Written by Peta Hardiman
“People die. It’s not your fault. It’s not anyone’s fault. It’s just the way life is. You need to let her do.”
Life in the Grove is quiet.
The community nestled in the middle of an enchanted forest is a safe haven for witches and warlocks to practice elemental magic, brew all manner of interesting potions, and keep tabs on the gnomes who work keeping rats out of their cellars and spoils in their pockets. The one thing they don’t do is practice necromancy… which is a bit of a shame really, since Hazel and Holly’s father was a necromancer who trapped their mothers soul and Hazel is determined to let it out again.
A one-woman army, Hazel was prepared to sort out this rather distasteful issue all on her own, but when Holly drags her out of the house to go to a party, they end up bonding with two warlock brothers who decide to join their quest. Together the four of them leave the Grove to track down the girl’s father to sort out the rather unsavoury task of releasing their mother’s soul… whatever the cost.
Hazel and Holly is not a fairytale, but it reads very much like one. Sara C Snider’s writing style is very lyrical and the “dark, magical forest” setting most definitely felt like an old school gothic fairytale — even the concept of the story has that dark edge reminiscent of a Grimm Brothers story. In fact, the writing style and plot concept is by far the strongest element of this novel, I was instantly captivated by Hazel and Holly’s story, the sisterly bond they share binds them together despite some very obvious personality differences- and it felt very real, and very reminiscent of the relationship between a lot of sisters.
Speaking of the sisters, we have 23-year-old Hazel as our main protagonist. She’s very stubborn, almost to a fault, and feels incredibly responsible for her younger sister, Holly. Hazel at the beginning of the novel, had not declared a main area of focus for her magic, and she spends some time trying to figure out what kind would best assist her on her quest to help her mother. There are four main types of elemental magic: Wyr, Weaving, Hearth, and Wild. However, there’s also a fifth type: Necromancy. And while Hazel decides on one of the four main types, she feels a pull towards Necromancy and most of her internal turmoil is based around the draw towards something that she has been taught is wrong. I actually found Hazel’s internal struggles quite interesting up to a certain point, but it did get quite repetitive after a while.
Hazel’s younger sister Holly is 17, a Wild Witch and definitely not as well-rounded a character. She had quite a lot of potential to be interesting, but she felt very much like the quintessential “younger sister” that appears across a lot of YA books. She did have some interesting character development however, and I liked where she ended up.
This book does have a romance in it, and it is 100% an insta-love romance! Hawthorn and Hemlock are both very stereotypical male leads, and while I did enjoy the humour and depth they added to the dynamic of the core group, I was taken aback by the abruptness of the romance.
Snider’s main strength in this novel was by far the world building, although she probably could have added more depth to some of the concepts involved. As I mentioned above, the entire tone of the novel has this dark, gothic vibe and it was eerie and atmospheric and amazing. The magic system was also quite unique, and it was interesting to watch how the different styles of magic interact, although, I would’ve loved to see more of the magic system throughout the story.
Overall, Hazel and Holly was a mostly effective, if simply executed concept for a YA fantasy novel, and while I could’ve done with a little less name alliteration and a little more depth, it was a fun and light read, but just not for me. Overall, this book fell a little short of something for me, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. It could be the unrealistic romance and how flat the characters seemed, or it could have been that I wanted more from the world building, or from the decidedly generic plot. My main gripe with Hazel and Holly is that it was simply underwhelming, and it made it too much like hard work to fall into.
Hazel and Holly is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
Have you read Hazel and Holly? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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. 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?
