The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman

 

Not going to lie. It hurt my heart a bit to finish this book. I, along with a whole lot of other readers, don't want to say goodbye to the Owens family. I was dragging my feet finishing this novel simply because I love this series so much. I guess you could call it a series, spread over 25 years. Alice Hoffman didn't expect to write more than the first novel, Practical Magic. That novel (I still have my original paperback) introduced me to Alice Hoffman and I've been a fan since. 

However, fans kept asking for more about the Owens family, so Alice wrote three more books. But now it's time to say goodbye. 

It took me a few chapters to remember the family tree, but heck my eyes were leaking not far into the story. Dang it! This novel centers around Fanny and Jet, and nieces Sally and Gillian. It also brings back brother Vincent, and two more Owens women, Kylie and Antonia, the two daughters of Sally. 

Reading Magic Lessons will set you up for this novel, in which the family curse plays a big role. In order to understand the Owens family today, it's important to understand where they came from, and the where and why of the family curse. What's the curse? No one must fall in love with an Owens. There is no happy ending; usually resulting in the early death of whomever loves an Owens. For generations the women (and men) of the Owens family have suffered under this curse, and now it is time to break the curse once and for all. Who breaks the curse, and how, are what keeps the plot moving forward. 

I fell quickly into this story, and just thought it was wonderful and brought the past and the present together perfectly. It gave me a chance to mourn characters and cheer on characters that will keep living on in my imagination. It gave me hope that love wins in the end, and to stay courageous even in the darkest of situations. It also is a good reminder of the damage people can do to one another when the heart is involved. In the Owens family, that damage didn't end with one generation, but kept on traveling down through each generation, creating more hurt and sorrow. 

I still want to try tipsy cake. I want a garden full of herbs with the potential to heal. Heck, I'd take floating on water any day. Anyone who has spent time with the Owens family through the years will find this a satisfying, albeit sad, ending to a wonderful story of magic, family, love, and devotion. 

This novel will be available October 5th in the U.S. in hardcover, ebook, and audio. 

I would definitely read all of the books in the Practical Magic series before you read this one; otherwise you will be a bit confused. They are: Practical Magic, The Rules of Magic, and Magic Lessons. 

Thank you Alice for the gift of your novels! 

A HUGE Thanks to Simon & Schuster for sending me a copy of the novel. That seriously made my year !

Rating: 6/6 for a heartfelt conclusion to the Owens family story. Loved all of it and reluctantly finished--I just didn't want to say goodbye. 

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The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

Ahhhhh!!  Alice Hoffman returns to the world we first discovered in Practical Magic, the first Alice Hoffman book I ever read. I was so excited to read this and it met my expectations in every way. 

This is a prequel to Practical Magic.  It begins in the 1960's, in New York with the Owens family:  mother Susanna, her husband, and their three children:  Frances, a beautiful young lady with red hair and fair skin; Bridget (Jet), stunningly beautiful with long black hair and grey eyes, and Vincent, the youngest and the first male child to be born to the Owens line. Owens is the name descended from their first ancestor, who arrived in America way back when.  She was  witch.

Susanna tried to run away from her gifts, and forbade her children to do anything that might be construed as magic.  They weren't quite sure why, but as they grew into their teens, it was impossible to deny they each had abilities.  Along with those abilities came a curse: no Owens could love anyone, for it would lead to disaster and death.   

Oh, so much happens in this novel!  Vincent is pulled to dark magic as he wander the streets of New York, playing guitar, hanging out in bars (at 14!), and having a hypnotic pull on pretty much every woman who sees him. He doesn't even have to try, and is pretty unhappy with his life, but doesn't really know why. Both Frances and Jet are slowly discovering a few magical talents they each have, as well.  All on the hush, so their parents don't know. 

 One summer, the three siblings are invited to spend the summer with their Great Aunt Isabelle in Massachusetts.  Actually, it's not an invitation, but a command.  All three end up discovering more about their magical powers and more of the family history--and meet their cousin April in the big old house on Magnolia Street.  The house where the porch light is always on, the gardens are full of mysterious plants, and townspeople come at night to get potions and charms.  

At the novel travels through the 1960's, all three teens struggle to understand the family curse about love; sometimes with disastrous consequences.  It seems they are all heading for unhappy, loveless lives.  Can the curse be broken?  

I so loved this novel.  It is classic Alice Hoffman, and that makes me so happy.  While I absolutely adored The Dovekeepers, my heart always goes back to her tales of magic.  This prequel brings you right up to the day Sally and Gillian, as little girls, come to live at the house on Magnolia Street with Franny and Jet. 

I'm leaving a lot of the details and story for you to discover and enjoy yourself.  There is plenty of heartbreak, love, and turmoil in the journey of the Owens siblings, but it is masterfully written.  It left me very reluctantly finishing the last page.  I may have to go back and reread Practical Magic again.  

I'm sorry to say, but The Rules of Magic won't be published in hardcover until October, 2017 in the United States.  You have a wonderful summer to build up the anticipation of reading this book so appropriately released in October.  A big thank you to Edelweiss for the chance to read this!  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to wait until October.  

Rating: 5/6 for a satisfying prequel to Practical Magic.  Getting to know Franny, Jet, and Vincent and all their trials and heartbreaks makes this one of my favorite reads of 2017.  

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The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman