Almost caught up! Let’s just keep the reviews rolling in from the month.
Thanks to Kaye Publicity for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review
HONEYCOMB – S.B. Caves (Released July 9th, 2024)
Book Description:
Big Brother meets Black Mirror in this high-concept thriller in which six strangers take part in a mysterious medical experiment in an isolated mansion.
After winning the popular reality talent show Searching for a Star and a subsequent record deal at the age of nineteen, Amanda Pearson was the hottest thing in the UK. But as her short-lived fame began to fade, the cracks began to stumbling and mumbling on stage, slurring during live TV interviews, suspicious photos of her at nightclubs with powder around her nostrils. The dream was over. Amanda Pearson would forever be a one-hit wonder.
Six years later, after cleaning her act up but failing to reestablish her career, her ex-manager informs her of an unexpected opportunity that will help alleviate her dire financial situation and potentially thrust her back into the spotlight. The proposal is Six strangers alone in a mansion, under constant observation, for the duration of a week. Every day they take a pill. Five people are taking a placebo, but one person will be taking an experimental drug, which they are assured has no side adverse effects.
The other participants – a dinner lady who moonlights as a comedian, an eccentric theatre actor, a popular YouTuber, a dance choreographer, and a car salesman – all seem normal at first. However, as each day goes by, cracks begin to show in the group. Paranoia leads to violence. Who is taking the real pill, and what does it do? Amanda realises that this is no normal she is trapped, the old mansion is rigged, and there is no way out.
Can she find a way out of this nightmare with her sanity in tact?
My Thoughts: 4/5 stars
I had started this and wasn’t expecting to fly through it. It caught me by surprise, and this concept had me feeling that paranoia. A has-been is trying to make a name for herself and revitalize her career. She’s approached about a reality show. Six strangers alone in a mansion, under constant observation, for the duration of a week. Doesn’t sound too exciting or different, right? Well, the catch is that this is a medical experiment of sorts.
Every day, they take a pill. Five people are taking a placebo, but one person will be taking an experimental drug, which they are assured has no side adverse effects. I would be beyond paranoid. You don’t know what these strangers are like in their day to day, you don’t know their history, AND now you’re trying to figure out what the drug is, what it will do, and who is taking it. How are you supposed to know when someone is acting off? The suspense and build-up got intense! I don’t even know how I’d react in this situation, but I don’t think I’d even be on the show in the first place
Jessicamap Reviews 