Honeysuckle: A Novel
A darkly enchanting fantasy debut about love and power, autonomy, and consent.
An Instant USA Today & National Indie Bestseller | Named a Best Book of March 2026 by Barnes & Noble and Apple and A Goodreads Most Popular Horror Novel of 2026 (So Far)
Once upon a time, on the edge between meadow and forest, there was a lonely child with only his older sister for company. In exchange for being left in peace, his sister made him a playmate-Daye, a girl woven from flowers and words. And for the first time, this boy, Rory, had a friend.
Rory couldn't be happier, until he learns that Daye is a short-lived creature. At the end of each season, she must be woven back together or fall gruesomely apart. And every time Daye falls apart might be her last.
As Rory and Daye grow older and the line between friendship and romance begins to blur, Rory becomes desperate to break this cycle of bloom and decay. But the farther Rory pushes his research and experiments to lengthen Daye's existence, the more Daye begins to wonder just how much control she really has over her own life.
As a loose reimagining of the story of Blodeuwedd from Welsh mythology, Honeysuckle is an entrancing, inventive, and unsettling debut.
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Community Reviews
The concept of this books starts out very innocent - a girl made from flowers to play with a little boy - but it quickly turns into something dark. The way it touches uncomfortable topics is brilliantly worth it when the ending takes flight. Amazing book that mixes fantasy and real life issues. A brilliant debut novel.
I inhaled this aaah
The writing is amazing, i kept marveling at certain phrases and paragraphs, sometimes whole chapters. These are short chapters and they work great with the narration, how we spend time with these characters and the folktale of it all. The pace felt just right, and the dread of the conflict inherent to this story was so well brought on through amazing character work.
This being this author's debut is excellent news i can't wait to read more from them !
PSA though I had a weird-ish reading experience. Because I was being dumb lmao
If like me when you hear some things about a book that are buzzwords to you, you immediately stop registering any other info to get as much as a"going in blind" experience you can, and then realize while reading that OH this is horrific and/or could be triggering? Well. This was the case here. I was flabbergasted. The word "horror" and other context clues to this being a story with rather dark elements are there: in the synopsis, the marketing and reviews.
but idk my brain went bleh bleh folktale, flower girl, welsh mythology/tales lalala so pretty :D
so yea i need to check trigger warnings truly my bad lmao
i'm so glad it didn't keep me from enjoying the book :')
The writing is amazing, i kept marveling at certain phrases and paragraphs, sometimes whole chapters. These are short chapters and they work great with the narration, how we spend time with these characters and the folktale of it all. The pace felt just right, and the dread of the conflict inherent to this story was so well brought on through amazing character work.
This being this author's debut is excellent news i can't wait to read more from them !
PSA though I had a weird-ish reading experience. Because I was being dumb lmao
If like me when you hear some things about a book that are buzzwords to you, you immediately stop registering any other info to get as much as a"going in blind" experience you can, and then realize while reading that OH this is horrific and/or could be triggering? Well. This was the case here. I was flabbergasted. The word "horror" and other context clues to this being a story with rather dark elements are there: in the synopsis, the marketing and reviews.
but idk my brain went bleh bleh folktale, flower girl, welsh mythology/tales lalala so pretty :D
so yea i need to check trigger warnings truly my bad lmao
i'm so glad it didn't keep me from enjoying the book :')