Honeycomb is a sweeping grand tale, made up of many smaller ones, each woven together like the threads of a spiders web.
“But certain dreams thrive best in the waking world, and these are among the most powerful.”
Dreams of the Barefoot Princess
Long ago and far away, in the dreamy world of magical fae and honeybees, the Lacewing King and the Spider Queen spin a tale of love and trechary that spans across worlds.
“For, as the Honeycomb Queen had said, love is often half-sweetness, half-sting, and he had been stung once too often.”
The Honeycomb Child
The story is so beautifully written. It’s a fantasy. It’s horror. It’s mythology and fairytales at their best. I would describe it as Grimms Fairytales meets Aesops Fables, and I loved the imagery and the world building.
“For the midwife had realized that she was among the Silken Folk; weavers of glamours, spinners of tales, most dangerous of the Faerie.”
The Midwife
Short meaningful stories—each their own stand-alone tale, and still part of the grander story—show how all beings are connected, from the grandest of kings of the smallest of bees. All of the characters circle back to the beginning, each conneted to each other in smalls ways that arent always realized until later in the story.
Though the book is laregly a collection of shorts, there is a main storyline that shows up every few chapters or so: the tale of The Lacewing King. a cruel, thoughtless, trickster. Honeycomb follows his heros journey and character development, from his mischievous childhood adventures, to his outwitting of villanious foes, and his many disasters in love. His often careless choices will have dire consequences for both his own fate and the fates of those around him.
Some of my favorite chapters included: The Watcher and the Glass—; The Gardener—an instance of giving an inch and taking a mile; The Girl Who Never Smiled—; and The Sparrow—a story tha
I did not want to put this down! It was magical, beautiful, and haunting. Easily my favorite book of the year so far.
“Now you have made me believe again that stories are real, and that dreams can come true.”
Dreams of the Barefoot Princess
MANDY'S READING LIST 