Book Report: Witches of Honeysuckle House by Liz Parker
By: Karen Mims
A generational curse takes place every 13 years in the Honeysuckle House, home of the Caldwell family. The Caldwell sisters need to come together to save themselves and their loved ones before someone gets killed. Keep reading this book report to see if you should add Witches of Honeysuckle House to your TBR!
BEFORE WE DIVE IN…
Genre: Fantasy
Age Group: Adult
Content Warnings: Generational trauma, abusive parent, PTSD, murder
Spice Level: N/A
Page count: 320 pages
ABOUT THE BOOK (synopsis)
Witches of Honeysuckle House starts four days before October 13th, both Florence Caldwell’s birthday and the day the Caldwell family curse returns every 13 years. The Honeysuckle House is the estate in which every Caldwell has lived, but now, only Evie Caldwell, Florence’s sister, lives there with her daughter, Clara.
Florence has long given up her magic and now runs a bookstore called Ink and Pages. Evie turned Honeysuckle House into a bed and breakfast and raises bees to make candles for her spells. When the house starts behaving dangerously, the sisters must come together to defeat this deadly curse.
I wish I could share more without spoiling the plot! Here’s a quick summary of some other details you might enjoy:
Queer witches
Sentient house
Sister witches
Multiple perspectives across time
Tarot and candle burning
READER PROFILE
Witches of Honeysuckle House might be for you if:
You love witchy sisters like the Owens from Practical Magic or the Halliwells from Charmed
You like magical homes and places like Casita from Encanto
You read and loved the witchy sisters in The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski
You read In the Shadow Garden, also by Liz Parker, for the mystery and family of witches
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Liz Parker is the author of Witches of Honeysuckle House, In the Shadow Garden, and The Other March Sisters. An herbalist and a witch, Liz lives in Los Angeles with their husband and loves tarot, astrology, and talking to plants. When they're not writing or casting spells, you can find Liz on most social media sites at @LizParkerWrites.
WHAT READERS THINK
The following reviews were pulled from Storygraph, Goodreads, and social media:
“I think that people could get confused by the timeline jumps but I quickly got used to it. There’s a lot of character development in this book, which I would say is more driving than the plot, but the alternating timeline really adds to the story. The twist in the story was also done extremely well—I always thought I had something figured out only for it to get turned on its head five pages later. I applaud the author’s ingenuity, both in storyline and in the magic system that was created.
At its core, this novel is about family. There’s multiple levels of sisterhood shown throughout the story, and each one resonates well with the human experience. Readers will see love and respect in the same way they see anger and resentment. I also enjoyed how this novel dealt with familial trauma and PTSD—Parker pays special attention to each character, drawn (according to the AN) from her own experiences, and it truly adds more to the characterization. Trauma isn’t used as a cheap throwaway plotting; it is examined and held closely and cherished, despite its pain. Ultimately, every character in this book is achingly human, and I think that anyone who enjoys character-driven stories should give this a shot.
This was marketed as a cozy fantasy, but is actually quite dark and tense. I had no issue with this, but other readers might.”
—Nicabram via Storygraph (3.5 stars)
“Practical Magic meets Encanto, this book was so good! The Caldwell witches have been dealing with a curse since the 1940s where every thirteen years, someone they love dies on the Honeysuckle House property. There is a dual storyline between two sisters in [the] present day and two sisters in the 1960s. In [the] present day, the thirteenth year is coming up again and Evie and Florence are racing against the clock to try to finally break the curse, but first they have to figure out how the curse started in the first place.
There are a few different love stories going on and I loved them all. My favorite was absolutely Tillie and Violet in the 60s though, moving in together as “roommates” in a time where their love wouldn’t be accepted. There are some deeper themes here including generational trauma and abuse, but the cozy vibe of the book kind of hugs you while you read it.
It’s September/October, witchy, small town fall vibes. The house talks to you. The bookstore shows you your next favorite book and there’s a conjured kitten named Ink. It’s all quite adorable and I absolutely recommend it to be added to your fall stack!”
—Jennaaciosbooks via Instagram (4 stars)
“After reading and loving In the Shadow Garden, it seems like I've been waiting forever for another Liz Parker book. So, you can imagine my delight when this new novel became available for request. And it did not disappoint! Witches of Honeysuckle House is an emotionally captivating tale with the perfect blend of magic, mystery, and romance. A story that follows two sisters on their journey through generations of trauma while they attempt to break the curse that comes back to threaten their family every thirteen years. Witchy magic, tarot, an enchanted house, a magical bookshop...even a conjured kitten. This book had it all! The storyline was quite interesting and suspenseful. Not knowing what was going to happen as well as what happened in the past was a mystery that I dreaded, and it slowly unraveled with the passing of each page. I grew to love these characters and did not want to see any of them come to harm. Especially the house! I absolutely adored the house and loved that it was a character with its own POV. I also liked that the author used journal entries to tell the story of the past. One of which even had my name. So cool! I really enjoyed this book. It was a beautiful tale filled with hope, love, and the power of magic. There was even a little twist thrown in that I didn't expect. If you're a fan of magical mysteries, this book is for you! I highly recommend!”
—Regina via Goodreads (5 stars)
BOOK REPORTER’S REVIEW
Karen’s Review: 4/5
Truthfully, any sort of fantasy is out of my comfort zone, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story! I appreciate any story that follows multiple generations of women within a family. I like how the historical perspective helped to solve certain mysteries in the present day. Oh! I also didn’t know there was any queer representation in this, and I loved it! Along the way, you can sense the healing that takes place within both sisters, and I think the story’s ending was balanced with the heaviness of the plot. The pacing of this story goes by fast, so if you’re not a fantasy reader like me, this was a great read!
Thank you, Mikaela Bender, over at Crookedlane Books, for a copy of this book. This book is slated to release on October 21, 2025, and you can pre-order/order a copy here!