Thank you NetGalley and Hachette [Redhook] for an eARC of "The Honey Witch" by Sydney J. Shields in exchange for an honest review. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a cozy fantasy world. It was cute, witchy, mysterious, and had all the right amounts of magic. It was quite a slow burn which I am not personally a fan of and takes a while to get into dialogue. The premise and plot are very good and I was entranced from the beginning. It talks about forbidden romance, self-discovery, and has themes of generational trauma.

This book was such a struggle to get through, which was really sad because I loved the cover and the synopsis. But boy, was it a let down.

Marigold was such an annoying main character, which really hurt my soul because she held such promise. But everything she did just made me mad, because it felt like she chose every path that was the most difficult and then she would spend the whole time complaining about it. Her friends weren't much better.

I was so excited for a little witchy, sapphic romance, but the love interest was even worse than Marigold. One - you expect me to believe her body was COVERED in tattoos back in that time period when she's a woman in society. Like... does she never get new dresses EVER? Someone would have had to seen them before. Two - why was she so mean ALL THE TIME? Yes, your parents died. That doesn't give you the right to be a prick to someone who is trying really hard to be nice to you and appease you.

The big baddie was also kind of horrible as well. It felt like a lot of nothing happened over the course of the book up until the last 50 pages. Then everything happened quickly and voila! We saved the day!! With no repercussions!!

Skip this one if you're on the fence about it.

This was so beautifully-written, and it made me feel all the feels!

And even though I guessed the twist pretty much right away, the journey it took to get there was still really compelling. I was riveted!

I loved the themes of the strength of love, making your own destiny, and found family. I wouldn't say this is cozy fantasy (as I'd assumed) since it includes some dark themes and intense moments of peril, but it does still have a cozy feel to it, in my opinion. Just be prepared to feel grief and loneliness alongside the wonder and joy.

Thank you to NetGalley, Redhook Books, and Orbit for the ARC.

Felt like practical magic meets bridgerton BUT LIKE soooo much more than that 😭 it was heartfelt, tender, and sweet. The found family is everything.

Was excited for this but it fell flat. The magic system wasn’t fully fleshed out nor was the world building. Even from the first page I was slightly confused. Great premise though

I was drawn in by the cover and name - I'm not a huge cozy fantasy lover, but this on definitely held my attention. The Honey Witch is the epitome of cottagecore mixed with beautiful writing. Marigold is brought to live with her grandmother to take up the family legacy of being the Honey Witch and helping master honey magic. Once the magic fully passes to Marigold, through her grief she ends up figuring out what she wants to do in her life while trying to prove to someone that magic is more real than they think.

I loved the idea of this, a beekeeping witch who helps the townsfolk? So cute! But then the plot learns farther into the fantasy and away from cozy which I really enjoyed. I wish the plot had a better build up than the subtle hints throughout, but it is definitely enjoyable. The romance was sweet.

THE TATTOO SCENE. 👏👏👏

💝 Sapphic Romance & other queer rep
💝 Cozy Fantasy
💝 Magic & curses
💝 Rivaling Magic
💝 Found Family
💝 Good Debut

cw: death of a family member, abandonment, grief, blood, tattooing/needles, discussions of infertility & miscarriage.

Thank you to NetGalley & Orbit for an eARC of <u>The Honey Witch</u> by Sydney J. Shields

Beautiful world building! It felt like I stepped into a fairytale. The pacing was a bit rushed in some places and then slow in others, never quite felt like the right amount of time spent on certain aspects of the story. The highlight are the characters though. They are so easy to fall in love with and there is LGBTQIA representation!

One of my anticipated books for the year. This was very well marketed to the bookish community and I was super excited to receive an advanced readers copy. That being said, this book was good. The main premise revolved around choosing the path you are meant for, whether it fits society's standards or not. It fits the "cottage-core" theme that is rampant on social media right now. An enjoyable story if you are in the right headspace for it.

3.5 / 4.0

This saffic romance was so cozy and sweet, I just wish the main character didn't sacrifice her love interest's health for her own fulfilment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

I absolutely adored The Honey Witch. It has the green witch vibes that I was looking for. Not quite cozy as the stakes are high at times, but definitely had it's cozy moments. I loved the characters, loved the magic system.

DNFed on 08/15/2024 at 14% || The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields || #TheHoneyWitch #NetGalley #HistoricalRomance #Romance #Sapphic #Fantasy #SciFi

Thank you NetGalley, Sydney J. Shields, Redhook Books | Redhook for making this e-ARC available!
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author and myself.
All of my thoughts are my own~

DNF - 1 Star

For full transparency: college has been consuming me a lot but I did try my hardest to both eARC read this, and listen to the audiobook

This book just did not work for me no matter how hard I tried, different formats I tried, and how much effort I put into it. I wanted to love this book so much!
Sapphic, fantasy, historical romance that is cottage core with comparisons to Bridgeton and Howl's Moving Castle, featuring a Grumpy x Sunshine pairing??? Literally everything I love and more. So when I say this book disappointed me and I tried all I could to like it, I mean it.

This review is extremely blunt and transparent. Truly it feels like this book did not get peer reviewed properly before coming to NetGalley nor did it get any altercations when published as I attempted to read my ARC and listen to the audiobook to get further into this book and nothing seemed polished or made better. For that, I am unsure what the process was for this book, but it did not help it.

What worked for me:
The premise and what I could gather of the meadow at the start. I also loved Marigold's grandma and her siblings and the idea of magic.

What did not work for me:
The writing- the writing was so clunky and all over the place. The author's voice was never really established as one tone or another and was literally going off in different directions constantly. I first assumed it was to show Marigold being multi-layered but no, its just a stylistic choice or poor skill sets (at least from what I could tell with my own experience with how far I could make it). Marigold would have these long, intense thoughts or get narrations from the writing where she would say deep, poetic lines- one being my favorite thus far, "-what is so wrong with being a bitch? It is the closest a girl can be to a wolf." And then she goes on to talk about how she's So Different and Not Like Other Girls which is fine, but the tone felt forced and very pick me, and everyone else is not like Marigold nor worth her time. Mr. Notley actually seemed like a really nice guy, and regardless of her sexuality, she did not have to be so mean and catty towards him. And then how she reacted to the guy who dumped her and immediately was ready to risk it all for him, and then did not bother to warn his new fiancé he is abusive (I believe him being abusive was implied????). Like girl is a mean girl and not a girls, girl. Very icky.

Also the "penchant for dead girls" without really expressing more and following this tone going forward was jarring because it seems as if Shield's would pick and choose when Marigold would think or would narrate the story with such deeper insight and esoteric vibes and then,,,,,switch so violently to just normal thoughts and narration.

Telling not showing and then telling and telling and telling.....- There were so many great moments where things could have had lush and vibrant details explained. How tall is the meadow grasses? What does the meadow smell like? What colors make up the wings of the creature Lunasia? Besides its light blue aura glow, we literally are given nothing do describe it besides big butterfly. When she is heading home, that is not described neither. Is her family home 2 story? 3 story? Brick? Wooden? What kind of garden flowers are we talking about?

Also when she is eating the honey cakes with Mr. Notley at the ball, we are not really given any details of how the honey cakes tastes or anything, its just a simple cake and eaten and used as a clear plot device to move forward.

There just seemed to be a whole lot of explaining stuff with very little to no details and somehow we are expected to connect to Marigold or her life from here?


Long story short, I had to DNF because I just became too bored and too annoyed and frustrated with this book. I wanted to know so much more and yet what I was told felt like nonsense info dumping.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Honey Witch was one of my most anticipated reads of the year! I think it lived up to the hype.

This is a (mostly) cozy fantasy that felt a little like Bridgerton with witches. I loved learning about Marigold's world and also her new life once she goes with her grandmother. The love in this was tender and felt believable. The only thing that felt a little jarring was the pacing. It felt consistent up until the last 30 pages or so, and then all of the conflict and resolution happened all at once.

Overall, this book felt like a hug and I cannot wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy. I listened to the finished audiobook from my library. I really liked the narrator. They did a great job keeping me engaged in the story. As for the story itself, it was exactly what I wanted. A cosy fantasy with a little bit of danger and excitement. I liked marigold right from the beginning. I really felt attached to her and felt all of the things along side her. Now, the romance, it was grumpy sunshine and I liked it a lot. There were magical complications and I think the tension and development between them was done well so that I fell along with them.

I hate to say it but... flat. just flat. I wanted more. The vibes were cozy and whimsical, but I needed more plot.

This book had one of the most gorgeous first chapters of a story I have ever read. It was giving a stunning quote on every single page, a unique and charming heroine, a world I was thoroughly interested in reading more of. It was giving a full-fledged five star read.

And the second chapter somehow immediately dissolved that wonderful feeling.

I don’t know how, but it did, and I am in fact quite sad about it. I spent the next few chapters trying to catch a glimpse of that first glimpse of magic, but as Marigold discovered , the spell that first chapter wove swiftly faded away and I was left with some of the most stilted, unnatural dialogue I have ever read. I was left with an unnatural amount of tell, of our main character suddenly being able to read and respond to the needs of those around her when it was clearly established that she is *other* and *different* and unable to adjust or tame herself to match circumstances. The worldbuilding wasn’t even attempted to be woven into the narrative; instead we had paragraphs of dialogue explaining the stakes and the powers and exactly what Marigold could expect for her future. The first few chapters – after that beautiful introduction – felt like they contained a whole arc of a story jammed and rushed and crammed together to get to the *real* story – one that I suddenly had zero interest in.

If I could preserve that first chapter in amber, I would. But, sadly, each page pained me more with every turn and I just had to let this one go.

DNF @ 25%.

Content warning (so far): miscarriage.

Sapphic, cozy fantasy, witch book? Sign me up. Unfortunately, though, I DNFed this at 48%.

This makes me sad as I got an ARC of this months ago. I tried to pick it up when I got it and couldn't get into it. I tried again, and I am just completely uninterested in the story, in the characters, anything.

I think Shields nails the atmosphere, I can picture this cozy cottage surrounded by bees and gorgeous flowers. But the characters just fall flat for me. Also, the familial background of being witches and this curse is so glossed over that it feels like a background, yet it isn't. The whole point of the book is a girl who isn't supposed to fall in love because of this curse, does. Idk, maybe I am asking too much of a cozy fantasy.

The writing makes me want to see what else the author puts out in the future. Unfortunately, this one just didn't do it for me.

This was a truly enchanting and emotional experience from start to finish.
Though the world is small, there is incredible and continuous world-building throughout the story. The change from high society to one of magic and nature is one that I think readers can appreciate and wishfully dream upon. Every new location brought a comforting vibe and dived deeper into the secret of family and magic.
I loved the plot and the progression of the story. Nothing felt rushed or incomplete. This is especially important as it’s a single book. Though it felt like a lifetime, but in the very best way. There was humor, joy, sadness, and so much love, in all forms. Books absolutely never make me emotional, but I cried like a baby finishing this one (happy tears no less!)

I wanted to like this book more than I did. The premise was interesting, and the magic system was pretty cool. I believe what kept this book from being better was the characters. Don’t get me wrong; I liked them, but there was something missing. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that they were one-dimensional, but I don’t feel like they were completely developed, either. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of nuance to their thoughts and actions, at least in part. And then there was the romance. Of course I was rooting for Marigold and Lottie, but it just didn’t seem like their relationship was developed enough to be earned, especially given how crucial it is to the plot.

I still believe the author has potential. While this book didn’t quite work for me, I am not wholly opposed to trying her work again in the future, especially if she revisits this world and its wonderful magic system again.

Cozy fantasy, with a mix of romance and magic. Marigold's grandmother comes to claim Marigold as the next honey witch, who must keep their island home safe from the Ash Witch. Cozy vibes mixed with romance and magic. I recommend it!

This was cute! Nothing super mind blowing but it was a fun, cozy, sapphic, witchy read.

The development of the character relationships went at a nice pace. The story line also flowed really well and didn't feel too rushed.