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A review by kimdokjaa
The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
2.0
cute on paper, but riddled with plot holes, a very underwhelming climax, and an obnoxiously not like other girls main character
starting off with the curse- it made absolutely zero practical sense. in a world where you can just magic up a baby like marigold's grandmother, how would the curse affect anything? even if you couldn't, how would a love curse stop you from continuing on your bloodline with someone you're not in love with? and if magic passes through your bloodline even when you give it up like it did with marigold's mother, what could the curse do? i had some other issues with the curse as it pertained to lottie, but everytime i think about her all i can remember is her beating off and instantly dying and lose my train of thought
the world-building was also very lazily done. i really enjoy historical fiction where homophobia doen't exist, but i don't think the author thought through how that would affect heteronormative society and expectations. we spend the entire first quarter of this with marigold complaining about having to marry a man, but never see her get any pressure, either from her family or society, to do so. some smaller parts didn't track either, like men and women needing a chaperone but not two women when queer marriages are, again, very prevalent and accepted
starting off with the curse- it made absolutely zero practical sense. in a world where you can just magic up a baby like marigold's grandmother, how would the curse affect anything? even if you couldn't, how would a love curse stop you from continuing on your bloodline with someone you're not in love with? and if magic passes through your bloodline even when you give it up like it did with marigold's mother, what could the curse do? i had some other issues with the curse as it pertained to lottie, but everytime i think about her all i can remember is her beating off and instantly dying and lose my train of thought
the world-building was also very lazily done. i really enjoy historical fiction where homophobia doen't exist, but i don't think the author thought through how that would affect heteronormative society and expectations. we spend the entire first quarter of this with marigold complaining about having to marry a man, but never see her get any pressure, either from her family or society, to do so. some smaller parts didn't track either, like men and women needing a chaperone but not two women when queer marriages are, again, very prevalent and accepted