**SPOILER FREE**
'Don't Doubt the Magic' is an engaging novella. I love that Devitt calls this trilogy 'literary tapas', because novellas are perfect for that. The form of the book lends well to Devitt's writing, and Bernice O'Hanlon's story in particular. The energy of the story moves well, even through the darker bits, and keeps the reader from feeling caught. The only issue I have is that it feels magically kitschy, which may appeal more to some readers than others, or even some moods over others. Not a bad thing, but not something I enjoyed personally. However, I would like to read the other two novellas to see how the rest of Bernice O'Hanlon's story plays out, and how Devitt shares this same narrative across three novellas. Will it feel like a book cut into three pieces, or will it feel like a complete series? Will report back!

I could not even get past the first chapter of this book. 
I usually pride myself on reading through any of the books I choose to review on netgalley however this book hit all the wrong buttons. It jumped all over the place and read live an overzelous vegan explaining wicca.

this book would benefit from a slower space and editing.

Don't Doubt the Magic is book 2 of The Story of Bernice O'Hanlon. My first book, now both series and Cathie Devitt are added to my must read list. A dark story. Bernice O'Hanlon, a witch, on an angry rampage. Trying to get back the family farm after relative's death. Also looking for details surrounding the death. Though this book could be a stand alone there is missing backstory which maybe frustrating for some readers OR haveing them, me, read book 1, Don't Drink and Fly. It's worth reading. That said, I am looking forward to the next book ;). The author weaves a creative, well thought story with depth. I received this book from John Hunt Ltd. Publishing Roundfire Books through NetGalley. I am voluntarily posting this review.

Unfortunately I did not read the first part and it was really hard to understand the relationship, who is who and the relatationship between the different persons. A recap at the beginning would have helped and improved the reading experiend.
The pace was really fast, even a bit frenetic. The cover and the title suggested something lighter and less dark.
I wanted to like this book but I was not able for the above mentioned reasons.

Bernice O’Hanlon has returned to the island she grew up on. She is looking for answers- and two of the people who could provide those answers are now dead: her grandparents. The farm she feels should be hers by inheritance is lived on by a pair of brothers, who have been working the farm for her grandparents for years- and they have moved into the house. Bernice is a witch, and in this story she works with the Tarot to figure out how to proceed. The action alternates between the island and Glasgow.

This is the middle novelette of a trilogy, and while it’s said to be readable as a standalone, I had trouble figuring out who all the characters were and how their relationships worked- and there are a lot of characters. The action switches between them rapidly. I felt like I was watching a sped-up film; unable to catch up with what was going on. I enjoyed the premise that there were a group of witches on the island, and that the skills had been passed on to Bernice. I could understand her need to find out what happened to her parents and to her infant son. But with so much going on, I couldn’t form a connection to her or any other character. There was not enough time spent with anyone to care about them. I can only give it three out of five stars.

The blurb at the beginning of this book says that although all three books tel the story you don't need to have read the first one to follow the plot. I kind of disagree a little bit. The action picks up straight after the events of the first book and there are so many people in the first few chapters that it took a while for me to figure out the relationships between everyone. This may have been explained in book 1.

And Bernice is one angry woman. In fact for the first half of this book she's pretty much unlikable because until then it's not really explained why she's so angry and nasty to people. Once I knew the problem I could see why but I think just a few paragraphs as a preface would have cleared all the above up and made everything a lot less bitty for me. 

The book itself is very short. I'm not sure why it's released in three parts when it could easily make one good full size book with three sections. 

Being short it's quick to read and you can read this in one day. The story has good promise and I would probably go back and read the first one to get the full picture before finishing (and I do want to know the final outcomes). I get the feeling there are a few more bombshells to come especially the true identity of the mysterious Liam and just what happened to Bernice's child. This is where I could definitely have done with a preface as I'm not sure if he died or was stolen. He just appears to have been 'missing' for 20 years.

Overall it's not that bad a book and has enough to get me to finish the series.

I decided giving this a go even though it's a sequel to an earlier novella, and in the preface the author says that they can be enjoyed alone. However, I'm finding this quite confusing and think I'll revisit it after reading the first one. I am very intrigued by the story. I live in Glasgow, and I am very interested in reading a magical story set in Scotland.