Blog Tour: The Honeys // Moodboard and Review!

Hiya everyone! It’s been a while, so how are all of you? Are you well rested? Drinking enough water? Well, I sure hope so. Anyways, today I have a special post because it’s a blog tour! I haven’t participated in one for a while, so I’m very happy about this. Alrighty, let’s get into it!

Book Info

Title: The Honeys

Author: Ryan La Sala 

Publisher: Scholastic Press

RELEASE DATE: August 2th, 2022

GENRE(S): Horror, Young Adult LGBT Contemporary, Mystery Queer Thriller Fiction Mystery Thriller Boarding School

BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Honeys-Ryan-Sala/dp/133874531X

Tour Schedule Link: https://turnthepagetours.wordpress.com/2021/11/23/tour-schedule-the-honeys/

Synopsis

From Ryan La Sala, the wildly popular author of Reverie, comes a twisted and tantalizing horror novel set amidst the bucolic splendor of a secluded summer retreat.

Mars has always been the lesser twin, the shadow to his sister Caroline’s radiance. But when Caroline dies under horrific circumstances, Mars is propelled to learn all he can about his once-inseparable sister who’d grown tragically distant.

Mars’s gender fluidity means he’s often excluded from the traditions — and expectations — of his politically connected family. This includes attendance at the prestigious Aspen Conservancy Summer Academy where his sister poured so much of her time. But with his grief still fresh, he insists on attending in her place.

What Mars finds is a bucolic fairytale not meant for him. Folksy charm and sun-drenched festivities camouflage old-fashioned gender roles and a toxic preparatory rigor. Mars seeks out his sister’s old friends: a group of girls dubbed the Honeys, named for the beehives they maintain behind their cabin. They are beautiful and terrifying — and Mars is certain they’re connected to Caroline’s death.

But the longer he stays at Aspen, the more the sweet mountain breezes give way to hints of decay. Mars’s memories begin to falter, bleached beneath the relentless summer sun. Something is hunting him in broad daylight, toying with his mind. If Mars can’t find it soon, it will eat him alive.

Book Review

Now it’s time for the review!

What I Liked

• I absolutely adored Mars! I can relate to feeling like the shorter end of the stick, especially when you’re constantly being compared to others. However, with time those feelings faded away. Hence why I was elated when Mars finally came into their own.
• The dialogue! Lately, I find that dialogue between teenagers in YA books is slightly cringy. They try too hard to be trendy, which I dislike. Luckily, The Honeys wasn’t like that at all!
• The eerieness! Usually, I read mysteries set in fall or winter, never summer. So when I picked this one up, I didn’t expect the book to be this scary. It was the perfect amount of spooky.
• The mystery aspect was perfect! I like a good mystery that doesn’t rely on shock value to wow the audience when the perpetrator is revealed. Moreover, The Honeys has a great-paced mystery. It’s not too predictable, but also doesn’t completely stump the reader.

What I Disliked

• The only issue I had with the story was that it took about 20% of the way in for me to be fully invested. The Honeys is slightly slow-paced in the beginning, but the pace really starts to pick up as you read on.

Moodboard

About the Author

Ryan La Sala writes about surreal things happening to queer people. Ryan resides in New York City, but only physically. Escapist to the core, he spends most of his time in the astral planes and only takes up corporeal form for special occasions, like brunch and to watch anime (which is banned on the astral planes). Ryan is the author behind the riotously imaginative Reverie, and the brilliantly constructed Be Dazzled. He has been featured in Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Tor.com, and one time Shangela from RuPaul’s Drag Race called him cute. Right in the middle of the road downtown! So. Pretty big deal all around, yes?

And that’s a wrap! I hope you all enjoyed this tour stop, because I had so much fun making it. Have a wonderful day, and stay safe! ❤

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