The Honey Witch

Name: The Honey Witch
SKU: 53057
Availability: InStock

4 | 563 ratings

Price: 21.83

Last update: 09-10-2024

Top reviews from the United States

Micah B Garza

Can I be a honey witch too?

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2024

I loved everything about this book! The cover is absolutely stunning. I adore a great story about the bond between a grandmother and granddaughter! I really enjoyed this book. There are so many elements that check all the boxes for me. (Chosen family, love story, magic, coming of age, and so many more!)
I will absolutely recommend this to friends. And what a fun gift to give with a pretty jar of honey! Added bonus: hidden Taylor Swift references

Dee

Bridgerton meets Halloween Town!

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2024

This book was the fun, freeing, rebellious story I needed to read at the beginning of Pride month. The story of Marigold is one I feel like most women can relate to and it was one that felt empowering, emotional and perfectly messy. It was the perfect mix of romance, fantasy and feel good family. Bridgerton meets Halloween Town was the combination I never knew I needed!!

Kirsten Joy

Great premise, not the best execution

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2024

I really wanted to love this book because the premise of cozy sapphic witches was such a cool idea to me but the execution just fell flat in a lot of ways.
A majority of the first half was written in vignettes where it peeked in on Marigold's life around the full moon but about a third of those didn't really add anything to the story they just felt like flavor text to add vibes and give details that didn't really matter/were slice of life type scenes. It just made everything feel drawn out and added to the slow pacing. I'm surprised a lot of those didn't get edited out to make this more or a novella length book.
The romance aspect of this didn't really start until almost halfway through and it didn't really feel natural at all.
None of the characters had any real dimension and there wasn't any real motivations to any of what they were doing.
The worldbuilding was pretty non existent and the magic system wasn't really fleshed out. Mari was a honey witch but also randomly had other powers that didn't seem connected to the honey magic and she seemed to somehow just innately know what to do sometimes and other times have to research it.
There's an aspect about tattoos on women being an offense that could lead to a fine but never really explained why. Given that the L.I. is a heavily tattooed woman and there is a scene where that matters, I think it should have been explained.
The conclusion of the story was very heavily foreshadowed pretty early on once the interactions with the L.I. started happening so I think that added to this feeling like it was way too long.
This basically felt like the author had a handful of scenes and dialogue and they wanted to put into a book and then added the rest around it but didn't execute it well. The pacing was weird and a lot of details given didn't really add anything.
If I hadn't been listening to the audiobook I may have just DNF'd it. The narrator was great!
I will say that since queerness seems accepted in this world it seemed like magic was used as kind of a euphemism for how queerness is viewed in the real world. Some people didn't accept it as real/an innate part of people, it caused Mari to feel unaccepted and "othered" at times, and some characters needed time to come around to the idea that it was part of her and who she was. I do think that aspect was done well.

Chelsea

Lives rent free in my head

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2024

As soon as I read the description of this book a while ago, I couldn't wait to read it.
Lesbians? Witches? Bees? Yes please.
This book grabbed my heart, and wouldn't let go.
There were a few moments that Marigold annoyed me ... but then she developed into a character that I loved, and who tried to break my heart.
The ending of the book twisted several times, keeping me reading without stopping for the last hour.
100/5 stars. I can't wait for the world to enjoy this beautiful story.

JudyD

Magical!

Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2024

Sydney J. Shields is a new author for me and I enjoyed her writing. This book is filled with magic and reminded me of a fairy tale somewhat.

Description:
The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.

Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who’ve tried to woo her. So when her grandmother whisks her away to the family cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence come with a No one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.

When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn’t believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can’t resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home—at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.

My Thoughts:
Marigold is a naive character at the beginning and has a lot to learn from her wise grandmother, the honey witch. Once Marigold finds herself and becomes more confident she is ready to protect the island. I was suspicious of Lottie when she was introduced and her story was surprising. There is a fight between good and evil and you can guess kind of how that will end, as it always does in stories. The curse certainly brings a certain sadness to Marigold's life even though she knew about it before she accepted her charge. I loved the magic in the book and the story is a good one. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys magic, witches, or fairy tales.

Thanks to Redhook Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.

caroline mcclain

A masterpiece!! ????

Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2024

I loved this book. I’m not usually a big reader but when my sister told me what it was about, I knew I had to give it a shot! Once I picked it up, I could not put it down! I love the story line and all of the characters. If you love whimsical tales that take you out of reality, I would definitely recommend! ❤️

Lauren Dion

good story, written poorly

Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2024

i was so excited for this and the writing fell horribly short. if this was for middle grade i would have understood (minus the one spicy scene).

the author does a lot of telling and not showing, and for this perfectly cozy set up of a story they i have - i was so let down.

easily one of my most anticipated reads

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