Oh, Honey, by Emily Austin

Emily R. Austin's Oh, Honey sounds like a funny book.  Jane is a telemarketer, calling strangers all day to ask them to participate in a survey about feline diabetes.  Of course, most people hang up on her.  To entertain herself, she uses different names on every call, including on multiple calls a day to the same customer.  Over and over she calls him, while he gets angrier and angrier.

But Jane's no fun-loving, pranking telemarketer.  She's a drug addicted, sexually reckless, troubled young lady with a depressing past.  Oh, Honey is not as depressing as Jane's life, but it's pretty close.  She will try whatever drugs her co-worker or her roommate's girlfriend puts in front of her.  She habitually cuts patterns on her skin; she likes the feeling of bleeding.  She sits in the tub, watching the water turn pink.

The humor of Oh, Honey is dark and troubling.  It's hard to laugh at Jane's self-destructive lifestyle.  I didn't enjoy Oh, Honey and wouldn't recommend it.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!