This was very cute! I loved the cottagecore aesthetic and the level of detail in the witchy worldbuilding. The prose is decadent and lush from the get go.
However, it took me a while to get into.
It just felt a little disconnected, so when the characters when through traumatic events I found it difficult to be very invested. The pacing was unbalanced with a long slow burn before any plot really showed up, and I would have appreciated more of the antagonist earlier in the story. The ending was much stronger though, and I thought it concluded well. The relationship between the protagonist and her love interest was lovely.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia for this ARC.

I loved the feel and imagery of this book! It was such a cute little girly love story with a hint of malice, a perfect weekend read.
Admittedly, it did take me a little bit to get into it, the pacing was a little stop/start and some parts of the plot were a little underwhelming. I would've loved to see more of the antagonist, but that could just be me.

Thank you yo NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A lush and heartfelt world constructed by Shields! Every description was beautiful and I enjoyed being carried gently throughout the story, similar to how she described the bumble bees tumbling around the flowers. What unfortunately lost me was the overall structure. I felt like too much information was squished into the beginning, then the rest of the story just seemed to tumble out along the way. I deeply admired the spirit behind the story, and can tell Shields greatly cares for this world and her characters, which always warms my heart. Please keep writing! I believe Shields can only improve from here.

I could have sworn I already wrote a review for this, but it's not here so I have no idea what happened.

Firstly, I would like to thank NetGalley to providing this to me for free in exchange for honest feedback (even though that was a while ago).

I'd also like to point out that unfortunately due to not knowing what happened to my original review (or perhaps never writing it- maybe it was a dream), the book is not fresh in my mind.

What I do remember, is that I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure why there are so many negative reviews. Perhaps people were expecting an epic fantasy and were disappointed by it being a cosy, heartwarming tale. The concept and the magic system of this book was so cute.
I personally loved the characters, each one had a special place in my heart, and I thought the romance was very sweet and while I can't speak on behalf of the LBGTQ+ community, I believe it was good representation.

I liked the plot, I do think it could be stronger in some places. I wish I could remember specifics (I wholeheartedly apologise for this because I know how useless feedback is when it's broad), I just recall being confused about some things. In all fairness, that could have been a me problem too.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone wanting a cosy, sapphic, whimsical read. It's a nice break from intense epic fantasy, though don't take that to mean it wasn't emotional, because it definitely was in parts.

Loved it!!

I really wanted to enjoy this book, especially after seeing the author promote it on Instagram! But unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me. It didn’t grab me and I DNF’d it at about 25%.

The vibes were vibing - this story is exactly what was promised. A cute cottagecore saphic romantasy buzzing with magic and self-discovery

The pace was a little odd, it felt very slow at the start then wrapped up rather suddenly. The villian could have had a bigger impact in the early story, they were mentioned then seemed to be forgotten about until the very end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I really enjoyed this book!! The vibes were perfect for a weekend escape read.
The magic system was really interesting and unique.

Marigold has never fit in with her siblings and peers in Bardshire, and until her grandmother visits and confesses that they’re Honey Witches does Marigold realise why. Marigold and her grandmother go to Innisfree where her grandmother works to keep the land alive and the locals healthy.

What you’ll find in The Honey Witch:
Historical Fantasy
Cosy cottagecore Vibes
Sapphic Rep
Generational Curse

Quotes I love:
🐝 “Anyone can be capable of something impossible— as a witch, she must believe that.”
🍯 “Is that not magical in itself? To have survived this long despite the world’s penchant for beautiful dead girls?”
🐝 “My need for you makes me wicked.”
🍯 “Just because she is choosing a different life path from you does not give you the right to belittle her.”

I was a little let down by this, they say never judge a book by its cover, and the cover is absolutely beautiful on this. The story line is fantastic I just didn't feel any of the characters.

'The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love.' How interesting and intriguing this sounded to me and so I had to read it. And I was not disappointed adn found this such a wonderful book and one I couldn't put down. It is whimsical, magical and full of fantasy and warmth that it just drew me in.

The story is so well written you can immerse yourself in it. The characters are ones you want to be and know and the story brings home how we all deal with things like loss and grief. It is a story that will warm your heart and enchant your being! Loved it.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for giving me the opportunity to read adn review this book.

DNF - Unfortunately I was only able to make it to Chapter 8....I really wanted to love this because it sounded like such an interesting story and I really don't often fail to push through with books. But I just could not get into it at all.

So, a summary...."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."

I really want to start on a positive note so I will say, the cover art is gorgeous, and I loved the layout on the pages....and that was it.

I wanted those golden, beautiful, supposed Bridgerton meets magic vibes....but unfortunately it fell flat and dry. The chapters aren't even that long but GOD LORD did it feel like it was dragging. I was not interested in anyone, all of the characters fell kind of flat and Marigold who was so "unique" and different to everyone else just came off as drab.

The language and writing style I think really just failed to achieve that it needed to and unfortunately just made it harder for me to continue reading and push through. To be clear I have no issue with choosing language from that time, I normally love books in this kind of time period.

I had such high expectations as this was hat was promised "A delicious debut that combines the swoon-worthy romance of Bridgerton and the whimsical sorcery of Practical Magic, with a dash of The Secret Life of Bees thrown in for good fun." I don't know whether it ever achieved this, but I hope it did and I hope people found a way to enjoy it.

I can only rate this 1 out of 5 stars, I don't know what age or reader type this would appeal to as I couldn't finish it and don't know all the themes and plot lines it explored....

All I can say is the vibes were immaculate! So whimsical, magical and beautiful. My favourite thing about this book was definitely the atmosphere. If you're looking for a cute cozy read with cottage-core bee-keeping sapphic witches, this is the book for you! ♥

Thank you to NetGalley & Sydney Shields for giving me a complimentary advanced reader copy of The Honey Witch in exchange for my honest review.

Reading the The Honey Witch felt like I had pastel coloured glasses on, imagining the world like Bridgerton had crossed over with the Witches of East End and it was AMAZING!

Thank you to Sydney Shields for writing an absolute masterpiece, and for touching so beautifully on concepts like self-acceptance and self-discovery.

This was an interesting one for me. It had all of the ingredients to be a novel I would truly adore, however it wasn't quite right for me. The pacing was quite slow, which was OK seeing as though it was quite atmospheric and was giving the cottagecore vibes.
However, there are a couple things that stood out to me:
- Marigold finds out about her magic and shortly afterwards, her grandmother needs help securing Innisfree. I thought from there we would see more of the dark magic and threat play a larger part of the story, however it feels like it all really came at the end of the book.
- The premise of the book made me think that the love story would come much sooner, when in fact it was introduced around 40% in and I really couldn't get behind their connection. There was something missing here.
- I found the author's direction interesting, with LGBT relationships being so widely accepted but a woman with tattoos not? I'm part of both of these communities so I feel comfortable that this isn't a huge deal. The representation of LGBT characters was great, but the whole tattoo thing didn't feel cohesive with the open and accepting vibes of the book.
- For me, there was something lacking in the magic system. I wanted to know more about how this fit into the wider world. Were there more towns that had witches? Are witches common? If not honey witches, then what kind?

Be warned: the pacing on this book is a little wonky so if you're here for the sapphic witches, be patient! They're coming! They're worth it! So worth it!

If you stick through the world building vibes of regency girl doesn't want to get married and would rather frolic in the woods, and grandma whisks away for a sort of training sequences, you will be rewarded with not quite enemies to lovers sapphic yearning and pay off and big fight scenes.

The vibes in this book are immaculate and oh to be a yearning gay witch away on her farm giving spells to the nearby town.

I hope for sequels of the side characters! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for supplying me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 10%

I was so enchanted by the cover and description that f this book but sadly it’s just not for me. The writing may improve as the book continues but based on what I read myself and reviews I’ve seen from people I trust, I don’t want to invest anymore time in this book when I doubt I’d rate it more than 2 stars.

The characters were flimsy, the magic system is not just being introduced but did not work for me, the writing was not to my taste at all, overall I was left with 0 desire to continue. This may not be entirely to do with the book although I don’t necessarily think it’s a good book that just isn’t for me, but I will say that I don’t think I’m the target audience. This feels like lower YA with delusions of NA and I lack tolerance of lower YA on a good day.

When I read that this book was a cross between bridgerton and practical magic I was really excited to read it. However I found the writing style very clumsy and feel the text could have benefited from a few more rounds of editing. The first chapter was very info dumpy with a lot of back story shoehorned in. I feel the prose would have flowed more if it was written from a first person perspective. With that said I found the characters very likeable and the story compelling enough to keep me reading.

This book was full of cozy magic vibes, I mean it’s about HONEY MAGIC of course it was super cozy and lovely to read. I found the underlying plot to move forward enough that I wasn’t bored and wanted to know what happened next and also loved the cast of characters we met along the way!

The end was super fast paced which was quite a switch after the fairly even paced events of the greater part of the book but I definitely enjoyed it! Please be aware that the first ~30% of the book is quite slowly paced with a focus on building characters and background on the magic.

If you’re after a cozy fantastical atmosphere with spirit animals, bees, potions and magic with a sapphic romance please read this book!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hatchett Australia and New Zealand and Orbit for providing me with an eARC in return for an honest review.

If you're craving a book that feels like a cozy afternoon in a whimsical forest cottage or wish you could merge Pride and Prejudice society with the vibes from Society of Irregular Witches then The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields will be your perfect escape this Autumn.

Marigold is a Witch who has to choose between being able to fall in love or having magic all while immersing herself in her grandmothers world under the threat of an evil magical force.

There were so many amazing concepts and ideas in this book but admittedly I struggled to get through it. The story itself has so many redeeming qualities and maybe if I was consuming as an Audiobook I'd have been more drawn in.

This book wasn't fully my cup of tea but it might just be yours!

I was gifted a digital ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Thank you Netgalley, Sydney J. Shields, Orbit and Hachette Australia & NZ for this opportunity.

I felt like I was sitting in the Honey Witch Cottage eating honey cake, watching this story unfold.

This cozy fantasy offers beautiful insight into understanding the complexity of loneliness, grief, and love.

Quotes that make you stop, ponder, and perhaps shed a tear or two:

“Marigold's grief moves with the seasons. It blooms and rots, and shrinks and grows, and just like winter, it cannot last forever.”

“People think that loneliness is a feeling, but it’s a presence. It’s a living thing that takes on the shape of the company you wish you had.”

“There is an inherent loss in love, but that does not mean that love is not worth it.”

The pacing is slow, but that is to be expected. The curse upon Marigold, the green flicker in the Hazelwood forest, and questions around Lottie’s past keep you engaged.

If you are looking for:

🥰Magic & curses
🍯Rival witches: honey vs. ash
🍯Forbidden love
🍯One bed
🍯A beautiful mix of FF, MM, and MF relationships

“You are everything I cannot have.”

Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I’ve worked honey into my meals for four days straight, so inspired (and so hungry) was I to indulge my palate after all this book-talk of honey and magic.

This story was truly delightful on every level.

As refreshing as it was original, The Honey Witch gave off cozy fantasy vibes, with a historical (regency-era inspired) “cottagecore” feel to it that I loved being immersed within.

Add to that, it had a unique magic-system born of bees and honey, and followed one magically gifted young woman’s journey to self-discovery, female empowerment, and curse-shattering love—with a sapphic spin.

The writing was simplistic, yet utterly charming, with a whimsical, morish quality to the narrative style that I enjoyed. The whole thing was giving me peaceful, fairytale-like vibes that I relished in.

Mixing in with that core writing ingredient was a wonderful ensemble cast of characters, each more wholesome and lovely than I could ever dream of being myself, many of whom experienced a sweet and swoony soulmate romance within these pages, beyond that solely of the heroine and her snarky (and amusingly curmudgeonly) lady love.

For a debut, I was significantly impressed with what Shields delivered here: an uplifting and heartwarming fantasy story, with themes of family, friendship, magic, and love at its core.

I may have come for the gorgeous cover, but I happily stayed for the enchanting story within.