Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ariw's review against another edition
2.0
I really, really though I would absolutely love this one. I really, really didn't like it at all.
Reading the acknowledgements afterwards made maybe some of the "way" of this a little clearer – there, Honeycomb is described as a book that came to life through Twitter, and where I had been anticipating something sitting a little closer to [b:In the Night Garden|202769|In the Night Garden (The Orphan's Tales, #1)|Catherynne M. Valente|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320548374l/202769._SX50_.jpg|196179] (deep and interwoven and utterly complex) it all felt repetitive and rushed and even trite.
Where I've previously adored Harris's prose, here I found it stilted and awkward – lines like "Its petals were as pale as young love, its leaves were like the starry sky, its roots were drenched with the dreams of the Folk; and its scent was like honey and heartbreak" lose all meaning when they sound just like those lines that came before it, a style in the shape of a style. (Also - pale is not a word I would use to describe young love, and i kept getting caught up on these moments throughout.)
The stories feel randomly thrown together – maybe like a twitter thread – with a common thread through some, which more and more frequently began with "Meanwhile," [..] and others just abruptly appearing out of nowhere. I'm sure this pacing would appeal to some, but it really didn't to me, and so this one was just a personal disappointment. Such a beautiful–looking disappointment, though!
Reading the acknowledgements afterwards made maybe some of the "way" of this a little clearer – there, Honeycomb is described as a book that came to life through Twitter, and where I had been anticipating something sitting a little closer to [b:In the Night Garden|202769|In the Night Garden (The Orphan's Tales, #1)|Catherynne M. Valente|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320548374l/202769._SX50_.jpg|196179] (deep and interwoven and utterly complex) it all felt repetitive and rushed and even trite.
Where I've previously adored Harris's prose, here I found it stilted and awkward – lines like "Its petals were as pale as young love, its leaves were like the starry sky, its roots were drenched with the dreams of the Folk; and its scent was like honey and heartbreak" lose all meaning when they sound just like those lines that came before it, a style in the shape of a style. (Also - pale is not a word I would use to describe young love, and i kept getting caught up on these moments throughout.)
The stories feel randomly thrown together – maybe like a twitter thread – with a common thread through some, which more and more frequently began with "Meanwhile," [..] and others just abruptly appearing out of nowhere. I'm sure this pacing would appeal to some, but it really didn't to me, and so this one was just a personal disappointment. Such a beautiful–looking disappointment, though!
kolausen's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
skyelerbear's review against another edition
That’s a lot of fairytales to read. It’s really interesting but I think I need more narrative in my life rn.
cm524's review against another edition
5.0
Fabulous!! Inventive and sharp, and I love how interconnected many of the stories are.
freya_pip_writes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
jesikasbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is an astounding accomplishment of modern fairy tales. There are entire Worlds contained within their stories, which feel very much like stories which have developed over time and in conversation with each other. The characters grow and change naturally, with lives of their own off page that feel palpable real.
It took me a while to read this, because life, and whenever I had some time to myself falling into these stories, which are small nuggets of incredibly vivid folklore, was just joyous.
It took me a while to read this, because life, and whenever I had some time to myself falling into these stories, which are small nuggets of incredibly vivid folklore, was just joyous.
lexi_taiga's review against another edition
4.0
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.