Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity!

This was everything I didn’t realize i needed in my life. Not just a want but a need. These women are my soul’s guardians. This story was like a balsam to my broken heart.
one of my fav books from now on.

The Honey Witch is an atmospheric queer historical romantasy - Marigold feels that something is missing from her life in Bardshire. She's grown up in a community and family of artists but she's always been the untalented one, the odd one out. Until the day her grandmother returns and tells her she is a Honey Witch, and must come back to the Isle of Innisfree and take over for her grandmother caring for the Isle. Marigold realizes this is what she's been waiting for her whole life, but there's a big catch - no one can fall in love with a honey witch. and something dangerous is lurking near the isle, and has been waiting for Marigold's return.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year - a vibey witchy sapphic romance?? that seemed made for me. and there was a lot about this book that i enjoyed - i liked the world a lot. i was glad it was a world where we weren't dealing with homophobia at all and i enjoyed the idea of the balanced witches. i think where the book fell flat for me was in the pacing - Shields clearly has the potential for some beautiful prose and we get glimpses of it especially once we get to Innisfree and Mari starts exploring. But i felt like oftentimes it ended up felling more rushed than atmospheric. Between the cover and the description i was expecting to sit with some lush descriptions of Marigold's life on Innisfree and it often felt like we bulletpointed through some choppy descriptions in order to move forward, it left me feeling like i wasn't getting the whole picture. The end of the book also felt quite rushed - i was invested in Mari and Lottie and felt i could have used a little more time spent in the final 20% with the resolution of the curse etc.
While it didn't necessarily live up to my expectations for it, I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open to see what Shields writes next!

A beautifully written novel that made me feel like I was in a cozy cabin reading it. But, the plot, while well written, fell a bit flat for me. I was waiting for something big to happen.

Thank you Orbit and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

One would think that a cozy witchy fantasy is best to read in the fall but The Honey Witch is full of all the springtime vibes. This book is the epitome of cottagecore and provides enchanting world building and beautiful prose. For fans of Practical Magic, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches and the video game Wylde Flowers; The Honey Witch is a sapphic fantasy romance set in regency era times with queer normative representation and women empowerment abound. The magic system heavily relies on flowers, bees and honey and offers a fresh perspective on the magic of nature and what it provides us to heal and thrive.

“To have survived this long despite the world’s penchant for beautiful, dead girls?...But what happens when the girl keeps living, when she ages proudly and defiantly, without abandoning imagination, or stories, or that secret wish to find magic wherever it hides? Well, then the poets would call her a witch.”

I mean come on, this quote? I was hooked immediately.

This has quickly become one of my favorite cozy fantasies. The Honey Witch comes out 05/14/24 and if you are looking for a beautiful, enchanting historical fantasy romance, this is your book.

The Honey Witch was such a cozy, comfortable read. I enjoyed getting lost in Sydney Shields' world and getting to know her characters.

Marigold was such a relatable character to me. Her discovering who she was away from her family connected with me.

While the twist was a bit predictable, I was still invested in getting to the reveal between Marigold and Lottie.

This was a bit of a slow read for me and it took me a while to get into it and to the point where I just had to finish. I still enjoyed it, though!

The characters felt very one dimensional and laced motivation. The ash witch was simply a generic bad guy with no redeeming qualities or complications.

I love this book so much. I wish it was a person so that I can hug it. I fell in love with Marigold immediately and soon after, Innisfree. The characters in this book are super loveable and their connections to one another are so dynamic and artfully woven. The magic, the magical creatures, and the bees were just as endearing as the characters. The romance is deliciously slow and steamy. I seriously just wish I could jump inside these pages and live there forever.

This was a mixed bag of a book and the characters were rarely original enough to differentiate them from each other or similar stories the plot was interesting and the only saving grace for me.

The Honey Witch was an enjoyable melodrama set in a vaguely Regency-era world. I have seen this book described as a cozy fantasy, which I feel like is a little misleading seeing as the actual plot is laced with tension and drama. However, the setting certainly is "cozy" in description. The cottagecore vibes were strong, and I enjoyed the elements of bee-keeping and baking that were woven into the magic system of the novel.

I think this novel suffered for trying too hard to lean into the cozy niche, because it really felt like not much happened at all for the first 50% of the book, which is where all the cozy elements were prominent. I enjoyed the plot significantly more once we left that behind and got into the meet of the tension between the Honey Witches and the Ash Witches. In the end though, this only made up a small percentage of the novel and resolved itself quickly. Too much time was spent on trying to establish a cozy routine and found family that in the end did not play much into the crux of the climax. Marigold's work with the community became a throwaway point of reference for her loneliness, and really the only person necessary from her new "found family" was Lottie, who could have been easily incorporated in the Honey vs Ash witch plot much earlier. The twist with her identity was apparent from their first meeting.

The relationships between Marigold, the eponymous Honey Witch, and her friends and family are central to the story. However, emphasis on giving us twee moments detracts from the actual character development. A drinking game, a moonlight swim, a masquerade, and a wedding all are offered up as chances for character growth, but in the end feel like not much at all. I would have preferred not to have the masquerade at all, and the others were cause for some eye-rolling. Not to mention they often drive Marigold to act as what feels like out-of-character. Particularly her moment threatening the modiste - it threw me off significantly.

I wanted this book to work much more than it actually did. I was hooked enough to finish, but was left wanting in the end.

I'm giving this book a 2.75 star and rounding up.

I was reallllllly looking forward to this one (come on Sapphic WITHCES) and I'm a little disappointed with how it went.

Let's start with things I liked. Queer normative regency world where magic is real and people have special talents. That's about it.

I was expecting an ADULT sapphic witch tale with cottagecore vibes and and adventure and this is really just a boring YA novel up until about 80% where things finally get interesting. But I would still say it's firmly in the YA category for me. I honestly would have DNFed at 30% or earlier if I hadn't received this for a review because nothing happens for such a long time.

The story felt extremely juvenile for most of the book and the dialogue was trying too hard to fit the regency times but then would lapse into modern verbiage. It made it feel really disjointed.

Because this story is mostly cozy vibes for about 80% the pacing just drags on and on and finally at about 80% things pick up and there is fighting and people unaliving and it just comes out of NO WHERE.

There is no real spice, and no real build up of the romance in this book either, which made the stakes feel low because you can't really buy into them loving each other or fighting to be together.

Honestly I just wanted to much more from this book and I'm disappointed that I didn't get it.

Thank you Netgalley for the E-ARC to review.

I was very interested in getting The Honey Witch because of the picture of the cover and who doesn’t love anything about witches. Unfortunately from beginning to end it was a drag to read. I forced myself to read the entire book and I was as horribly upset that I finished it.

Thank you Netgalley and Redhook & Orbit for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

I love the cozy cottage core vibes of this story. I want to be a honey witch. I was able to relate to the MC at first.
I kept getting confused with the time this story took place, not sure if that's just a me problem or not.
I don't know if I would say this book is a romance exactly. Like there's romance elements for sure but it's a slooooow burn. There's one scene that's kinda spicy.
I enjoyed the side characters alot more I think. Mr. Benny and August were my favorite.

This will definitely not be for everyone. It's you love all vibes, go for it, it's very atmospheric but if you are looking for a romance or something with fantasy worldbuilding/magic system I don't think you will like this.

It's a slow cozy fantasy with a romance subplot. The magic system involving honey was cool.

The ending was also rushed in my opinion.

Anyways overall I will read from this author again and the book was decent

3.5 stars
I was so excited to read this book, the description and aesthetic was absolutely perfect. However, I feel like the book didn’t live up to the hype. The book premise was not terrible at all, but the writing style just didn’t do it for me and the plot moved too slowly.

Whimsical, high stakes but COZY vibes, sapphic witchy romance.

Marigold doesn’t quite fit in and dreams of more so when her grandmother comes into town to take her back to the magical isle of Innisfree to train her to be the next Honey Witch. Marigold jumps at the chance. The Honey Witch keeps the island safe, helps the people with healing and hopeful spells but it also comes with a curse- her magic powers and love are opposing forces, to love means to give up the power and let in the evil witch who wants to watch the world burn.

I thought this was super cute and cozy. There were some pacing issues a little bit. The beginning was kinda slow and the end felt a little rushed but overall the romance was sweet and the conflict was captivating.

Thanks to NetGalley and RedHook books for an eARC.

I was in such a deep reading slump and I picked this ARC on a whim, hoping it would pull me out. Spoiler alert: it did! I’d mostly forgotten what the plot to THE HONEY WITCH was, so I briefly skimmed over it. I had no idea it was a queer book, but looking back, the blurb definitely clues you in on that little tidbit. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I realized it.

Before I get into the bones of the story, I want to touch on the queerness of the book. There were no big over explanations to why someone was queer, why that woman had been with men and women, why someone’s preference was the way it was. Everyone simply just existed and I absolutely love when a novel/series does that.

You enter Marigold’s world of Bardshire where she has twin siblings who are incredibly talented, and she is not. She is the odd one, the one with no talent, the one trying to find her place in the world. After a night under the full moon, when the veil is thin, she ends up being surprised by her grandmother and learns the family secret: she comes from a line of honey witches. The only catch; no one can fall in love with a honey witch. Since Marigold is adamant that she doesn’t want to become “just a wife,” she jumps at the chance to be whisked away to Innsfree and begin her training.

In Innsfree, Marigold’s grandmother, Althea, teaches her the way of the honey witch and leaves her with her legacy. Now enter August - a childhood friend whom Marigold is so glad to reconnect with - and Lottie Burke, August’s best friend. An impossible girl who refers to magic/witchcraft as “mythcraft.” Marigold does all that she can to convince Lottie that magic is in fact real. Can she do it? Can Marigold break the curse on honey witches, and can she protect Innsfree in the meantime? You’ll just have to read THE HONEY WITCH when it comes out in May!

This was a solid 3 star read for me. I enjoyed it very much, and will be recommending it, but I’m not sure it’ll find a home on my shelf. That is to be determined by how much I think about it in the coming months.


TRIGGER WARNINGS: Death, fire/fire injury, grief, miscarriage, confinement, sexual content.

3.5 ☆
In the earlier chapters, I was feeling some Bridgerton vibes it really pulled me in. It does get slow paced for a while. However, I was glad I continued. It was a light, cozy, cute cottage core read.

✨Magic
✨Witches
✨Cozy Cottage
✨Sapphic Love


'These are the wild women who run barefoot through the meadow. Who teach new songs to the birds, who howl at the moon together. Wild women are their own kind of magic.'

Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me - I loved the premise and the vibes but there was just not much going on and it didn't hold my interest.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Redhook Books, and Sydney J. Shields for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘. 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒅𝒔, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒍 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓. 𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄.”

I’m DEVASTATED to report that this was not for me.

I was promised witches with honey magic, sapphic regency-era love, overcoming generational curses, found family, and a cottage with a garden on a remote island. Instead, I met underdeveloped characters, pacing issues, and clunky dialogue.

Read this for:

🐝 🍯 🌼 lovely descriptions of nature
✨ 🌻 🌙 some oddly placed, sparkling quotes about being a wild, witchy woman, such as “what is so wrong about being a bitch? It is the closest a girl can be to a wolf.”

but that’s it :(

Unfortunately, my expectations were super high for this one, and it just fell short. I found the central conflict of the book to be contradictory; the story rushed along despite very little happening in the first half of the novel, while the love story remained unbelievable. Our love interests have no chemistry, and most side characters are incredibly one-dimensional. This is a promising story that feels extremely underdeveloped across the board. But the part that tanked my experience the most was the dialogue, which felt very stilted, unnatural, and false. While the descriptions of the surrounding natural beauty and weather were gorgeous, it took me out of the story every time a character spoke!

I hate harping on books I don’t love; it’s seriously no fun for me to write a review that isn’t glowing… but it is useful to help fellow readers manage their expectations for books that they, too, might be excited about.


Thank you so much to NetGalley and Redhook Books for an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC

The Honey Witch is a cozy fantasy story about a young woman coming of age and learning it's okay to love love. She leaves society to live with her grandmother and learn how to become a honey witch. While there, she explores the beautiful island they live on and makes new friends.

While the writing of this one started out profound and lush in the first chapters, I unfortunately found that faded away as the story progressed. however, I adored the relationship between Marigold and her grandmother as well as the exploration of grief. I was however left wishing the romance would have been fleshed out further and less insta-love ish. But, the soft cottage core vibes were on point, so I think anyone wanting to spend a cozy afternoon reading something that will give them all the warm fuzzy vibes would love this!

The Honey Witch 100% has cozy vibes, but truthfully, that is all it has. I ended up not finishing about 33% of the way through. The beginning of the story is incredibly rushed and feels lackluster. For a book that is cozy, you think it would be a bit slower. Also, I don't understand how honey is the opposite of ashes.

I really wanted to love this book. The cover is gorgeous and the storyline seems like something I would enjoy. Unfortunately, it did not hit the mark.