#Sydney J. Shields

[toxins-private-collection]

"But what happens when the girl keeps living, when she ages proudly and defiantly, without abandoning imagination, or stories, or that secret wish to find magic wherever it hides? Well, then the poets would call her a witch."

- The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

[lgbtqreads]

New Releases: May 14, 2024

Middle Grade Gooseberry by Robin Gow There’s a lot twelve-year-old B doesn’t know—like what their new name should be after coming out as nonbinary. Or what it would feel like to finally feel at home after moving around to different foster families for years. But there’s one thing B does know: they want to be a dog trainer when they grow up. And when they meet Gooseberry—a feisty stray dog who…

[bethjs-2005]

I think I have a new favourite genre of romances.

Sapphic cozy witchcraft books that in reality rip out your heart and stomp on it, then heal it again.

Don’t mind me, I just finished reading The Honey Witch and sobbing for four hours.

[just-a-casual-reader]

“June is a nice girl, and just because she is choosing a different life path from you does not give you the right to belittle her. She’s not doing anything wrong. She’s not hurting anyone. She simply wants a little red lipstick and a nice boy to notice her.”

“But should t she want more for her life than that?”

“What any woman wants for herself is not for you to decide. You would do well to remember that.”

[the-worlds-between-pages]

The Honey Witch by: Sydney J. Shields

Published by: Redhook Books Publication Date: 5/14/2024 First as always, thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC. All opinions are my own. Now, review time. This was another DNF for me. I know, the cover is stunning and the promise of the blurb drew me in but, in a word, it’s boring. I was bored the entire time. So we’ve got a 21 year old who’s not like other girls…

[queerographies]

"The Honey Witch" è un avvincente romanzo fantasy di Sydney J. Shields ambientato a Innisfree. Segui Marigold nella sua scoperta della magia del miele, del suo legame con la scettica Lottie e della lotta contro un'oscura minaccia che mette a rischio tutto.

[robyn-weightman]

Happy Sunday 😊 It's time for a book review.

[signourneybooks]

The Honey Witch | ARC Review

Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review. This does not change my opinion in anyway. Book: The Honey Witch by Sydney J. ShieldsRelease Date: May 14th 2024 Tags: Fantasy | Coming of Age | Cozy Fantasy | Friendship | Honey Magic | Ash Magic | Historical Fantasy The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a…

[bibliophilicwitch]

You can’t love anyone without the fear of losing them, without the forethought of grief. There is an inherent loss in love, but that does not mean that love is not worth it.

The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

The Honey Witch by Sydney J Shields Rating: 4/5

Imagine if you took Bridgerton, made it gay, and then added magic. Does that sound good? Coz that's what The Honey Witch was and it was lovely. 

This was just calm and sweet, even for a haters-to-lovers romance. The characters in the main romance were so cute, slowly letting their guard down around one another and getting closer and then growing together. It was beautiful. 

I also just loved the magic system. Shields doesn't immediately explain everything so it was nice to guess at how things worked and then slowly find out whether I was right or not. And the setting on Innisfree felt so lively and beautiful - I wanna spend a summer there. 

If you want a light-hearted fantasy with lots of magic and a laidback vibe, this might be right up your alley.

[safirefire]

“Marigold laughed then—what is so wrong about being a bitch? It is the closest a girl can be to a wolf”

-Sydney J. Shields, The Honey Witch

[theoncologistof911dispatch]

"Is that not magical in itself? To have survived this long despite the world’s penchant for beautiful dead girls?"

The Honey Witch

Sydney J. Shield

[lobster-tales]

Books Read in 2025

The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

But what happens when the girl keeps living, when she ages proudly and defiantly, without abandoning imagination, or stories, or that secret wish to find magic wherever it hides? Well, then the poets would call her a witch.

[orbitingplanetbee]

[melanielocke]

Most anticipated 2024 books!

I am anticipating a lot of books. To keep track of them, I made a 2024 tbr shelf. It has 123 books. I certainly won't be reading all 123, but since I can sort the list by release date it helps me keep track of new releases. Unfortunately, 123 is so many that half of them I don't even remember adding them or what they're about, so I decided to boil it down to 10 most anticipated new books and 10 sequels.

New

Faebound - Saara El-Arifi - Jan 18

Voyage of the Damned - Frances White - Jan 18

Fathomfolk - Eliza Chan - Feb 27

A Botanical Daughter - Noah Medlock - Mar 19

Otherwordly - FT Lukens - Apr 2

The Sins on their Bones - Laura R. Samotin - May 7

Not for the Faint of Heart - Lex Croucher - May 7

The Honey Witch - Sydney J. Shields - May 14

Running Close to the Wind - Alexandra Rowland - Jun 11

Swordcrossed - Freya Marske - Oct 10

Sequels

The Cursed Rose - Leslie Vedder (book 3 of the Bone Spindle, final book) - Feb 6

The Eternal Ones - Namina Forna (book 3 of Deathless trilogy) - Feb 13

Merciless Saviors - H.E. Edgmon (sequel to Godly Heathens, final book) - Apr 16

Heavenly Tyrant - Xiran Jay Zhao (sequel to Iron Widow, final book) - Apr 30

Mirrored Heavens - Rebecca Roanhorse (book 3 of Between Earth and Sky trilogy) - Jun 4

Hearts that Cut - Kika Hatzopoulou (sequel to Threads that Bind) - Jun 4

The Unrelenting Earth - Kritika H. Rao (Book 2 in the Rages trilogy) - Jun 18

The Lotus Empire - Tasha Suri (book 3 in the Burning Kingdoms trilogy) - Jul 18

Celestial Monsters - Aiden Thomas (sequel to the Sunbearer Trials, final book) - Sept 3

Alecto the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir (book 4 in the Locked Tomb series) - release dat unknown, likely late 2024

[helniksdaughter]

The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

This books is SO cute and sweet and cozy! It’s such a fun and wholesome read. The characters are very lovable and wonderful. The aesthetic vibes alone were impeccable. If you love some sapphic cottage core this is the book for you! My main critique was some of the story was a bit chaotic and hard to follow and the ending was a bit rushed. But other than that, this was a super great read!