The Honey Witch

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.

The setting and magic was so achingly beautiful it obscured most of the lower points in the beginning. The characters are one dimensional, the dialogue is flat, the writing is somehow both repetitive and contradictory, the plot holes are needless. Despite all that, I still loved reading this book until the ridiculous ending ruined it completely. Although I was rooting for Lottie, the only love story that felt truly compelling was between Marigold and her grandmother.

I wanted to like this book. I'm a sucker for regency romance, witches, weird magic, and plucky heroines. The writing, though, gave everything away. Nothing was earned, no discoveries were made. I dnf'd when the grandmother showed up in the second chapter to explain that she is literally called a "Honey Witch" because...of magical honey. Emotional moments are discarded almost as soon as they're introduced and foreshadowing lasts barely through the paragraph in which it's introduced.

Truly, it's like this book was written for me specifically. The magic system feels fresh and inventive but still relied on enough "basics" that it was easy to follow, the characters are all likeable even when they're not, the YEARNING, breaking generational trauma....The Honey Witch has it all. I absolutely adored it. A bisexual protagonist and a femme/femme romance?? Yes, thank you very much. Reading certain passages made me actually squeal and kick my feet and I cried so hard at the ending. Will be looking out for more books by Ms. Shields!!