Honey BOOK REVIEW

• Date Published:
  2024
• Length:
  400 pages—Listening Time: 13 hours 27 minutes
• Genre:
  Fiction
• Setting:
  Present day; New Jersey and Los Angeles, California
• Awards
  Oregon Book Awards Finalist Ken Kesey Award for Fiction 2025; Library Journal Best Books Literary Fiction 2024
• Languages:
  English, German
• Sensitive Aspects:
  Suicidal ideation, rape, pregnancy, loss of a child, carjacking, drug use, domestic abuse, homophobia, home invasion, gun violence, family mob violence and criminal activity, physical assault, emotional abuse and bullying, transphobia and rejection of a transgender family member, infidelity and betrayal in close relationships, alcoholism and prescription drug misuse, planning or contemplating one’s own death, grief and repeated bereavement
• Movie
  As of mid-2026, no official movie adaptation has been released or actively produced for Honey.
• Recommended for Book Club:
  Yes

There’s something about a prickly, larger-than-life older woman that just gets under my skin—in the best possible way. You know the type. A little sharp around the edges, fiercely independent, maybe even a bit intimidating… until suddenly, you’re completely invested in her story. That’s precisely the energy I walked into with Honey by Victor Lodato. This is the pick for July for my local book club, and I'm confident it will spark some very lively conversation.

If you’ve ever found yourself drawn to characters like Ove from A Man Called Ove, or the unforgettable women in Mad Mabel or How the Penguins Saved Veronica, then Honey Fasinga is going to feel oddly familiar—and yet entirely her own creature. She’s glamorous, difficult, observant, and often unintentionally funny. She’s the kind of character who says the wrong thing at exactly the right moment.

What really pulled me in was Lodato’s writing style. It has this subtle, tongue-in-cheek quality that sneaks up on you. One minute you’re chuckling at Honey’s sharp commentary, and the next, you’re sitting with something surprisingly tender or quietly devastating. It’s layered without feeling heavy, which is no small feat.

Now, I’ll be honest—this was a solid 7-star read for me. I genuinely enjoyed it, especially the character work and the voice, which felt so vivid it practically hummed off the page. But… the plot? It didn’t quite live up to the richness of Honey herself. At times, it drifted into territory that felt a bit too familiar, even predictable. Not enough to ruin the experience, but enough to make me wish for a little more narrative risk.

Still, this is one of those books you read for the character, for the voice, and for the moments that make you pause and think, Did she really just say that? And honestly, sometimes that’s more than enough.

So if you’re looking for a character-driven story with wit, bite, and a touch of melancholy, you might want to add Honey to your list. Just don’t expect it to follow the rules—and maybe that’s the point.

Honey Fasinga is an eighty-something woman who’s spent most of her life carefully distancing herself from her New Jersey mob family, reinventing herself in the world of high-end art, vintage glamour, and deliberately curated independence. When the book opens, she’s returning to her hometown after decades away, ready—at least in theory—to make peace with her past and with the people who still carry her family’s name and secrets.

Back in New Jersey, Honey’s quiet, controlled life keeps getting interrupted by new connections she didn’t ask for. There’s Jocelyn, the young neighbor who crashes (literally) into Honey’s world and refuses to stay at arm’s length. There’s Nathan, a much younger artist who helps her after a carjacking and becomes an unexpected presence in her days. And there’s her extended family, including a bullying nephew and a grandnephew whose complicated, painful relationship with the family forces Honey to look at old loyalties and old wounds in a new way.

The story follows Honey through the first years of this return home, as she navigates loneliness, aging, long-avoided memories, and the messy business of letting people get close again. Instead of big plot twists, you get layered encounters, sharp conversations, and small but meaningful shifts in how Honey sees herself and the people around her. Think A Man Called Ove or How the Penguins Saved Veronica: a prickly, memorable older protagonist whose reluctant entanglements with others slowly reshape the emotional landscape of the book.

No major events are being spoiled here—just the promise: you’re signing up for a character-driven, slightly dark, often funny exploration of an older woman reckoning with the life she built and the one she thought she’d escaped.

This may not be a book for everyone—but if it is for you, it’s going to land in a very satisfying way. So let’s talk honestly about why you, dear seasoned reader, might actually enjoy Honey.

Complex, unapologetic older heroine

Honey Fasinga is not here to be sweet, tidy, or “relatable” in the Instagram quote-card sense. She’s vain, sharp, self-protective, and surprisingly vulnerable under all that lacquered hair and perfect lipstick. If you’re tired of older women being written as quirky side characters or wise grandmothers, Honey’s full, messy humanity will feel like a breath of fresh air.

Character-driven storytelling with emotional bite

This is not a plot-first book—it’s a “sit with this person and watch her unravel herself” kind of experience. The pleasure is in the conversations, the glances, the moments when Honey says something outrageous and then reveals the pain behind it three pages later. If you love novels where the arc is mostly internal, you’ll find a lot to chew on here.

Nuanced, tongue-in-cheek narrative voice

The narration has that sly, sideways humor that never screams, “Look, I’m being funny!” Instead, it lets you discover the joke, the irony, or the emotional undercurrent on your own. You’ll get those delicious little micro-laughs, followed by, “Oof, that hit closer to home than I expected.” It’s ideal for readers who appreciate wit that doesn’t undercut emotional depth.

Rich themes: aging, regret, and reinvention

The book leans into the realities of growing older: physical vulnerability, loneliness, and the weight of choices made decades ago. But it also insists that transformation and connection aren’t reserved for the young. If you enjoy stories that respect the complexity of late-life change, this will speak to you.

Found family vibes (without the sentimentality overdose)

Honey keeps bumping into people she didn’t plan on caring about—neighbors, younger friends, complicated relatives—and those relationships become the emotional engine of the story. There’s warmth here, yes, but it’s prickly warmth. If you loved how A Man Called Ove or How the Penguins Saved Veronica slowly built community around a difficult protagonist, you’ll recognize that same slow-burning satisfaction.

Mafia-adjacent backstory used for psychology, not melodrama

The mob element isn’t just window dressing; it explains a lot about Honey’s instincts, fears, and coping mechanisms. Yet the book resists turning into a crime thriller. Instead, it uses that background to explore loyalty, violence, and moral gray areas. If you like stakes that are emotional rather than explosive, you’ll appreciate this approach.

Strong sense of place and atmosphere

The New Jersey setting and Honey’s LA past give the story a tactile, lived-in feel—houses, neighborhoods, art-world glamour, and the quiet spaces an aging woman inhabits when no one’s looking. If you’re the kind of reader who likes to feel the room, the outfits, and the neighborhood as you read, you’ll enjoy this.

Perfect for book club conversations

This is one of those novels where people are going to disagree—about Honey’s choices, about who deserves sympathy, about whether she changes “enough.” That makes it ideal for your July book club pick. You’ll have plenty to talk about: ethics, family loyalty, aging, class, and how much we owe the people who hurt us.

A satisfying “7-star” experience for voice and character lovers

If you go in expecting a twisty, high-octane plot, you’ll probably wish it had more oomph. But if you’re here for vivid characterization, layered dialogue, and a voice that lingers after you put the book down, that solid 7-star feeling is exactly right. It’s not perfect, but it’s absolutely worthwhile.

If you loved Honey, chances are that you will enjoy the following books as well.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
A grumpy, rule-bound widower is slowly, reluctantly pulled back into community by persistent neighbors and a chaotic young family. Readers who loved Honey’s prickly exterior, slow-burn emotional reveal, and unexpected connections will appreciate how Ove’s story balances humor, grief, and human kindness in a similar way.

How the Penguins Saved Veronica by Hazel Prior
Veronica McCreedy, an eighty-something curmudgeon with money and a sharp tongue, travels to Antarctica to visit a penguin research project and stumbles into family, purpose, and a softer version of herself. If Honey’s late-life reinvention, emotional thawing, and “I do not have time for feelings” vibe worked for you, Veronica will feel like a spirited cousin—with added penguins and scenery. Read the full review here.

Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth
Mad Mabel centers on an older woman whose “madness” is more rumor than reality, a label slapped on her by a community that doesn’t bother to look beneath the surface. Behind the eccentricities and sharp edges is a life marked by grief, bad decisions, loyalty, and a fierce refusal to be neatly categorized. Readers who loved Honey will gravitate toward Mabel’s complicated mix of vulnerability and defiance, the way she challenges everyone’s assumptions about her, and the book’s blend of dark humor and emotional insight as her true story slowly comes into focus. Read my full review here.

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney
On New Year’s Eve, an elderly former advertising star wanders Manhattan, revisiting places from her past and reflecting on her career, relationships, and choices. If you enjoyed Honey’s glamour, sharp observations, and her ongoing negotiation between the woman she was and the woman she’s allowed herself to become, Lillian’s witty, reflective walk through the city will hit similar notes.

The Summer Before the Dark by Doris Lessing
A middle-aged woman steps away from her traditional family role into a more independent, unsettling summer that forces her to confront aging, desire, and identity. Honey readers who valued the introspective focus on a woman rethinking her life story—and the quiet but intense psychological shifts that come with that—will find this novel richly resonant.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
This linked collection of stories follows Olive, a blunt, often difficult retired schoolteacher whose presence quietly shapes the lives around her in a small Maine town. If you responded to Honey’s abrasive honesty, buried tenderness, and the way a community’s perception of her evolves over time, Olive offers that same “complicated older woman you can’t forget” experience in exquisitely observed snapshots. Read my full review here.

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
A fictional autobiography charting Daisy Goodwill’s life from birth to death, exploring how identity, domestic life, and quiet choices accumulate into a full existence. Honey fans who were intrigued by the idea of a woman reckoning with the narrative of her own life—rather than just the events themselves—will appreciate the reflective tone and subtle emotional currents running through Daisy’s story.

Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
Mrs. Palfrey, an elderly widow living in a London residential hotel, forms a complicated, mutually beneficial bond with a younger writer who poses as her grandson. Readers who enjoyed Honey’s blend of loneliness, dignity, awkward cross-generational relationships, and bittersweet humor around aging and invisibility will find this short novel quietly devastating, darkly funny, and emotionally sharp.

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