The Honey Witch was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024. The blurb was really promising and the cover, oh my, how beautiful! Sadly it didn't quite reach my expectations.
Let's start with the things I liked:
I could identify with the portrayal of grief and at some points the prose was really promising! I think with a little experience the author will have a quite nice writing style.
Now some things I didn't liked:
The book isn't categorized as ya/na but it surely does feel like it (except for some scenes). Every character seemed much younger than they are. What kind of contributes to this is that the author used the phrasing "impossible girl" a lot. It is used to an extend were I, tbh, rolled my eyes everytime it was used again. Also, why "girl"? Aren't they in their early/mid twenties?
The ending was too rushed and the change in the atmosphere in the last 1/4 of the book felt too harsh. It didn't quite match the rest of the book.

Then there are some parts I had more issues with (spoiler warning!)
• Why is it that true love can only be romantic? Isn't platonic love as valuable? I wished for a more nuanced exploration of love
• For what reason is it, that Lottie dies right after (or because) they (kind of) had sex???? That was so so so unnecessary and must have been SO traumatising.

The Honey Witch is a regency-inspired, sapphic, cottagecore romantasy with a magic system based on honey.

My favourite part about this book was the absolutely beautiful writing! The author is AMAZING at making the world feel so alive, with lyrical and magical depictions of the nature and scenery, and this really sucked me into Marigold’s new responsibilities in the apiary and Innisfree!

I also really enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine romance in this! Sapphic romances are always a favourite because WOMEN but Marigold’s curse made for an interesting dilemma. Think Jacks from OUABH vibes. The friendships in The Honey Witch are also so sweet!

I did have a couple issues with this book. The ending felt quite rushed in my opinion; knowing that it was a standalone and thus everything needed to be resolved in this book, I began to wonder when I had only like 30 pages left how this book was going to wrap up in such a small portion of the story. It almost felt a little anticlimactic.

I wish we got to see Marigold learning/ practicing all of the knowledge her grandmother passed on a little more. There were a lot of time jumps in this book and I think that it would’ve been nice to see some of the things she got up to in these time periods to make the magical element of the story a bit more prominent.

I also think that one of the big plot twists was really obvious from very early on in the book and maybe it could’ve been foreshadowed with a little more subtlety.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, I think the vibes were absolutely perfect and I really loved all of the characters and their relationships. I think my main issues were with the plot/pacing. I would recommend this to anyone wanting a quick, sweet but emotional, witchy read.

Rating: 3.5

This book definitely screamed cottagecore, the vibes were beautiful, but I did find it a little predictable. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but I found myself shouting at the main character for not seeing what I as the reader could see. It was also very slow and I did struggle but the vibes/writing kept me going, just. I still enjoyed this book, but I personally would have enjoyed it more if I wasn't able to guess everything that was going to happen to the characters.
This book overall is beautifully written but I just didn't feel bonded to the main characters, not necessarily the books fault, but this just took down the enjoyment for me. I would definately recommend giving this book a try for yourself, because as I say it was beautiful, just maybe not to my tastes.

Thank you to Orbit UK and Netgalley for the eARC.

✨"She does not look down. She stands tall and proud and certain that she did the right thing for herself."✨

🐝 Marigold is a free spirit who loves nature and swimming in the lake in the middle of the night and who feels stifled by the rigid rules of society.I found her to be a fresh, sunny and brave character ,because yes ,it takes courage in deciding to put yourself first and choose the right path l while leaving behind loved ones. And it is this choice that led Marigold to Innsfree , a small magical Island made of flowers,bees and magical creatures that she is destined to protect by taking her grandmother's place as Honey Witch.
Here Mari will make it her mission to make the reserved and grumpy Lottie believe in magic, and so ,slowly transforming their relationship into tender and genuine slow burn.

🐝the strength of the book more than the plot was the world building: the prose is so lyrical and vivid that rather than describing the scenes it paints them making you want to go outside and lie on the grass under the sunshine. Plus the fact that the entire magic system is based on Honey and Ash magic ,two opposing but both necessary magics to keep things in balance, helps make the story even more interesting and cozy.

✨In essence for me is the Honey Witch was the right book at the right time! I found it simply sweet ,relaxing ,with the ability to make me feel the sun on my skin and the scent of honey! So if you are a fan of Legends and Lattes this and want an enveloping read, this is the perfect book for you !

This book was really well written and I enjoyed reading it.

It was written in 3rd person which for me makes it instantly harder for me to connect with the characters, but I feel like I needed more from them that just wasn't there?

The ending felt like it was a little bit rushed too.

The overall writing was really good though, it was really descriptive allowing you to picture the surroundings easily, I was just hoping for more from the plot.

Book review: The Honey Witch🍯

Publication Date: 14th May 2024
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

**POTENTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD**
Magic or mythcraft?

I was so excited to get approved for the ARC of The Honey Witch, and little did I know how much this book would come to mean to me in the days ahead.

The story centers around Marigold, a young woman destined to become a Honey Witch – a role steeped in magic but cursed with the inability to find true love.

The day after I began reading, my grandmother passed away. The bond that Marigold shared with her grandmother in the book mirrored my own connection with mine, making the story instantly resonate on a deeper level.

As I dove into Marigold's journey, a strange thing happened. A few days after my loss, I visited my mom, and to my surprise, two bees buzzed around us – unusual for the autumn season. Then, at my grandmother's service, the same thing happened with 2 little bees! One bee even got tangled in my hair, indoors no less.

These experiences solidified my belief in magic and omens, a concept the book beautifully explores. It felt like a message from my grandparents, a warm embrace during a time of immense grief.

The Honey Witch became a source of comfort during one of the most difficult realities that I've ever had to endure. The story's themes of grief, family, friendship, and the power of love, both magical and real, offered a sense of solace.

I found so much comfort in the way Sydney wrote about loss. This wasn't just a story about witches and curses; it was a reminder that even in the face of loss, there's magic to be found in unexpected places. It offered a gentle nudge towards healing, encouraging me to find the light within the darkness.

"Her grief isn't going anywhere, but maybe she can make friends with it. Maybe there are good memories hiding behind it."

Thank you to @netgalley and @orbitbooks_us for a copy of this eArc in exchange for an honest review

My review for The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields (5 stars): Magical cottagecore sapphic romance at it’s best!

Thank you Orbit and Sydney J. Shields for this advanced readers’ copy of The Household in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this whimsical cosy romantasy. It’s a beautiful story about love, destiny and courage, set in a world full of magic, unusual creatures and witches. The slow-burn sapphic romance with elements of enemies to lovers, forced proximity and grumpy-sunshine was the best I’ve ever read in a fantasy book.

We follow our main character Marigold Claude, the oldest daughter of Lord Claude, a famous artist and an established gentleman. Despite coming from such an esteemed household, Marigold has always struggled to find her place in society. She is not a great dancer, not good with paints and doesn’t have a beautiful singing voice. Marigold never cared for a suitor, but the one she once had broke her heart by proposing to another girl.

But soon, things change for Marigold: when her grandmother appears at her doorstep, she offers the young girl to become the next Honey Witch. The magic runs in the family and the next Honey Withc must protect the magical land of Innisfree. Innisfree, a tiny island in the middle of nowhere, full of colourful flowers, bees and magical creatures, is the source of the Honey magic. It’s also the perfect place for the darker magic to make its claims on eternal living… Marigold must fight to protect her newfound home and her loved ones.

I truly enjoyed the slightly slower pace of this story, with the beautiful prose organically taking me through the events of the story. I fell in love with this world, the characters and the story with its great LGBT representation and the best slow-burn sapphic love story. If you liked the pacing of Legends and Lattes, you will like this one too.

DNF @ 25%

I tried, I really tried. This was one of my anticipated releases this year but i just can't do it. Once I hit 20%, whenever I picked the book up I closed it after a few pages and I dreaded coming back. I rarely DNF books, and never DNF ARCs but I hate this writing so much, I am doing myself a favor and leaving this book behind or else I'd be stuck in another slump.

First things first, the writing is overly explanatory while the plot points are extremely simple, and the fact the author takes time to explain everything to me as if I am a 5 year old child just felt insulting to me. It's just that the concepts are so simple I am confused as to why we even need the explanations to begin with. There is absolutely nothing complicated about the plot to require having everything spelled out the way it was. (It is totally okay not to have complex plots for a cozy fantasy but then let's simply not waste our time on explanations). Also, please do not misunderstand, I am not shaming the author for trying to explain their plot, my problem is with the way it's done because it really feels like the author is talking to a child. The plot is basically the most basic evil witches vs good witches, doesn't get any more complicated than that. Also, the book felt strangely preachy at times, which just added to the "child" feel of it all.

The writing feels a little all over the place too, unfortunately. Sometimes, in between scenes the author tries to include passages that are supposed to come off as profound and poetic (though it's debatable whether they did their job) but they stick out like a sore thumb when the rest of the book is written in this very simplistic manner.

On the topic of plot points, there is already a huge plot hole 20% in and I'm shocked it was not caught while editing? Because it literally makes the whole plot of the book absolutely meaningless? Perhaps it is explained later on but I don't see why it wouldn't be when we are told about the curse.

Lastly, do not expect it to be a historical novel. It says it's like Bridgerton but it's not accurate to the era. I am usually not pressed about inaccuracies but here the author didn't even try unfortunately. Unless, it's not supposed to be historical in which case I am not sure where the Bridgerton comparison plays in. If you just like the aesthetics of the setting (which is fair!) then you might enjoy it and it won't find it too grating.

The worst part of all is that I did not even get to the romance and it was what I looked forward the most.

That being said, while I am very disappointed, I think that this book has the potential to just be a vibe read where you just go along for the ride. Sadly, I can't overlook all that I have mentioned but I hope you will have better luck if you decide to pick it up.

The Honey Witch is often described as a cross between Practical Magic and Bridgerton and I can see why. It merges the Regency vibes of Bridgerton with PM‘s whimsy and presents a cute sapphic lovestory full of cottagecore. I am, however, a bit conflicted about some elements of the plot. While I really liked the characters and the witchy vibes of Innisfree, I found everything just a bit too predictable. There are so many hints smacking you in the face throughout that nothing really comes as a surprise. This is the reason why I can only give three stars: I don’t want to know 30% in how everything‘s going to come together. Please leave a little bit up to the reader’s imagination, will ya?
Overall, this is a beautiful story though. I loved the writing and look forward to reading more from the author.

Set in a very queer-friendly alternate Regency era, i really loved the world-building here. This is a cosy, witchy romance but be warned - there is serious peril here, and I really did have the fear for a minute there. Would have liked to learn more about the dynamics of the dualling magics at work, but I zoomed through this book cos I was so charmed by the lead protagonists and their grumpy-sunshine dynamic.

This book was a nice cosy romance with a little bit of witchy goodness, all set in the regency era! A good fun read, with the relationship developing well.

this book was fun and was great for the cottagecore aesthetic, however it took a while for it to feel like the story started, and i considered dnfing it many times. i also wasn’t the biggest fan of the writing style, some parts were confusing and there were some obvious plot twists, which i wasn’t sure was purposeful or not.

the romance was also strange, i enjoyed their scenes together but struggled to feel the chemistry, and it felt like a lot of the emphasis was on if they were “destined”.

finally, i wish the spells and magic had been more fleshed out as it was a big part of why j wanted to read.

however, i enjoyed the platonic and familial love, which was very sweet to see, abc the setting on the island was brilliant, i would love to live there.

i do recommend if it sounds like your vibe, it just didn’t all work for me personally!

A sweet story filled with magic and romance.

When Marigold Claude learns she can inherit magical powers and care for a secluded, bee-filled island she doesn't think twice before accepting. The price - a family curse that prevents anyone from falling in love with her - doesn't make her think twice. But when Lottie Burke arrives on the island, shrouded in secrets and scepticism, she starts to doubt her decision. Is there a way she can protect the magic of Innisfree from sinister, dark threats, and follow her heart?

I really loved the world building and premise of this story - Innisfree was beautiful and so cosy and relaxing to read about. Marigold uses honey in all of her spells and tends to the flowers and bees of Innisfree whenever she isn't concocting cures and charms for visitors.

However her magic comes at a steep price, and loneliness and grief make for poor companions in her secluded cottage. Then Lottie arrives, bringing mysterious headaches, dark moods, and a healthy dose of scepticism, and I loved watching their relationship develop.

Changing review due to finishing the book. From the beginning I didn't expect this to be literary fiction and tried to skip over the very... juvenile writing style at times because the premise intrigued me. However, it just didn't hold up at all and after many pages of this, I can positively say this is one of these books that just wants to appear on Tiktok and was specifically written with that in mind (with the whole "cottagecore witchy aesthetic vids from the author on instagram I keep seeing it checks out). The plot and worldbuilding are not holding up at all (major plot points like the curse that gets explained away in a matter of seconds.. come on), I am specifically irritated by why the author has chosen the name "Innisfree" for the scene setting, which is a popular poem by Irish national writer W.B. Yeats - I was expecting to at least have some Irish folklore intwined with the story but no, seems like the author just deemed it "cute" and didn't think any further. Bit tone-deaf given its significance in Irish Literature. Then we have the main character who became more and more insufferable, one-dimensional and bratty by the minute. I get that writing involves learning and getting better but I'm not sure why this book was published with such plotholes and terrible writing.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for my digital review copy.

I was very excited to read this, and maybe my expectations were slghtly too high.

It was easy to loose myself in the world and writing style - I wanted to learn more about Marigold and being a honey witch that I didn't realise I was nearly 60% through, but, as for being 60% through, I realised that the main plot was moving slowly. But then a lot seemed to get covered in the last 20% and I realised that the pacing felt off to me and that parts of the book could be fleshed out more.

The setting is a queernormative world, in a time period reminiscent of the regencey era and I feel like the historical aspects could be done better, though with that being said, I did love the setting of Innisfree and its whimsical, magical vibes.

This is the sort of book that I could absolutely read in one sitting and I waited so long to read my e-arc as I wanted to start it on the perfect sprong day (This didn't end up happening and I started it on a quintessential cold, grey british spring day, but it was addictive to read about the sunny spring setting that this book gave me. It is absolutely a springtime book).

I wished we had more time to explore the magic system of the world and the duality of ash magic vs honey magic because what we did get had so much promise.

I do love a sapphic romance, especially given the tropes in this book, but there were parts of it that didn't feel as much of a slow-burn that I expected and due to the pacing issues.

Overall, I did enjoy this fun little read, with cozy undertones and I would recommend if you want something to read on the lighter side.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was an enjoyable, mid-stakes fantasy novel (peril but not danger to the whole world!). It was cosy in places but also dealt with grief and loneliness in a sensitive way, and has good LGBTQ+ romance representation. I didn't completely get on with the author's writing style but that's probably a me issue. I'm sure lots of people will enjoy this.

The Honey Witch certainly has a beautiful cover and a promising blurb. It fell flat for me though, I skimmed through the book from about 20%.

In a world ( probably modelled on late 18th/early 19th century Europe) that has magic and same sex marriage, where women are property owners and are allowed to work in all sorts of trades, Marigold (the MC) has no other talents than to be married off. Yet, she is not interested in marriage; and anyone who is, is beneath her.

Her family is cursed, no one is allowed to fall in love. No big deal for Marigold, she's not interested anyway until Lottie.

Well, this could have been a cute sapphic romantasy, but the world-building and magic system lacked, and the characters weren't fully fleshed out either.

1.5 stars generously rounded up to 2.0 stars

The Honey Witch had such great potential. With a cover like that and the promise of a cozy cottage with honey magic, I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately this book was a let down for me on all fronts.

We meet Marigold when she is basically the wild child of the family. Not yet wed and not interested in that in the least, she escapes to the meadow in the night. When her grandma comes, she shares that she is actually a witch and that there is more in store for her than being the lady of the house. The downside, she can never fall in love because of a curse. To Marigold, this is not a downside at all.

The start feels rushed, like the author wants to push through the starting point to get where she wants to be. We don't get time to meet Marigold and her family properly. It doesn't help that Marigold doesn't seem like a very nice person. She is very judgemental of those in life that aspire different things from her. The idea that someone would want to be married and have kids, be the lady of the house. Gosh what kind of a person would you be? And imagine that this is set a bit into the past so this was pretty normal. Now don't get me wrong, I completely understand her not wanting that but that doesn't give her the right to act like she is better than others. Her grandmother actually calls her out on it but I don't think that stuck for her. The start is filled with anti-marriage, anti men etc. It grew tiresome.

When we do get to the island, her grandmother dies and she becomes The Honey Witch. The brakes get hit and after barely any training she is it. At that point, most of my interest was gone but I tried to stay with it. But I did not believe the romance either. I didn't really care for Marigold or her love interest. Lottie is unnessecarily rude and mean.

The world building was flawed. Honey magic and Ash magic are apparently opposites of each other instead of just existing together. It was a really flimsy explanation. And the Ash magic isn't really explained very well either. The curse has a big ass hole. The point of the not falling in love curse was to stop the family line from continuing. Well I'm sorry to break it to you, but you don't exactly need to love someone to create baby's. Next to the fact that Marigolds grandmother created a baby out of thin air with her magic. So there is that. Then there was the whole soulmate magic that was all kinds of horrible.

As a whole I was expecting something very different from a book being marketed as cottage core. I was expecting some lovely writing and subtly. Instead I got a story trying to smash into my head with a blunt axe.

𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓰𝓸𝓵𝓭, 𝓭𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓭𝓵𝔂, 𝔀𝓲𝓵𝓵 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓫𝓮 𝓫𝓻𝓸𝓴𝓮𝓷 𝓫𝔂 𝓱𝓲𝓶, 𝓸𝓻 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓮, 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓪𝓰𝓪𝓲𝓷.

𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌: ☆ ☆ ☆

Thank you Orbit UK and Netgalley for this e-arc. All thoughts are my own.

To be honest, my feelings towards this book are very passive. I didn’t love it but I also didn’t hate it. None of the characters really drew me in, and the plot was just too mundane.

I enjoyed the charm of this book. I’m a big fan of cosy fantasy, and this was definitely very sweet. The foundation was interesting and I did like the exploration into family dynamics.

However;

My biggest problem was that it still felt unfinished. The plot and the characters were lacking a depth that I needed, and while I enjoyed the general vibe, I couldn’t fully embrace it because I kept feeling like something was missing. The characters were also more juvenile than I expected, and I had so many questions about the world building that were never answered.

The story is told from Marigold’s perspective, and her story was really interesting. I liked her journey with grief and appreciating herself, and she had a good amount of growth in understanding that people want different things in life. Unfortunately, most of her problems were kind of self inflicted so my sympathy only went so far.

Lottie wasn’t as well developed as Marigold, which unfortunately meant that I wasn’t completely invested in their relationship. Her antagonistic personality was fun at the beginning, as I do enjoy relationships that start off on the wrong foot. However, it quickly became tiresome, and I wasn’t endeared towards her throughout the book.

The other problem was pacing. The events in this week happen over a large timeframe, and this made it all feel disjointed. The time skips made certain things feel very rushed, and none of the characters really feel connected to each other because of the jumps. The climax of the book was also just weirdly abrupt, and felt out of place considering the rest of the book’s story.

Overall, the idea was solid but the execution was not there.

A cosy, sapphic fantasy with elements of magic sprinkled along the way to make it just that little bit witchy.

I enjoyed the premise of The Honey Witch, with a girl soon to be deemed 'too old' by society for marriage finding her way and realising that it's OK that she isn't quite the same as the others in her family. Her time with her grandmother is short, yet sweet and accepting, and her new friends and Mr Benny fill a place that was left. There's some danger, a lot of romance and a bit of magic.

It was a little obvious with the focus on soulmates where it was going to be heading, though the August and Frankie pairing did seem a little more forced than the other (but hey, maybe that's how soulmates work...) and the hint with Lottie's past on who she actually stuck out like a sore thumb. Yet there was a clear attempt to make it mesh well together.

Also, as much as I liked the two female leads and their interactions, there was a bit more focus on the romance side rather than the witchy side that I'd expected, despite the book being sold as witchy. I would have loved to see Marigold working her magic more - how she interacts with the customers, what their concerns were and what the resolutions were like. Seeing her growth into the role rather than immediate change would have been nice.