The Honey Witch

by Sydney J. Shields

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Full of swoon-worthy romance and a classic grumpy and sunny sapphic romance, The Honey Witch is a cottagecore cozy fantasy with a magical apothecary sure to tick all your favorite boxes.

AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER

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.

"The Honey Witch is a sweet feast, brimming with whimsy, magic, and tender longing.” – Rachel Gillig

"Featuring a grumpy/sunshine queer romance, lovely imagery, and a distinctly cozy aesthetic, this one is a charmer." —Paste Magazine
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316568869
Publisher:	Orbit
Publication date:	05/14/2024
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	1,899
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Sydney J. Shields is a swamp creature who evolved to hold a pen. She is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Columbus State University where she majored in Communication. She currently lives in Savannah, Georgia with her partner and their dog. You can find her across social media @SydneyJShields, or her website, sydneyjshields.com. 

Editorial Reviews

03/04/2024

Debut author Shields spins a lush web of family, lore, and love in this coming-of-power fantasy set in 1831 England. As the eldest daughter of a well-to-do family, Marigold Claude, 21, faces increasing pressure to marry—but she has absolutely zero interest in doing so. Instead, she yearns for the peace she finds alone in her secret meadow, communing with strange, mystical creatures. Then her grandmother, Althea, shows up unexpectedly from the island of Innisfree and reveals Marigold’s destiny: “Every eldest daughter in our lineage is a witch.” Specifically, they are Honey Witches, who draw their power from bees and swear to protect the sacred land of Innisfree and its denizens. Marigold is eager to embrace her new role, even after Althea reveals the Honey Witch curse: she’ll lose her magic if she ever falls in love. Once in Innisfree, Marigold runs into her childhood friend, August, and his new best friend, the gorgeous, grumpily skeptical Lottie. With Innisfree’s future in her hands and the curse hanging over her head, Marigold must resist her attraction to Lottie, all while staying on the lookout for her enemy, the Ash Witch. The plot largely meanders, luxuriating in atmosphere and introspection as Marigold comes into her own. Though not a page-turner, this has its charms. Agent: Mollie Glick, CAA. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Reading The Honey Witch is like dreaming in a fragrant sunlit garden while bees sing around you. It's a gorgeous book, with a lovely cottagecore ambience and a heart-warming sapphic romance intertwined with unique magic that enchants the imagination. I was so charmed by this impressive debut." 
 —India Holton, international bestselling author

"The Honey Witch is a sweet feast, brimming with whimsy, magic, and tender longing. Shields' world is sugar-glazed and heart-warming and thoroughly enjoyable."—Rachel Gillig, author of One Dark Window

"The Honey Witch is a tale that deserves to be savored but begs to be devoured. Enchanting,  whimsical, and firmly rooted in finding yourself after loss, this novel will break your heart and then soothe it with magic honey. Full of friendship and beauty at every turn of the page, The Honey Witch will heal you and help you feel seen in equal measure. Pour yourself a cup of tea, drizzle in some local honey, and let this decadent book transport you." —Breanne Randall, New York Times bestselling author of The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

"As sweet and warm as honeyed tea. Shields’ debut deftly explores love, loss, and loneliness—and the joy of seeing magic in all things, however small. With charming characters and a lush setting, The Honey Witch will delight fans of cozy fantasy."

—Allison Saft, New York Times bestselling author of A Far Wilder Magic

"As effervescent as a bottle of sparkling mead, The Honey Witch charms with every sentence. Shields writes with a fierce, uncynical honesty that will have you believing in soulmates, uncovering magic everywhere, and embracing your own wildness."—S. T. Gibson, author of A Dowry of Blood

"The Honey Witch will charm you with its setting, its appealing characters, both young and old, and its love for all things natural—especially bees! This tale of a young witch dealing with a curse and a battle between dark magic and light, with her romance in the balance, is one all fans of witches and folk magic will love."—Louisa Morgan, author of A Secret History of Witches

“For anyone who has ever known what the mundane world wants them to be isn’t possible or even desirable, The Honey Witch takes a luminous, divergent path." —Willa Reece, author of Wildwood Magic

"Shields has written a cozy confection of a book—full of whimsy, spice, and heart. With characters whose warmth and charm are irresistible, The Honey Witch is an ode to love, and just how sweet it can be." —Maiga Doocy, author of Sorcery and Small Magics

"With beautiful prose, a cozy setting filled with magic and honey, and a swoon-worthy sapphic romance, The Honey Witch delivers a gorgeous story of love, loss, and the perils of loneliness. This fantastic debut by Sydney J. Shields is an instant favorite." —Rebecca Thorne, author of Can't Spell Treason Without Tea

“Debut author Shields spins a lush web of family, lore, and love in this coming-of-power fantasy set in 1831 England […] luxuriating in atmosphere and introspection as Marigold comes into her own.”—Publishers Weekly

"[A] warmhearted fantasy [that] will satisfy readers of sapphic romances who love the alternate historical world of Bridgerton or who grew up watching Halloweentown and Practical Magic."

—BookPage

"Readers interested in a tale that sits at the intersection of witchy relationship fiction and sapphic historical romance will enjoy this charming, slow-paced tale of love triumphing over evil."

—Booklist

"The Honey Witch evokes pure glee and sadness while also giving the reader a gorgeous setting to explore... This story will draw in its audience with imagery and heal their souls with queer love. After reading Shields's novel, even those without a sweet tooth will be left craving honey."—Daily Bruin

From the Publisher

Mia Hutchinson-Shaw uses posh accents to portray the people of the nineteenth-century English village of Bardshire. Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude is approaching spinsterhood and is just fine with it since society never suited her anyway. Luckily, there is a place where she belongs: among the bees on the remote island of Innisfree. Her estranged grandmother reveals that Marigold is a witch and that she is cursed to never have true love. Hutchinson-Shaw switches smoothly between the characters' English and Irish accents. She muffles her voice for all the oddly frequent times the narrative calls for it and even conveys believable laughter, as well as anguished cries. S.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

MAY 2024 - AudioFile