Midsummer Magic By Julia Willams

[amazon_link id=”B00BKQ0PK8″ target=”_blank” ][/amazon_link]’Midsummer Magic’ is the latest book by Julia Williams.

Recently engaged Josie is visiting her parents in Cornwall with her best friend Diane, fiancée Harry and his friend 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 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.

‘Midsummer Magic’ is the second book that I have read by Julia and just like her previous book ‘A Merry Little Christmas” I enjoyed it immensely and thought it was filled with heartwarming characters that made for entertaining reading. The story focuses around the main characters Josie, Harry, Diane and Ant and alternating chapters are seen though their perspectives as they all challenge with all their inner battles, the ideas and pressures of the perfect wedding and the past that has come back to haunt them. There is the added delight of chapters featuring the young lovers of 80’s television, screen star and magician Tatiana and Bron as they both reflect and regret on the past and their failed relationship.

Tatiana is the failed 80’s star, who is desperate for a career revival after the soap that she starred in finished and now she can’t even get a chance to star in reality television series so when she is offered a chance to play Titania in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Tale’ and she jumps at the chance, even though it’s just in Cornwall and not in Broadway like she would have dreamed off.

The characters are all friendly and engaging characters, that the reader can easily relate to. I enjoyed all the people in the story. I occasionally found Josie to be a bit of an spoilt child, but then again it is fairly common for a girl to turn into a bridezilla when arranging her perfect day but I thought when Diane’s world was around her, Josie could have made more of an effort and been there for her friend. I did find myself harbouring a slight crush for Harry, I thought he was incredibly sweet and charming. I thought the concept of the story was incredibly entertaining in parts, as the friends all go under hypnotises and become confused as to what is real and what is fiction and set against the backdrop of the standing stones, I thought the writing was particularly interesting, with vivid and haunting descriptions, is was easy to get caught up in the mystical tale.

A quirky and wonderfully refreshing and unique story that will definitely captivate you on a warm summers evening, ‘Midsummer Magic’ is an enchanting and magical tale filled with friendly characters, romantic settings and quotes from one of Shakespeare’s finest works, I couldn’t put it down!

You can buy [amazon_link id=”B00BKQ0PK8″ target=”_blank” ] Midsummer Magic on Amazon [/amazon_link] and is available to buy from good bookshops.