I saw a post by the author on tiktok about how her book is basically sapphic Howl’s Moving Castle and so I ran to NetGalley to read it, but I have to admit I don’t think this description fits it.
One really good thing about it was the depiction of grief. I thought that part was amazingly well done, and I feel for the author wanting to give her grandmother a better passing.
The description of magic was rather limited and sometimes nonsensical while the actual love story didn’t seem to develop very naturally. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it but it wasn’t quite as fun as I was expecting.
I still think it could be worth the read, just don’t expect a fast-paced, lighthearted read.

Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC.

This was the book the cosy book with a enemies to lover story line I needed.

I follow this author on social media and so was so excited when I saw I had been selected for a E-Arc.

I connected with Mari with her feeling like been the outsider of her family and friends, seeing the happiness others seem to get but not herself. The magic system is everything my kitchen witch heart needed and was so well researched. The love story happens naturally and I love how you see the slow change between the two characters.

The only down fall of this book is that it wasn't longer! Would love to read more from this world!

This book is an absolute gem – beautifully written, warmly inviting, and infused with just the right balance of humor and spice. I savored every page, reluctant to reach the end, as the heartwarming tale of a grandmother and granddaughter resonated deeply, evoking memories of my own close bond with a grandmother. The inclusion of LGBTQA+ characters, with the main characters being lesbian and bi/pan, was seamlessly woven into the narrative, avoiding the common pitfall of feeling like an afterthought. I wholeheartedly enjoyed the book, with my only lament being the absence of a sequel – eagerly hoping for Honey Witch II.

I just could not get into this- DNF at 20%.

I couldn’t get into the story, I found the language difficult to get into a flow with and didn’t really care.

I liked the premise but it didn’t feel well executed.

A sweet 3.5 read that I found cosy. I really enjoyed the authors descriptions of the country side - it almost felt like I was in a Studio Ghibli movie when the cottage was being described and the magic within it.
I did however really enjoy some of the side characters such as Althea and Mr Benny and found that their complex relationship was overall described well (if a bit rushed towards the end).

I've seen some describe it as being similar to Bridgerton - it is in the way it is set at a similar time scale and has a ball or two but otherwise most of the story is spent of the island of Inisfree. It is an interesting concept that I think for the most part came together well but there were some inconsistencies in the characterisation e.g. at the start of the novel there is a big emphasis put on not taking away free will that the main character agrees with magic then the main character does it for a rather petty reason.

3.75 stars

I liked this book, it had the whimsical cosy vibes that I was looking for. But unfortunately I didn't love it! The premise had a lot of promise and I was hoping it would be a new favourite maybe I hyped it up in my head a bit too much!

I liked the regency setting and the ballrooms we see at the start of the book. As cliche as it sounds it did feel like I was reading Bridgerton but with magic at the beginning. I feel like the protagonist of marigold suited a story such as this, she's very much set that she won't conform to societies rules and expectations of her and we see that clearly evolve throughout the novel where she is able to live out her own version of happiness and the life she wants. the side characters were interesting enough to support the story and i enjoyed the cute little magical animals that help keep the island alive.

i think parts of this story fell a little flat and i WISHED they were fleshed out more. the magic system was an intriguing part of the story but i felt it started to become a little overshadowed when the romance element came into the story. the romance was very insta-lovey, and the character of lottie just didn't feel 3D enough for me? yes she had a tragic past but that was as much as we knew about her which was disappointing. the story was predictable in some parts and i knew how the plot would pan out by the 50% mark, the ending was just equally very disappointing and ended quite abruptly in my opinion.

Described as a mixture of Bridgerton and The Secret Life of Bees, The Honey Witch didn’t disappoint for me and hit all the romance and fantasy vibes with cosy mystery thrown in. I loved the sunshine of Marigold and she definitely was balanced out by Lottie!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC!

Magic, Witches, Cozy Cottage, Sapphic Love — what more could you want!


This is a journey of self-discovery, bravery, and magic. The writing is so poetic and enchanting. I felt like there were fireworks in my brain while reading! It was that good.

What an absolutely perfect book.
The Honey Witch is beautifully written, warm & inviting. It gives you such a warm and cosy feeling with just the perfect amount of humour & spice throughout. I really dragged this book on as I didn’t want it to end.
The story of grandmother & granddaughter genuinely brought a tear to my eye. It felt so familiar as I was very close to my other grandmother.
This book is LGBTQA+ friendly, with the FMC’s being lesbian and bi/pan and it was written perfectly. Sometimes I find same sex relationships written into books feel like an after thought, but this was intertwined throughout the entire book and was so natural.
I throughly enjoyed this book. My only complaint is that I don’t have Honey Witch II (I hope there will be another book)

“Like her grandmother, Marigold’s heart belongs to the wilder world. It is as if she is an extension of nature, a season of herself–summer, winter, spring, autumn, and Marigold Claude.”

Marigold Claude is determined to live a life filled with magic and free of romantic love, for better or worse, when her plans are upset by meeting the grumpy and gorgeous Lottie Burke - a sceptic she’s determined to win over and prove that magic exists. Having taken over as The Honey Witch on the small magical island of Innisfree after her grandmother, Marigold invites Lottie, as well as their close friend August, to stay with her for a time.

“She fills her day with her favorite things–summer fruit, Earl Grey tea, spell casting, and honeybees. Fresh sunflowers, yellow ribbons, daydreams, and lullabies.”

I loved the vibes and the aesthetic of this book. The author weaves a world that is colourful and bright, filled with flowers of all kinds, bumbling bees and vivid seasons. It’s a story filled with love, both within families, between friends, and lovers of all ages. It felt whimsical and happy, even in the sadder parts of the story.

The writing style didn’t really work for me, and it took nearly half the book for my reading to stop dragging. The pace felt off, at times moving very abruptly without much pay-off. I do think this is something that might improve as the author writes more, however, and develops her style.

“Heartbreak is inevitable, but so is healing, so don’t be afraid to fall in love freely and often.”

It was fun to see the dynamic between Marigold and Lottie develop, from really not getting along to slowly warming up to leaning on each other. The draw was noticeable from the first meeting, but it was obvious the characters themselves didn’t realise. The sapphics were really sapphic-ing. And don’t even get me started on the tattoo scene; it really lifted the entire book up for me, and I would even recommend the book for that scene alone.

“My life has been a series of closed doors, but I’ve found an open window.”

In The Honey Witch we have a regency inspired tale filled with magic. Where our main character begins attending balls to fulfil her mother’s hope she will find a husband. However she is compelled by something much different and is drawn to a meadow where she can see spirits. She soon learns she’s a honey witch and is offered the choice to go with her grandmother to learn what this means and to ultimately take her place as the guardian of the island of Innisfree. This caused a great rift with her family as her mother has been trying to protect her from this world and a cruel curse that comes with it.

I loved the cottage-core vibes here, the green witch magic rooted in honey, the guardian spirits of the island and the beautiful island itself. Setting, vibes, magic system are all absolutely fantastic.

I really liked the main character and the romantic interest. Two lovely people with their own trauma but still with a huge capacity for love and kindness. I was really rooting for the happiness of these characters.

Where this one fell down a little for me is the dialogue was clunky to the point of being distraction. It was a shame as the descriptive sections were delightful but the dialogue was a little jarring.

Otherwise this was a lovely, cosy and sweet read with a charming island and magic system.

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, the publisher and Net Galley.

This was a nice cosy, low stakes read which was a nice break between all the other stuff I read. The magic system was super unique and I loved that aspect of it. Marigold, our main character, is wonderfully written and I really enjoyed the Bridgerton feel of the scenes where Mari had to return home.

If you love sapphic romance, the one bed trope, a unique magic systems with a cosy cottage gore setting then this book is right up your street!

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I am interested to see what else comes from the author.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

I am in love. I enjoyed this immensely. the characters, the magical system and the storyline. I honestly feel blessed that my last few reads were 5 stars reads. This one included. this was a fun and adventurous witchy read and once I started I couldn't put it down. A definite winner in my eyes. 5 stars and definitely recommend!!

Pick up this gorgeous hug of a book and get transported to a beautiful place wraps itself round you like a cosy blanket. Such a gorgeous cover too!

We follow Marigold, a 21 year old who finds out she is a witch like her grandmother (Althea) and needs to takeover soon. She follows Althea to a small isle called Innisfree.
The book seems to be set in Ireland, and has an overall very British rules and conversations, but too American to be properly British.
A few of the minor characters had Irish names (Ronan, Caoimhe & Lachlan).
Lottie is so one dimensional and annoying. There is nothing redeeming about her and baffles me why Mari likes her as she is mean and whiny.
The book is set around 1830, which has patriarchal rules (she must marry and is an old spinster at 21), but then queerness is openly accepted. Several of the characters are queer or fluid. It’s one of the only redeeming qualities of the book.
Most of the text is slightly old timey but then it has odd words sprinkled in definitely not commonly used then like f*ck.
This book was marked as cozy, but I found from about a third on that the book keep creeping up in tension and the looming of something nefarious.
The book could have had the same message with far fewer pages. It was hard to get through. Sadly, I would not recommend it.

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for review.

Part of me liked this book but, unfortunately, I was left mostly disappointed. The relationships were sweet enough but I found a lot of the dialogue stilted - very few characters used contractions which made a lot of lines read awkwardly to me. I just couldn't imagine people really speaking like this. The characters didn't feel super developed, mostly a combination of traits you'd expect to be paired together. When you were most engaged by a character you weren't meant to care about - the random man at the start who seemed to encourage Marigold's eccentricities - it's a little disappointing.

I think honey/ash magic is an interesting concept but the constraints weren't super well defined. Some of Marigold's magic seemed reliant on honey and some didn't. I didn't really understand why being a honey witch lets you control some of the elements. I was also a little bit confused whenever Marigold said she thought honey witches just didn't have soulmates, because I thought it was a) because of a curse, not inherent, and b) only her family who were cursed (though are there other honey witch families? Who knows). Some clarification on the world-building there would have been good. There wasn't a lot of plot and that's fine - I love a good cosy book - but I did also see everything there was in this book coming a mile off.

I think this premise had potential, there were times I was engaged and could look past the awkward dialogue, and I did root for Marigold and Lottie, but I think ultimately this wasn't quite for me.

This book is my new obsession.

There a few things I absolutely adore:
✨ cosiness
✨ witches
✨ regency type settings
✨ cats
✨ tattoos

The Honey Witch? All of the above and more!

I flew through this, such an interesting magical world and unique take on Witchery. It gave the most epic cosy cottagecore vibes and the author throws in some major twists that had me shook to my CORE.

All of that paired with it giving ✨regency✨ and having great sapphic rep and this is sure to end up being one of my top 2024 reads (and probably yours too)!

Sadly I just don’t think this book was for me. I was so excited when I received this arc but it fell short for me. However it is personal preference. It took me a month to get through it and it usually takes me a couple of days. Do I think it was well written? Yes I do, but the storyline just didn’t grip me like I expected.

If it is something that sounds like you would like I would recommend trying this book though because I did enjoy the writing style.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an arc for this book.

What a magical read! The characters, settling and story are just perfect for a cozy weekend read. There were the odd times I felt a little disconnected with the story but that is just very personal. Overall a great book.

I loved this book from beginning to end!
First of all thank you to Netgallery, the publisher and Sydney J. Shields for giving me the opportunity to read this copy in exchange for my honest review.
I'll start with how beautiful the cover is, and although they say we don't judge a book by its cover, this book is wonderful both inside and out.
I love cozy stories with witches, and this book has met all my high expectations.
It is a story that deals with many topics, such as lost, love, (and curses).. and self-discovery.
Of my readings from 2024 right now, it's my favorite.
I've been captivated by history, the setting,..everything.
The atmosphere will transport you to a wonderful place without moving from the couch!
This novel is a reflection on the power of hope and the possibility of changing our destiny, if we are willing to fight for what we want.
"The Honey Witch" is a charming and exciting story that deals with love, magic and the ability to overcome obstacles.
The novel also addresses topics such as the power of love to change things and the importance of believing in the impossible.
If you like books like Rebel Witch Secret Society as much as I do, this book will steal your heart.