The Honey Witch
Ratings22
Average rating3.4
15
Ratings22
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.
Reviews with the most likes.
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.
I said to myself about 50% of the way through this, “I should dnf this book, but I'm dumb.” There's nothing bad about this book, I was just wildly bored and uninterested in the neverending soulmate talk.
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.
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.
