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Hazel Magic

Hazel Magic

Hazel Magic
Hazel Magic

Hazel Magic

by Ella Carmichael

Review by Barry Boy

I was given a copy of Hazel Magic by Ella Carmichael in exchange for an honest review.

Hazel Magic is a novel in the genre of Paranormal Romance. It is written in the third person singular and set mostly in a small, sleepy Irish town in current times.

The main protagonist is Niamh, a thirty-something who has just suffered the double trauma of losing her unborn baby and her unfaithful husband. Her cousin Eithne takes her into home so that she can escape her old life in Dublin.

One day, while out running, trying to forget her woes, she stops to talk to a scruffy old man, whom she later dubs Dirty Paeder. He directs her to a copse of Hazels, which she had spotted previously, and her life and the story take a dramatic change.

The copse seems to be bewitched, and scares her more than a little, but her experience there leaves a mark on her consciousness that will not leave her alone in the form of visions of Second Century Celtic times. One of the characters she meets, the mighty, blood-thirsty Maccus, saves her life from his confederates and they form a bond.

However, life in the town goes on until the highlight of the season, Sanhain comes around – Halloween in English.

All the local dignitaries meet up in the Big House to celebrate in traditional Druidic garb and everyone,, including the reader, learns something that they didn’t know before.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hazel Magic. Ella Carmichael tells the story and defines her characters and locations in a fluid, graceful style. I am a Celt, Welsh, myself and found the Gaelic touches, carefully laid around in the story, fascinating.

I wholeheartedly recommend Hazel Magic to all readers of Celtic extraction and a romantic persuasion; you could well find the story realistic. Well done, Miss Carmichael, full marks on a well-rounded tale.

Read our interview with Ella Carmichael here

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