The Honey Witch
Ratings8
Average rating3.4
The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear.
But when a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut romantasy novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.
Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who’ve tried to woo her. So when her grandmother whisks her away to the family cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence come with a price: No one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.
When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn’t believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can’t resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home—at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.
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DNF @ 25%
This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, but unfortunately it was just not for me. I did not enjoy the writing style in the slightest: it felt rushed and heartless, with a few "poignant" remarks scattered throughout that fell completely flat. The author bludgeons you in the head about what she wants you to feel about every situation, but never actually shows it ("look here, it is very cosy and nice and they do all these things, but you cannot see a single one, just trust me"). The magic system also felt rushed and not well developed at all, which is a shame in a book about witches. I could not believe in the bonds between characters, and everything felt shoehorned in, artificious and way too young in tone (the book was sold to me as adult) to my liking.
I don't rate dnfs, but if I'd persevered I'm not shure it would have scraped more than 2 stars.
A cosy, sapphic fantasy with elements of magic sprinkled along the way to make it just that little bit witchy.
I enjoyed the premise of The Honey Witch, with a girl soon to be deemed ‘too old' by society for marriage finding her way and realising that it's OK that she isn't quite the same as the others in her family. Her time with her grandmother is short, yet sweet and accepting, and her new friends and Mr Benny fill a place that was left. There's some danger, a lot of romance and a bit of magic.
It was a little obvious with the focus on soulmates where it was going to be heading, though the August and Frankie pairing did seem a little more forced than the other (but hey, maybe that's how soulmates work...) and the hint with Lottie's past on who she actually stuck out like a sore thumb. Yet there was a clear attempt to make it mesh well together.
Also, as much as I liked the two female leads and their interactions, there was a bit more focus on the romance side rather than the witchy side that I'd expected, despite the book being sold as witchy. I would have loved to see Marigold working her magic more - how she interacts with the customers, what their concerns were and what the resolutions were like. Seeing her growth into the role rather than immediate change would have been nice.
I marvel at the fact that some of the pages are written beautifully and others are bad enough that, even if this was a fanfic, I would insta dnf. The dialogue specifically is extremely cringe worthy. It's like the author has never spoken to an actual person. Ever.
2.5 with a touch of generosity.
