Title: The Honey Witch
Author: Sydney J. Shields
Publication Date: May 14, 2024 by Redhook
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Protagonist Gender: Female
At its heart, The Honey Witch is a story of personal choice, true love, and the wonder of the natural world. On the surface, it's a cozy fantasy, full of bees and flowers and the sweetness of honey, but there's a heaviness looming over it, not just a curse, but a threat of fire and ash. Sydney J. Shields' debut is as magical as the story itself, a wonderfully written book that drew me in from the first page and kept me hooked throughout. I knew there was a twist/reveal coming, and I had my ideas about what it might be, but I was pleasantly surprised by how it all played out.
The romance here is very slow burn, but that's to be expected in a story where the heroine has been cursed to never find love. Shields does a marvelous job of contrasting the physical aspects of love with the emotional, and if you pay attention to what hurts (and why), the twist/reveal is so much more satisfying. Marigold is a fabulous heroine, a young woman who has so much to learn, so much room to grow, but she's immediately endearing and eminently likable. Lottie was a lot harder to warm up to, initially coming across as cold and abrasive, and then stubborn and difficult, but her strength eventually won my heart.
The magic system of honey and ash, light and dark, sweet and foul, was beautifully designed and developed. I love fantasy with magic and wonder, and that's what I felt here - a genuine sense of wonder and whimsy. It's a beautiful aspect of a beautiful book, and the balance between plot, setting, and characters was just about perfect. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Innisfree as much as Marigold and Lottie, and I was as worried for the Landvættir as I was for them.
If I were to have one (selfish) complaint, it would be that The Honey Witch ended too soon. The climax was well-done and entirely valid, resolving all the key elements of the story, but I guess I wanted more of the happiness that follows.
Rating: ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀ 1/2
My sincere thanks to the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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