Nestled within an enchanted forest is the Grove, a community where witches and warlocks practice elemental magic, brew mystical potions, and lock their cellars against beer thieving gnomes. Life is quiet and uneventful. Well, except when Hazel’s long-lost father uses necromancy to trap her dead mother’s soul.That simply won’t do. Necromancy is forbidden in the Grove, and for good reason too. … too. Nobody wants filthy corpses shambling around, mussing up one’s garden. Hazel is determined to find her father and undo his treachery.
But despite Hazel’s plans of becoming a one-woman army, she can’t do everything alone. It’s not until wild sister Holly convinces her to leave the house for once and go to a party that Hazel finds a pair of unlikely allies in two bickering warlock brothers.
Together, the four of them go on a journey that takes them out of the Grove and into a world where necromancy reigns and the dead won’t respectfully stay in the grave. Hazel will do whatever it takes to stop her father and save her mother’s soul. Even if it means turning to necromancy. Even if it means losing her friends. Because they would never help a necromancer. Would they?
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Hazel & Holly is a cute story. It has that cuteness that comes from characters that are likeable and fun to read. Who care for each other even when they are awkward and goofy, and this is probably what I liked to most about this novel.
The story is after all quite straightforward. In spite of taking some twists and turns, the story starts with Hazen and Holly going after their father, and that’s what they do from beginning to end.
The world where they travel is diverse and strange enough to be always interesting, though I’ll admit that the part I liked the most is the Grove, the place where the story begins, because I love the way magic works there. It’s not a very new concept (it’s environmental magic, basically), but I really like the way this concept was used.
The tone of the story leans toward the humorous side, and that’s part of the cuteness fo the story, though I wouldn’t say this makes it light-hearted, at least not all the time. There are some quite dark episodes in here, especially toward the end.
The only thing that bothered me was the pace. Even if things are always happening, the story evolved very slowly. Personally, I would have liked for the focus to be a little less on the episodes and a bit more on the overall arc, because sometimes, concentrating on the episode made me lose sight of the main point. This made me struggle through a few episodes, especially in the middle of the novel.
But overall, it was a nice read.
I really enjoyed reading Hazel and Holly. I found it well written with great characters. I especially loved the sisters Hazel and Holly and also Hawthorn and Hemlock. I loved the adventure and magic throughout the book and you even had some humor. I recommend reading this book, it’s a really fun read!!! (I received this book as an arc and am leaving a voluntary honest review)
I really enjoyed this book! My only tiny problem was the four main characters all having names that start with H. At times my mind would just get confused, and I would have to stop and remind myself the oldest siblings have HA names, and I would sort myself out for awhile.
But don’t let this stop you from reading Hazel and Holly, and hopefully enjoying it as much as I did.
This fantasy, which I can see becoming a series, has all the essentials to make it epic. A witch with an impossible mission, learning more about herself and being tempted into great evil. Throw in an entourage of friends, each with unique abilities and insights, and you get a fast paced, very entertaining story.
Sara Snider does a fantastic job with the world building. There are numerous books and movies that I’m sure people will compare this story to, but for me, I kept thinking of the movie Labyrinth. I think my mind equated searching for a baby brother, with Hazel looking for their father, and Hoggle reminded me of their cellar gnome, Tum.
Snider also does a wonderful job with the character’s development. Even the secondary characters are well rounded, and not just used in the story for filler. The four main characters continue to grow throughout the book, and I hope she continues this into a series, because I would love to continue getting to know them.
A fabulous fantasy, that I highly recommend.
Awesome sister duos always hold a very special place inside my heart, so I’m super glad I got to add this one to the bunch! Hazel & Holly by Sara C. Snider was a lighthearted and entrancing read. With all the talk about about witches & warlocks, necromancers & dangerous magic, I was expecting and was even a little excited for a dark read…but that’s not what I got. Instead, this book brought out the quirky angles of fantasy, which I absolutely loved! I so look forward to more of this author’s work and recommend this book to friends.
Hazel & Holly – This is my first book by this author and it swept me into its pages and held me there. Two sisters, two witches, one mature and the other young and direct; perfect characters to keep the reader immersed in the pages of intrigue, humor, incorrect behavior and cellar gnomes all on the way of finding their father to get him to release their mother’s spirit from a geas. Well written with plenty of storylines weaving through the tapestry accented with a variety of characters lending depth to the pages.
Holly the younger sister is funny with her ideas and certainly ahead of her time, whenever that is. At teas, she digs in, hey, that’s what the tea is about, to eat. OK, to steal things such as buttons, beads, etc., with the help of her mouse and cellar gnome, certainly. Hazel does the proper route. Even though there’s over 450 pages, they go rather quickly. I found this book on Booksprout. 4*