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Honeysuckle
- Author
- Bar Fridman-Tell
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 24 March 2026
- Run Time
- 11 hours 28 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
‘Lush, dreamlike, wholly intoxicating . . . a fever dream that I won’t soon forget’ – Ava Reid, author of A Study in Drowning
Once upon a time, on the edge of a forest, there was a lonely child with only his older sister for company. So his sister made him a playmate: Daye, a girl woven from carefully selected flowers and words.
Rory is gloriously happy, until he learns that Daye is a seasonal creature. At the end of each season, she must be woven back together or fall gruesomely apart. And when, one autumn, his sister fails to return home from university in time, Rory has no choice but to watch his best friend slowly crumble.
Realizing he can no longer rely on his sister to keep Daye alive, Rory determines he must leave home to learn how to do it himself. Rory sinks deeper into research and experiments to end the cycle of bloom and decay. But as Rory grows older, his thoughts turn darker . . .
An entrancing, inventive and unsettling reimagining of the story of Blodeuwedd from Welsh mythology, Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell is a feminist Frankenstein with flowers; a deliciously dark, twisted, horror-tinged fairy tale with rot at its heart . . .
'Thoughtful, evocative fantasy' – The Guardian
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What readers are saying about Honeysuckle:
‘I was totally mesmerized by this book. I couldn’t put it down’
‘The aching, gothic fairy tale of our time – fantasy horror, done to perfection’
‘Unlike anything I’ve read before’
'Bloody brilliant'
'Life-changing'
'Fans of botanical horror, character-driven stories, and folklore, this is not one to miss'
Critics Review
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A lush, dreamlike, wholly intoxicating novel with the elegant lyricism of modern fantasy and the deep, dark roots of ancient folklore. Honeysuckle is a fever dream that I won’t soon forget.
Ava Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning
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A hauntingly lyrical, fairytale-like horror. I was absolutely enthralled with Fridman-Tell’s lush world building and devastatingly beautiful prose . . . A searing addition to the literary horror genre, Honeysuckle offers a tale in which beauty is inextricably intertwined with rot, and with the unrelenting passage of time love serves as both a shield and a dagger
Kalynn Bayron, New York Times bestselling author of Cinderella is Dead
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Bar Fridman-Tell has created a rare, beguiling thing. A twisted, wild journey that deftly leads the reader through the forest of hopes and fears, Honeysuckle is a bold, haunting folktale for our times
Ami McKay, bestselling author of The Witches of New York and The Birth House
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Honeysuckle is a work of exquisite prose and deft magical realism. It is so nimble and elegant that the reader at first finds themselves in a dream-like world of beauty and childhood, surprised and delighted
Heather O’Neill, author of Lullabies for Little Criminals
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Honeysuckle is equal parts fairytale and nightmare, beautiful and terrifying, innocent and disturbed. A novel for anyone who contemplates the rot beneath lovely things, and a deeply impressive debut
Danielle Valentine, New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Husband Cookbook
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A flower-threaded horror crafted from myth and brimming with lush prose, Honeysuckle is an incredibly timely story about the corrupting power of desire and control. Unsettling and stunning in equal measure
Maddie Martinez, USA Today bestselling author of The Maiden and Her Monster
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Bar Fridman-Tell is a master of the botanical grotesque. This lyrical and captivating debut unsettles and shocks by turns, as a lush and dreamy childhood world gives way to a dark reality.
Charlotte Cross, author of The Brides
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Thoughtful, evocative fantasy
The Guardian
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Honeysuckle begins with a playful bargain but quickly descends into something darker, something that blurs the lines between love and ownership, desire and power, bond and bondage. This is magical realism at its absolute best . . . Escalating in dread from its first page to its breathless conclusion, this is a novel destined to become a modern gothic classic. A glorious, decadent debut!
Anuja Varghese, author of Chrysalis
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A sharp, modern fable about creation, control, and the thorny boundaries of consent . . . Fridman-Tell has woven a story that is as enchanting as it is unsettling
Ginger Nuts of Horror
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A beautiful tragedy skillfully reflecting our concerns with agency and consent, with gaslighting and autonomy. Highly recommend
HorrorTree
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Exquisite horror with prose that feels like a fever dream and a story that sweeps you up into its world. A very strong debut from a promising writer you should keep your eye on
Nerd Daily
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Bar Fridman-Tell effortlessly conjures a lush, shadow-filled world. Daye begins as a girl woven from flowers and grows, page by page, into something far more powerful. Honeysuckle builds with increasing urgency toward questions that linger long after you set the book down: about autonomy, about control, and about what we owe the people we claim to love. Visceral, stunningly told, and impossible to forget. An applause-worthy debut
Rachel Hochhauser, New York Times bestselling author of Lady Tremaine
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Honeysuckle demonstrates that even the most beautiful, dreamlike, stunning prose can contain a rotten heart of lust, greed, and selfish desire
GrimDark Magazine
User Reviews
No reviews yet.
Details
- Author
- Bar Fridman-Tell
- Narrator
- Catrin Walker-Booth, Geraint Rhys
- Duration
- 11 hours 28 minutes
- Release Date
- 24 March 2026
- ISBN
- 9781035067947
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Nature and the natural world: general interest, Horror, ghost stories and supernatural fiction, Fairy and Folk tales / Fairy tale retellings, Dark romance, Narrative theme: environmental issues / the natural world
Synopsis
‘Lush, dreamlike, wholly intoxicating . . . a fever dream that I won’t soon forget’ – Ava Reid, author of A Study in DrowningOnce upon a time, on the edge of a forest, there was a lonely child with only his older sister for company. So his sister made him a playmate: Daye, a girl woven from carefully selected flowers and words.Rory is gloriously happy, until he learns that Daye is a seasonal creature. At the end of each season, she must be woven back together or fall gruesomely apart. And when, one autumn, his sister fails to return home from university in time, Rory has no choice but to watch his best friend slowly crumble.Realizing he can no longer rely on his sister to keep Daye alive, Rory determines he must leave home to learn how to do it himself. Rory sinks deeper into research and experiments to end the cycle of bloom and decay. But as Rory grows older, his thoughts turn darker . . .An entrancing, inventive and unsettling reimagining of the story of Blodeuwedd from Welsh mythology, Honeysuckle by Bar Fridman-Tell is a feminist Frankenstein with flowers; a deliciously dark, twisted, horror-tinged fairy tale with rot at its heart . . .'Thoughtful, evocative fantasy' – The Guardian--What readers are saying about Honeysuckle:‘I was totally mesmerized by this book. I couldn’t put it down’‘The aching, gothic fairy tale of our time – fantasy horror, done to perfection’‘Unlike anything I’ve read before’'Bloody brilliant''Life-changing''Fans of botanical horror, character-driven stories, and folklore, this is not one to miss'
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