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The Honey Hex: A Southern Gothic Dark Romance: Book 1 of the Hallowfen Series
His honey is cursed...and she can't get enough.
When Melissa Hollis returns to her ancestral apothecary in the cursed town of Hallowfen, she expects dust, ghosts, and grief—not the tattooed, ex-con beekeeper whose hive hums with old magic and obsession.
Hallowfen has always whispered about curses. Thirteen blights for thirteen bloodlines. Fire for the Hollises, madness for the Suttons. Melissa never believed any of it—until she meets Asher Sutton.
Scarred, magnetic, and haunted, Asher is a beekeeper whose hives seem to breathe with something ancient. The town says his honey drives people insane. The church says he’s possessed. Melissa says she doesn’t believe a word—until she tastes it for herself.
Drawn to his dark charm and the strange pull between their families, Melissa agrees to a bargain that lures her deep into the swamp and deeper still into Asher’s web. But the bees remember. The flame remembers. And the old curse that bound their ancestors is rising again, hungry to claim the last of the Hollis and Sutton bloodlines.
As love turns feverish and fate tightens its grip, Melissa must decide whether to destroy the curse—or surrender to it.
Perfect for readers who
🖤 Southern Gothic dark romance full of haunted legacy and sensual danger
🔥 Obsessive, morally gray man with a sacred kind of madness
🌕 Family curses, witchcraft, and the heat of the Southern swamp
If you enjoyed dark, addictive, boundary-pushing love stories like HD Carlton's Haunting Adeline and the decaying family mansion and generational curses of Silvia Moreno's Mexican Gothic, you'll want to sink into the sweet and seductive swamp of The Honey Hex, as well as the rest of the upcoming Hallowfen Series by Cherri Meraschino.
Please full content warnings can be found on the author's website as some of the scenes and language may be disturbing to some.
When Melissa Hollis returns to her ancestral apothecary in the cursed town of Hallowfen, she expects dust, ghosts, and grief—not the tattooed, ex-con beekeeper whose hive hums with old magic and obsession.
Hallowfen has always whispered about curses. Thirteen blights for thirteen bloodlines. Fire for the Hollises, madness for the Suttons. Melissa never believed any of it—until she meets Asher Sutton.
Scarred, magnetic, and haunted, Asher is a beekeeper whose hives seem to breathe with something ancient. The town says his honey drives people insane. The church says he’s possessed. Melissa says she doesn’t believe a word—until she tastes it for herself.
Drawn to his dark charm and the strange pull between their families, Melissa agrees to a bargain that lures her deep into the swamp and deeper still into Asher’s web. But the bees remember. The flame remembers. And the old curse that bound their ancestors is rising again, hungry to claim the last of the Hollis and Sutton bloodlines.
As love turns feverish and fate tightens its grip, Melissa must decide whether to destroy the curse—or surrender to it.
Perfect for readers who
🖤 Southern Gothic dark romance full of haunted legacy and sensual danger
🔥 Obsessive, morally gray man with a sacred kind of madness
🌕 Family curses, witchcraft, and the heat of the Southern swamp
If you enjoyed dark, addictive, boundary-pushing love stories like HD Carlton's Haunting Adeline and the decaying family mansion and generational curses of Silvia Moreno's Mexican Gothic, you'll want to sink into the sweet and seductive swamp of The Honey Hex, as well as the rest of the upcoming Hallowfen Series by Cherri Meraschino.
Please full content warnings can be found on the author's website as some of the scenes and language may be disturbing to some.
157 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 31, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 18, 2025
Some books are designed to captivate you and ignite a passion that quickly fades away. However, this book is a different breed. It’s as captivating as it sounds, a masterpiece that you can’t resist putting down. You’ll find yourself falling in love with the characters.
I laughed, screamed, and even shed tears at certain parts of this book. The ending left me yearning for more!
I laughed, screamed, and even shed tears at certain parts of this book. The ending left me yearning for more!
June 12, 2026
Maybe 3.5 stars
February 17, 2026
This was a bit outside my normal genre. I mean, I'm a dark romance girlie, and this definitely fit that bill, but the supernatural aspect was intriguing.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novella.
Melissa moves back home to a place that's different from how she remembers to run her great aunt's apothacary shop.
Asher is the town freak, if you will, but a super hot freak whose not actually a freak. He needs Melissa to break the curse he believes is over his family/land/bees.
There's definitely insta love, but its not bad. The spice is good and not overpowering considering it's a shorter story.
I would definitely recommend if you like paranormal/supernatural dark romance.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novella.
Melissa moves back home to a place that's different from how she remembers to run her great aunt's apothacary shop.
Asher is the town freak, if you will, but a super hot freak whose not actually a freak. He needs Melissa to break the curse he believes is over his family/land/bees.
There's definitely insta love, but its not bad. The spice is good and not overpowering considering it's a shorter story.
I would definitely recommend if you like paranormal/supernatural dark romance.
December 26, 2025
Cherri made an amazing story I couldn't put down!!! This was so different from anything I've read and I loved it! I can't wait to dive into the next book in this series!!! The honey hex had me thinking bees were on me at times! I was invested in this story and am glad I read it!
July 13, 2026
I mean why not
Premise was really good, and I feel like it could’ve been a 4, 4.5 if it wasn’t for a few minor stuff.
1) Wish it was longer, it felt like there was a lot unexplained or brushed over when more detail would’ve just given it that bit more umph
2) I kind of wished they knew each other in school and had more background there, only taking place over a week made the romance feel rushed and having that high school crush to nobodies to lovers would’ve made it feel meatier
3) More background overall to be honest, I wanted more info on the curse, the town and the thirteen
Really my biggest issue was that it was too short to have enough detail, I got really into it and then it was finished. That said, it’s a brilliant southern gothic dark academia style romance
Premise was really good, and I feel like it could’ve been a 4, 4.5 if it wasn’t for a few minor stuff.
1) Wish it was longer, it felt like there was a lot unexplained or brushed over when more detail would’ve just given it that bit more umph
2) I kind of wished they knew each other in school and had more background there, only taking place over a week made the romance feel rushed and having that high school crush to nobodies to lovers would’ve made it feel meatier
3) More background overall to be honest, I wanted more info on the curse, the town and the thirteen
Really my biggest issue was that it was too short to have enough detail, I got really into it and then it was finished. That said, it’s a brilliant southern gothic dark academia style romance
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews