A storage system and method for host memory access are provided. In one embodiment, a storage system is configured to receive a write command from a host that is recognized by the storage system as a read host memory command and receive a read command from the host that is recognized by the storage system as a write host memory command. This provides a communication channel that allows the storage system to access the host memory. The storage system can use the host memory as a backup write cache and/or to stream data of different types stored in different areas of the host memory. Hibernation can be avoided, and timeout delays can be ignored. Other embodiments are provided.