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Honeysuckle
Bloomsbury presents Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell, read by Catrin Walker-Booth and Geraint Rhys.
The Bear and the Nightingale meets Weyward in this enchanting, deeply compelling debut about love and power, autonomy and consent.
Named a Best Book of March 2026 by Barnes & Noble and Apple.
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.
The Bear and the Nightingale meets Weyward in this enchanting, deeply compelling debut about love and power, autonomy and consent.
Named a Best Book of March 2026 by Barnes & Noble and Apple.
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.
Audible Audio
First published March 24, 2026
328 people are currently reading
24365 people want to read
About the author
Bar Fridman-Tell
1 book168 followersBar Fridman-Tell has a BA in art history and an MA in English literature. (She gleefully wrote her thesis about Victorian vampires.) She has worked as a bartender, a bookseller, a translator, and a library assistant. She is currently studying for a master's in library and information sciences, hoping to stay in a library for good. She lives in Toronto with her professor husband and two very fluffy cats. Honeysuckle is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 484 reviews
Did Not Finish
March 27, 2026Look, as the youngest child in a large brood, I do know how it feels to be a pest to your elder siblings that no longer want to play dolls with you because they're 23 and about to marry and you're 3 and still wetting the bed, but . . . I doubt my eldest sisters would create a boy out of plants for me to play with and eventually learn to add hair on his face and down there for my own pleasure when hormones hit me. They would drown me in Barbies and candy and children's films so I leave them alone.
The premise is ridiculous, it's basically a Fantasy version of having a robot sex doll that eventually bites you in the unmentionables in some way.
Not fitting my project theme, and not interesting enough to continue as a personal read either.
The premise is ridiculous, it's basically a Fantasy version of having a robot sex doll that eventually bites you in the unmentionables in some way.
Not fitting my project theme, and not interesting enough to continue as a personal read either.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This was sooooo good!!!
Why is no-one talking about it?!
The characters were amazing! The vibes were immaculate! The setting was deliciously Gothic! This has everything I love.
The themes discussed in this book are just so riveting and thoughtful. I absolutely loved every minute I spent reading this story! If you are looking for a perfect coming of age story, this is absolutely it!!!
Everything about the writing style and the pacing of the story was just 👌🏻👌🏻. Even the ending was perfect for the story. Was the ending evil? Yes definitely! But it makes perfect sense.
"But after three whole seasons at Rory's side, she was out of practice; she had forgotten how to transmute loneliness into aloneness, how not to fall into the hole of his absence."
Girl I can't explain how hard this line got to me... This story really gave me a lot of things to reflect on.
I will read everything Bar Fridman-Tell will publish!
Thank you so much Netgalley and Pan Macmillan publishing for this ARC! This was exceptionally beautiful ❤️
Why is no-one talking about it?!
The characters were amazing! The vibes were immaculate! The setting was deliciously Gothic! This has everything I love.
The themes discussed in this book are just so riveting and thoughtful. I absolutely loved every minute I spent reading this story! If you are looking for a perfect coming of age story, this is absolutely it!!!
Everything about the writing style and the pacing of the story was just 👌🏻👌🏻. Even the ending was perfect for the story. Was the ending evil? Yes definitely! But it makes perfect sense.
"But after three whole seasons at Rory's side, she was out of practice; she had forgotten how to transmute loneliness into aloneness, how not to fall into the hole of his absence."
Girl I can't explain how hard this line got to me... This story really gave me a lot of things to reflect on.
I will read everything Bar Fridman-Tell will publish!
Thank you so much Netgalley and Pan Macmillan publishing for this ARC! This was exceptionally beautiful ❤️
December 18, 2025
Thank you to the author for sending me an ARC! All opinions are my own.
My heartstrings have snagged on this timelessly simple, yet emotionally intricate tale. This will stick like a burr to me for many years to come.
Fans of botanical horror, character-driven stories, and folklore, this is not one to miss.
(BTW, if you pre-order this and you’re in the US, you can get a lovely bookplate by yours truly!)
CW: abusive relationship, dubious consent, sexual content, animal death and violence, blood & gore, absent parents, bullying, alcohol, emesis
My heartstrings have snagged on this timelessly simple, yet emotionally intricate tale. This will stick like a burr to me for many years to come.
Fans of botanical horror, character-driven stories, and folklore, this is not one to miss.
(BTW, if you pre-order this and you’re in the US, you can get a lovely bookplate by yours truly!)
CW: abusive relationship, dubious consent, sexual content, animal death and violence, blood & gore, absent parents, bullying, alcohol, emesis
April 27, 2026
Absolutely INCREDIBLE!
March 29, 2026
4.5
Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell is a darkly atmospheric, lushly gothic tale that explores what happens when fairytales begin to fray, until all that remains is the rot beneath the magic.
There’s an almost gauzy, dreamlike quality to the opening, as we meet Daye, a girl created by Rory’s sister, Wynn, from seasonal flora for the sole purpose of being eight-year-old Rory’s companion. It’s a purely selfish act, meant to free Wynn from her younger brother’s constant bids for attention. Within this framework, we watch the relationship between an orphaned, neglected boy and his only friend take root, deepen, and evolve as the seasons and years pass.
Because Daye exists with a singular, imposed purpose, it’s easy for the reader to recognize how little control she has over her own life. But the true horror lies not in that awareness, it lies in watching the characters come to that realization themselves, slowly and in conflicting ways. Love begins to curdle into fear and control, and the illusion of choice and autonomy fractures. The story becomes a haunting embodiment of the adage “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” and it is utterly heartbreaking.
This isn’t a novel that relies on shock or titillation. Its core story is as old as time, yet it seeps into your bones with a quiet, persistent ache. If you’ve ever asked, “Why don’t they just leave?” this book may offer some insight.
Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell is a darkly atmospheric, lushly gothic tale that explores what happens when fairytales begin to fray, until all that remains is the rot beneath the magic.
There’s an almost gauzy, dreamlike quality to the opening, as we meet Daye, a girl created by Rory’s sister, Wynn, from seasonal flora for the sole purpose of being eight-year-old Rory’s companion. It’s a purely selfish act, meant to free Wynn from her younger brother’s constant bids for attention. Within this framework, we watch the relationship between an orphaned, neglected boy and his only friend take root, deepen, and evolve as the seasons and years pass.
Because Daye exists with a singular, imposed purpose, it’s easy for the reader to recognize how little control she has over her own life. But the true horror lies not in that awareness, it lies in watching the characters come to that realization themselves, slowly and in conflicting ways. Love begins to curdle into fear and control, and the illusion of choice and autonomy fractures. The story becomes a haunting embodiment of the adage “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” and it is utterly heartbreaking.
This isn’t a novel that relies on shock or titillation. Its core story is as old as time, yet it seeps into your bones with a quiet, persistent ache. If you’ve ever asked, “Why don’t they just leave?” this book may offer some insight.
March 6, 2026
This was a beautifully written, dark story about a magical childhood friendship that turns unsettling. It has a very strong Frankenstein vibe.
I loved that Daye, the “Flower Girl,” had a different look for each season. It was so cool that she was technically made of plants and flowers but she looked like a human being, just slightly off somehow if you got too close.
There is some very cool, ecological body horror in this story. Nothing too extreme, but enough to add the creepiness factor I was hoping for. And Fridman-Tell is a lovely, descriptive writer that kept me invested with her prose. I can’t believe this is a debut!
Eventually the dynamic between Rory and Daye starts to feel very uncomfortable. It’s supposed to, because the whole point of the plot is to question Rory’s actions. I definitely grew to hate him, but the author did a great job showing his thought process and how his feelings for Daye developed into something dark and possessive without him even realizing it. At first, I didn’t think the POV switching was needed, but Daye’s perspective was vital and I loved her as a character. A little over halfway through the story, some very interesting and fun developments took place and she started to remind me of Sally from “A Nightmare Before Christmas.” The gothic flavor of this book was delicious.
My only issue was that the book felt a bit longer than it was. The action of Rory constantly going to the city and coming back home felt repetitive. Maybe that was by design, to make the reader feel the monotony that Daye was subjected to. But it’s only a minor complaint.
This story deals with some heavy themes, like bodily autonomy and consent. But they’re handled capably, and the story is intriguing. I won’t be forgetting Daye any time soon.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Biggest TW: Animal Harm/Experimentation, Questionable Consent
I loved that Daye, the “Flower Girl,” had a different look for each season. It was so cool that she was technically made of plants and flowers but she looked like a human being, just slightly off somehow if you got too close.
There is some very cool, ecological body horror in this story. Nothing too extreme, but enough to add the creepiness factor I was hoping for. And Fridman-Tell is a lovely, descriptive writer that kept me invested with her prose. I can’t believe this is a debut!
Eventually the dynamic between Rory and Daye starts to feel very uncomfortable. It’s supposed to, because the whole point of the plot is to question Rory’s actions. I definitely grew to hate him, but the author did a great job showing his thought process and how his feelings for Daye developed into something dark and possessive without him even realizing it. At first, I didn’t think the POV switching was needed, but Daye’s perspective was vital and I loved her as a character. A little over halfway through the story, some very interesting and fun developments took place and she started to remind me of Sally from “A Nightmare Before Christmas.” The gothic flavor of this book was delicious.
My only issue was that the book felt a bit longer than it was. The action of Rory constantly going to the city and coming back home felt repetitive. Maybe that was by design, to make the reader feel the monotony that Daye was subjected to. But it’s only a minor complaint.
This story deals with some heavy themes, like bodily autonomy and consent. But they’re handled capably, and the story is intriguing. I won’t be forgetting Daye any time soon.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Biggest TW: Animal Harm/Experimentation, Questionable Consent
April 9, 2026
🌟🌟🌟/5
When I first heard of this book, I was convinced that it was written specifically for me. A horror reimagining of the Welsh legend of Blodeuwedd should ideally have been a 5 star read for me, if not a new favourite. And yet, here I am.
Here's what I liked about this:
•The nature writing in 'Honeysuckle' was excellent. Much of the plot happens in a place that seems almost suspended in time and isolated from the rest of the world. A place marked only by the ever-ongoing cycle of seasons. I loved the descriptions of the changes in nature, especially those of the seasonal flowers.
•The lore behind the discipline of 'engineering', which involved the making of 'constructs' out of plants, was very creative. In this world, constructs are made from flora in order to perform menial tasks, but the creation of Blodeuwedds (human-like constructs) has...ethical concerns surrounding it.
•The way Rory and Daye's relationship evolved was very well-written. What started as an innocent childhood need for companionship evolved into something truly vile, blurring the lines between love and control. This author cited some of my favourite books as inspiration: 'The Last Tale of the Flower Bride', 'Juniper and Thorn', and the Winternight trilogy. I could see echoes of Flower Bride in this, in the sense that both books feature themes of a person 'loving' another in the most toxic, controlling, and misguided way. I liked the author's portrayal of how the rot beneath the love became more and more apparent.
What didn't work for me:
•The short chapters with very frequent time jumps made the reading experience quite jarring.
•The cycle of seasons is an important theme in 'Honeysuckle', but reading about what the characters did in every season in every year was repetitive at times. It felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again, with minor changes.
•I liked the ambiguous ending, but wasn't a fan of the buildup towards it. Although the contents of this book were deeply disturbing, I never really felt like it stepped into horror territory.
I also think that my expectations were way too high because of the comp titles. For me, nothing can ever be better than the masterpiece that is 'The Last Tale of the Flower Bride'. I also don't think this had anything in common with 'The Bear and the Nightingale', besides both being fairytale-inspired. Overall, 'Honeysuckle' was not too bad for a debut novel, but not really the fabulous dark fairytale I was expecting either.
When I first heard of this book, I was convinced that it was written specifically for me. A horror reimagining of the Welsh legend of Blodeuwedd should ideally have been a 5 star read for me, if not a new favourite. And yet, here I am.
Here's what I liked about this:
•The nature writing in 'Honeysuckle' was excellent. Much of the plot happens in a place that seems almost suspended in time and isolated from the rest of the world. A place marked only by the ever-ongoing cycle of seasons. I loved the descriptions of the changes in nature, especially those of the seasonal flowers.
•The lore behind the discipline of 'engineering', which involved the making of 'constructs' out of plants, was very creative. In this world, constructs are made from flora in order to perform menial tasks, but the creation of Blodeuwedds (human-like constructs) has...ethical concerns surrounding it.
•The way Rory and Daye's relationship evolved was very well-written. What started as an innocent childhood need for companionship evolved into something truly vile, blurring the lines between love and control. This author cited some of my favourite books as inspiration: 'The Last Tale of the Flower Bride', 'Juniper and Thorn', and the Winternight trilogy. I could see echoes of Flower Bride in this, in the sense that both books feature themes of a person 'loving' another in the most toxic, controlling, and misguided way. I liked the author's portrayal of how the rot beneath the love became more and more apparent.
What didn't work for me:
•The short chapters with very frequent time jumps made the reading experience quite jarring.
•The cycle of seasons is an important theme in 'Honeysuckle', but reading about what the characters did in every season in every year was repetitive at times. It felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again, with minor changes.
•I liked the ambiguous ending, but wasn't a fan of the buildup towards it. Although the contents of this book were deeply disturbing, I never really felt like it stepped into horror territory.
I also think that my expectations were way too high because of the comp titles. For me, nothing can ever be better than the masterpiece that is 'The Last Tale of the Flower Bride'. I also don't think this had anything in common with 'The Bear and the Nightingale', besides both being fairytale-inspired. Overall, 'Honeysuckle' was not too bad for a debut novel, but not really the fabulous dark fairytale I was expecting either.
March 30, 2026
4.5 stars, this was absolutely incredible. soo bittersweet, melancholic and atmospheric. one of the most unique portrayals of a toxic relationship i can recall seeing in media. one that starts so innocent and sweet but slowly but surely turns suffocating. the offending party isn’t the stereotypical evil person, but one that life slowly molds into that shape.
i have so many more thoughts and will elaborate later, but i loved the writing and sense of suffocation it evoked. adored Daye’s character so much and my heart still breaks for her.
the only reason this isn’t rounded up to 5 stars is my personal preference for more plot driven stories, which made the middle feel a smiiiidge repetitive. but i loved this regardless!
thank you bloomsbury for the ARC!!
i have so many more thoughts and will elaborate later, but i loved the writing and sense of suffocation it evoked. adored Daye’s character so much and my heart still breaks for her.
the only reason this isn’t rounded up to 5 stars is my personal preference for more plot driven stories, which made the middle feel a smiiiidge repetitive. but i loved this regardless!
thank you bloomsbury for the ARC!!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Based on the Welsh mythology of the Blodeuwedd, Fridman-Tell's debut is a masterfully told dark fairy tale with touches of horror. Woven with themes of consent, power dynamics, and the ethics of creating life/sentience for your own selfish desires (one of my favorite themes, also explored in works like Frankenstein and Annie Bot), Honeysuckle is a feminist fantasy at its heart with a damn powerful message.
I received an advanced reading copy from Bloomsbury in exchange for a review.
I received an advanced reading copy from Bloomsbury in exchange for a review.
March 27, 2026
dnf at 35%
i'm not sure where the 5 star reviews are coming from; considering they barely even talk about the book im assuming they're from friends/family.
okay but why? there's no explanation.
and
"without giving anything away" bc there's actually nothing there to give away. "just read this one" = "the author begged me to write this review"
and
oh... incentivizing with a bookplate? yeah these 5 star reviews r from family and friends.
let me tell you why this was actually ass
first of all, the fundamentals of storymaking: who, what, when, where, how. at 35%, i could only answer 3 of these questions.
who: rory, daye, and wynne (though barely)
where: i have no clue. we are literally NEVER told where we are.
when: no clue.
how: no clue.
what: horny teenage boy wants to fuck his flower girl
the book opens and moves quickly. the girl is created within a few chapters. rory is a sad pathetic lonely boy who can't learn to be by himself. for some reason, despite being like 11 and his sister being 16, his parents are not in the picture. they divorced, but they dont live at home? Neither of the parents live at home? but they have a cook and a servant.... where? in what time period? i dont know. there's phones, trains, university, etc... but i have no idea where we are. idk if the parents ever show up but they just abandoned the kids? there's never a conversation with one of the houseservants. where are the parents? i'm asking again: where are the parents?
from what i read, it felt like a first draft. like, you get the bones down, but you never added the meat or skin or muscle. which is fine... just not for me. the dialogue is plain, the development bland, and since there's literally NO DETAILS about anything aside from rory and daye, im like what the actual fuck is the point of this? i'm sure later there are some assessments on consent and autonomy... too bad it's so bad i couldn't get there! how do you have a book on folklore and not explain ANY of it? not develop it? at all? there's no backstory, no nothing... like the author was like "you know the tale" and decided to write it. NO I DON't!
since there's phones and shit, i'm assuming this is in some contemporary though magical realism world, and i can safely assume maybe it's happening today... let me emphasize what a total miss and fail that was on the authors part. this would have been wholly more convincing and horror-ific if it had been historically based. you expect me to believe rory tells people at wynne's university he made a flower girl and they actually believe him? I was hoping he'd get beaten up lowkey.
i'm also not sure why this is categorized as "horror". again i never finished it but from what i read there was 0 horror whatsoever. grossly misgenred.
the thing that made me finally dnf after being pretty disconnected was Rory talking about daye's breasts, the nonexistence of them, and whether he should try constructing them. meanwhile they are 16 at this point and he's getting aroused from the sight of daye's flat chested nipples. i can handle a lot; i've read lots of "horror" and watched lots of wild things. but i don't care about reading 16 year olds getting turned on by other 16 year olds imagining creating breasts. like how did we get here?
TLDR: not worth the time; 5 star reviews are faked; not horror; no plot
i'm not sure where the 5 star reviews are coming from; considering they barely even talk about the book im assuming they're from friends/family.
"This was sooooo good!!!
Why is no-one talking about it?! The characters were amazing! The vibes were immaculate! The setting was deliciously Gothic! This has everything I love."
okay but why? there's no explanation.
and
"I think this is going to make my top 10 books of the year.
I can’t even coherently describe this one without sounding like a lunatic, so read the description or don’t, I don’t care, but read this book.
The exploration of the power dynamic and self actualization and independence was just phenomenal.
I don’t know what else to say without giving anything away, but just read this one."
"without giving anything away" bc there's actually nothing there to give away. "just read this one" = "the author begged me to write this review"
and
"My heartstrings have snagged on this timelessly simple, yet emotionally intricate tale. This will stick like a burr to me for many years to come.
Fans of botanical horror, character-driven stories, and folklore, this is not one to miss.
(BTW, if you pre-order this and you’re in the US, you can get a lovely bookplate by yours truly!)"
oh... incentivizing with a bookplate? yeah these 5 star reviews r from family and friends.
let me tell you why this was actually ass
first of all, the fundamentals of storymaking: who, what, when, where, how. at 35%, i could only answer 3 of these questions.
who: rory, daye, and wynne (though barely)
where: i have no clue. we are literally NEVER told where we are.
when: no clue.
how: no clue.
what: horny teenage boy wants to fuck his flower girl
the book opens and moves quickly. the girl is created within a few chapters. rory is a sad pathetic lonely boy who can't learn to be by himself. for some reason, despite being like 11 and his sister being 16, his parents are not in the picture. they divorced, but they dont live at home? Neither of the parents live at home? but they have a cook and a servant.... where? in what time period? i dont know. there's phones, trains, university, etc... but i have no idea where we are. idk if the parents ever show up but they just abandoned the kids? there's never a conversation with one of the houseservants. where are the parents? i'm asking again: where are the parents?
from what i read, it felt like a first draft. like, you get the bones down, but you never added the meat or skin or muscle. which is fine... just not for me. the dialogue is plain, the development bland, and since there's literally NO DETAILS about anything aside from rory and daye, im like what the actual fuck is the point of this? i'm sure later there are some assessments on consent and autonomy... too bad it's so bad i couldn't get there! how do you have a book on folklore and not explain ANY of it? not develop it? at all? there's no backstory, no nothing... like the author was like "you know the tale" and decided to write it. NO I DON't!
since there's phones and shit, i'm assuming this is in some contemporary though magical realism world, and i can safely assume maybe it's happening today... let me emphasize what a total miss and fail that was on the authors part. this would have been wholly more convincing and horror-ific if it had been historically based. you expect me to believe rory tells people at wynne's university he made a flower girl and they actually believe him? I was hoping he'd get beaten up lowkey.
i'm also not sure why this is categorized as "horror". again i never finished it but from what i read there was 0 horror whatsoever. grossly misgenred.
the thing that made me finally dnf after being pretty disconnected was Rory talking about daye's breasts, the nonexistence of them, and whether he should try constructing them. meanwhile they are 16 at this point and he's getting aroused from the sight of daye's flat chested nipples. i can handle a lot; i've read lots of "horror" and watched lots of wild things. but i don't care about reading 16 year olds getting turned on by other 16 year olds imagining creating breasts. like how did we get here?
TLDR: not worth the time; 5 star reviews are faked; not horror; no plot
January 7, 2026
I am officially not finishing this book. I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced listen copy and it sounded intriguing and unique so I wanted to give it a shot. Every time I turned this audiobook on something disturbed me about the writing and gave me the “ick”.
I was shocked to see that this was a female author, because I swore this was a male author living out his fantasy of creating a living doll that he could essentially do whatever he wanted to and with. It was sickening.
The whole premise of this story is that as a little boy our main character, Rory’s, sister who is six years older, no longer wants to play with him and so she makes him a girl out of flowers to be his playmate. This girl is called a Bledaewyth (no idea how to spell it since I was doing audio). The girl basically disintegrates every season and his sister has to remake her out of elements from the Earth for every season. As our main character gets older he learns how to remake her himself. As he & the flower girl, named “Day” get closer together, he starts to develop sexual feelings for her.
At this point in the novel, he has rebuilt her so she has breasts and other female body parts, so they can have sex. Absolutely horrified by what I’ve listened to and completely disgusted. This “flower girl” for all intents and purposes, looks like a person for the most part and apparently is absolutely stunningly gorgeous. She’s also clueless because she’s not a person and I feel like our main character, Rory completely takes advantage of her. She was built to “please him” and he’s literally the only person she’s ever known and he basically was like, hey do you want me to rebuild you so we can have sex? What the F?! completely a DNF
I was shocked to see that this was a female author, because I swore this was a male author living out his fantasy of creating a living doll that he could essentially do whatever he wanted to and with. It was sickening.
The whole premise of this story is that as a little boy our main character, Rory’s, sister who is six years older, no longer wants to play with him and so she makes him a girl out of flowers to be his playmate. This girl is called a Bledaewyth (no idea how to spell it since I was doing audio). The girl basically disintegrates every season and his sister has to remake her out of elements from the Earth for every season. As our main character gets older he learns how to remake her himself. As he & the flower girl, named “Day” get closer together, he starts to develop sexual feelings for her.
At this point in the novel, he has rebuilt her so she has breasts and other female body parts, so they can have sex. Absolutely horrified by what I’ve listened to and completely disgusted. This “flower girl” for all intents and purposes, looks like a person for the most part and apparently is absolutely stunningly gorgeous. She’s also clueless because she’s not a person and I feel like our main character, Rory completely takes advantage of her. She was built to “please him” and he’s literally the only person she’s ever known and he basically was like, hey do you want me to rebuild you so we can have sex? What the F?! completely a DNF
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2026
4.5 stars. A dark, atmospheric, botanical horror adjacent fairytale. Based on Welsh mythology- Daye is a girl created from flowers as a playmate for Rory. They grow to love each other. Rory’s feelings towards Daye become romantic and many questions arise for Daye about consent, autonomy, sense of self, and freedom. The fragile relationship between creator and created upsets the balance of their relationship dynamics. Is Daye a person? Is she a thing? Can she say no?
A thought provoking, frustrating, feminist piece of literature that was beautifully written. A well done audiobook performance as well. Thank you Libro fm for this ALC.
A thought provoking, frustrating, feminist piece of literature that was beautifully written. A well done audiobook performance as well. Thank you Libro fm for this ALC.
April 21, 2026
This book is so beautifully written. It takes on some really heavy topics, but does it in such a soft, almost magical way that still feels really thoughtful and intentional. The whole story kind of reads like a fairytale memory, hazy, nostalgic, and a little bittersweet, like something you can’t quite hold onto but can still feel.
It starts with this sweet, whimsical childhood friendship that just feels so warm and familiar. But like a lot of friendships, it changes as one of them grows. Instead of growing with her, he tries to force her to change with him, and that’s when things start to get messy. The shift is really subtle at first, but you can feel it, and it’s written so well.
What really stuck with me was the way it explores autonomy. That feeling of being trapped or misunderstood by someone you love is handled so gently, but it still hits hard. I feel like a lot of people, especially women, will relate to Dae, even though she’s created and not born. That feminine twist on Frankenstein honestly made the story even more impactful for me.
It starts with this sweet, whimsical childhood friendship that just feels so warm and familiar. But like a lot of friendships, it changes as one of them grows. Instead of growing with her, he tries to force her to change with him, and that’s when things start to get messy. The shift is really subtle at first, but you can feel it, and it’s written so well.
What really stuck with me was the way it explores autonomy. That feeling of being trapped or misunderstood by someone you love is handled so gently, but it still hits hard. I feel like a lot of people, especially women, will relate to Dae, even though she’s created and not born. That feminine twist on Frankenstein honestly made the story even more impactful for me.
January 26, 2026
4.75/5 stars
i feel like this one hit me on so many vastly different but equally as deep levels. as a true coming of age love story, this accounts the themes of cycles of abuse, codependency, consent, narcissism, and loneliness wrapped up in prose gushing with lush botanical ambiance. it gave notes of both frankenstein and mother! in a whimsical and atmospheric foreground with a gorgeous nature/pagan witchcraft based magic system. while i wouldn’t consider this horror by any means, there certainly were horrific and harrowing scenes that made this so addicting it was hard to put down.
the whole time i was reading, all i was thinking about was how familiar a relationship like rory and daye’s felt to me. while set in a fantastical world, i found a younger version of myself in daye, and caught myself dwelling on both my own past relationships and those of my friends, and considering how much self-growth and reflection has happened for me since adolescence. i realized i know what it felt like to only exist for someone else, to never know or to lose yourself in your relationship, to be dominated and controlled and accept that abuse in fear of loneliness. but, in turn, through the loss of those relationships you gain the freedom to exist for yourself and yourself alone, and rediscovering yourself and who you want to be after being pushed down time and time again is a beautiful revelation. it’s part of why this book hit so close to home for me, was because it felt like healing. it felt like i must have worked through some past trauma as i found my way through this story. and i think others who have found themselves lost or stuck in a cycle they can’t break out of may feel the same way too.
this was almost a perfect read to me, but i do feel like it is being a bit wrongly advertised. i strongly do not believe this should be considered any semblance of a horror read, and while it has some dread inducing elements, they are not scary in the traditional sense. i was expecting a bit more of a conventional pagan horror based on marketing and the kinds of book lists it is being found in on instagram/goodreads, and while i still really enjoyed it, i fear some may be mislead into thinking this is something it is not, which may impact ratings. i also do think this book is quite repetitive, though i could see how this was a stylistic choice in a similar vein to the invisible life of addie larue.
i hope and pray this one takes off upon release, it really deserves it. i would looooove a special edition of it (im looking at you, book boxes!!!)
i feel like this one hit me on so many vastly different but equally as deep levels. as a true coming of age love story, this accounts the themes of cycles of abuse, codependency, consent, narcissism, and loneliness wrapped up in prose gushing with lush botanical ambiance. it gave notes of both frankenstein and mother! in a whimsical and atmospheric foreground with a gorgeous nature/pagan witchcraft based magic system. while i wouldn’t consider this horror by any means, there certainly were horrific and harrowing scenes that made this so addicting it was hard to put down.
the whole time i was reading, all i was thinking about was how familiar a relationship like rory and daye’s felt to me. while set in a fantastical world, i found a younger version of myself in daye, and caught myself dwelling on both my own past relationships and those of my friends, and considering how much self-growth and reflection has happened for me since adolescence. i realized i know what it felt like to only exist for someone else, to never know or to lose yourself in your relationship, to be dominated and controlled and accept that abuse in fear of loneliness. but, in turn, through the loss of those relationships you gain the freedom to exist for yourself and yourself alone, and rediscovering yourself and who you want to be after being pushed down time and time again is a beautiful revelation. it’s part of why this book hit so close to home for me, was because it felt like healing. it felt like i must have worked through some past trauma as i found my way through this story. and i think others who have found themselves lost or stuck in a cycle they can’t break out of may feel the same way too.
this was almost a perfect read to me, but i do feel like it is being a bit wrongly advertised. i strongly do not believe this should be considered any semblance of a horror read, and while it has some dread inducing elements, they are not scary in the traditional sense. i was expecting a bit more of a conventional pagan horror based on marketing and the kinds of book lists it is being found in on instagram/goodreads, and while i still really enjoyed it, i fear some may be mislead into thinking this is something it is not, which may impact ratings. i also do think this book is quite repetitive, though i could see how this was a stylistic choice in a similar vein to the invisible life of addie larue.
i hope and pray this one takes off upon release, it really deserves it. i would looooove a special edition of it (im looking at you, book boxes!!!)
March 30, 2026
This really is such a good spin on that classic Frankenstein tale.
As marketed, this is a feminist Frankenstein with flowers.
A folk lore horror but it’s not a horror that is outright scary, it’s more the unsettling feel of human nature.
It starts off so whimsical, a friend made from flowers, that can run and play as much as you desire.
As the characters grow up, the story takes a turn that really leaves you unnerved and it’s such an odd feeling!
I was sad, hopeful, disgusted but not because of any gore, purely because of how humans behave.
The gaslighting and controlling behaviour was off the charts and you very quickly stop feeling sorry for Rory, or at least I did.
Daye was such an incredible character, resilient and knows her own mind when in theory, that’s not what she was designed for. I am so glad she wasn’t subdued.
The side characters are also so well done, how they react to the plot and form their own opinions was so appreciated, I love it when a wider cast speak their own minds.
The ending was perfectly executed!
As marketed, this is a feminist Frankenstein with flowers.
A folk lore horror but it’s not a horror that is outright scary, it’s more the unsettling feel of human nature.
It starts off so whimsical, a friend made from flowers, that can run and play as much as you desire.
As the characters grow up, the story takes a turn that really leaves you unnerved and it’s such an odd feeling!
I was sad, hopeful, disgusted but not because of any gore, purely because of how humans behave.
The gaslighting and controlling behaviour was off the charts and you very quickly stop feeling sorry for Rory, or at least I did.
Daye was such an incredible character, resilient and knows her own mind when in theory, that’s not what she was designed for. I am so glad she wasn’t subdued.
The side characters are also so well done, how they react to the plot and form their own opinions was so appreciated, I love it when a wider cast speak their own minds.
The ending was perfectly executed!
abandoned-books
March 15, 2026I can’t say for sure since I chose to quit at 41%, but I’m fairly certain we are supposed to feel disgusted by Rory’s actions. He is supposedly considering agency, but not really—he is still being a creep, pursuing his own selfish desires. At the same time, given the isolation he’s experienced for so long, it doesn’t all seem terribly surprising. Poor Daye, though. She has no voice—figuratively and literally. The concept the author embraced is a good one. I don’t know that I need all of the details, though. I’ve been extremely annoyed by how drawn out the story has been (so little had happened as I neared the halfway mark!), as well as its redundancy. I also thought this was going to be a horror story, and while Rory’s behavior is horrifying, the novel isn’t scary. Maybe it will be later, but I suppose I’ll never actually know. Life’s too short to press on with books you don’t like.
I am immensely grateful to Libro.fm and Bloomsbury for my copy. All opinions are my own.
I am immensely grateful to Libro.fm and Bloomsbury for my copy. All opinions are my own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2026
Honeysuckle is a horror-adjacent fairy tale for adults—familiar in the way childhood stories are, with a few changes for mature readers. It’s a slow progression that blurs the line between good intentions and the quiet violence of taking someone’s choices away. I absolutely loved it.
April 6, 2026
this all could've been avoided had rory been given an emotional support blankie. This is very much Frankenstein meets Last Tale of the Flower Bride. I'm punting Rory on sight of i see him. 5 stars naturally
January 11, 2026
3.75, rounded up because most of what this book is trying to do, it does really well, but I think it didn’t really end up being what I thought it was going into it, which is more my fault than the book’s!
Honeysuckle is an interesting story following a boy and his best friend, a girl made of flowers, as they grow up and the friendship turns romantic. It’s atmospheric and I loved the Welsh-inspired mythology of the Blodeuwedd, and the conversations about autonomy and consent are compelling. However, I think the fairytale is a bit of an over-promise for what the plot actually is. I found the comp of Bear and the Nightingale to be wildly misplaced and for that reason, found it to be a bit of a let down. I think found it much more similar to Ava Reid’s work (though significantly less gruesome).
Honeysuckle is much more akin to Frankenstein, or even something like Anniebot, as it’s primarily concerned with the relationship and power dynamic between Rory and Daye. On the whole it feels much more dark academia than fairytale. It’s an enjoyable read, but the expectation of horror, the hope that things might really get weird and go off the rails as the trust between creator and creature erodes was misplaced. Go in for a hedgewitchy feminist exploration of identity, autonomy, the building of a toxic relationship based on anxious attachment, and whether certain power dynamics can ever leave space for free and enthusiastic consent.
Honeysuckle is an interesting story following a boy and his best friend, a girl made of flowers, as they grow up and the friendship turns romantic. It’s atmospheric and I loved the Welsh-inspired mythology of the Blodeuwedd, and the conversations about autonomy and consent are compelling. However, I think the fairytale is a bit of an over-promise for what the plot actually is. I found the comp of Bear and the Nightingale to be wildly misplaced and for that reason, found it to be a bit of a let down. I think found it much more similar to Ava Reid’s work (though significantly less gruesome).
Honeysuckle is much more akin to Frankenstein, or even something like Anniebot, as it’s primarily concerned with the relationship and power dynamic between Rory and Daye. On the whole it feels much more dark academia than fairytale. It’s an enjoyable read, but the expectation of horror, the hope that things might really get weird and go off the rails as the trust between creator and creature erodes was misplaced. Go in for a hedgewitchy feminist exploration of identity, autonomy, the building of a toxic relationship based on anxious attachment, and whether certain power dynamics can ever leave space for free and enthusiastic consent.
April 28, 2026
I went blindly into this book. Chose it for the pretty cover. I didnt know what to expect but it wasn't rory making daye and using her and treating her like crap. It was a pretty sad book of a guy using a "girl"
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 13, 2026
Profound. Empowering. A sort of feminist Frankenstein. This book is so much deeper than just a story.
I’d never encountered the myth of Blodeuwedd before, so this story felt both fresh and quietly mesmerizing. The prose is stunning, the kind that makes you pause mid-page, and it’s hard to believe this is Bar’s debut. It’s the sort of novel that invites you to linger, to peel back layers, and to really examine the characters beneath the surface.
Rory, to me, began with genuine love and good intentions toward Daye, but somewhere along the way, that love twisted into something more possessive and quietly toxic. Not the loud, obvious kind, but the subtle version that slips under the radar until you’re already tangled in it. Because he created Daye, there’s an inherent imbalance, a sense of ownership that made parts of their dynamic deeply uncomfortable. While his early abandonment adds context to his obsession, it doesn’t excuse how tightly he clings or how that devotion begins to resemble captivity. It’s a sharp reminder that sometimes we try to hold onto things that were never meant to be ours.
Daye’s evolution was easily the most compelling part of the story. Watching her grow into her own agency and ultimately fight for the right to choose her own path was powerful and deeply satisfying. This feels like the kind of book you could dissect in an academic setting, the way you would a Shakespearean tragedy, with endless layers to unpack and debate.
I ended up listening to the final 40% on audio as an immersive read, and I wish I would have done that from the beginning because it completely elevated the experience. The narrators were stellar and I was captivated by their beautiful accents.
I’d never encountered the myth of Blodeuwedd before, so this story felt both fresh and quietly mesmerizing. The prose is stunning, the kind that makes you pause mid-page, and it’s hard to believe this is Bar’s debut. It’s the sort of novel that invites you to linger, to peel back layers, and to really examine the characters beneath the surface.
Rory, to me, began with genuine love and good intentions toward Daye, but somewhere along the way, that love twisted into something more possessive and quietly toxic. Not the loud, obvious kind, but the subtle version that slips under the radar until you’re already tangled in it. Because he created Daye, there’s an inherent imbalance, a sense of ownership that made parts of their dynamic deeply uncomfortable. While his early abandonment adds context to his obsession, it doesn’t excuse how tightly he clings or how that devotion begins to resemble captivity. It’s a sharp reminder that sometimes we try to hold onto things that were never meant to be ours.
Daye’s evolution was easily the most compelling part of the story. Watching her grow into her own agency and ultimately fight for the right to choose her own path was powerful and deeply satisfying. This feels like the kind of book you could dissect in an academic setting, the way you would a Shakespearean tragedy, with endless layers to unpack and debate.
I ended up listening to the final 40% on audio as an immersive read, and I wish I would have done that from the beginning because it completely elevated the experience. The narrators were stellar and I was captivated by their beautiful accents.
February 27, 2026
I think this is going to make my top 10 books of the year.
I can’t even coherently describe this one without sounding like a lunatic, so read the description or don’t, I don’t care, but read this book.
The exploration of the power dynamic and self actualization and independence was just phenomenal.
I don’t know what else to say without giving anything away, but just read this one.
I can’t even coherently describe this one without sounding like a lunatic, so read the description or don’t, I don’t care, but read this book.
The exploration of the power dynamic and self actualization and independence was just phenomenal.
I don’t know what else to say without giving anything away, but just read this one.
April 13, 2026
Wynne lives in the city and attends university, but Rory lives in a house in the countryside with a housekeeper. He lives a fairly isolated existence so he's always thrilled when his sister is back.
To keep her much younger brother Rory occupied and out of her hair, Wynne makes Rory a playmate. The playmate is not imaginary, but something constructed out of flowers and branches. She's a Bloederwedd, a construct that Wynne has been learning how to create in university where she studies engineering. Well, it actually sounds like a cross between engineering and magic, but she calls it engineering.
There are constructs deployed in numbers elsewhere, and they're made for specific purposes, and not intended to be as interactive with humans as Wynne's creation. This one looks like a little girl his age, and interacts with him, though she cannot speak. She uses her hands to communicate, and Rory is happy and names her Daye. (Wynne is actually very, very highly skilled as we can infer from Daye's abilities and emotions, based on what we learn about constructs later in the novel.)
The pair wander the forest outside the house, and play all season, till Daye literally falls apart, to Rory's horror. Wynne explains that a construct stays whole as long as the materials used last. As Wynne had used things that wilt and die at the end of the summer, Daye only lasted that long. Seeing how upset Rory is, she recreates Daye. She does this each season, with Daye's appearance changing slightly each time as Wynne uses plants available at the time. Wynne never considers Daye to be a living being, unlike Rory, who things Daye is his best friend, and can't seem to be happy without her.
When Wynne is really late coming back from school one time, Rory insists that she teach him how to maintain Daye for each season, which Wynn does. Eventually, he decides he needs to know much more so that Daye can sustain her form longer.
He spends all his time in his sister's university library, reading all he can, and then making changes to Daye based on his readings. These tests go on and on, each time he returns home. He does also make friends with teens his age he meets who attend the university, and even gets involved with one named Hanna for a while, but realizes that he loves Daye, and can't sustain a romantic relationship with Hanna.
Rory continues to delve deeper into articles and research, hoping to make Daye independent. But he also begins a sexual relationship with Daye, calling her his girlfriend, and preferring to spend time with her over his sister or his human friends. Basically, Rory is obsessed, and continues experimenting util he gives her a voice, and moves fully into Dr. Frankenstein territory.
And despite his sister, and others, pointing out the lack of ethics of what he's doing, he persists.
So, what starts somewhat innocently, gradually turns into something much darker. Though, I really question Wynne's initial solution to eight-year-old Rory's pestiness is to create him an interactive toy, which Rory imbues with a ton of meaning and emotion (he's eight years old, so perfect for seeing the construct as a fully-fledged being).
Daye begins changing, becoming more complicated each time she's recreated/resuscitated, the longer she's alive.
But when he begins using her for sex -- well, super duper yuck. She has no way to truly consent, and he's so wrapped up in his feelings for Daye, he refuses to hear anyone else's points on basic tenets about constructs, such as their lack of independence and ability to consent.
Rory becomes just another abusive man who puts his needs over everyone else's and justifies his monstrous wants and actions, saying that it's all because he loves Daye so much. Again, super duper yuck.
That aside, I liked this book, as I loved Daye's moments as she wanders the forest and talks to the creatures around her. Her conversations with the birds were great, as well as the way author Bar Fridman-Tell beautifully evoked the sounds, colours and feel of each season..
The technology+magic to create constructs is intriguing, but clearly the in-story university has to do a better job of getting its students to think deeply on the ethics applying of their skills. Mind you, old Victor Frankenstein, to draw a parallel between him and Rory, never considered the impact of his actions, either….
Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.
To keep her much younger brother Rory occupied and out of her hair, Wynne makes Rory a playmate. The playmate is not imaginary, but something constructed out of flowers and branches. She's a Bloederwedd, a construct that Wynne has been learning how to create in university where she studies engineering. Well, it actually sounds like a cross between engineering and magic, but she calls it engineering.
There are constructs deployed in numbers elsewhere, and they're made for specific purposes, and not intended to be as interactive with humans as Wynne's creation. This one looks like a little girl his age, and interacts with him, though she cannot speak. She uses her hands to communicate, and Rory is happy and names her Daye. (Wynne is actually very, very highly skilled as we can infer from Daye's abilities and emotions, based on what we learn about constructs later in the novel.)
The pair wander the forest outside the house, and play all season, till Daye literally falls apart, to Rory's horror. Wynne explains that a construct stays whole as long as the materials used last. As Wynne had used things that wilt and die at the end of the summer, Daye only lasted that long. Seeing how upset Rory is, she recreates Daye. She does this each season, with Daye's appearance changing slightly each time as Wynne uses plants available at the time. Wynne never considers Daye to be a living being, unlike Rory, who things Daye is his best friend, and can't seem to be happy without her.
When Wynne is really late coming back from school one time, Rory insists that she teach him how to maintain Daye for each season, which Wynn does. Eventually, he decides he needs to know much more so that Daye can sustain her form longer.
He spends all his time in his sister's university library, reading all he can, and then making changes to Daye based on his readings. These tests go on and on, each time he returns home. He does also make friends with teens his age he meets who attend the university, and even gets involved with one named Hanna for a while, but realizes that he loves Daye, and can't sustain a romantic relationship with Hanna.
Rory continues to delve deeper into articles and research, hoping to make Daye independent. But he also begins a sexual relationship with Daye, calling her his girlfriend, and preferring to spend time with her over his sister or his human friends. Basically, Rory is obsessed, and continues experimenting util he gives her a voice, and moves fully into Dr. Frankenstein territory.
And despite his sister, and others, pointing out the lack of ethics of what he's doing, he persists.
So, what starts somewhat innocently, gradually turns into something much darker. Though, I really question Wynne's initial solution to eight-year-old Rory's pestiness is to create him an interactive toy, which Rory imbues with a ton of meaning and emotion (he's eight years old, so perfect for seeing the construct as a fully-fledged being).
Daye begins changing, becoming more complicated each time she's recreated/resuscitated, the longer she's alive.
But when he begins using her for sex -- well, super duper yuck. She has no way to truly consent, and he's so wrapped up in his feelings for Daye, he refuses to hear anyone else's points on basic tenets about constructs, such as their lack of independence and ability to consent.
Rory becomes just another abusive man who puts his needs over everyone else's and justifies his monstrous wants and actions, saying that it's all because he loves Daye so much. Again, super duper yuck.
That aside, I liked this book, as I loved Daye's moments as she wanders the forest and talks to the creatures around her. Her conversations with the birds were great, as well as the way author Bar Fridman-Tell beautifully evoked the sounds, colours and feel of each season..
The technology+magic to create constructs is intriguing, but clearly the in-story university has to do a better job of getting its students to think deeply on the ethics applying of their skills. Mind you, old Victor Frankenstein, to draw a parallel between him and Rory, never considered the impact of his actions, either….
Thank you to Netgalley and to Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for my review.
March 26, 2026
Thank you to Libro.FM and Bloomsbury for the gifted Audiobook!
“𝓘𝓽’𝓼 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮- 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓷 𝓼𝓸 𝓶𝓾𝓬𝓱 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓲𝓽 𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮.”
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.••*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.••*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•
✦ 𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 ✦
Honeysuckle was a heavy and haunting psychological deep dive into consent, body autonomy and power dynamics in relationships. I was wholly consumed by the dark, eerie atmosphere, and fully captivated by the slow-creeping sense of unease from start to finish.
The characters were profoundly complex and deeply flawed. My heart broke over and over for Daye, as she grappled with the complete lack of control over her own life and body. Her experience had me reflecting upon my own past relationships, as well as the feminine experience as a whole.
Rory’s feelings toward Daye shift so easily and naturally from a place of innocence and friendship to that of toxic obsession and ownership. It was fascinating to be inside of his head as he so easily justifies his actions and sees himself as a protector. He is of course absolutely delusional, but this is an approach to relationships and women that I think a good portion of men have.
There is a lot to unpack and unravel within this story, and it will definitely stick with me. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys dark, gothic, feminist fantasy, even if they don’t traditionally read horror. The horror elements are much more psychological, so it will appeal to those newer to the genre and fans of magical realism.
✦ 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ✦
This has many dark themes - check trigger warnings before reading
✦ 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 ✦
Lovely duel narration from Catrin Walker-Booth and Geraint Rhys. I enjoyed how much nuanced emotion each of these narrators brought to their performance, adding to the atmosphere and really bringing these characters to life. I highly recommend the audio either on its own or for a tandem read!
✦ 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐕𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬 ✦
Frankenstein
✦ 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 ✦
Welsh Mythology Retelling
Botanical Gothic
Mad Scientist
Obsession vs. Devotion
Reflection on Consent
Magical Realism
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.••*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.••*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•
✄----------
Rating: 4 Stars
Genre: Botanical Horror / Dark Fantasy
Format Read: Audio
Narration: Duel; Catrin Walker-Booth and Geraint Rhys
Standalone
✄----------
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“𝓘𝓽’𝓼 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮- 𝓽𝓸 𝔂𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓷 𝓼𝓸 𝓶𝓾𝓬𝓱 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰, 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓲𝓽 𝓪𝓽 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓪𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮.”
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.••*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.••*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•
✦ 𝐌𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 ✦
Honeysuckle was a heavy and haunting psychological deep dive into consent, body autonomy and power dynamics in relationships. I was wholly consumed by the dark, eerie atmosphere, and fully captivated by the slow-creeping sense of unease from start to finish.
The characters were profoundly complex and deeply flawed. My heart broke over and over for Daye, as she grappled with the complete lack of control over her own life and body. Her experience had me reflecting upon my own past relationships, as well as the feminine experience as a whole.
Rory’s feelings toward Daye shift so easily and naturally from a place of innocence and friendship to that of toxic obsession and ownership. It was fascinating to be inside of his head as he so easily justifies his actions and sees himself as a protector. He is of course absolutely delusional, but this is an approach to relationships and women that I think a good portion of men have.
There is a lot to unpack and unravel within this story, and it will definitely stick with me. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys dark, gothic, feminist fantasy, even if they don’t traditionally read horror. The horror elements are much more psychological, so it will appeal to those newer to the genre and fans of magical realism.
✦ 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 ✦
This has many dark themes - check trigger warnings before reading
✦ 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 ✦
Lovely duel narration from Catrin Walker-Booth and Geraint Rhys. I enjoyed how much nuanced emotion each of these narrators brought to their performance, adding to the atmosphere and really bringing these characters to life. I highly recommend the audio either on its own or for a tandem read!
✦ 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐕𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬 ✦
Frankenstein
✦ 𝐓𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 ✦
Welsh Mythology Retelling
Botanical Gothic
Mad Scientist
Obsession vs. Devotion
Reflection on Consent
Magical Realism
•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.••*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.••*´¨`*•.¸¸.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.•
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Rating: 4 Stars
Genre: Botanical Horror / Dark Fantasy
Format Read: Audio
Narration: Duel; Catrin Walker-Booth and Geraint Rhys
Standalone
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April 2, 2026
Oh my god this book was BEAUTIFUL. A fairytale version of a Frankenstein story. So eerie and sad and pretty and hopeful and just everything. I am absolutely floored that this is a debut novel! It's definitely giving Ava Reid vibes.
Honeysuckle is about a lonely little boy whose sister creates a plaything for him, a flower girl, basically a living doll, named Daye. Daye and Rory grow up together and love each other, but as they grow older a lot changes between them and the ethical issues of having a best friend that was made to always do what you want become glaringly obvious.
This book really surprised me in a lot of ways. It's a story about loneliness, independence, and courage. I loved Daye so much and my heart broke for Rory even as I grew disgusted by his choices. I cannot recommend this book enough, I think it should become a modern classic that's how much I love it!
An advanced copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley.
Honeysuckle is about a lonely little boy whose sister creates a plaything for him, a flower girl, basically a living doll, named Daye. Daye and Rory grow up together and love each other, but as they grow older a lot changes between them and the ethical issues of having a best friend that was made to always do what you want become glaringly obvious.
This book really surprised me in a lot of ways. It's a story about loneliness, independence, and courage. I loved Daye so much and my heart broke for Rory even as I grew disgusted by his choices. I cannot recommend this book enough, I think it should become a modern classic that's how much I love it!
An advanced copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher through Netgalley.
March 28, 2026
4.75⭐️
This is the kind of book that feels like a punch in the gut. Even considering how character driven the story is, it has a bingeable quality that made it so hard to put it down. The characters were so complex and riveting, and their relationship slowly unraveled from something so pure in its innocence into something so twisted and manipulative and toxic— and strangely enough that’s what made the story so good!
Themes of bodily autonomy and love versus control, and the quiet foreboding of self fulfilling prophecies made the story completely unlike anything else. Seeing Rory’s boyish affections grow into something darker was like watching a train wreck in slow motion in the best kind of way. And I felt for Daye so deeply!! She’s such a sympathetic character and, ironically enough, the beating heart of this story.
For anyone wanting to read a book that feels like a dark fairytale that’s twisty and complex, you need to read this. A PHENOMENAL debut novel.
This is the kind of book that feels like a punch in the gut. Even considering how character driven the story is, it has a bingeable quality that made it so hard to put it down. The characters were so complex and riveting, and their relationship slowly unraveled from something so pure in its innocence into something so twisted and manipulative and toxic— and strangely enough that’s what made the story so good!
Themes of bodily autonomy and love versus control, and the quiet foreboding of self fulfilling prophecies made the story completely unlike anything else. Seeing Rory’s boyish affections grow into something darker was like watching a train wreck in slow motion in the best kind of way. And I felt for Daye so deeply!! She’s such a sympathetic character and, ironically enough, the beating heart of this story.
For anyone wanting to read a book that feels like a dark fairytale that’s twisty and complex, you need to read this. A PHENOMENAL debut novel.
April 7, 2026
thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for the ARC of this novel.
a stunning debut. this reminded me of Annie Bot but like, botanical? a very thoughtful although sometimes heavy handed exploration of consent and autonomy via what is essentially a flower sex doll that the MMC does not realize is a sex doll. i really enjoyed the character development for Daye and also how most people in Rory's life were disgusted that he was dating a girl made out of flowers. i was rooting for daye to escape the whole time. the writing was also beautiful and really made the story come alive. an easy 5 stars!
a stunning debut. this reminded me of Annie Bot but like, botanical? a very thoughtful although sometimes heavy handed exploration of consent and autonomy via what is essentially a flower sex doll that the MMC does not realize is a sex doll. i really enjoyed the character development for Daye and also how most people in Rory's life were disgusted that he was dating a girl made out of flowers. i was rooting for daye to escape the whole time. the writing was also beautiful and really made the story come alive. an easy 5 stars!
May 2, 2026
I had tingles from the very first page of ‘Honeysuckle’; we run right into dialogue at the opening of chapter one: ‘“Stop following me,” Wynne said, not bothering to turn around.’ And the tension Bar Fridman-Tell ratchets at the end? Right up to the very last word, the cinematic suspense is unreal.
Foremost, though, I want to begin by saying that ‘Honeysuckle’ is not a Romance – in as much as, in Classical Literature, Daphne’s escape from rape at the hands of Apollo by turning into a tree is not a Romance. What Fridman-Tell has written is a deft yet confronting investigation of consent:
Fridman-Tell also calls attention to the aftermath of sexual abuse: ‘now all she had was this dirty, exposed feeling’, ‘I can’t take any more hope’; and the abused’s destructive dependency upon the abuser: ‘the betrayal and devastation in her eyes’. This is where the comparison to Frankenstein’s Creature fits for me (elsewise, those comparisons fall somewhat flat because there’s no sense of uncanny valley with Fridman-Tell’s creature; Daye looks exactly like a person).
So, if ‘Honeysuckle’ is not a love story, then what is it? Is it Botanical Horror? Compare ‘Honeysuckle’ to Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin (my favourite recent example of it). In this sub-genre of Gothic Fiction, we see plants turning from symbols of life and growth into monstrous threats. In ‘Honeysuckle’, plants don’t gain fantastical sentience in order to consume human life – a principal trope of Botanical Horror. Instead, the flora (and fauna) of Daye’s world is full of magnanimity. Yes, we have the theme of decay that typifies the genre, and the central anthropomorphosis of plants, but nature isn’t a source of terror in ‘Honeysuckle’.
‘Honeysuckle’, though Gothic-esque, doesn’t necessarily have that definitive sense of Victorian societal fear stemming (pun intended) from anxiety around the Industrial Revolution and colonialism/colonisation of the exotic and unknown. The botanical in this novel conforms more to the formula of lore and legend where there is no barrier between humankind and the natural world (no industrialisation, no pollution) and transforming from one to the other is a benign, often benevolent metamorphosis.
As a classicist, I love nothing better than a Daphne-turning-into-a-laurel Ovid retelling, a parallel handled so tenderly here:
It’s not Romance, and it’s not Botanical Horror, but is ‘Honeysuckle’ still Gothic? It’s unmistakeable that Bar Fridman-Tell is well-versed in the Gothic (she did her thesis on Victorian vampires!). We’re in the modern age when the events of ‘Honeysuckle’ unfold, but – just like Tom's Midnight Garden where Tom retreats to the Victorian era – Rory is yearning for some exit from the modern world, some historical timelessness. And just like Phillipa Pearce’s Tom and Hatty, Rory and Daye’s childhood could be lifted from some Victorian storytale. But this is certainly not Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies come to life all at once: Kalynn Bayron says this is ‘fairytale-like horror’, and she’s right – ‘Honeysuckle’ takes it dark. So perhaps it’s not a fairytale either.
Tangent: I can’t help thinking of that moment of betrayal in my childhood when they invented Garbage Pail Kids after we’d all fallen in love with the Cabbage Patch Kids. And speaking of ‘garbage’, I can’t not mention the one enormous flaw in the text, and it’s entirely reparable. That is, the Canadianisms (‘garbage’, ‘stoops’, ‘sidewalks’, ‘crosswalk’) rubbing up the wrong way against the quaint British setting (Shrewsbury, in the West Midlands), I found it unspeakably jarring. The worst bit is that the birds Fridman-Tell writes about (considering birds are integral both to the Welsh source material and this modern plot) are not found in Shropshire, on the border of Wales, which is where Rory says they live. I’ve deducted a whole star from my rating for this because it really is that enormous a flaw, if we’re talking about unity in a text. It skews the novel’s cohesion and effectively rips a tear in the fabric of the narrative. We’ve got to prioritise textual integrity, otherwise essential meaning is rubbished. The setting and the source from early Welsh literature is completely discredited.
Anyway, returning to my main points: to my appreciation, Daye’s chapters are the farthest thing from Botanical Horror, characterised as they are by delicate descriptions of emotional tone that play just at the edge of pathetic fallacy:
So, let’s settle on a dark retelling of myth. Then Fridman-Tell upturns the Welsh lore in the most dazzling execution of character inversion. By enfeebling Blodeuwedd in this version, the author robs her of agency right up until the moment of her revelation of self. There’s no better way for Fridman-Tell to cast such a high arc of character development for Daye than to make her the pliable victim of grooming (enabled further by the removal of any parental figures from the plot): ‘she didn’t know how to untangle him from herself. She didn’t know if she could. Did she even want to?’ In this way, the tangible suspense of the novel’s final moments, as the prologue circles its way round to the climax of her tale, can elevate the reader’s felt experience of Daye’s concluding drama. As I said: tingles from the first sentence to the last.
[A quick question for those who’ve read it: can someone please tell me why Wynne breaks her promise to Rory to check in on Daye whilst he’s at Aranrhod University? This niggle plagued the last part for me!]
Thank you to Pan Macmillan | Tor Nightfire for the pleasure of receiving a digital ARC.
Foremost, though, I want to begin by saying that ‘Honeysuckle’ is not a Romance – in as much as, in Classical Literature, Daphne’s escape from rape at the hands of Apollo by turning into a tree is not a Romance. What Fridman-Tell has written is a deft yet confronting investigation of consent:
“You should’ve asked me. Rory, why didn’t you ask me before doing this to me?”Daye, our female voice in the gender-alternating dual POV, is the author’s reimagining of Blodeuwedd from 11th-12th century Welsh tales. Daye is made from a selection of trees, flowers, leaves, and ferns, and brought to life by a spell. Fridman-Tell cites the Mabinogion:
“Because you might have said no!”
‘They took the blossoms of the oak, and the blossoms of the broom, and the blossoms of the meadow-sweet, and produced from them a maiden, the fairest and most graceful that man ever saw.Despite alternating between Daye and Rory (the boy for whom she was made as a playmate), ‘Honeysuckle’ is not a love story, and I hate that I’m seeing it described as such online. Bar Fridman-Tell’s debut is a novel about the abuse of a girl growing into a woman under the oppression of her abuser. The author opens up discourse on female bodily autonomy (“it should’ve been my choice”), coercion (“Please don’t ask me to do this”), control (“you don’t get to decide I need to be fixed”), and toxic masculinity (Rory considers ‘how far from grateful [she] was’ and “I didn't think it was a big deal”).
And they baptized her, and gave her the name of Blodeuwedd.’
Fridman-Tell also calls attention to the aftermath of sexual abuse: ‘now all she had was this dirty, exposed feeling’, ‘I can’t take any more hope’; and the abused’s destructive dependency upon the abuser: ‘the betrayal and devastation in her eyes’. This is where the comparison to Frankenstein’s Creature fits for me (elsewise, those comparisons fall somewhat flat because there’s no sense of uncanny valley with Fridman-Tell’s creature; Daye looks exactly like a person).
So, if ‘Honeysuckle’ is not a love story, then what is it? Is it Botanical Horror? Compare ‘Honeysuckle’ to Eat the Ones You Love by Sarah Maria Griffin (my favourite recent example of it). In this sub-genre of Gothic Fiction, we see plants turning from symbols of life and growth into monstrous threats. In ‘Honeysuckle’, plants don’t gain fantastical sentience in order to consume human life – a principal trope of Botanical Horror. Instead, the flora (and fauna) of Daye’s world is full of magnanimity. Yes, we have the theme of decay that typifies the genre, and the central anthropomorphosis of plants, but nature isn’t a source of terror in ‘Honeysuckle’.
‘Honeysuckle’, though Gothic-esque, doesn’t necessarily have that definitive sense of Victorian societal fear stemming (pun intended) from anxiety around the Industrial Revolution and colonialism/colonisation of the exotic and unknown. The botanical in this novel conforms more to the formula of lore and legend where there is no barrier between humankind and the natural world (no industrialisation, no pollution) and transforming from one to the other is a benign, often benevolent metamorphosis.
As a classicist, I love nothing better than a Daphne-turning-into-a-laurel Ovid retelling, a parallel handled so tenderly here:
‘The sky is endless. All she can hear is the sway of flowers, the rustle of feathers, the soft, heavy sound of the snow settling a mere footstep away. And then, faintly, a damselfly-wing brush of sound, her name. […] The words are like fishing rods, lines arching to catch at her skin. Ready to pull her down, down, down. Already, mud is crawling up the arches of her feet, her toes, her ankles, as if preparing to hold her in place. There’s a sinking sensation in her chest. The taste of leaf dust in her mouth, dry and ash-like.’Daye’s story is so similar to classical shapeshifting like Daphne’s in that it is a tale of self-actualisation (she realises only ‘shape and goodwill’ separate her from Rory’s Pygmalionistic experiments in the shed) and self-salvation (she takes the fauna as well as flora into herself as her deliverance to freedom).
It’s not Romance, and it’s not Botanical Horror, but is ‘Honeysuckle’ still Gothic? It’s unmistakeable that Bar Fridman-Tell is well-versed in the Gothic (she did her thesis on Victorian vampires!). We’re in the modern age when the events of ‘Honeysuckle’ unfold, but – just like Tom's Midnight Garden where Tom retreats to the Victorian era – Rory is yearning for some exit from the modern world, some historical timelessness. And just like Phillipa Pearce’s Tom and Hatty, Rory and Daye’s childhood could be lifted from some Victorian storytale. But this is certainly not Cicely Mary Barker's Flower Fairies come to life all at once: Kalynn Bayron says this is ‘fairytale-like horror’, and she’s right – ‘Honeysuckle’ takes it dark. So perhaps it’s not a fairytale either.
Tangent: I can’t help thinking of that moment of betrayal in my childhood when they invented Garbage Pail Kids after we’d all fallen in love with the Cabbage Patch Kids. And speaking of ‘garbage’, I can’t not mention the one enormous flaw in the text, and it’s entirely reparable. That is, the Canadianisms (‘garbage’, ‘stoops’, ‘sidewalks’, ‘crosswalk’) rubbing up the wrong way against the quaint British setting (Shrewsbury, in the West Midlands), I found it unspeakably jarring. The worst bit is that the birds Fridman-Tell writes about (considering birds are integral both to the Welsh source material and this modern plot) are not found in Shropshire, on the border of Wales, which is where Rory says they live. I’ve deducted a whole star from my rating for this because it really is that enormous a flaw, if we’re talking about unity in a text. It skews the novel’s cohesion and effectively rips a tear in the fabric of the narrative. We’ve got to prioritise textual integrity, otherwise essential meaning is rubbished. The setting and the source from early Welsh literature is completely discredited.
Anyway, returning to my main points: to my appreciation, Daye’s chapters are the farthest thing from Botanical Horror, characterised as they are by delicate descriptions of emotional tone that play just at the edge of pathetic fallacy:
‘Daye’s shoulders slumped, helpless relief turning into heavy, loss-tinged guilt, like teeth sinking into a soft plum, only to jar against the stone at its centre. She raised her hands to say … something, then dropped them again.’So tenderly, then, ‘Honeysuckle’ is a retelling of myth, akin to the present-day popularity of writing the voices of the silent female figures back into Greek and Roman mythology (Madeline Miller, Costanza Casati, Pat Barker, and the extensive work of Natalie Haynes). As far as I understand it, in the original legend, Blodeuwedd (‘flower face’) is a dark, unfaithful figure who plots to murder her husband, Clytemnestra-like, eventually cursed to take the form of the most hated known creature, the owl. Even Alan Garner imbued his retelling of the myth with a dark and ominous menace (The Owl Service from 1967), centring the sinister upon his young female protagonist.
So, let’s settle on a dark retelling of myth. Then Fridman-Tell upturns the Welsh lore in the most dazzling execution of character inversion. By enfeebling Blodeuwedd in this version, the author robs her of agency right up until the moment of her revelation of self. There’s no better way for Fridman-Tell to cast such a high arc of character development for Daye than to make her the pliable victim of grooming (enabled further by the removal of any parental figures from the plot): ‘she didn’t know how to untangle him from herself. She didn’t know if she could. Did she even want to?’ In this way, the tangible suspense of the novel’s final moments, as the prologue circles its way round to the climax of her tale, can elevate the reader’s felt experience of Daye’s concluding drama. As I said: tingles from the first sentence to the last.
[A quick question for those who’ve read it: can someone please tell me why Wynne breaks her promise to Rory to check in on Daye whilst he’s at Aranrhod University? This niggle plagued the last part for me!]
Thank you to Pan Macmillan | Tor Nightfire for the pleasure of receiving a digital ARC.
April 10, 2026
This was so unexpectedly dark and absolutely fantastic! A very interesting deep dive into autonomy, and the depth to both Rory and Daye made it even more fascinating. I also can’t believe it’s a debut novel, it was so well written.
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