Hazel and Holly
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4.3 • 3 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Nestled within an enchanted forest is the Grove, a community where witches and warlocks practice natural 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. 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?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Snider (A Shadowed Spirit) transports readers to a world full of magic and mystery with this light, fast-paced fantasy. Witch sisters Hazel and Holly have grown up in the comfort of the Grove, a peaceful forest community of witches. Where 17-year-old Holly is wild and fun-loving, 23-year-old Hazel is responsible and staid, having shouldered the burden of caring for their dead mother's soul, which is trapped between worlds. When Hazel learns that their absentee father, Ash, is the one who trapped their mother using the forbidden black magic of necromancy, she is determined to undo his treachery. Aided by warlock brothers Hawthorn and Hemlock, the sisters attempt to track down their father, venturing beyond the Grove for the first time. Their subsequent adventure strikes a delightful balance between introspection and playfulness with dynamic, multifaceted characters who come to realize that neither magic, nor family relationships, are as simple as black or white. Moral ambiguity, humor, and heart combine in this fun, fulfilling romp. (Self-published.)
Customer Reviews
A fun fantasy adventure
Hazel and Holly is a fun and rolicking adventure through magical woods, mystical spells, and finding hope in unlikely places.
Hazel and Holly are sisters who share a home in the Grove, a wonderfully slow and magical place where magic is divided into schools such as Hearth and Wyr, each with their own special focus. When the sisters are invited to the home of Hawthorn and Hemlock, warlocks and very eligible bachelors, Holly is insistent on their attendance. Hazel, on the other hand, would rather stay home and away from the nosey gossips who spread nasty rumors about their family and their father’s dabbling in Necromancy. Necromancy is the one magical discipline that is not tolerated in the Grove.
But Holly wins and the sisters attend the ball and true to fashion, nothing goes as planned. The one bright moment from the disastrous night is a new alliance with the brothers. With their help, the sisters might finally be able to track down their father and free their mother’s soul that has been entrapped for years.
Together, the witches and warlocks face one obstacle after the other, and all the while, they become closer and better friends with every mishap. With the help of a magical mouse, Holly’s innocent eagerness, Hemlock’s dry humor and reluctance to dirty his clothes, and Hazel and Hawthorn’s focus and planning, the group sets out to find the secret hiding place of the necromancers. Unfortunately for our adventurers, nothing ever goes as planned or remotely close to easily. Their one promising link to their father, a necromance named Elder, betrays them. Spells misfire, intentions are misinterpreted, and along the way, they pick up a cellar gnome with a penchant for beer who turns up in the most unlikely of places.
Full of humor, magic, and adventure, Hazel and Holly was a fun and entertaining read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.
Great fun 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)