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A review by mspilesofpaper
The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.
Thank you to the publisher for granting me an eARC via NetGalley.
DNF @ 25% (Chapter 9)
I liked the premise of the book (sapphic, cottagecore vibes, bee/honey magic) but the entire execution fell flat for me. Plus, I think I went into it with the wrong expectations as I thought that it would be adult fantasy while it is more a coming-of-age story with a young adult main character as Marigold is only 21 years old. (Given the very young feeling of the story, I have the feeling that the author's claims of 'it will be spicy' are not fulfilled either. The entire marketing seems to be so unfitting.)
I did struggle with the main character a lot because to become a honey witch is to give up love (or well, they have to give up love due to a curse), which is something that isn't an issue for Marigold as she constantly fights against society and their expectations of young women (aka marrying and becoming mothers). Unfortunately, as soon as she learns about a soul mate spell, she is obsessed with love and I think it stems from her constant feeling of being unloved by her family. The latter is certainly just imagined by her because she is loved by her parents and siblings, her mother just had hoped that her eldest would follow another path instead of becoming a witch. Aside from this issue, she is so fucking judgemental of those who aspire to become wives and mothers. I can understand if it isn't what she wants for herself but acting like she is better than others? Hell no. Her grandmother calls her out on it in chapter 8 but I don't think that it did stick. The constant anti-marriage, anti-men, anti-children, ... phrases annoyed me rather quickly. I don't want children either but I don't begrudge anyone who wants to have them. (Also, and then I will end my rant about her: she has no development. A potion and some mediocre training are all that is required to become a strong witch. I would have loved to see experiments, a learning curve, interactions with the nearby village, creating a bond with the community, ... as the two last points would also add to the cosiness and the 'found family' trope.)
My second issue with the book is the writing style. It reads extremely juvenile and unfinished as if it had been pulled directly from Wattpad. Of course, you can find good fanfictions that will read as if they have been traditionally published but The Honey Witch would fall into the 'poorly written' category. Everything is 'telling and not showing', which results in an overdescriptive style where the sky isn't just red, it is maroon-coloured, the clouds are steel-grey and the dresses are yellow like honey (despite honey having various hues). In addition, the entire writing is very clunky and reads partly as if someone took bullet points and tried to rewrite them into sentences.
Aside from these two issues, there are a few more issues that I have with the book:
1) I found the book rather predictive and despite meeting Lottie just once, it is clear who she is related to as it is supposed to add some tension.
2) All the side characters up to the point where I gave up are so stereotypical and underdeveloped. Marigold's childhood best friend? A ray of sunshine. His partner? Arrogant and snobby. His female best friend (who is Lottie)? Grumpy, rude and mean.
3) The world-building is so flawed. Honey magic and Ash magic are supposed to be opposites although they should exist together as the grandmother explains that both rely on each other (aka it's a thinly veiled play on Life & Death and how life can happen after death). The author is extremely inconsistent with the kind of magic that Marigold can perform as well, which just adds to the flawed world-building. And please, do not get me started on the fucking curse. The curse was created to stop the Honey witch line from falling in love and from having children. A few sentences later the grandmother explains how she had Marigold's mother without a man and states that Marigold will be able to have a child of her own without a man as well. Why do you implement the curse if there's a workaround? That's so stupid, I'm sorry. Also, the inconsistency in the world-building of the entire setting (~1870) ... They have coffee, and everyone in Marigold's village expects women to have children & marry but queerness in the village that's protected by the witches is ok? (And they are openly queer as in "he is my partner" as an introduction.)
TL;DR: A bland and boring book that lacks world-building, character development, a cosy atmosphere and an actual plot with good pacing (because there's neither).
DNF @ 25% (Chapter 9)
I liked the premise of the book (sapphic, cottagecore vibes, bee/honey magic) but the entire execution fell flat for me. Plus, I think I went into it with the wrong expectations as I thought that it would be adult fantasy while it is more a coming-of-age story with a young adult main character as Marigold is only 21 years old. (Given the very young feeling of the story, I have the feeling that the author's claims of 'it will be spicy' are not fulfilled either. The entire marketing seems to be so unfitting.)
I did struggle with the main character a lot because to become a honey witch is to give up love (or well, they have to give up love due to a curse), which is something that isn't an issue for Marigold as she constantly fights against society and their expectations of young women (aka marrying and becoming mothers). Unfortunately, as soon as she learns about a soul mate spell, she is obsessed with love and I think it stems from her constant feeling of being unloved by her family. The latter is certainly just imagined by her because she is loved by her parents and siblings, her mother just had hoped that her eldest would follow another path instead of becoming a witch. Aside from this issue, she is so fucking judgemental of those who aspire to become wives and mothers. I can understand if it isn't what she wants for herself but acting like she is better than others? Hell no. Her grandmother calls her out on it in chapter 8 but I don't think that it did stick. The constant anti-marriage, anti-men, anti-children, ... phrases annoyed me rather quickly. I don't want children either but I don't begrudge anyone who wants to have them. (Also, and then I will end my rant about her: she has no development. A potion and some mediocre training are all that is required to become a strong witch. I would have loved to see experiments, a learning curve, interactions with the nearby village, creating a bond with the community, ... as the two last points would also add to the cosiness and the 'found family' trope.)
My second issue with the book is the writing style. It reads extremely juvenile and unfinished as if it had been pulled directly from Wattpad. Of course, you can find good fanfictions that will read as if they have been traditionally published but The Honey Witch would fall into the 'poorly written' category. Everything is 'telling and not showing', which results in an overdescriptive style where the sky isn't just red, it is maroon-coloured, the clouds are steel-grey and the dresses are yellow like honey (despite honey having various hues). In addition, the entire writing is very clunky and reads partly as if someone took bullet points and tried to rewrite them into sentences.
Aside from these two issues, there are a few more issues that I have with the book:
1) I found the book rather predictive and despite meeting Lottie just once, it is clear who she is related to as it is supposed to add some tension.
2) All the side characters up to the point where I gave up are so stereotypical and underdeveloped. Marigold's childhood best friend? A ray of sunshine. His partner? Arrogant and snobby. His female best friend (who is Lottie)? Grumpy, rude and mean.
3) The world-building is so flawed. Honey magic and Ash magic are supposed to be opposites although they should exist together as the grandmother explains that both rely on each other (aka it's a thinly veiled play on Life & Death and how life can happen after death). The author is extremely inconsistent with the kind of magic that Marigold can perform as well, which just adds to the flawed world-building. And please, do not get me started on the fucking curse. The curse was created to stop the Honey witch line from falling in love and from having children. A few sentences later the grandmother explains how she had Marigold's mother without a man and states that Marigold will be able to have a child of her own without a man as well. Why do you implement the curse if there's a workaround? That's so stupid, I'm sorry. Also, the inconsistency in the world-building of the entire setting (~1870) ... They have coffee, and everyone in Marigold's village expects women to have children & marry but queerness in the village that's protected by the witches is ok? (And they are openly queer as in "he is my partner" as an introduction.)
TL;DR: A bland and boring book that lacks world-building, character development, a cosy atmosphere and an actual plot with good pacing (because there's neither).