You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
adventurous
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Adorned absolutely amazing. One to take your time with the tales act as stand alone short stories weaved together into a much longer tale the illustration is gorgeous at least in the UK edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Okay, this book is visually stunning, beautifully written, so easy to read BUT it just wasn’t my cuppa tea I’m afraid. Short stories just aren’t for me, but I can so appreciate the love, joy and pure dedication flowing through every page. If you want a quick ‘15 mins a day’ sort of read this is perfect, but if you’re a 100 page binger like me perhaps not.
Regardless this stunning book will be pride and place on my shelf for years due to just how darn gorgeous it is.
Regardless this stunning book will be pride and place on my shelf for years due to just how darn gorgeous it is.
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“‘Because you know only Nine Worlds,’ he said. ‘But there are so many worlds out there; a world for every story. Stories wield enormous power; greater even than yours, my Queen. A story can change the course of Time; a story can even raise the dead. A story can take you anywhere; into any world you choose.”
TITLE—Honeycomb
AUTHOR—Joanne M. Harris
PUBLISHED—2021
GENRE—fairy tales
SETTING—the world of the Silken Folk
MAIN THEMES/SUBJECTS—faeries—the Silken Folk, the Natural world/s, princesses, craftspeople & artisans, medieval village life & social structure, fables, Death, curses, prejudice & superstition
WRITING STYLE—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
CHARACTERS—⭐️⭐️⭐️
STORIES—⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
BONUS ELEMENT/S—my favorite thing about this book was the worldbuilding, this very insect-y fairy world that is just as beautiful as we have maybe always imagined the fairy realm to be, but with a much darker, and more ancient-feeling, element to it as well...
PHILOSOPHY—⭐️⭐️—rather shallow and uncritical at times…
“There are many doors between the worlds of the Faërie and the Folk. Some look like doors; or windows; or books. Some are in Dream; others, in Death. And some simply wait for one person—the right person—to find them and to pass through.”
I absolutely loved the imagery of the faeries and their world and the writing was very beautiful. I also loved the illustrations which were very soft and whimsical. The stories themselves were interesting in regards to the overall structure of the book as some of them were completely separate standalone stories unrelated to the main story arc that connected a lot of the other stories together—the story of the Lacewing King and his family, allies and enemies—and then at the end there was even a pretty clever explanation for this structure of the book which I thought was quite good.
But ultimately while I thought that the premise of the book was excellent, the execution was a little disappointing. Unfortunately I felt that too many of the stories were a little on the substanceless side and the deeper messages were flimsy (and dated, maybe?) at best and at worst almost problematic in their lack of real, critical deeper meaning…. after all, isn’t that the point of fairy tales? Quite a few of the stories had undercurrents of ethnocentric, transphobic (the only gender expansive character was a one-dimensional villain 😬), capitalist, and blind kinloyalty elements… 😬 I think that’s probably why it took me two years to finish it. 😅 I know for sure there were a few stories I did really like and even a couple that definitely had a solid philosophical underpinning but it’s been so long since I read them now that I don’t remember which ones exactly that they were. 🙈 The ones about the farm animals I think were my favorite (they were hilarious 😂) and there were a few about imagination and the ability to see the Folk and why that is that I liked. I can still see myself revisiting this collection even if just purely for the worldbuilding. It was really outstanding. I think I’ll shelve this on my bedtime reads bookshelf. 🌚💕
“…for Life is short, and Death is long, and Love lasts longer than Beauty.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Further Reading—
- Alice in Wonderland
- Brian Froud
- Tales from the Hinterland, by Melissa Albert
- Grimm Tales for Young and Old, by Philip Pullman
- The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter
- Hiddensee, by Gregory Maguire
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Honeycomb is a collection of short stories which mostly connect, although some don't (the farmyard ones only seem to connect to each other and not to the overarching story, and they are the ones with the heaviest moral/social commentary, which makes them stick out a bit).
There are some lovely stories in this collection, and the overall arc of it is quite satisfying, but it does take a while to see how it all comes together (and the farmyard stuff never does, to my knowledge). I enjoyed it, and found very compulsive reading; I'm sure some of the stories will stick in my head for a long time.
I'd say, though, that it's not a book for people who don't enjoy fairytales and fairytale-style narratives. There is an overarching story to which many of the chapters are relevant... but it takes a while to see it emerging and understand that it is really going to lead to changes and developments in the characters. Often it's much more like a fairy story, where you don't necessarily think that the character will have changed or grown when they recur.
The illustrations by Charles Vess are of course absolutely lovely, and very fitting for the stories.
There are some lovely stories in this collection, and the overall arc of it is quite satisfying, but it does take a while to see how it all comes together (and the farmyard stuff never does, to my knowledge). I enjoyed it, and found very compulsive reading; I'm sure some of the stories will stick in my head for a long time.
I'd say, though, that it's not a book for people who don't enjoy fairytales and fairytale-style narratives. There is an overarching story to which many of the chapters are relevant... but it takes a while to see it emerging and understand that it is really going to lead to changes and developments in the characters. Often it's much more like a fairy story, where you don't necessarily think that the character will have changed or grown when they recur.
The illustrations by Charles Vess are of course absolutely lovely, and very fitting for the stories.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
literally one of the most beautiful books i have ever read