers grows as an author.