Monday 2 September 2013

Review: Midsummer Magic

Midsummer Magic
Author: Julia Williams
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: 6/06/13
Pages: 353
Genre: Chick-Lit

Synopsis
Recently engaged Josie is visiting her parents in Cornwall with best friend Diane, fiancée Harry and his pal Ant. Josie can’t wait to start wedding planning, if only Harry was more interested, and Diane and Ant weren’t at war with each other.

As the four make amends over a drink in the local pub, they meet Freddie Puck, a well known TV hypnotist and find themselves agreeing to a dare – to stay out all night on the hills by the standing stones.

Local mythology says a young married couple will find true happiness if they can last a whole night there on Midsummer’s Eve. But as night time falls, not everyone seems to have remembered the boundaries of love…

Review
I was immediately drawn in by the cover of this book! I know they always say don't judge a book by its' cover but wow this one is just so pretty. I have heard good things about Julia Williams' books so I was looking forward to reading Midsummer Magic.

Josie is over the moon when her boyfriend Harry proposes. She cannot wait to dive head first into wedding planning with the help of her best friend Diane. To celebrate, Josie, Harry, Diane and Harry's friend Ant decide to visit Josie's parents in Cornwall to partake in pre-wedding celebrations. Josie just wants to settle down in the countryside, spend some time with her family and friends and plan her dream wedding but it's not that easy. Harry doesn't seem as keen to get married as he once did and Diane and Ant have a secret that is causing them to fight like cats and dogs.

When the gang decide to take some time out and go to the local pub they bump into celebrity TV hypnotist Freddie Puck. After some gentle persuasion the four of them are persuaded to take part in a Midsummer Night's dare. Will they find true happiness and ever-lasting love or will their lives change forever for all the wrong reasons?

I enjoyed having multiple narrators in this book. It meant I could really see what motivated the main characters. I think Diane was my favourite character of them all. She was very honest and a very good friend. I could empathise with her more than any of the others as she was so likeable.

The subject of hypnotism is very fascinating to me. The thought of someone being able to influence the mind without the owner's permission is scary but interesting. The way Julia Williams approached this subject was thought-provoking but still kept an air of mysteriousness. It made me wonder how I would react if I had been hypnotised!

I loved that Midsummer Magic had a Shakespeare tie-in. Having studied A Midsummer Night's Dream in school I loved analysing the juxtaposition of storylines. It was fun to draw comparisons between the two works and decide which of Julia Williams' characters represented Shakespeare's characters.

Julia Williams described the Cornwall countryside so vividly I felt like I was there with the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed reading her descriptions, it sounded like a beautiful area to set this book in and it is a place I am now determined to visit.


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