When I knew we were getting another installment in the Practical Magic series, I was thrilled. Over the past few fall seasons, I've taken to reading the series and have completely fallen in love with the Owens women and Hoffman's writing.
*As I'm writing this, I realize I NEVER did a review of "Magic Lessons" which was released last year. I'm appalled at myself and can't believe what a miss this was on my part. It's also a miss because I included it as an honorable mention in my favorite books of 2020 post.
"The Book of Magic" is pure magic, for lack of a better word and there is so much history woven throughout the books that it's impossible to not really enjoy.
As happy as I was to revisit the Owens women, I was sad because I knew it was the last in the series... but isn't that the beauty of books? You can revisit them whenever you want!
I just finished the book on Monday night so I wanted to write this review while it was still seasonally relevant and fresh in my mind.
Publisher's Summary
The Owens family has been cursed in matters of love for over three hundred years but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has only seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger—the curse is already at work.
A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women, and one long-lost brother, to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from them in matters of both magic and love by Sally, their fiercely protective mother. As Kylie Owens uncovers the truth about who she is and what her own dark powers are, her aunt Franny comes to understand that she is ready to sacrifice everything for her family, and Sally Owens realizes that she is willing to give up everything for love.
The Book of Magic is a breathtaking conclusion that celebrates mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and anyone who has ever been in love.
My Thoughts
This book involves a lot more death than the others and in turn, it was a little depressing at times but the way Hoffman framed death was as something beautiful and full of love. It was really interesting and had a nice perspective.
I loved that the book centered on finding the cure to the curse; the curse that whoever loves an Owens woman will see an untimely death has been the subject of the entire series, (movie included!) and to have that be the entire plot of the last book was a perfect ending. It answered all our questions and gave everyone a lot of closure which is all you want from a series.
This book, as all of the books, was very wordy. Hoffman has a way with words where she makes you feel an ordinary feeling so deeply that you think it's something else. It moves you differently than any other sentence you've ever read.
As much as I love the wordiness and as deeply as it affects my soul, it got a little confusing at times. It also got confusing because I haven't been in this world in a year, and I forgot who a lot of the people are and what their stories were. It took some Wikipedia reading to get my bearings and remind myself who is who but I did and it was fine.
I really enjoyed how this book connected all the others; "Practical Magic" was obviously the first in the series and that focused on the aunts, Gillian and Sally, and then Sally's children, but then the other two books were prequels so you learned more about the Owens history versus the present day.
Since "The Book of Magic" is the SEQUEL to "Practical Magic", we jump right back into that world but it doesn't let go of all that we learned in "Magic Lessons" and "The Rules of Magic". There is so much in this book that ties back to the other three, it's really wonderful.
You get a little bit of everyone: Jet, Franny, Sally, Gillian, Kylie, Antonia, Maria, Faith, Hannah... and a few others who pop up along the way.
If you loved the other Practical Magic books you definitely need to read "The Book of Magic"; it wraps up the entire series in a beautiful bow where everyone gets exactly what they wanted out of their life. The last few pages had me in a fit of tears and I can't express the immense gratitude that we get to read books like this!
Did you read the Practical Magic series? If so, what did you think of this final installment?
xoxo
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