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.

Overall thoughts:
2.5⭐️
0.5 🌶️
368 (kindle edition) 📖
Release Date - 16th May 2024

‘It's better to be lost in a daydream than trapped in a dim reality.’
'Death has never felt so close. Love has never felt so far.'

Tropes: Queer rep/ romance, witches, slow burn, curses, found family.

A generational curse holds Marigold at arms length of she what she truly wants... love.

I really wanted to like this book, having read similar sounding books in the past & enjoyed them. However this book just wasn't for me.
I'll start with the things I had issues with & finish with the positives!
The major issue for me was pacing. The book's pacing is initially very slow and felt extremely rushed at the end (ie. the third act conflict happens at 93% completion of the ebook edition).
I also felt like the characters/ magic & plot could also have done with a lot more fleshing out - it all felt a bit surface level. It was hard to get invested in them & their arcs.

That all been said, the writer has a lovely whimsical & descriptive writing style. Making it really easy to imagine the world around Marigold.
Standout character for me with Mr Benny, I really would have loved to hear a bit more about his younger days with Marigold's grandmother.

Thank you to Sydney J. Shields & NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

We follow Marigold. In the beginning of the book I definitely see inspiration from pride and prejudice but that’s mostly where that ends. We get some hints of Halloweentown as we find out that Marigold is a witch, when her grandmother comes to collect her and take her back to her home. Her entire life her mother was trying to protect her from the Ash Witch who wants to use her power to become immortal rather than helping the world as she’s meant to. When Althea, Marigold’s grandmother refused to help the Ash Witch, she puts a curse on Althea and her family. No one can love them. If they chose love, they must give up their powers. Marigold immediately accepts her magic and is trained to be a proper honey witch, thinking love will never find her and she doesn’t care for it. That is until she meets Lottie.

This is a very coming of age book. A book of discovering oneself. There’s a little found family.

Id say it was about a 4 star read for me. It was cozy. It was good but something was missing. I just cant put my finger on what that is. However, beautiful debut for Sydney! I cant wait to see what she brings out next!

A cosy cottagecore fantasy that’s magically written. I love a family curse in a plot and I enjoyed this aspect. I felt the book started well with Bridgerton vibes and I was really getting into it and then there was a big change and I felt it could have been more modern day and this threw me slightly. The relationship between the main FMC and her grandmother was nice but the rest of her family relationships didn’t seem that realistic. The romance is lovely and heartwarming. I think many people will love the vibes of this book and it is written well, the depth just wasn’t there for the characters for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC copy of this book.

Gilmore girls + Peactical Magic + Bridgerton + romantasy queer cottage core dreaminess

I would give this a 3.5/5 overall but I wanted to give it more!! The start was a bit too long with a little too much emphasis on Mari not fitting in. Some of it felt too rushed and sudden plot wise including her development as a witch. The end was also a bit too abrupt and some of the pace a bit off overall but I loved the concepts, plots and characters overall:

* Sapphic cottage core vibes
* Inclusive queer/ LGBTQIA+ Bridgerton context
* Fated Mates
* Found Family
* Super cute world building: I want to live on the island!!

DNFed at 22%
Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the prose of this, and the themes it touched on did not feel refined. I felt the book going into a direction I disagreed with from the start, so I will not give it a rating public on Goodreads, as it is simply not be my cup of tea.

By the title alone I knew this was not going to be one to miss!
Witches, magic, romance, cottagecore gorgeousness!
A really truely wonderful cute cosy story!

A truly beautiful cosy sapphic fantasy with a strong romance plot.

Marigold has always felt out of place in her home and community - more interested in nature than balls. So it makes sense when she learns that she is a witch, and moves to her grandmother's house to learn how to use her magic. But that magic also comes with responsibilities, including protecting her new home from a rogue witch who has cursed her family never to know love.

I really can't talk about this book without using the word beautiful. The writing is in third person present tense (single point of view), which gives it a very lyrical feel. The whole setup is very cosy, with plenty of cottage slice-of-life moments intermingled with the wider plot.

The magic itself is really interesting - the idea of honey magic and ash magic being opposites but both necessary in their own way. And the magic being both dependent on and responsible for nature was a great concept.

The other characters in the book are fun. Marigold's family are a definite mixed bunch, but their heart is clearly in the right place. Then on the island she reconnects with her childhood friend August, which introduces Marigold to his friend Lottie. The love interest of a witch being a complete magic sceptic is always a great dynamic, and it worked really well here.

I can't not mention that this book is extremely feminist and I am here for it! So many of the lessons Marigold learns as part of her witch training are about supporting women whatever path they choose to take in life.

I'd wholeheartedly recommend this to lovers of cosy fantasy romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free copy. All thoughts are my own.

The Honey Witch, set in 1831, follows Marigold as she discovers magic, love, and the enchanting power of honey.

I was excited about the premise of this book, especially being drawn to its whimsical and sapphic themes. Overall, I had a fun time reading it, and it delivered on its promises in principle. If you enjoy fantasy and romance, you'll likely find this debut novel enjoyable.

However, while I appreciated the premise and atmosphere, I found the pacing and character development lacking, making it difficult for me to fully engage with the story.

One of my main challenges in connecting with the story was the prose, which often read like young adult fiction. Whilst this isn't inherently a problem, personally, I struggle to connect with young adult romance. I couldn't help but feel that the story might have been better suited for a younger audience.

Nevertheless, if you're intrigued by the book and enjoy the genre, particularly cosy regency settings, it's worth giving it a chance, if only for its whimsical sapphic fairytale vibes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

I was worried about this because I wasn’t sure I was going to love it - I’m not a big fan of historical fiction, I think regency stuff has been massively overdone at this point, I’ve never even seen Bridgerton (well, I did start it thanks to this book). However, I saw people mention this book was sapphic and, like a moth to a flame, I had to read it after that.

It started off really slow and I was, again, worried I had made a wrong decision in thinking this book would be for me but, after the 25/30% mark, it picked up a lot and I got really into it. I had a lot of fun!

I really liked Mari and Lottie. I loved the grumpy/sunshine dynamic, which isn’t normally my favourite trope but thought it was cute here. They had a somewhat slow burn relationship that was heartwarming, wholesome and endearing. I really liked the honey/ash witch story.

I loved the atmosphere, and I adore bees, so I knew I’d like those elements even if I didn’t like much else (but, thankfully, I did). How cool is it that we exist at a time where bees exist, too?

I also enjoyed the themes about feminism, grief, and loneliness. I thought they were done well.

I found the pacing to be off, though. As I mentioned earlier, the first part of this book starts off very slowly, then the middle we have a little cosy fantasy with a cottagecore atmosphere and we get to know the characters a bit more, and then the last section is really fast paced and more like a typical fantasy. I think that, if the pacing was done a little better, it could have been more evenly spread out throughout the book. I definitely think cosy fantasy and a more typical fast paced fantasy can coexist in a book and be done brilliantly, but I do feel like it could have been done better here.

I also wanted to know more about the characters. We do spend a lot of time with them, but I think we should have gotten more in depth information about them and especially the way they interact with each other.

And I also had a problem with the world building, which is that there isn’t much? I have no idea about what the world is like, how their magic works, or really anything outside of Marigold (and Lottie’s) bubbles. Even then, some things didn’t make sense, such as the curse. I think the curse added high stakes and it helped further the plot, I’m just confused with how it works.

On the other hand…it was really fun and I had a great time. I love the world, I love the characters, and I’m sad that I think this is a stand-alone because I want more! So does it have its issues? Yes, but that did not at all hinder my enjoyment of the story and I thought it was a fantastic debut.

I look forward to what else this author writes!

Cottage core meets historical fantasy. I found the pacing a little slow in this one, but the writing and prose were lively and kept me turning the page. The generational curse that affects Marigold was so bittersweet, and you can't help but feel for her plight. The romance was sweet, nothing over the top, and while the plot twists weren't a surprise, the magical setting just pulls you in with the cottage core vibes.

Special thanks to Little Brown Group UK and Netgalley for providing me an advance copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 | 𝐒𝐲𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐉 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬
★★★.75

𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬
Marigold has never fit in with her siblings and peers in Bardshire, and until her grandmother visits and confesses that they’re Honey Witches does Marigold realise why. Marigold and her grandmother go to Innisfree where her grandmother works to keep the land alive and the locals healthy.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟
⟡ Historical fantasy
⟡ Cosy cottagecore vibes
⟡ Sapphic rep
⟡ Generational curse

𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝
This was a really charming fantasy that is practically every cottagecore lovers dream. The magic system is gentle and sweet, featuring honey and its antithesis: ash. It’s supported by a setting that is wholesome, idyllic, and utterly worth saving. The land of Innisfree was a world of beautiful—and sometimes deadly—omens that tied in wonderfully with the story.

Which is why the generational curse hits so bittersweet. Marigold essentially has to choose between her magic—and by extension, her land and all it serves—and her one true soulmate. The romance in this book is between a witch and a skeptic and whilst Marigold tries to persuade Lottie that magic is real, the real magic of falling in love is happening instead. The writing is lush and descriptive that enforces the cosy vibes and the warmhearted narrative.

For every reader who dreams of escaping to a cottage in the woods to work on spells and keep the land alive; for every reader who’s never fit in or thought that they could find true love, this is for you.

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝
The trouble for me with this book is that it could be quite boring. It’s a bit like playing the cosy games of animal crossing and stardew valley, the results are worthwhile but it can be a bit of a grind.

Couple this with interactions that are written in purple prose but lack serious bonding made me unconvinced in the relationships and dynamics of the story.

𝐅𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵.”

“𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯.”

“𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘴.”

I struggled with this book as I found the characters lacking depth. The introduction of Lottie didn't work for me,- first, I immediately figured out who she was and secondly, her mean girl shell, soft inside arc was forced and unrealistic.
The plot was good and I liked concept but mostly I found the whole thing to filled with overworked dialogue and effortful tropes.

A cottage core whimsical magic story with Practical Magic vibes and a sapphic love story? I was so excited for this book, it was one of my most anticipated reads for 2024. As much as I did enjoy it, I also felt like it fell a little flat as well.

The descriptive writing side of it was wonderful to read and so pretty but the speech parts felt a bit clunky and thrown in.

I did guess the plot twist very early on but it didn’t ruin the rest of my reading experience, it gave more of a ‘when will she realise’ vibe

I will definitely be looking out for more from Sydney in the future as her descriptive writing is beautiful to read

Sometimes you can scream " I am not like other girls", without saying anything at all.

Yeah, as you can read between the lines, I did not finish that book. I gave up around the 20-25% mark.

The writing style was okayish for me. I noticed instantly that I started skimming passages, which (in my case) is a good indicator that I am not vibing with the text.

I was annoyed by the main character and also the plot itself.
The plot was both dragging and too fast. It was like "Bam! Here is a plot point", and "Bam: here some more for you"; but overall it just bored me, which makes me quite sad because the overall premise sounded great and the cover is stunning!
I also think, that there may be a massive plothole for the whole curse thing, but I haven't read far enough to see if my assumption is correct.
The book tried to be a lot more than it is (Damn, that sounds very harsh!). The whole "elemental opposite", curses, "you are a witch marigold", and just the overall plot itself.

When I hear cottagecore fantasy, I think of a book that feels like reading on a warm summer day and just something softer.

Also: I thought that this book is set in 2024 or something and not the 1800s. Did I miss a marketing point??

DNFed unfortunately. I was expecting an exciting, fast-paced plot that was similar to Bridgerton (as stated in its synopsis) with a fascinating world of magic and spells, but this all fell flat for me. I couldn't get into it.

Although the writing was done well, the characters had the driest personalities and conversations, and I just wasn't excited about the plot enough to carry on reading :(