A sapphic, magical, period piece book filled with honey, bees, witches, flowers, curses, forbidden love, and tender friendships. This is a charming story, and beautifully descriptive. I loved this book. If you have a soft spot for Bridgerton, cottagecore aesthetics, and strong willed women defying generational curses, this story is for you.

A perfect fit for readers who adore whimsical, romantic tales of self-discovery, magic, and love, particularly those who appreciate sapphic relationships, witchy themes, and cozy cottage core settings, and are looking for a story that will transport them to a world of enchantment and possibility.

This was a very cozy and cottagey, Sapphic fantasy story. I really, really loved that the magic system was centered on bees and honey--It was refreshing in its uniqueness, but also just really fun and I love bees. I thought that this story cultivated a vibe really well; the setting, magical system and characters all fit incredibly well into the cozy and cottagey vibes that this story has. As a queer female librarian, the sapphic stories have such a hold on my heart, and I'm really excited to get physical copies of this into my library for all the patrons to enjoy. I have to say, too, that the cover on this book (at least for the US version, I haven't seen the UK version yet) is so well-done. It fits the vibe of the story and the setting so well. This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2024, and it definitely did not disappoint--I'm going to get my own physical copy as soon as I am able to!

Shields opens up a new world of magic that embraces the fantastical with real life uses of plants in this tale of love and loss. Marigold starts out a bit pretentious with her ideology on love and how she feels about those that search for it in the world. As the story goes on she becomes less jaded to the idea but more towards the act of falling in love. Shields definitely knows how to tug at a reader's tear ducts, causing the tears to flow several times during my read through. The characters are (almost) all wonderful and so easy to love and you grow attached to them all as the tale goes alone. The ending is a bit bittersweet, however it is a nice change of pace to the type of ending usually seen in more magic based books. This FF romance is a must read summer time book, perfect for those sunny days outside and lounging in the grass.

The Honey Witch is a whimsical, cozy story about self-love, determination, and magic. The premise of the story really intrigued me but, unfortunately, I was underwhelmed.

The fantasy elements of the story as sidelined in favor of the romance resulting in a magic system without clear definition that's use stretches to anything that is needed for the plot. I did really enjoy the idea of the magic. The author's knowledge and passion for the source material give the magic life on the page. The setting is another frustratingly vague element. The regency-era atmosphere is used only for the aesthetic and is applied very inconsistently. I struggled to get past my problems with the world-building because I really didn't care about the characters or the romance.

I feel like this story would have found more success as a YA book. The themes of finding yourself, family, and growing into a new role are common markers of the YA genre, The characters talk and act much younger than they are supposed to be. The few spicy scenes felt like awkward, forced attempts to make this an adult story.

The Honey Witch by Sydney Shields is a sweet witchy romance buzzing with magic, generational curses, forbidden love, enduring friendships, witchy women, and momentous self-discovery.

Marigold Claude has never felt like she belongs in Bardshire village’s bustling social scene. Everyone seems to be magnificently talented---even her younger siblings, Aster and Frankie, are musical prodigies---and, naturally, everyone must stay ahead of the latest fashion and gossip and marriage proposals in Bardshire (oh the 1800’s of it all). Marigold has no exceptional talent she has been able to detect, but she has always known she was…different. She loves to run barefoot through grassy fields, dance under the full moon, and talk to the spirits of the wood. She hates going to social events since her mother seems unable to help herself in playing matchmaker for her eldest daughter, which has always proved to be an embarrassing and fruitless endeavor each time. Marigold tried to open her heart for love once, and she was cruelly stung; therefore, she has sworn off love and desperately wants to find her purpose in life instead.

One fateful night, her grandmother, Althea Murr, shows up without warning to appeal to Marigold’s mother about finally disclosing their magical family legacy to Marigold. Each first-born daughter of their bloodline is a witch. Since her mother has intentionally kept her daughter away from her grandmother since she was very little to keep her safe, Marigold’s memories of her grandmother are unreliable and cloaked in fear and trepidation. The last time she remembers seeing her grandmother was on a visit to her house in Innisfree where she experienced a terrible storm (a magical attack), and she almost died. Ash and honey witches are supposed to work together, but the local ash witch in her grandmother’s town has been corrupted by her own desires to attain immortality, which is grossly unnatural and goes against the balance of nature. Refusing the ash witch’s proposal to join her comes at a steep cost to Althea and her descendants who want to take up magic after her. The price is a bloodline curse: should they choose to take up honey magic, they are condemned to a lonely life, never to experience romantic love. Learning of all of this, Marigold is not deterred by the curse because love is foolish and painful, not worth having in the first place.

Marigold travels to Innisfree to study under her grandmother and become the witch she was always meant to be. There she reconnects with old friends and meets the beautiful, prickly Lottie Burke who is as vexing as she is bewitching for Marigold. She starts to understand her blossoming feelings for this strange girl at the same time she really starts to grasp what her life would look like long term as the next honey witch….lonely and absent of all traces of Lottie. Their discovery of each other’s love is greatly overshadowed by Marigold’s family’s curse, creating a sticky situation they are both powerless to navigate without confronting the corrupted witch herself. The ash witch has never stopped trying to possess Innisfree, and it’s up to Marigold to protect her town, her friends, and her birthright. Death and darkness will come for them all, but Marigold is ready to break what must be broken and fight for what is rightfully hers to have. She is determined to have a future where true love is possible, and she is free to become the author of her own life’s story.

What a unique and tender story! I have honestly never read anything like this before. The Honey Witch is enchanting and wholesome, heart melting and magical. It would be an enjoyable story for those who specifically like the Practical Magic books, and I do recommend it to any fantasy romance reader! To start with, the book cover was the first thing that grabbed my attention: there is a cute little cottage in the background that is framed in the foreground by an archway of wildly verdant and vibrantly colorful flowers. It’s so beautifully detailed it easily transports you into the story: when looking at the cover I always got the feeling I was on my way to visit the honey witch. I felt such a connection to Althea. It was like I could really feel her warmth and magic, and I could not help envisioning my own grandmother. The bond Marigold and her grandmother share is just so personal and special to read about. It feels like the author was able to capture the love and magic all grandmothers must have access to! I adore the sapphic love story too. It’s a slow burn, and I find it very charming and relatable. I also think the concept of honey and ash magic is so ingenious. The idea is beautiful in its simplicity and delicate balance, artistically unique. Sydney Shields is a seriously talented writer. I wish I could include quotes soo badly!! The whole book is honeycombed through with a thematic commentary on women being worthy of self-determination and autonomy. It is poignant and astonishing in the best ways. I was hooked on page one.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the ARC and the opportunity to share what I think! All opinions are my own. Publication is May 14th. I have posted this review to my Goodreads account, in addition to my FB group, The Book Banquet. I will be posting to retailers on the day of publication.

Thank you to Redbook Books and NetGalley an advanced ready copy in exchange for an honest review

Overall I thought this was an average but enjoyable debut. The pacing was off to where the first 70 percent of the book was very slow and the last 30 percent was too rushed. I felt that the villain and the plot was not well developed and the ending was very rushed. I also felt that the romance between the characters was off, they went from hating each other to loving each other will no real development. I also wished that the epilogue was longer, it barely added anything to the story. I love when bees are incorporated into stories with magic, so I enjoyed that aspect as well. Overall, good concept but just okay execution.

I simply adored this book! I felt so many different emotions while reading this story. The setting was beautifully done, and I absolutely loved the characters. I was sad to see that so many people did not finish reading this book. I know the pace was slower in the beginning, but it really hit that cozy element for me and laid a good foundation for the magic and later conflicts. I honestly enjoyed the pacing because it allowed me to savor the gorgeous setting and get to know the characters early on. Some elements of the storyline were a bit predictable, but that honestly didn't bother me. I thought it made sense for the story. There were so many passages and quotes I saved on my kindle because the writing was just stunning and made me pause to take in. That does not always happen for me in every book, but it is so special when it does. The relationship between our main FMC and her grandmother was so lovely to read. After I finished the book, the acknowledgement for the author's grandmother made me cry all over again. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves fantasy with cozy elements, magic, forbidden love, and LGBTQ romance. I immediately purchased a signed physical copy of this for my shelf because I loved it that much. Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review!

The Honey Witch is a warm hug in book form. It’s a ray of sunshine, a scoop of ice cream, a pretty bow. It’s all things cute and sweet and cozy and perfect. A cottagecore dream come true.

Marigold is born from a line of witches who get their magic from the honey produced by bees. She spends most of her life not knowing this, until one day her grandmother comes to whisk her off to fulfill her magical duties as the Honey Witch of Innisfree. The only catch is that she will be bound by a curse that will prevent anyone from falling in love with her. Enter Lottie, a fiery and unimpressed woman who does not hide her disbelief of magic. The only thing is, Lottie can see and hear many of the things that only witches like Marigold can observe….interesting….especially when the two can’t seem to stay away from each other.

Lottie and Marigold are really complementary characters and have a wonderful opposites attract dynamic. My mental image of Lottie is Esther from the Sanditon miniseries on BBC (iykyk), and truthfully when I think of Marigold I just see the author of the book herself! Marigold to me represents every woman who has ever dreamed big for herself and who doesn’t want to be bound by the rules other people prescribe for her. She honestly inspires me to up and leave everything for a cozy little cottage in the countryside where no one can bother me….

The writing of this book is quite lovely — the descriptions of the flowers and herbs and nature are so vivid I feel like I am right there in the cottage. The imagery is charmed, and it provides such a sweet escapist reading experience while also tethering to real world discourse (e.g., a woman’s right to choice, grief, etc).

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Redhook, and Orbit for the advanced reader’s copy!

"Honey Witch" casts a spell of warmth and magic from its very first page, weaving a tale that combines the tender bonds of family with the eerie allure of curses and long time enemies. At the heart of this enchanting narrative lies the captivating relationship between the MC and her grandmother, a bond that radiates love, wisdom, and resilience. The addition of found family adds depth and richness to the story, offering an exploration of the power of connection beyond blood ties.

As the MC navigates following the curse’s requirements while trying to avoid falling in love the reader is delved into a an enemies to lovers and forbidden romance trope. I loved this mixed with the LGBTQ+ representation included in the book.

Throughout "Honey Witch," the author blends elements of folklore and fantasy, creating a narrative that feels both timeless and contemporary. The vivid descriptions of magical rituals and the lush setting immerse readers in a world where the line between reality and enchantment blurs. I loved the way the author brought to life my imagination with all the beautiful imagery she brings to life.

The book is a captivating tale that left me entranced from beginning to end. With its heartwarming portrayal of family bonds, compelling curse, and romance it was a very captivating tale that stole my heart. This tale is especially recommended for readers who have a special bond with their grandmother or who wish they did as the tale binds that relationship in a way that captivated my heart.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC to give my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

3.5/5 stars

This was good, but not great. I loved the concept, I loved the magic, and I even really enjoyed the characters. However, there was just something that didn't quite click - I think part of it was how competent Mari was right after her grandmother died....if I read it correctly, she had just over a month of training after knowing nothing of magic her whole life and she suddenly knew how to do everything her grandmother did? It just felt like she needed more time or needed to struggle more...Not to mention the romance was great, but the way the curse worked was incredibly obvious to me so I found it frustrating when the characters took most of the book to figure it out.

Really I think some of my issues were just that the author had great writing and great ideas, but the pacing felt off. Not that it was too slow, but that things didn't always feel smooth. Characters understood things too quickly or easily or knew things too conveniently....obvious things were overlook in favor of plot progression....maybe I'm just being nit-picky!

I still really do recommend this book - it was cozy for the most part but definitely had some trauma and high stakes, so please check trigger warnings. The writing was good and the author shows a ton of promise - I would definitely read more from her.

I am loving the sapphic cozy fantasy vibes that have been coming out recently. Legends and Lattes, Can't Spell Treason Without Tea, and The Honey Witch are all perfect if you want a light palate cleanser that will make you feel a full range of emotions without too much high stakes. Though this one is definitely a bit more intense than the other books, I still really enjoyed reading it. The magic system is also so cool and I really like how it was explained.

Overall Rating - ⭐⭐⭐.5
Spice - 🫑
World Building - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Character Development - ⭐⭐⭐
Content Labels/Warnings - LGBTQIA2S+, Death, wild fires, house fires, burns, soulmates, impossible love

Overall Thoughts; This books was pretty middle ground for me. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't groundbreaking.

Plot; My favourite part about this plot is how it's broken up into parts. Major events happen in each part, then it moved on to the next. The plot itself was pretty good. It's very cozy until it isn't, but there is always an uneasy looming through out the book and it made me uneasy, which I think was the point. While I appreciate the major plot points being broken into segments, I do feel the pacing was off. Some segments lasted years, some days. The plot progression, while easy to follow, felt very jumpy. The plot itself is cute, just jumpy.

Characters; The characters I felt were pretty two dimensional for most of it, like the plot it felt kind of jumpy. They were however fleshed out, each having specific traits that were always present. And each character felt very individual, which I'm always here for, variety is great.

Romance; The romance was weird. Like I was pretty sure there was no romance for a while at all. It makes sense, it's explained very well, and it is very high stakes,.but it kind of pops out of nowhere and intensifies fairly quickly for basically every romance. Again, it is explained, I'm not mad, but I was a little thrown off while reading until I got farther along. But I will say the high stakes of this? Very high, very enticing, made.it very enjoyable.

Writing; The writing is the part of this I enjoyed the least, I feel. It feels like it's written in a ya style with na or adult content. Not a lot, it's definitely no.worse than some ya published books, but I anticipated it being an adult book so it took be a bit to get into the writing style. It also kind of felt like the book was written at different times? Like the jumps between parts, which I did enjoy, didn't feel fluid to me. There's an excessive use of semi foreshadowing and "but it could never be", which is a little yeah yeah we get it after a while, but it's not terrible.

Unfortunately disappointed in this read. See below for my full review, and thanks to NetGalley & Redhook Books for sending me an ARC.

The Honey Witch was advertised as a cottagecore lesbian story, and I guess it delivers that? But... well it's way too slow. By 30% in, you have seen the love interest once. And the pacing after that just continues to be off.

Mari is, honestly, just TERRIBLE for half the book. She is rude and looks down on anyone that is happily in love or looking for love. It is eye-rollingly upsetting. And then bam, she just gets over it because she has a pretty girl to look at.

I also cannot forgive Mari just having that choice at the end. Like huh? If it was written more of it being Lottie being the sole force bringing her back, then I think that would've been great.

Overall, not personally worth the read. There are so many great reads out there, and this is just kind of mid.

Thank you to Redhook Books, NetGalley, and Sydney J. Shields for the opportunity to review this spellbinding book. It was a mesmerizing experience and I enjoyed every moment of the story. The story centers around Marigold Claude a young woman who has just become the Honey Witch, a position that she has inherited after her grandmother passed away. The only negative aspect of being the Honey Witch is that she will never be able to find someone to love—or will she?
While she is thrilled to be at the island where her grandmother lived she is rather lonely until a childhood friend returns home and introduces her to Lottie. Strange and dark things begin happening around her but is it the curse or are there darker forces at work?
This book was a wonderful book and I adored the characters and their stories. Loved how things were tied together in the story and highly recommend it.

This was so cute and cozy I loved this story so so much✨

All of the characters had amazing personalities and even the side characters became some of
My favorites ✨

I feel like this book was a perfect spring read but would be a great read in the fall as well✨

I will definitely be reading more by this author soon !✨

Thanks NetGalley and Redhook Books for this arc

2/5 stars

Y'all I'm SO disappointed by this one. It was one of my most highly anticipated books coming out this year and it absolutely read like angsty teenagers. I would have LOVED this at like 13/14/15 and if the only steamy scene (which barely lasts a page) was only a little tamer this would be perfect for YA and I would have given this probably 4 stars. But for an adult fantasy this not only felt really juvenile but also very poorly edited. It was way too wordy a lot of the time and then so many things would just come out of left field with little to no explanation. Like what was that ending? This could have been so so good :(

A young women who pursues her path as a honey witch in exchange for never finding true love meets a young woman who doesn't believe in magic.... but might be her true love... can they break the curse before death comes for them? Marigold Claude is a twenty-one year old girl who has dealt with heartbreak and doesn't want any part of the new season but has tried to avoid all her mother's matchmaking attempts. All Marigold wants is to dance in the moonlight and be free. When Marigold's estranged grandmother comes back into her life and opens up a new option for her future: to become a honey witch and take up her family's legacy, Marigold can't resist. There is only one catch: if she becomes a honey witch, no one is allowed to fall in love with her. Then Marigold meets Lottie Burke, an extremely grumpy skeptic, who doesn't believe in magic. Lottie and Marigold begin spending more time together... and begin falling for each other, yet the closer they get the more in danger Lottie becomes. Marigold must find a way to break the curse and stop the dark magic that is awakening before it destroys all those she cares about. This was a sweet soft cozy-esque fantasy and I enjoyed it. It's a fun historical romance with a touch of magic and sapphic romance, and feels like such a cozy day read. It definitely is a sweet read and I would recommend it!

*Thanks Netgalley and Redhook Books |

While the premise of this fantasy romance is fascinating - a magic anchored in honey and ash, two opposing clans, a love curse, and a star-crossed set of soulmates - unfortunately the writing style, character development, and world building left much to be desired.

Marigold is one of those young women who just doesn’t fit in - she doesn’t want a standard life of marriage and kids, and has always felt an affinity to nature abs the island she used to visit her grandma on a child. So of course it makes perfect sense that her grandma would return at the perfect time to tell her about her true heritage as a honey witch and ask her to leave her home and family, accept her powers, and return to the island to protect it and their power from the witch who has been trying to kill them for 20 years. Along the way, we also meet August, Mari’s childhood bestie, and Lottie, August’s current bestie, who has a strong reaction to Mari, can see magical beasts, smells ash on the island, happens to be insanely attractive, and was also involved in an insane fire at age 6. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together to figure out who Lottie was.

My main issue with this book is that we are told everything instead of being shown them. We don’t get to see Mari and Lottie fall in love, we are told one day that they are in love, and a star-crossed one at that. There is much angst and pouting about how they can’t be together but they want one another so badly, but it’s not believable because we don’t see that relationship develop. The characters felt very childish, despite the fact they are in their 20s, and no one seems to learn or grow much.

This is also a world with very detailed magical rules and not only are WE not told what they are, Mari isn’t either. Her grandma wants her to protect the island and the magic with her life, but she tells her so little about it before she’s like “ok, time for you to learn on your own, I’m going to die now.” (You might think I’m being mean about her dying but Mari has a convo with her grandma’s spirit/soul/ghost and she explicit says she chose to die at that moment.) And of course, Lottie knows almost nothing of her own magic, since her parents were killed in that fire when she was young. She doesn’t even believe in magic at first, to an obnoxious degree.

The plot is pushed forward so swiftly, especially towards the end, that I was getting emotional whiplash. Months would pass and all we’d get was “months went by and Mari worked on the island.” We went from them returning to a burned island, to Mari forcing Lottie to leave for “her own sake,” to Lottie is being held in chains and tortured for a month (what??), to Vesva is back in the island and defeating Mari, all within a few pages. I was actually confused at one point because I didn’t understand what was happening with Lottie.

While I’m glad they were able to wrap the plot up in a happy way, there were definitely plot lines left dangling or rushed over, like August and Freddie’s sudden relationship where he’s totally cool with abandoning his best friend, and somehow ash magic and honey magic can coexist if no one is greedy and trying to live forever. I can see how the seeds for a good book are in here, but sadly, it didn’t live up to its promise or my expectations.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

This book was unfortunately a DNF for me. I liked the premise and the prose, especially in the first chapter, is absolutely stunning. That being said, the book being in third person POV felt strange to me. The narrator kept going on tangents that didn't make sense. If this was in first person POV it would make more sense as these are likely things the character is feeling or thinking about but being in third person is felt as if the narrator was forcing beliefs onto the reader. This line stuck out to me in particular, "And what is there to do for a talentless young lady in Bardshire, other than become a wife?" This reads like the narrator is telling you that only talentless people become wives which is a very bold statement to make, and not in a good way.