I really liked this book in the beginning. I absolutely fell in love with Althea’s character. However, I feel like the pacing was off: the beginning felt very slow (not in a bad way), there just wasn’t a lot happening; and then suddenly, a whole lot happened in a very short amount of pages which felt very un balanced. The ending was a bit rushed in my opinion. I loved the lore and the story of the Honey Witches and the Ash witches. I do wish we learned more about the Ash Witches because they are presented as evil for most of the book without really questioning it or talking a step back and acknowledging that they just do magic differently than Honey Witches.
Still a fun entertaining spring read.

“Wild women are their own kind of magic.”

I loved everything about this book! The unique kind of magic, the cottagecore vibes and especially the relationship between Marigold and her grandmother.
I flew through this book and am beyond excited to read whatever this author has next up her sleeve!

I really wanted to love The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields, but unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. While the story between Marigold and her grandmother was genuinely sweet and one of the more touching aspects of the book, the rest fell flat for me. The third-person point of view created too much distance from the characters, and I struggled to stay engaged.

There were moments of warmth and potential, but overall, it didn’t deliver the magic I was hoping for.

The cover of this book is really cute and the premise set things up for a fun sapphic witch romance. In some ways it lived up to this. I loved the cozy vibes of describing the meadows and woods and surroundings. But a lot of this story felt like it was waiting for something to happen instead of making something had. This made the plot drag at times.

Sadly, I was not a fan of The Honey Witch, at all.

For a cosy fantasy, I felt that the writing style was too simple and matter of fact, with multiple instances of unnecessary over-explanations, whilst still remaining quite shallow. It completely lacked atmosphere, and meant I couldn't immerse myself in the story.

The plot was so slow and boring too, which can work, but slow pace needs to be balanced with something like beautiful prose, complex characters, detailed world building. Unfortunately, this book severely lacked in every aspect.

I enjoyed this book a lot. The way Marigold's character changes and grows is wonderful. Such a sweet and cozy read

One of the best books I've read so far this year alone. So so good. The characters are fantastic and the story is immaculate. 5 stars from me.

Review: The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book UK, and the author for providing me with an ARC of this magical debut!

The Honey Witch is a warm and whimsical sapphic fantasy set on the enchanting Isle of Innisfree. With a charming cottagecore aesthetic, sweet romance, and a unique magical premise, this book casts a gentle spell over the reader. Marigold, destined to be the next Honey Witch, is cursed never to find true love—but that becomes complicated when Lottie, a skeptic who doesn’t believe in magic, arrives and stirs something unexpected.

The writing style is simple, easy to read, and flowed well throughout. While I loved the cozy atmosphere and queer joy, I did feel the pacing was a bit rushed in places, especially as the romantic and magical stakes built up. Also, the present tense narration wasn’t quite to my taste (a personal preference!), but it might not bother others.

If you enjoy gentle fantasy with heart, found family, and a bit of grump-sunshine romance, this one might be for you!

So the reason I wanted to read this book is honestly because this has been on my TBR for over a year due to me loving all of the marketing towards it when it initially come out. When I saw that it was an ARC I was surprised because as far as I knew this book was already out but I didn't hesitate to apply for it. Friends this book was all I wanted it to be and more. I cannot tell you how much pure joy this book filled me with to see so much queer love portrayed the way that it was. I am not lying when I tell you this book made me sob both happy and sad tears at multiple points. I loved that we learned how the magic system worked along with Marigold and how it genuinely felt like we were on the Isle of Innisfree with everyone. I loved how we got to know so much more about not only Marigold but also the side characters because it made me fall in love with them all so much more and made it easier to emphasize with all of them. It was also so cool to see how strong and important Marigold's relationships were with all of the women in her life and I loved seeing the strong bonds between them. Hell, even the men in Marigold's life seemed to be perfect in every way. All in all, I would recommend this to anyone who wants a cute, mostly cozy queer romantasy to fall in love with and I will definitely be picking up the physical copy of this book as soon as I can.

Thank you so much for granting me access to this earc.
I felt so ready for the cottagecore witchy cosy fantasy vibe that this book was giving and my goodness it delivered. I absolutely loved this book.
Marigold and Lottie, August and Frankie. Omg. I just love the characters so so much. My heart ached for them most of the way through but I was so glad for the ending.
I loved the slowly drawn out plot that helped you to engage yourself with the characters and immerse yourself with the world and just enjoy being apart of it. I can’t count the amount of times I got lost within the pages of this book and had to be brought back to reality by my partner.
I immediately bought myself a copy of this book when I had finished reading! I can’t wait to read more by Sydney!

so much to like about this book. the magic. the not magic. the magical characters. the not magical character. the grandmother, oh the grandmother. she had my whole heart. and soul mates. but curses. and true love. and friendships. but decisions. and the beating of evil to follow your heart. oh and did i mention the magic. for it held its place both in its most basic form but also in what we "see" and "believe" to be magic and this doesnt always need to be spells, fairies and witches brew.
the cover swept me in to this book and im so glad it did. the world Sydney creates is magical in itself. from that first sight of the front cover those tones seep into the rest of the book. the light, the glimpses, the golds and shimmers. it was a perfect description for the book and what the characters were going through.
Marigold is a bold one. shes a little tyke and i love her for it. when he grandmother offers to teach her to be the best witch she can be she is all for it. she doesnt want what most people want so this from her grandmother feels like a freedom in itself. there is one issue. the witch she wants to become has a curse handed to her which means she cant have love. but she doesnt mind that does she. pft...
that is until she meets Lottie. who doesnt believe in all this air fairy nonsense. but they start to believe in each other. except the thing that keeps them frightened. the ash witches curse. so Marigold knows she must and will fight for her future. and for those futures of her kingdom. the Ash witch wants power over her little community and she wont take it anymore!
a fab book. totally unique from anything ive read previously.

if there were witches in Bridgerton you would get The Honey Witch. Magical, friendship, enemies to lovers? If she can thaw her skeptical heart.
However as the Honey Witch Marigold is cursed to never have love, ( cursed by the Ash Witch) this honestly kept me on the edge of my seat reading their adventure and obstacles of whether she can break the curse. It broke my heart and made me question whether I liked girls 🤔 and convinced me that soul mates exist! ( I did skip chapter 6 on the advice of a friend, due to a personal trigger)
Confession time, I’m now vegan, but even before then I hated honey 😂and there’s a lot of honey in this book.

The Honey Witch is as sweet as substance it’s named after. While it starts of a little slow and saccharine for my taste, the plot builds and you can’t help but root for the characters. If you’re in the mood for something cozy and sweet this will tickle you taste buds!

Feeling torn over The Honey Witch. On one hand I do think it's generally well-written; a magical story that covers some themes well - like grief, and the importance of both independence/self-confidence & friendship.
On the other, some of the elements of story did feel somewhat predictable and the pacing was kind of all over the place. This is always a shame when there is so much potential there. Of course I was drawn in by that gorgeous, cottagecore, cover - who wouldn't be?

Sapphic books plus cozy fantasy setting. A great read, that I flew through! There wasn't anything that I didn't like about it! The only thing I would like, would there to be more!

I binged this and was so happy I did! Sapphic romances are just so feel good and this with the added cosy fantasy elements made it a perfect read for a rainy day!

I really am sorry for giving it a 3 stars.

I initially thought this would be a cozy fantasy that would be light and heartfelt, but I didn't expect it to have an adult theme.

But as to the cozy fantasy side of this book, I definitely enjoyed it. But it felt like it was not connecting with me. What only connected with me, I guess was the loss of a grandparent, but mine is my grandfather.

I'm glad to be given a chance to read this book in advance, but I really am sorry for not being able to enjoy it.

Such a cosy, easy read. I read this book in one sitting! I was hooked straight away and I really enjoyed it.

This book was the perfect spring book 4.5 stars. Reading it again I loved it just as much and I can't wait to recommend it to anyone that needs a cosy springtime read. (It really does feel like you are sitting in a wild flower meadow the whole time you are reading it <3

- Soulmates
- Magic
- Regency
- Found family
- Queer normative world
- Bees

The romance

The main romance in this book was cute and I really enjoyed it. It was a hate to lovers. There were side romances in this book I won't say much about them so you can see but although I was able to predict them I still enjoyed it.

The magic

The magic system in this was really fun. It is more potions than spells which i really liked as a lot of books with witches have mainly spells or elemental magics the change for potions was a lot of fun and really interesting. The spirits that guard the land and look after it are really cool and I would love to meet one.

The world

There isn't a tonne of world building so if you love that then maybe this isn't for you but I was happy with a less high fantasy book and wasn't left with too many questions. This book is a fun easy read and I had a great time with the world and felt immersed.

The Characters

The characters were loveable, the main character may have been a bit annoying looking down on people who thought different to her to start with, but you watch her grow and learn. Also handles loss and grief in a great way and the feelings on loneliness. Overall I really liked the characters in this book.

Overall this book made me feel like I was sat in a field of wildflowers wearing a regency gown. Fairly low stakes(for most of it) and was a lovely read. If you like cosy fantasy, romantasy, witches this might just be for you. This was a mostly happy read and calming.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown for this arc in exchange for an honest review

The Honey Witch is a heartwarming and cozy sapphic-themed romance featuring witches that is delightfully sweet. 🍯✨🐝


It was a poignant tale of love, loss, and solitude, imbued themes of self-acceptance the belief in being destined for life beyond what is initially bestowed.