I’ve been in my cozy witchy era and this book didn’t disappoint, the plot was amazing, and it wasn’t just a love story but finding oneself and accepting life for all its wonder, it’s about family and loss as well as accepting changes in life that are beneficial to oneself no matter who it may hurt. I cried and laughed reading this one, I did not want it to end and hopefully one day we can get more of Lottie and Marigold. I loved how Marigolds grandmother; Althea was a feminist and always took care of all the young women/ girls who came to visit her at the cottage. She believed in love and women making their own choices. The ending made me tear up a bit, I could not stop thinking of this book when I was not reading. First thing I would do in the morning, or any free time I would read a chapter or three.

This book surprised me. I was expecting a cozy fantasy that entertained the reader, but lacked depth. The Honey Witch turned out to be very moving and an incredibly emotional read. Great for any reader who misses their grandma.

Bridgerton with a witchy flair. And then add a little bit of extra magic. I loved this so much, especially the openness with which the characters loved.

Where to begin with how good this book is? I was so invested in this book I ate it up. I feel like it took me a long time to read but no time at all. I say this because with the writing I felt that I was there inside the book experiencing each day (sense the long to read), but I devoured this book in such a short period of time it was that good. It had me kicking my feet of joy and sobbing from the sad parts. I wish I could re-read it again for the first time.

Marigold had always been the odd one out in her family until her grandmother came to her asking for help because she was in fact a witch. She then goes with her grandmother to become a honey witch. The only downside to being a honey witch is you can never find true love, but she isn’t interested in love so she thinks that’s an okay curse to bear. She then rekindles a friendship with a boy from her childhood who comes with a friend of his named Lottie. She is a skeptic about witches but willing to see because of how earnest Marigold is to become friends but also prove magic is real. There is a dark magic trying to attack the isle and it is Marigold’s job to protect it, but will she really be able to stay a witch and not fall in love.

I enjoyed how this was a story about loss, love and finding yourself. It wasn’t overly only love story which I also enjoyed. You got to see Marigold’s relationships blossom that weren’t only love related. Based on just this book alone I would read anything Sydney J. Shields writes. This was an amazing story.

This cute cozy romantasy follows a woman who learns her perpetual strangeness is actually due to the fact that she is a honey witch, a title inherited from her grandmother. She's all too eager to accept her role, but it comes with a price. Honey witches are cursed to never fall in love. When a skeptical woman shows up at her door, though, Marigold is determined to convince her magic exists. Their growing feelings seem to defy the curse, but the consequences for their actions are swift and severe. Will they be able to find their way to a happily ever after?

This book put me through it! It made me laugh and it made me cry. I loved the journey that Marigold went on when she was learning her magic and how to become a honey witch. I absolutely loved the skeptic love interest Lottie.

I don’t wanna spoil too much but I absolutely loved this debut novel

Read if you love Bridgerton and garden witchy vibes

💛Sapphic
🌸Grumpy x sunshine
💛Regency
🌸I don’t believe in magic
🐝Witch

Overall rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice level: 🌶️

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book; I don't understand all the harsh reviews, honestly. The beginning was quite rushed, but that is often the case with a debut, especially with fantasies. I found that the pacing fixed itself after the first quarter of the book. I loved all the characters; Marigold, Lottie and August were such a cute trio. They were all very well fleshed-out, and the found family aspect of the story among the three of them was lovely. Of course, I loved the hate-to-love romance between Marigold and Lottie - they were such a sweet couple whose love for each other you could truly feel grow and deepen throughout the story.

The cottagecore vibes of this book are truly unmatched. Honey witches are the best type of magic - I LOVED the magic system Marigold uses with different types of honey for different spells, and her connection with the bees. The descriptions of it made me want to bake all types of honey cakes and sweets.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what else Sydney J. Shields puts out!

This book was so magical. I loved it so much a sapphic witchy romance with all the cozy vibes, found family, and a grumpy love interest 🤌 I felt like this book was like a warm cup of tea. It did kind of give practical magic vibes. And it was just so beautiful. Watching the two MCs fall in love and learn to believe in things they didn’t believe in before. Watching marigold deal with grief and open her heart up again. I just felt like this was such a well rounded book. It made me believe in magic again. I don’t want to give away too much because I feel like it’s a nice book to go in completely blind and just enjoy the vibes 💛 I definitely cried a few times. This book took me by complete surprise

Sadly this was not for me. The premise seemed so cute, but the writing style just seemed very simple and not high quality, which made it hard to read.

Read if you like:
Witchy Tales
Honey
Curses
Sapphic frenemies to cursed lovers
Magic-lite
Cottage core settings
Practical Magic (book and/or movie)


I'm not entirely sure how honey is the opposite of ash (Honey=honey bees=bees bring life? Ash= the aftermath of burning=death?) But this was such a sweet, cozy-adjacent, cottage core, witchy read that I don't even give a bother!
The Practical Magic comps are on-point, mainly in the smaller details/themes yet just different enough, like paying homage to the witchy women/authors of our youths (well mine anyway). The story was indeed fast paced, which I was fine with. The focus fell more on Marigold and her personal growth and relationships versus the magic system. And VIBES. It was light and cozy with the perfect amount of suspense to keep the storey moving. There is even a spicey lil scene that literally made me gasp. Shocked.
I waited soo long to read the ARC that I was able to listen to the audiobook in tandem. And I HIGHLY reccomend it as well- Mia Hutchinson Shaw killed it!
Can't wait for the movie 😜

Thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the eARC!

This was a wonderful book! I felt that the ending came on a little fast, and I could have read so much more, but I am excited to read more from this author. 4.25/5

A cozy romantasy with a beautiful cover that follows a generational family of witches who are cursed to not be able to love. I have read this one, it wasn’t for me but I can absolutely see how someone would love this one. It’s written very beautifully. It’s set in the 1800’s and is a story about family and loss, some magical happenings behind the scenes that main our character discovers when her grandmother reappears in her life with some news and she moves to an island to develop her powers which includes honey and bees. A very interesting concept.

This story was truly delightful on every level.

As refreshing as it was original, The Honey Witch gave off cozy fantasy vibes, with a historical (regency-era inspired) “cottagecore” feel to it that I loved being immersed within.

Add to that, it had a unique magic-system born of bees and honey, and followed one magically gifted young woman’s journey to self-discovery, female empowerment, and curse-shattering love—with a sapphic spin.

The writing was simplistic, yet utterly charming, with a whimsical, morish quality to the narrative style that I enjoyed. The whole thing was giving me peaceful, fairytale-like vibes that I relished in.

Marigold Claude has never really fit into her projected life, so when her grandmother shows up and offers her a much different life as The Honey Witch of Innisfree, she jumps at the chance. Her family’s curse means she’ll never find true love, and she’s ok with that. That is, until her friend shows up with a request for magic and the grumpy Lottie Burke, all that changes. A challenge to prove to Lottie that magic is real leads to dangerous feelings between the two women, and dark magic threatens to destroy her home. She’ll have to fight the magic and destroy the curse for her chance at happiness.

This book was delightful. I’ve already been recommending it to other readers. Sapphic witches is my jam. I loved the characters, and the foreshadowing lets us see what Marigold cannot, twists, and turns that will threaten her life.

Honestly, I wanted to read The Honey Witch the second I heard it was gay (sapphic witches!) and saw the secret garden cover. But then Sydney Shields called her debut Practical Magic meets Bridgerton– oh and make it gay?! I was a goner. Count me way in. And it lived up to my hype! 🌈

Marigold is the next generation’s Honey Witch, apprenticing under her grandmother to use honey to spin spells that can heal and help people on the island of Innisfree. But her newfound magic comes at a cost. The family line of Honey Witches were cursed by the evil Ash Witch, Versa, to never find love. At first Marigold is not worried about this trade and is happy to leave the Regency-era life of balls and matchmaking – who needs love when you have magic? ✨Well, my dears, things change when a grouchy but hot Lottie shows up on the island and signs of the return of Versa’s dark Ash magic start appearing. Marigold finds herself both catching doomed feelings while needing to summon all of her newfound magic skills to save the island and herself.

This book had all the best parts of a great Disney movie:

☯️ Good witches, evil witches!
👗 Balls, dancing, dresses, suitors!
🪻 Technicolor backdrop of magical flora and fauna!
🌟 The underdogs beating the bad guys!
🥰 A heartwarming grandmother who believes in her granddaughter enough for the both of them!
💖Against all odds love story, because love CAN conquer all!

Check out this delight of a book! It is a perfect summer read that will give you all the warm fuzzies.

Thank you for the e-ARC!

This was a cozy fantasy with a beautiful setting and a wonderful magic system that I wish was included a bit more. Marigold was a lovely character whose loneliness is soon filled with friends, one of which becomes a love interest. Unfortunately, this seemed like the bulk of the story. I am definitely more of a plot-driven reader than character driven, so if you like a focus on characters, ones well-developed, you may enjoy this more than I. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen and unfortunately it took to near the end of the novel to pick up for me. The writing was beautiful, the characters likable whom you wanted to root for, and the ending a very satisfying one.

This was a cute and easy read. Love the cozy aesthetic of this book. There were some things I didn't care for. One was Marigold. I just didn't like her, but I did enjoy the other characters. I felt that the ending was just too quick to be resolved.


Thank you, NetGalley and publishers, for this ebook for an honest review.

I loved this at first, but that love dwindled the more I got into the story. I liked the premise and the magic SO MUCH, but I feel like this wasn't the best version of the story. It's not that it feels undercooked, it just feels like there was a better way to execute it.

One of the things that stilted my enjoyment a bit was the relationship development and the dialogues. The dialogues felt a bit stiff, like they didn't match what they were supposed to convey. Also, a lot of things felt quite rushed, especially towards the end, and I didn't feel tension at all.

Granted, it's a cozy fantasy, but the thing is that the stakes were higher than they usually are with cozy fantasies, so I should've felt tension or at least a sense that the characters were at risk, but I didn't. Everything was resolved immediately and without too much trouble, so I was never shocked or emotional, and the author clearly wanted me to be.

Overall, I loved the magic system, the characters were fine, it's queer, and it's very easy to get through. However, I feel this had a lot more potential!

the honey witch is about a girl who is about to take up her grandmother’s legacy being the next honey witch every eldest daughter in her family had the potential to be a witch, we follow our main character, marigold, as she is figuring out what she wants her life to look like, we are alongside marigold as she is learning her new potion making abilities, while also trying to prove to someone that witchcraft is very real, it had a unique magic-system born of bees and honey, and followed one magically gifted young woman’s journey to self-discovery, female empowerment, and curse-shattering love—with a sapphic spin.

i just never felt connected to the story itself, or the characters, or anything going on with the plot, but i can also say that this book had a lot of good in it, this for sure sapphic cottagecore vibes, with a queer beekeeper who is learning things from spellbooks her grandmother left her, I just wish i could have connected more with the actual story and plot and not just the themes and concepts.

The Honey Witch” by Sydney J. Shields is a spellbinding tale that captivated me from the very first page. This enchanting story weaves together themes of magic, self-discovery, and the power of love in a way that feels both timeless and refreshingly original.

Shields has crafted a world brimming with vivid imagery and rich detail. The protagonist’s journey is both heartwarming and empowering, offering readers a perfect blend of adventure and introspection. The characters are deeply relatable, each one bringing a unique perspective and depth to the story.

One of the standout elements of “The Honey Witch” is its exploration of the protagonist’s growth and self-discovery. Shields beautifully illustrates how embracing one’s true self and unique abilities can lead to profound personal transformation. The themes of acceptance and empowerment are woven seamlessly into the narrative, making the story not only entertaining but also deeply meaningful.

The writing is lyrical and evocative, drawing readers into a world where magic feels palpable and every moment is infused with wonder. Shields’ storytelling prowess shines throughout, making it impossible to put the book down.

Overall, “The Honey Witch” is a delightful read that will leave you feeling enchanted and inspired. Sydney J. Shields has created a masterpiece that resonates on multiple levels, making it a must-read for anyone who loves a good magical journey. I can’t recommend it highly enough!