I've tried to read this book a few times and it doesn't seem to stick with me. I definitely believe this is a case of the reader and not the book.

6/10 stars

My full review on my blog (link attached).

Harris’s book is a pretty (those Charles Vess illustrations, beautiful!), relatively short, decently written and entirely redundant retelling of a bunch of European myths and fairy tales (and no, I don’t want to enter into the discussion about the differences between the two, nor theories how the first devolves into the latter). It is pleasantly readable, and while it contains nothing new, surprising, or even remotely emotionally resonant, it isn’t bad. It just seems unnecessary.

This sounds rather harsh, I realise. But Honeycomb made me wonder what is the purpose of such books – beautiful, pampered and sadly superfluous works of love. Why would someone write this, and publish, and for whom? It has clearly been a long process, the stories accumulating over the years, the collaboration between the author and the illustrator something of a friendly, inspired dialogue. I wonder, deep inside, if this isn’t a book that Harris wrote for herself – she certainly knows how to write. Maybe it was just the author’s ambition to try to create her own spin on the old myths, or maybe she has been immersed in Norse, Celtic and Greek mythology and European fairy tales for too long to see how much they influenced her, how much they shaped her view and style. But the stories she tells in Honeycomb are just variations of the old, existing stories, the myths ranging from Pygmalion to Hel, from the divine mead of poets to the hidden realms of Aos Si – and Harris’s own ideas, few and far between, felt from time to time almost like unwanted intrusions. I liked the overarching theme of the insect world, clearly inspired by the Cottingley fairies photographs. I appreciated the cyclical nature of the storytelling in this collection, the stories seemingly unconnected but eventually converging and merging into a larger whole. The short nature of these stories, some of which no longer than a page or two, also made the reading more enjoyable: a story or two a day made for a pleasant diversion, and the illustrations depicted the subtle character of Harris’s narrative very well indeed. I guess having the actual, physical copy in my hands would have in this case made a difference: this book is a collaboration enriched by both parties so that the derivative nature of the stories becomes less noticeable among the lush illustrations.

[...]

In the end, Honeycomb is a collection of inconsequential bagatelles: light and entertaining, pleasing but of no consequence. Harris’s work is not bad, really – there is just no real point to the stories beyond exercising the author’s imagination and writing skills in the realm of old mythologies and tales. If you like retellings, this might be a good fit for you – and it doesn’t hurt that the finished collaboration between Harris and Vess is a real eye candy.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.

Beautiful collection of fairytales that I will continue to come back to again and again. Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Honeycomb is a book of different stories that is about bees, a lacewing king, little folk and more. Many of the stories connect or continue. It is a kingdom of insects and their lives within a fantasy world.

Some tales are about others like The Clockwork Princess. This reminds me of a fairytale with the princess abandoned locked up in her tower. Nicely done.

This book is creative and original. It's storytelling is fresh, new and a break from the usual.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Wow did I enjoy this book! This is a collection of dark fairy tales that all weave together in some way to create a magical, whimsical story that had me hooked the whole way through. The way I felt reading this book was the same way I felt while reading the Starless Sea. These stories could be incredibly dark at times but at other times be the most magical, heartwarming story. I felt so connected to all of the main characters and even the ones we didn't spend too much time with. I especially loved all the illustrations throughout. They perfectly captured their respective stories and it brought even more magic to this already wonderful book. Definitely a book I would pick up over and over again to re-experience the magic of its pages.

Reading Honeycomb feels like discovering a rich body of interwoven folk narratives from another culture, but instead of coming from another country it comes from the mind of Joanne M. Harris. The stories are fantastical and beautiful on their own, and as the book goes along they draw together to weave a compelling narrative you want to see to its end. Anyone who enjoys sitting down to read a book of fairy/folk tales will also enjoy this wonderful book.

“Up above and down below, Down below and up above, The world’s a honeycomb, my love, The world’s a honeycomb.”

Honeycomb was a collection of myths, legends, and folktales that begin with the myth of the bees and how drinking from the dreamflower and carrying it into the Nine Worlds creates their Honeycomb Queen, the first of the Silken Folk or what is more commonly known, the Fae. From this origin, the book is laid out in very short stories, a couple pages, and divided into two sections. The first book welcomes readers into the world and introduces the Lacewing King, the son of the Honeycomb Queen. From a baby to an adult, his stories and journeys create the backbone of the book. Some the shorter stories take place in the world but don't directly relate to the Lacewing King's journey and some introduce characters that eventually become intertwined with his story.

The Lacewing King went on his way without even a second thought for the two strangers he had saved, but the Clockwork Princess did not forget. One day, she told herself, she would repay her debt to him.

Full of his power, the Lacewing King starts off bold, careless, and brash and decides to steal the Spider Queen's all seeing crown. He succeeds but the Spider Queen vows revenge and we have her, along with the dangerous Harlequin, as the villains of the first half, while another protagonist, the Lacewing King's granddaughter the Barefoot Princess, has the beginnings of her story told and it starts to intertwine with her father's. The second half and book two has the Spider Queen getting some of her revenge and the addition of another villain, the Hallowe'en King, coming into the story and the Barefoot Princess and her journeys take over as she tries to find and save her father the Lacewing King.

Banished by the Spider Queen, he was dragged through the space between the Worlds into a different place and time; into a different ocean.

As fairytales are won't to to do, this was full of legends and myths that try and teach a lesson, whether it be the impatience and ego of youth or how to treat your fellow human beings and live in harmony with nature. There were a few well known tales and couple that added some modern freshness but they always lead back to the main thread of the Lacewing King and his granddaughter. I had initially expected detailed drawings but they were more sketched shadows, probably to keep the allure of an otherworldly atmosphere and let your own imagination play a part. My favorite illustration and the most clear was of the Hallowe'en King, it helped to add to his menacing tone and the creepy atmosphere of Hel. The ending tale of the Lacewing King was neither happy nor sad, but fitting in completeness feel of the journey he went on. This would be a great bedtime book to read at a slower pace and take in each short story and the lessons to be learned as you journeyed with the Lacewing King through the Nine Worlds.

At first glance this is a short story collection, fairy tales about insects and their kin. It grows into something more that that. Each story is a little pocket of honey in an increasingly complex honeycomb of meaning. In the end, it’s more novel than anthology.

This book was very imaginative and atmospheric and I definitely recommend for people looking for adult, reimagined, or dark fairy tale vibes. unfortunately I just never really got into it so it just wasn't for me even though the book itself is fine

A fever dream of interconnected stories and fairytales creating a larger narrative tapestry that, like the Fae and other inhabitants of this world, is both beautiful, cunning, and dangerous. Charles Vess’ accompanying classical illustrations perfectly match the antiquated feel of the storytelling, creating something in look and experience that feels like it was created in another time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Joanne M. Miller, and Gallery/Saga Press for the e-arc of Honeycomb in exchange for an honest opinion.

Honeycomb is a collection of original fairytales written by Joanne M. Harris and illustrated by Charles Vess. Follow the sinister Lacewing King in his feud with the Spider Queen, a toymaker who wants a perfect wife, the Barefoot Princess and her kind heart, and many more.

The stories are stunningly written and the illustrations add such dimension to the tales. They are dark and gripping, each tale weaving beautifully with the overarching narrative. I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book to add to my fairytale collection.

I have read this author before and really like her novellas. They read very lyrically and meander at times. I expected that going in but this is my first full length novel by this author. I still really enjoyed the main storyline but did not like the tiny side stories, especially the farmyard ones. They too away from the world building and slowed down the story. However, I highly recommend reading this as a book as the color illustrations were beautiful and at least my eBook version, was only in black and white. I gave it a 3.5 and rounded up for the illustrations.

An absolutely charming collection of fairy tales/fantasy novel. Some of the stand-alone tales work better than others and the momentum in the main plot slows down a bit in the second half, but it kept me enthralled the whole way through. I would love to continue exploring this universe, with or without these characters, in further stories.

Haunting. Breath-taking. Spellbinding. I’m struggling to find the words to do justice to this beautiful volume (inside and out), so please bear with me!

Honeycomb is a series of very short stories, held together by the worldbuilding wax of the Silken Folk’s world (as opposed to the clumsy oversized world of us Sightless Folk) to form an intricate wider pattern full of stories within stories and insects, lots of insects, especially bees.

I utterly refuse to believe that these stories haven’t always been out there – familiar, classic folktales handed down through the generations to warn us of the perils of accepting gifts from beautiful strangers, or wandering alone in the dark – and yet there is something completely fresh, strange… almost alien… about the world Joanne Harris has created here and the characters that populate it.

Certain characters reoccur – the Lacewing King, the Harlequin, the Spider Queen, the Barefoot Princess – as do certain settings, like the farm. Other stories are as individual and fleeting as dewdrops on spiderwebs. Each is so, so perfectly imagined and expressed.

Within and throughout, you will find love and kindness, cruelty and spite, sacrifice, revenge and redemption. I could go with the obvious simile and say this book is as sweet as honey, but also carries a few stings, which would be true, but doesn’t really do it justice.

This book is exquisitely written and imagined, and I am still captured by emanations from its world now, months after first reading it. I have never looked at insects, or fairytales, in the same way since.


Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

A collection of stories that were fantastically told and blended together seamlessly. While I'm not the biggest fan of faerie stories, I really enjoyed this.

This is a structurally ambitious collection of related fairy tales that (sort of) fit together to form a kind of mosaic novel.

I thought I would enjoy this, but unfortunately I could not find much to like about it.

I appreciate the ambitious structure and the concept behind it, but in practice the book is slow, hard to invest in, and doesn’t flow well because of the choppy format.

I had been hoping for dark and eerie, and this has a little of that, but it doesn’t have much atmosphere or sense of place, which is a dealbreaker for dark fantasy.

There is also too much of the nonsense-style content that I can’t stand when it appears (all too frequently) in fantasy books (absurdist situations to impart a lesson, endless accounts of characters singing nonsense songs).

There’s probably an audience for this book somewhere out there (Harris’ writing is certainly not without its merits), but for me it was too structurally problematic, nonsensically abstract, and devoid of atmosphere.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book isn't to my tastes but I still think I can give this a fair review. I probably should have read the summary more closely but I saw "new fairy tales" and just jumped on it! I was expecting more of an anthology of fairy tales (like Hans Christian Andersen) and what I got was an interwoven epic a la Neil Gaiman's Sandman.

There were a lot of characters. Some were interesting, compelling, and unique. Some were boring. Some were annoying. It was cool to see how all the stories came together in the end. I loved to hate the more traditional fairy tale style: a mix of the fantastical, the mundane, and the casually gruesome. It worked for the larger story and I can appreciate that. I hated the heavy-handed moralizing that came along with it.

My biggest issue these stories is the almost pre-Raphaelite style. I am not at all a fan but if that's what the author was going for, they exceeded expectations. Minus the hints of modern technology and the plain language, these could easily fit in with other works from that time. So while this isn't for me, I can recognize that other people DO like this kind of thing. If you're that person, go read this. You'll love it.

Another fantastic novel by Joanne Harris…Enter the world and the lacewing king and honeycomb king and learn their stories along with many other magical stories along the way . This is a fairy tale for grown ups. Enchanting and mystical with a dark edge .

Honeycomb took me longer to read than I expected, I felt the stories were told in a detached way and found the writing a bit dry which did not work for me as a reader, but I can see how this narration style for fairy tales would work for many others. I did enjoy several elements, however: the illustrations by Charles Vess, and the combination of short stories and an overarching narrative that connected together. I would like to read more anthologies like this in the future, since I found that element the most interesting and successfully executed!