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juliaureads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This was cozy and sweet just like a cup of honey tea. The magic system was so unique and easy to understand. I billed this as “Bridgerton but with magic” and stand by it. There is a bit of Regency-era gossiping, Mari finding her way in the world, and a lot of sapphic love. The romance was a little rushed, but you know I love some pining, of which there was none.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent
ana_the_frog's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Miscarriage, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Infertility, Death of parent, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
mamaewalk's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Such a good read. Starts off cozy and sweet but definitely has high stakes in second half. What I love is the queer joy. Queer relationships are a normal thing that no one bats an eye at in this world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Miscarriage, Infertility, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment, Abortion, Emotional abuse, and Violence
ninjamuse's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, Death, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent and Torture
metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual content, Animal death, and Blood
Minor: Miscarriage and Confinement
m_a_j's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Blood
Moderate: Miscarriage and Sexual content
alyssamhartley's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
I really enjoyed this book! I think I have found that I don’t really love the grumpy x sunshine trope, but I still really enjoyed this story. The characters were great, I just felt that I could never really connect with Lottie at all throughout the book. Her character just felt so one dimensional and bland; I would have liked to see more from her because truthfully I just hated her the entire time.
Reading this book felt so nostalgic. It felt like a more sophisticated version of the books I read when I was a kid. It was magical, whimsical, and creative. I also really enjoyed that everyone was so accepting and chill about the queer characters. This story for so fun and I adored the journey all the characters went on!
Reading this book felt so nostalgic. It felt like a more sophisticated version of the books I read when I was a kid. It was magical, whimsical, and creative. I also really enjoyed that everyone was so accepting and chill about the queer characters. This story for so fun and I adored the journey all the characters went on!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death
jc_wb's review against another edition
3.5
Marigold feels trapped in her life of balls and courting, much preferring the magic of a meadow on a full moon. When her grandmother returns after 15 years to lead Marigold into her fate as a Honey Witch, she leaves everything she's every known behind for a new life.
She meets her old friend August and his sour friend Lottie. They can't stand each other, but is there more to it? The Honey Witch is cursed not to love, so it can't be that, surely?
Set in 1831 and 1832, the story has an old-fashioned feel (chaperones, balls, courting, long travel and slow post) but definitely updated with LGBT relationships and magic!
The Honey Witch elements were well-thought out, although I'm still not entirely clear on how ash is the opposite of honey. There were hints of the true nature of Lottie throughout the book, which all came together in the final part. The battle of Ash and Honey was quite quick, there was a lot of story leading up to it.
After such a quick resolution I think the final part could have been a bit longer to find out about their life after rebuilding the island and how ash and honey work together after all the fighting - it's probably not enough for a second book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.
She meets her old friend August and his sour friend Lottie. They can't stand each other, but is there more to it? The Honey Witch is cursed not to love, so it can't be that, surely?
Set in 1831 and 1832, the story has an old-fashioned feel (chaperones, balls, courting, long travel and slow post) but definitely updated with LGBT relationships and magic!
The Honey Witch elements were well-thought out, although I'm still not entirely clear on how ash is the opposite of honey. There were hints of the true nature of Lottie throughout the book, which all came together in the final part. The battle of Ash and Honey was quite quick, there was a lot of story leading up to it.
After such a quick resolution I think the final part could have been a bit longer to find out about their life after rebuilding the island and how ash and honey work together after all the fighting - it's probably not enough for a second book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, and Miscarriage
novelshire's review against another edition
2.0
First up, this should have trigger warnings for miscarriage, various deaths and blood. I mention this first because I think they could be a surprise, given that this comes across as fairly cosy.
I think it starts of quite well, a historical fantasy setting with the main character Marigold feeling like she doesn't fit in and dreaming of escape, being whisked away by her grandmother after learning she's a honey witch. A little rushed, but fine.
So what didn't I enjoy? There's a lot of telling rather than showing - time skips that cut out the learning parts and the relationship developments. It made many of the interactions feel shallow (although I did like the relationship between Marigold and her grandmother and Mr Benny).
I assume that the treatment of a woman experiencing a miscarriage was there to illustrate that the honey witches were there to help the locals, but that line wasn't really developed - again we're told but not shown much in that regard - making it feel oddly jarring.
Now, the magic. Bees, honey magic and ash magic. I thought it was an interesting idea, but the curse didn't make a huge amount of sense to me. I thoroughly disliked the soulmate spell and everything related to it, and the romance made me cringe.
In the end, everything felt quite frenetic and choppy and I didn't feel any attachment to the characters to make up for that. I was drawn in by the cover and the cottagecore vibes. And there are some of those vibes to start with, but there's too much drama and peril if you're looking for something cosy.
Thank you to Orbit UK for providing me with a netgalley review copy
I think it starts of quite well, a historical fantasy setting with the main character Marigold feeling like she doesn't fit in and dreaming of escape, being whisked away by her grandmother after learning she's a honey witch. A little rushed, but fine.
So what didn't I enjoy? There's a lot of telling rather than showing - time skips that cut out the learning parts and the relationship developments. It made many of the interactions feel shallow (although I did like the relationship between Marigold and her grandmother and Mr Benny).
I assume that the treatment of a woman experiencing a miscarriage was there to illustrate that the honey witches were there to help the locals, but that line wasn't really developed - again we're told but not shown much in that regard - making it feel oddly jarring.
Now, the magic. Bees, honey magic and ash magic. I thought it was an interesting idea, but the curse didn't make a huge amount of sense to me. I thoroughly disliked the soulmate spell and everything related to it, and the romance made me cringe.
In the end, everything felt quite frenetic and choppy and I didn't feel any attachment to the characters to make up for that. I was drawn in by the cover and the cottagecore vibes. And there are some of those vibes to start with, but there's too much drama and peril if you're looking for something cosy.
Thank you to Orbit UK for providing me with a netgalley review copy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Blood, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
sweetxsage's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I would have loved to see more focus on the characters outside of Marigold and Lottie. It felt very troupe-focused and the characters felt like shells of who they could have been.
The narrator also made the beginning of the novel confusing. Being thrown into a dilemma with multiple people interjecting was difficult to follow when we barely learned the names or importance of the characters.
Mari reminds me a lot of Eloise from Bridgerton, and I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't inspired by her. Definitely a fun little read if you don't take it too seriously. A solid debut novel.
The narrator also made the beginning of the novel confusing. Being thrown into a dilemma with multiple people interjecting was difficult to follow when we barely learned the names or importance of the characters.
Mari reminds me a lot of Eloise from Bridgerton, and I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't inspired by her. Definitely a fun little read if you don't take it too seriously. A solid debut novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content