Oh No I Didn't Like The Honey Witch | Book Review [CC] 

Read this book recently as the it was the second book chosen in my work book club. I thought the book was ok. I thought it was kinda odd that even though Lottie was rude to her most of the time-the first couple meetings-that Marigold was almost immediately smitten with her. Maybe you can chalk it up to fate or the whole Honey/Ash witch dynamic that that’s why they’re drawn to one another; but I thought a lot of their “I want you but I can’t” moments felt kinda contrived. The one saving grace for this book for me, I listened to this on Audible, was the voice narration. The actor did a superb job reading this novel. That’s what kept this story interesting to me. I thought this story had the potential to be really good, but I agree with you in that to many of the elements were very surface level. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a sapphic love story that isn’t raunchy/smutty. Overall I’d give this book 2/4 stars or 2.5/5 stars.

Just finished it this morning, and I was a little underwhelmed, but I didn't dislike it. Solid three stars, I'd say. I would also gently point out that the island of Innisfree in the book is probably a reference to the Yeats poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree." I think the author was definitely inspired by the poem and was trying to bring to life the ambience that it contains. I may be mistaken, but I also think that Yeats was inspired by a real place. Don't quote me. I could be wrong.

I feel like a lot of people have been let down by this one so its not just you!

I was really surprised to hear reviewers say it’s historical. The cover and synopsis didn’t give me that at all.

Honestly, I'm thinking of DNFing at 26% because I feel just kinda meh about it and sorta forcing myself to continue on. I'm not exactly a fan of Marigold, the pacing is frustrating, the world-building is hardly there, and a large amount of the story feels surface-level. From your review, it sounds like a lot of the problems I have issues with just continue and there is no payoff. So I might just part company now.

I'd argue in some capacity that the Honey Witch's historical elements weren't actually a queer norm-world given that Marigold's mother was constnatly trying to set her up with a man, rather than just any other partner. It was always about whether or not she would be a suitable wife. Although we had some queer elements that were readily accepted, I felt like that was way more apparent with men then with women. The crux of this issue, I think, comes from the acceptability of women's sexuality. I know that the Honey Witch is a sapphic fantasy, but aside from Marigold and Lottie, I don't necessarily feel like there was a lot of sapphic representation for them. I think the only reason why the historical aspect was kept was for that veil of fashion and "aristocracy" or "nobility," and it just wasn't a big issue once you were a handful of chapters in. I think it would have been better to drop the pretense of the historical - given that historical tends to imply that yes, it takes place somewhere that you would be familiar with - and situate it in some nondescript fantasy world, instead. I also don't think that the cozy fantasy elements of The Honey Witch worked incredibly well. Part of this problem, for me, lied in the pacing. The book throws so much at you at the beginning and then, suddenly, you're left dragging yourself through the plot. It doesn't keep bombarding you with information that would have been better spread out. The fantasy elements also really only lied in the magic and the spirit guardians, but neither were really clearly explored. It left the worldbuilding feeling very lackluster, which, unfortunately, makes the world less fantastical and more handwavey "It's magic... so..." It tried to explain it, but I don't think it did it well or in nearly enough depth. Brandon Sanderson provided a great piece of advice for magic: Build it down, rather than out. It's much more valuable to add depth to your worldbuilding, rather than to make it broad and all encompassing. The idea that the "Honey Witch" is so far isolated from the rest of the town also makes the story feel so much less cozy. Although I don't like comparing books, I'll point to the Spellshop for this. The Spellshop has the "magic shop" situated somewhat far away from the rest of the town, but it's still easily accessible for visitors. You don't need a boat, you don't need to cross water, et..c. et..c. What really doesn't make the Honey Witch's location work, though, is that she's supposed to be helping people who need it - but how are the ill and infirm supposed to make their way on a boat? How are they supposed to reach her? Especially because it doesn't particularly seem like house calls are a thing, given the ectopic pregnancy at the beginning of the book. It's frustrating and it seems counterintuitive to this concept of the Honey Witch helping and guarding the town. I get that we want that magical isle experience, but why couldn't we have that *in the town proper?*

Thank you for providing such an honest review of the book.

Thanks for this review

Thank you for your honest book review. 🍯🐝🧙🧙‍♀️