Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book group for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

The Honey Witch has been one of my most anticipated books of 2024, so I was so excited to be approved for this ARC! Safe to say I was not disappointed! The imagery was so beautiful and I absolutely adored the entire magic system. I found myself reminded of some of my favourite cosy games throughout the book (Wylde Flowers, and Stardew Valley especially!) which helped me get really absorbed into the world.

The storyline at times was a little predictable, but I found it so sweet and really enjoyed the relationships between different characters. I'm used to reading fantasy books that are a lot more political with high stakes so this stand-alone novel was a great palette cleanser that left me feeling all warm inside. The themes of love and loss were really well explored.

I won't spoil the ending here but I did find it a bit anticlimactic. It felt a little rushed and could've done with more action but as the book is a cosy romance I guess that's too be expected, and it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the story as a whole.

I'd absolutely reccommend this book for fans of Howl's Moving Castle, Bridgerton, Emily Wilde, etc. as it's a really lovely regency romance with a fantasy twist.

Marigold is a honey witch that is cursed to never have her true love. Marigold thinks this is an easy sacrifice to make until she meets Lottie and her world falls apart.

I found this one difficult to get into but I'm glad I stuck with it this was a lovely but heartbreaking magical story. A sapphic romance with love loss and friendships a beautiful story.

Thank you to Netgalley, Little Brown Book Group and Sydney J Shields for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

🌟✨/5

Several weird and questionable decisions kept The Honey Witch from being the perfect cozy cottagecore fantasy I wanted it to be. This was a huge disappointment. I cannot talk about why I disliked it without spoiling major plot points, so be warned.


To begin with, the magic system is a huge mess. Honey witches are portrayed as being extremely powerful with the ability to control the wind and water and even BRING SOMEONE BACK TO LIFE without major repercussions. Magic of this scale should have grave consequences, but it doesn't. The whole 'honey is the opposite of ash' thing didn't really make sense either. The author did not think this through. I loved the concept of honey witches helping people by using spells and those were some moments where I got glimpses of what this book could've been. The bees were the only characters that I loved LOL. 

The romance has its sweet moments and not bad, exactly, but not really well developed. I enjoyed Marigold, Lottie and August's group dynamic initially but that too went downhill soon enough. I wasn't a huge fan of the soulmate spell either. August finding out who his soulmate is right after locking eyes with him and then them falling in love instantly didn't make sense. Like I said, honey witches are portrayed as way too powerful. That one smutty moment came out of nowhere and really threw me off. It didn't match with the vibe of the rest of the book and was poorly written. 



Since Marigold is cursed, Lottie dies when they get too romantically involved but Marigold brings her back to life 2 seconds later... nothing about this makes sense. However, the climax (if you can even call it that) was downright ridiculous. Neither did it work with the languorous pacing the first 30% had ( which was the only part it kinda enjoyed) nor did it...you guessed it- make sense. The final 'battle' was just annoying af. 


Overall, I found this book to be full of 'could've beens'. From terrible pacing to a nonsensical magic system, the honey witch was a huge disappointment.

This was both a beautiful cosy read full of cottage-core vibes and good feels and a book that tore my heart still beating from my chest and stomped on it until it was a complete wreck. It’s been a long while since a book has destroyed me so much. It was wonderful though I think I still have whiplash from the change in tone.

I loved the idea of a Honey Witch. I loved the harmony with nature and the keeping of bees and just the whole cottage-core nature of the book. I would maybe have liked to see more about Ash Witches and what they’re like when they live in harmony with the Honey Witches rather than being at odds. Maybe there’ll be a sequel.

I also would have liked just at the end for there have been a nice epilogue when we returned to the nice cosy cottage-core vibes from the start. Though I like a book that makes me feel things, I found that it left me with those emotions rather than the nice warm happy ones from the start and just having a happy little epilogue would have been nice.

This book was such a joy to read though. At the start of it when it was warm and cosy, I found myself not wanting to put it down because I was just enjoying reading it so much. It wasn’t even a case of wanting to know what happened next, it was a case of the book was so cosy, I didn’t want to leave it.

This is definitely a book in two halves. If you’re looking for cosy vibes, they’re definitely in this book, just be prepared for a really intense and definitely not cosy ending.

DNF at 15%

I don't know if I'm simply not in the mood for this particular book or if it's just really that bad. It just simply didn't grab me, didn't hold my interest.. The world building is unclear. I love me some witches, but none of it makes sense so far. The writing was okay, but not something I'm particularly into. Caught myself skimming the pages instead of reading them so it was time to DNF and move on to another book. I

The Honey Witch

A cozy cottage core fantasy romance with bees! 🐝

What to expect:
Themes of grief
Magic and spells
Witches
Regency period
LGBT Representation

This was such a cute easy read. I really liked the description of nature and how the magic system worked. I also really liked Marigolds desicion not to conform to society and be a mother and wife, instead she wanted to embrace her independence and be the Honey Witch. Her relationship with her Grandmother was beautiful.
I wish there was more of her learning to be a Honey Witch with her grandmother, as this was my favourite bit of the book.
I love bees and this book was so wholesome.
However I did think that the dialogue was a bit clunky for me and I guessed the twist quite early on so I felt eager for the book to finish.
Overall a cute, cozy read with a little bit of action. Perfect for Summer!

3.5 stars

I was expecting a cosy fantasy read when I started The Honey Witch but it wasn’t quite what I expected.

The story starts with Marigold being the burden in her family, a free spirit who can’t settle for the constraints of marriage, rather longing to the meadow instead and feel magic. Then her grandmother arrives, who has been shunned her mother following a witchy attack years before, and Marigold is offered the chance of freedom, becoming a witch and protecting Innisfree from ash witches. There is just one problem – to become a Honey Witch, Marigold must succumb to the curse – no one call fall in love with her. Marigold accepts, she wants freedom not love, but then Lottie Burke comes into her life.

There are definitely some cute moments or concepts involved, and it’s not particularly taxing so in that sense it is comforting, but the book does also feel a little disjointed. The heart of this book is the sapphic romance, the magic feels a little more like a sub-plot to cause tension in the romance and subsequently leaves you with quite a few questions about the magic system which aren’t really delved into. For example, ash witches create magic out of destruction, using the ashes to fuel their magic – how is this feasible? You can only burn something once and then what? I get the principle in theory, honey witches use life (flowers and bees), ash witches from death, it just doesn’t sound realistic, ash witches could never settle anywhere because the land would be barren. Likewise, this gives off a regency vibe, with balls and dance cards and chaperones etc, but open homosexuality is fine but tattoos are illegal and people will literally be mutilated if found with them.

The romance itself, between Marigold and Lottie, is sweet in ways although the writing is a little cringe at times, oh there’s only one bed in the inn, one tattoos the other meaning they have to undress in front of the other, there’s hand holding and “good girl, you’re doing so well”s and part of me fell for it, the other part of me knew I was being fickle. Lottie is essentially a very vulnerable young woman, she inherited a family when her friend August took her in but she feels on the outside and like she doesn’t belong. Lottie longs for a home of her own, a love of her own that she feels is hers, she is fragile buy disguised in a hard shell for quite a while of the book. Marigold is surrounded by a loving family but chose magic, she is lonely but she has her family just a letter away, she is nurturing and kind but has nowhere she can give her love out of resignation she will never receive love in return.

Lottie was, for me, a more interesting and likeable character, but the problem is, her character didn’t develop, she just sort of instantly changes on the page from standoffish to vulnerable and endearing, yes it’s magic but it’s also whiplash. Marigold, on paper, is empowering, she literally runs from a man potentially offering marriage to instead make a life for herself but her journey in becoming a witch is a little rushed. Meanwhile August, the 3rd friend in this story, disappears which feels a little strange when he played a part during the initial confrontation with the ash witch.

There are some very obvious twists coming, the introduction of a character and I instantly knew who they were, and the conclusion feels a little rushed and jarring compared to the rest of the story, but take the book as a love story and it’s still pretty cute and enjoyable and I did love Lottie and would probably have fallen in love with her too.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had seen this on instagram & tiktok at least once a day for months, so to say this was highly anticipated would be an understatement. Those high expectations however lead to disappointment for me unfortunately. I didn’t hate the book, I didn’t love it, it was just mid. I finished it today & honestly couldn’t really tell you any details about it. I was just expecting a lot more from what I’d seen around, but I can imagine that a lot of people will really enjoy this book, it’s a light easy read with nice characters & an easy to follow (although predictable) plot.

Thank you Orbit & NetGalley for the ARC

This book was provided by Little, Brown Book Group UK through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been subscribed to the author on Instagram for a while now. She made me want to read The Honey Witch so much, that when I saw this book on NetGalley, I immediately requested it and crossed my fingers! I loved the idea of a witch cursed to never be loved, and a girl who doesn’t believe in curses falling in love with her anyway.

The beginning felt very Bridgerton to me, which I wasn’t expecting, but it was very funny, so I kept on reading (Many moments in the books made me laugh, it was a fun read !) Then the actual magic happened, and it was all I hoped for ! There were bees, magic, honey, supernatural creatures, and wonderful friendship !

There was a few big « revelations » at the end of the book that were very predictable, but I don’t think it’s a real problem. The book was very fun and enjoyable to read, very cozy. The characters were all sweet and great and I loved them all, I can’t wait for book 2 !

This was one of my most anticipated reads for this year, and it's describe as a sapphic cottagecore cozy fantasy with witches - and that sounds right up my alley. Unfortunately it did not live up to my expectations... It was very predictable, I felt bored, but what bothered me the most was that it's poorly with awkward dialog. The world was interesting, the plot was cute - but it did not live up to my expectations...

I really enjoyed this one!

The honey witch is a cozy romance about a young girl living her witchy fantasy romance life.
I love this as a tale of self discovery and really understanding who she is as a person. Marigold was so enjoyable to read.
I actually really liked the fact that it wasn’t particularly intense, it was just the right amount of cottagecore for what I wanted at the time and will definitely be digging into other works by this author!

The Honey Witch is nice enough for a chilled out and cozy witchy romance. However, there was something a missing - it felt like nothing was happening, and the characters weren't interesting enough for that to be ok. Unfortunately, that meant it ended up being boring at parts, and it was difficult to motivate myself to pick it back up and keep reading. A real shame!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

2.75 stars
Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe I just misunderstood what the book was going for, but this was just a bit of a disappointment. Generally, The Honey Witch is fine. Cosy fantasy/romantasy doesn’t need that much of a plot, but the characters weren’t interesting or distinct enough to carry the narrative. I’m also confused about the pacing. Marigold goes from knowing essentially nothing about magic, to having characters tell her ‘oh, by the way, this has been happening the entire time’, to several month-long time skips of her learning magic off-page. For a witch book, there’s just not enough witchcraft. The vast majority of the book is dialogue, which is noticeably weaker than the prose, and generally tends towards YA. I didn’t know this was an adult book until suddenly there was a sex scene, a sort of death scene, then 20 pages of action out of nowhere to end the book. I unfortunately found The Honey Witch boring and a little bit surface-level. The descriptive sections are lovely and it really sticks to its honey/bees theming, I just wish that the emphasis was more on the magic.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. A cottage core fantasy with magic. It has all the right feels for a good read. But it was a little disappointing. But still a nice read. 2.5 stars

This is a charming tale of magic and love. All kinds of love, family, friend, romantic, of nature, and of learning new things about life.
There is calm beauty and breathless excitement, all wound together. Beautifully written and totally engaging, I devoured this book and was sad to say good bye when it ended.

A sweet cottage-core, queer romantasy novel set in a world of magic.

I was a little disappointed with the writing - I was expecting something similar to Travis Baldree or Rebecca Thorne and while the story delivered, the writing was stilted and as other reviewers have said, there was more telling than showing.

I’d give the author a second change though, I really hope she keeps writing!

Thanks as always to NetGalley and the publisher.

The premise of The Honey Witch really intrigued me; Marigold is whisked away to the family cottage on the tiny island of Innisfree, where her grandmother will train her as the next Honey Witch. Unfortunately, there is a curse attached to being a Honey Witch.

While the prose was lyrical and some of the descriptions were stunning, I had a difficult time getting into this book.

The pacing was stilted and the time jumps were jarring. I felt that a lot of the learning and relationship development happened off page, which made the relationships feel superficial. There was also lots of telling rather than showing, and I found the plot to be contrived, slow and very predictable.

I do think this book did a good job with the witchy, nature, cottagecore vibes. However, the world building and magic system felt very surface level, and I still have lots of questions about it. But, I did really enjoy how magic was tied to nature.

The characters were okay, but I didn’t find myself connecting with them. They were very one-dimensional, and I wasn’t invested in the relationship at all.

Overall, this book wasn’t for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for providing me with an eARC of this book.

Thank you netgalley for this arc!!

This was so much fun?!?! A perfect cozy vacation read!!

It was so nice seeing Marigold and Lottie going through every stage to fall for each other.

I loved how much depth and importance platonic relationships had in the book and Althea and Mr Benny both broke and healed my heart!!

This book is for everyone who loves the beach episode and can’t wait for gilmore girls season!!

Ps: Auggie u are the babies baby boy! Never change!!

I really enjoyed this read, it was so cosy and lovely!! My only criticism was that the romantic interest was only introduced at the 30% mark, which is quite late for a book that’s only 300 ish pages!

I definitely recommend this read :))

Pretty disappointed in this - it's not awful but it's not living up to what I hoped and I was already skim reading 15% of the way through.

I thought this was supposed to be a romantasy - we've met the love interest briefly in passing (like literally a page) and it's just been 8 chapters of info dumping and exposition. I can't see how you can build a believable romance when they've not even spoken for nearly a quarter of the book!

The info-dumping and exposition was okay at first and then started to get painful. Half was delivered through the most stilted dialogue and half was just paragraphs of back story and what felt like very random scenes to set up the lore. I enjoyed the first part at the ball, but it all seemed to fall apart from there. The main character and her family don't talk to each other like real people - I feel like the author was going for something Bridgerton-esque, but it doesn't come off very well and feels very wooden. The magic system is very creative but I wanted to be dripfed the lore rather than just having it being dumped on me from the start!!!