The Honey and Ice Series

I was drawn to this series in the wake of the ACOTAR craze, and while it certainly shares some elements with that kind of fantasy—magical courts, forbidden love, and world-shattering stakes—the experience of reading it left me with mixed feelings.

The premise is promising: the main character, Alli, is a half-human orphan with a tragic past, thrown into a world of fae politics, dangerous secrets, and forbidden romance. I enjoyed the initial setup, especially the idea of Underhill, a mysterious and magical place tied to the fae, and the complex relationships between the characters. There’s a lot of potential for a gripping, emotional journey as Alli races against time to save her people, confront her enemies, and come to terms with her powers. However, as the series progressed, I found myself struggling to fully immerse in the world.

One of the biggest hurdles for me was the worldbuilding. The series is set in a modern world with fae elements, but I had a hard time picturing how it all fit together. The balance between the everyday and the magical felt off, and I found it difficult to imagine a world where fae, magic, and humans coexisted without the proper foundation or explanation. It’s possible I just missed something along the way, but I struggled to connect with the setting. It never felt fully fleshed out in a way that made the world feel lived-in or real, even as the stakes of the plot grew higher. For comparison, I’d say Fortuna Sworn does a much better job at building a separate realm with clearer rules and stakes. Here, the magic and mythology felt more like backdrop than an essential part of the world.

Another issue I had was with the pacing and the series’ length. The first book sets up a solid foundation, but as the series progresses, the books start to shrink in length, which felt strange to me. The narrative was moving so quickly that it didn’t feel like there was enough room for the plot to develop properly. I kept expecting the world and story to expand, to dive deeper into the politics, the characters, and the magic, but instead, the books felt more like fast-paced, surface-level adventures. At times, I felt like the author was rushing through the plot points, and it left me feeling like the series could have benefited from being condensed into a smaller number of books. I think a 3-book arc would have allowed the story to breathe more, instead of stretching it across five books that didn’t feel fully fleshed out.

In terms of character arcs, I felt that Alli’s journey took a surprising turn a little too quickly in the later books. I really thought the “claimed heir” plotline had more to offer, and I was disappointed by how it all unraveled so suddenly. It felt like a major shift that could have used more development, and I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the way the stakes and character dynamics played out. Alli’s emotional growth was well done in parts, but her decisions and the consequences of those decisions didn’t always align with the foundation laid in the first book.

Overall, while I can see why some readers may enjoy this series, for me it was just mediocre. The writing itself was fine, but I couldn’t connect with the world or the characters in the way I had hoped. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why, but I think it comes down to the fact that the worldbuilding never felt immersive, and the pacing was a bit too rushed to let the story fully unfold.

In the end, I finished the series out of curiosity to see how it would wrap up, but I wasn’t particularly invested. It’s one of those series where, despite the potential, it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I’d recommend it to fans of quick, plot-driven fantasy with a touch of romance, but it’s not a series that I’ll likely revisit.