Mysticism, science and laugh-out-loud insights—O’Neill’s second novel hits all the right notes with her usual charm and wit.

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About the Book

When Maeve O’Brien’s boss sends her to a dreary old island to finalise some paperwork, she couldn’t be happier. It’s the big career boost she needs – and besides, life isn’t so great on the home front in Dublin.

Maeve’s reception on Hy Brasil, a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, couldn’t be any more hostile. It’s as if the place itself wants her gone.

But nothing’s going to scare Maeve off, even if she does miss her credit card and her one-night stands. She’s determined to track down Sean Fitzpatrick, whose signature on the paperwork is going to transform the island.

And yet, somehow, life begins to change. It might be miserable and treacherous on Hy Brasil but it’s also beautiful and strangely seductive. Maeve’s never felt better. And there’s also Killian, the dreamy islander with green eyes, who’s stirring up all kinds of feelings in Maeve.

But something’s brewing, and Maeve’s going to discover just how far people will go to protect the ones they love.

{summary via publishers}

My Thoughts

Maeve is single, ambitious and has so lost herself in her hectic social life of hook-ups and selfies that her best friend has kicked her out. So when her boss singles her out for an important job on the remote island of Hy Brasil she snatches the opportunity with both hands. Maeve soon learns there’s no better way to discover her real self than on a reclusive island where strange shrieks echo through the night, the town elders want her gone and the one person she’s come to see refuses to be found.

In The Enchanted Island O’Neill once again draws on Irish mythology to create an intriguing and transporting tale of a young woman’s search for identity in a world she’s trying hard to fit into. Maeve has a long journey to reach Hy Brasil and as a character she has just as far to travel emotionally. She’s lively, intelligent, often droll in her observations—all the characteristics I love in a heroine—and yet she initially does something so reprehensible she deserves to get sent home to her ‘difficult’ mother! Maeve is also selfie-obsessed and you can’t help wondering how this clueless girl is going to fair on this remote island.

I love O’Neill’s seemingly effortless writing style. You are drawn into Maeve’s world and for all her initial shallowness can’t help liking her and being intrigued by what’s behind all the weird goings on and strange attitudes of the locals. As always the characterisation is brilliant. Mythology and contemporary issues are woven into the island and its secrets in a way that keeps you reading even when you think you’ve got it figured out (I bet you haven’t). The pace slows a little when Maeve seems more interested in connecting with new friends than performing the job she’d been desperate to get, but it soon picks up with a couple of nice twists to remind us the island may well be enchanted.

O’Neill can make the implausible seem utterly plausible and in The Enchanted Island there is a maturity to the message that gives it an extra dimension. As with her first novel, Reluctantly Charmed, there are biting insights about the Irish economy and the state of the nation. Everything is wrapped in humour and a tale that will draw you in and keep you there.

Highly recommended.

*Thanks to Simon and Schuster Australia for the ARC

Look for my forthcoming interview with Ellie O’Neill Aug 30 2015  http://rowenaholloway.com/coming-soon-on-writers-block

Read my Interview with Ellie about The Enchanted Island

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