This is a fantasy adventure book featuring witch sisters Hazel and Holly. Hazel was supposed to be 23 and Holly 17, but I felt their characters were a lot younger. The names became a little confusing especially when the two warlock brothers Hawthorn and Hemlock were introduced and then there were also two dogs called Shirley and Sheila.

I loved the introduction to this book and the first chapter drew me in. Hazel meets with her dead mother and we find out that her mother has been cursed. I loved this and was excited to read the rest of the book but found that it didn't really catch my attention after this. It felt childish to me, especially with the gnome Tum.

The author does a great job of describing the Grove I enjoyed the fun aspect of this book, but I did feel it was a little young for me. The plot moves along and there are twists and turns. This is a light read and a rather simple story that I think many readers will enjoy. Unfortunately, it wasn't for me.

A lovely tale following two witches and warlocks. This book kept me gripped and I enjoyed watching all the characters grow and how they dealt with difficult decisions and situations. I love the character of Tum too! Whimsical, witty, and a bit witchy. If you like books with a Brothers Grimm fairytale feel paired with sibling adventure then you’ll love this one.

I requested based on the cover, which is beautiful. It doesn't stand out and the pacing was far too slow. I feel like the author was too afraid to touch on anything queer or go beyond the norms of fantasy, but that's my opinion. The soul thing was...interesting.

This book is charming, dark, witty and funny in all the right places. I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did but I flew through it. I am begging for a sequel before the first even releases! Sara did such a fantastic job with creating this magical world with so many different elements to them and It was exciting to learn about the sister’s world. I will forever read anything Snider comes out with!

I loved the cover of this book.
I loved the title.
I loved the description and what it could offer.
I did not like the book too much because the storyline was slow for me and flat.
This book had a potential, but it did not fulfilled my expectations at all..
sorry....

Hazel and Holly and their father and their mother's soul and some sort of story that didn't really get under way and I just couldn't bother with it.

DNF @20%

The characters I dislike to read about the most are ones with zero self-awareness, appear to act intentionally against their own interests, and just generally behave stupidly. Unfortunately, Hazel and Holly was full of those characters. 

Hazel and Holly follows two witch sisters, Hazel and Holly, as older sister Hazel attempts to hunt down her missing father in order to restore her mother's soul and younger sister Holly ...exists. Mostly, my problem with this book was with Holly and her utter lack of any self-awareness. The first several conflicts Hazel gets into (or anything before the 20% mark) are pretty much all due to Holly insisting Hazel do something potentially life-threatening, probably illegal, and definitely rude task for her. There's stealing buttons and other trinkets from another witch's house because Holly doesn't think her own supplies are good enough and hiding a (cellar?) gnome from guards after he and Holly go on a looting trip in a warlock's mansion just because. It was borderline painful to read about a 17-year-old who has such little maturity and an older sister who, admittedly, raised her this way.

Overall, I rate this a 1/5. I very very rarely DNF books, but I found myself counting down to the 20% so I could put it down. The author appeared to correlate whimsical behaviour with nonsensical behavior and I simply couldn't stand the characters.

Review to be posted on blog 26 April 2019

I was immediately drawn to the cover - it is beautiful. The book, however, fell flat for me and I found myself skimming the last half just to see how it all wrapped up. It moved really slow and I never attached to the characters enough.

Ohh I wanted to love this book so badly!
I had no expectations of this book, It has such a stunning cover, that it draws you to it instantly.
The premise of witches, magic, trapped souls and the woods sounded incredible.
This book is written so lyrically, the entire book flows like a babbling brook...

It is the language used that made it hard for me to really get into, I was constantly having to re-read sentences to fully understand them, to work out all of the words that had been melded together.

I can see this being popular once it is released. However it just wasn't for me.

What a delightful story!

Witch sisters Hazel and Holly must set their mother's soul free from the necromantic bonds that hold her in limbo. Their father, the necromancer who entrapped their mother, disappeared from the sisters' lives years ago. To free their mother they must find their father.

Hazel and Holly is full of whimsical fun and sweet characters that really have to grow and challenge their own beliefs. It's unusual to find a book with a YA tone that features older main characters--Hazel is twenty-three and Holly seventeen. It's SO refreshing to read about older characters. We in our early twenties are seriously neglected from both adult fantasy and YA. (And I mean seriously, your early twenties ARE your young adult years!!) I'm twenty-two and it's just really nice to find a book with characters my age that isn't about having kinky sex in a college dorm.

Another fabulous plus side? SISTER WITCHES! I loved the bond between Hazel and Holly--they aren't perfect girls nor perfect sisters, and their flaws only make them more human. Their relationship throughout the book is so sweet and natural. They really fight for each other, though they bicker and don't fully understand one another. The witchcraft in this book is also so wonderfully explored. The dynamic of prejudice within their communities based on which type of magic you practiced was so interesting, and really created a lot of development for our characters.

I would totally be a Wild witch (the dominion of animal-speaking!) just cause it's so dang adorable. But the rest--Weaving, Wyr, Hearth, and the abominable Necromancy--are all so intriguing and woven so deftly into the very fabric of the story, it's hard to pick a favorite. They really set the mood. If you've been looking for a witchy book with a cozy, recluse-in-the-bright-woods sort of atmosphere about siblings and family, UH this one is definitely for you!

The romance in this book is one thing I thought was also really refreshing. Each sister has her own very distinct personality, and they’re still learning about themselves. I love a good romance plot and was not disappointed! But I also appreciated that crushes were just crushes, and don’t always progress into all-encompassing love. That’s something that’s built on compatibility and trust. Each sister has her own foray into the world of love, and it’s just a good message all around!

A copy of this ARC was provided by the author through Netgalley for an honest review! Thank youuu!

I had no expectations for Hazel and Holly, so I wasn't greatly disappointed when I didn't like it. These girls and their crazy father and their dead mother's soul? It's disturbing and creepy and just not. I skimmed and read bits of it, but overall I didn't care for this story. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

“I just hope that someday someone will come along who can look after her. I hope she can find someone to watch the stars with.”

It’s quite difficult for me to rate this book because I really liked some aspects of the story but others really got me bored. First of all I think the book is far too long, some adventures could have been cut to reach the real interesting part of the plot that is when Hazel meets her father. Moreover I didn’t enjoy the fact that, for Hazel,
magic comes so naturally without study; I prefer when there is some kind of preparation. However the story is interesting, even if a little bit eccentric. I would have changed the names of the characters because they are so similar that I often got confused! I really liked how the love between Hazel and Holly is expressed, sisters love is the best! Hazel is quite an interesting character, she is strong and she believes she doesn’t need nobody, but she is also very stubborn and impulsive. Holly is really childish, in particular at the beginning, but she is really cute. Nonetheless I hope to hear more about them and I hope they’ll have the happy life they deserve!

As one of my first experiences reading YA fantasy, this book was a pleasant surprise! Although the story is largely centered around two witch sisters - Hazel and Holly - and their quest to free the soul of their dead mother from the geas their necromancer father has trapped her in, this humorous and magical story also explores the bond of sisterhood and follows Hazel’s personal journey of self acceptance.

Hazel and Holly discover allies in two warlock brothers, Hawthorn and Hemlock, and together, this quartet journeys to Sarnum, the Sea of Severed Stars, and other lands where the art of necromancy- which is forbidden in The Grove, where the four characters live - is a way of life. It is only when Hazel seems to handle things on her own that she truly learns she needs her sister, friends and love to succeed.

To save her mother, Hazel must accept help, embrace her own vulnerability, and go to some extreme lengths, even if that involves turning to necromancy herself.

I enjoyed this book. Although the first half moved slowly, the story really picked up speed in the second and left me pleasantly surprised! If you’re looking for a unique young adult fantasy book, I’d recommend giving this one a try. Thank you to Netgalley and Sara C. Snider for the early access to this quirky, funny and magical read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review, you guys rock.

Okay, this book took me an agonizingly long time to finish. I wanted to love it, I really did. I feel like the magic system in it wasn't very well thought out and when someone casts a spell, it's not described at all... which is difficult for readers like me who love Harry Potter (wands) or The Magicians (finger manipulations) so I couldn't picture exactly what these witches and warlocks were doing.

Holly acted like a child and nobody seemed appalled when she was throwing herself at what was described to be a dude in his 40's. Hazel was boring and irritating and I felt like I was reading another "Chosen One" trope. I felt like the age difference between the two sisters and the two brothers would have been okay if Jane Austen had written this 200 years ago, but wasn't appropriate for today's readers. I wanted to care about these sisters, but I just didn't get attached to them.

I'm likely not the target demographic, but I still found this story was overly drawn out and a little dull. I"m going to round up to 3 stars, because I likely don't have a popular viewpoint and it's better than a 2-star book. I wish the author much luck and love because we've all been there, girl, I swear.

This lighter, younger end of the spectrum YA was adorable. The author’s quirky humour shone through making the adventures of Hazel as she tackles her father’s necromantic faux pas, together with her wild sister, Holly, an absolute treat. I loved the world building and the characters just stole my heart. Enchanting.

I am so sorry but I just could not enjoy this book. I found Hazel and Holly to be good characters and their relationships with Hemlock and Hawthorn are interesting but I thought the descriptions of places and events too long for me. I didn't quite get the emotions and pressing anxiety over finding their father. Necromancy is a forbidden magic and the fact that their father, and potentially Hazel can do this magic makes the story have a darker twist than I was expecting.

It is perhaps more YA than I am used to or able to enjoy.

Apologies to Sara C Snider...the cover and description are lovely and I wanted to read this book. Perhaps some of the descriptions can be reduced.

Hazel and Holly was not what I expected. I loved the magical plot and the characters were amazing. Other than that, I would say it is a bit slow paced.

I mean my name is in the title, how could I not read and review this guys?

We are immediately introduced to a pair of adventuring sisters (also witches), Hazel and Holly who live in a cute little place called the Grove. Pretty fitting, right? It's very picturesque and the author does a great job describing in detail the whimsical environment. Unfortunately their mother, Willow, has passed away and they are tasked to find their father who has the power of Necromancy as he has trapped their mother's soul.. which causes some inconvenience.

This story has a very lighthearted feel to it that I really enjoyed. There is nothing complicated, nothing too busy and convoluted. It's a pretty simple story about witchcraft and potions and sorcery. It's a tale about a quest that will definitly take you on an adventure to meet strange creatures and characters.

If you are looking for a quick read with a sense of humor, I'd recommend this one!

Fantastic book! I was gripped and enjoyed seeing the characters grow and learn who they are. It was good to see the decisions they made and why they did. I’d certainly recommend it! I want to know more!

** I hadn't realised this was a new adult book,and so the writing style was a bit too simplistic for me.
Interesting idea. Just not my cup of tea