Customer Reviews

Honey Moon

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

One of Susan Elizabeth Phillips best. More in the vein of DREAM A LITTLE DREAM than, say, FANCY PANTS. Its not as full of good ole boy humor as some of her others but rather is full of deep emotions and characters. The emotional growth of the characters over time is very moving. I like all of her books but this one and DREAM A LITTLE DREAM are the ones I read over. If you are looking for the simple - guy meets girl, a few problems, jump into bed, live happily ever after with their one true love, kind of book - look again. Life, love and literature are more interesting than that.

I adore SEP's books. She writes emotion, both laughter and tears like few others in the business. Honey is a character who is perfectly amazing in this girl-woman coming of age book. I cried at her pain and laughed at her spunkiness. It is not only a strong love story, but it is women's fiction at its best. This book is a favorite of mine BECAUSE it is real and the heroine's pain is real and her happiness and spirit exceptional. If you want more than just fun...if you want maturity in your reading, do NOT miss this book. It is a treasure!

Even though this is not your typical romance, most readers will really enjoy it. It is the story of Honey Moon, a young girl from a rough background who rather accidentally finds herself the star of a TV show. The romance in the book is generally pretty good, but the more interesting part of the book is Honey's growth from a tough, unloved girl, to an emotionally dependent wife, to an independent and fully mature woman. As usual, Susan Elizabeth Phillips is adept at adding touches of humor and creating interesting, multi-dimensional characters. It's a good read. Nevertheless, if you're reading it just for the romance, you will find it only marginally satisfying.

Okay, okay, I realize that this is going to be one of those dividing books that one either loves or hates, and it being an SEP book, I thought my initial feelings would change. Sorry, uh-huh, it still makes me cringe. Besides the ickiness of Honey and Dash getting together (he had been her father-figure), I never really came to understand or care about the characters. Yes, I saw all of the 5-star ratings calling this book emotionally-riveting, but I kept thinking how in need of a shrink all of the characters were! Yuck! Gross! Eeck! So glad this wasn't my first SEP book, or I'd never touch another with a ten-foot pole.

Young teen Honey Jane Moon drives her cousin to LA to audition for a western TV show and manages to land the role of the star's daughter. She becomes smitten with her much older co-star, TV icon Dash Coolidge and passionate for the Hollywood bad boy Eric who avoids her, and whose own life takes a dark turn.

While in Hollywood, Honey metamorphoses from an unloved teen to heroine to reluctant Dash's hero and they marry despite an enormous age gap. When circumstances find her alone again, she reaches out to Eric, whose own career is on the skids. Can they find solace in each other?

This is probably the first SEP novel that I found difficult to finish. The whole May-December romance was hugely icky for me - particularly given the circumstances of the relationship (Dash was her surrogate father for all intents and purposes). And while I understood the attraction for Eric, I did not feel that the relationship - particularly the adult relationship was fully realized. If you are expecting the lighthearted romantic fare you get with most SEP novels - this one will disappoint - the subject matter is more adult and more drama than most romance novels purport to be.

If you've read too many formulatic romance novels, this is a wonderful example of a writer who is not limited by genre. The characters are well written, and it displays life as true to form: messy sometimes, unpredicatable and occasionally devestating. Most women will be able to sympathize with Honey's acting out and teenage confusion. I would recommend this book to anyone tired of your typical bodice-ripping romance.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is my very favorite author, and while this is one of her older books, this is also one of her best. Honey Moon, the title character, is struggling to escape her poor Southern roots, so she enters her pretty cousin Chantal in the Miss Paxawatchie beauty contest, where the first prize is an audition in the new Dash Coogan Show. Honey and Chantal have to drive an old beatup pickup truck to Hollywood, and they meet up with Chatal's future husband Gordon, needless to say, Chantal is no longer interested in Hollywood or the Dash Coogan Show. Honey, in her desire to escape, becomes the one that gets the role on the show. As the show progresses, Honey meets some of the most influential people in her life. These people are Liz, the diva of the show who Honey hates to begin with, and she then turns into one of Honey's best friends. Dash, whom Honey looks to as almost a father, but then becomes a tender lover. However, the person that Honey most feels the desire to love and be loved by is Eric. Eric is one of the sexiest characters that Ms. Phillips has ever written. Eric is very loving towards children, and he re-enters Honey's life at her lowest point. The story between Honey and Eric is one that should not be missed. Personally, I think that Eric is very sexy and he reminds me of Lorenzo Gage in Breathing Room. This is a novel that should not be overlooked because the story is both tender and romantic.

I have read many of Susan E. Phillips books. This one was different from the others I have read because the characters were complex and the story deeply emotional. I couldn't put it down! I liked it better than any of her other works because of its complexity and depth.

Wonderful read, really a keeper.

DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK!! If you have, you would most probably throw it away as far as you can. I am glad I have bought her other books that are very good. This one is depressing, all her characters are stuck in their past and struggling too hard to move on. The man the heroine loved get killed in the process, another character get accused as a pedophiliac and lo and behold! The rollercoaster solve the problems! This book should never go out to print under SEP's name... use another alias! You get you money worth buying It Had To Be You, Kiss An Angel, Nobody Baby's But Mine.

This book was awful! I've never read a book before where every character practically screamed "I NEED THERAPY!" The potential for a good book was there but Phillips killed her story with her deeply disturbing characters. What's the use in a romance novel if the ending isn't happy, but bittersweet?