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.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this book, not my favorite in the series, but it made me cry and feel joyful & really, what more can you ask for?

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
B

Halloween is tomorrow and I've been in the spirit since mid-September. I decided to further get into the spirit by reading themed books. I've never been a seasonal reader until last year when I read 'A Nantucket Christmas' and "The Autobiography of Santa Clause"

There was really nothing like sitting by a Christmas tree READING about Christmas. Once the Fall season rolled around, I wanted to try to read something seasonable and when I got a notification that 'The Rules of Magic' by Alice Hoffman was available for $.99 on Kindle, I immediately bought it and started reading.

I love the movie "Practical Magic" but never read the book. The fact that "The Rules of Magic" is the prequel to "Practical Magic" was more than enough reason to start the series. Plus, it was the perfect time to get witchy and into the Halloween spirit.

This isn't technically a book review because how does one review the great Alice Hoffman? It's just a stream of consciousness about Practical Magic, both the book(s) and movie.

The Rules of Magic

This is one of Hoffman's newer books and was written after Practical Magic (both book and movie). It follows Jet, Franny, and their brother Vincent. We see them discover who they are, go through life and deal with hardships and make it to adulthood.

I only knew of the Owens sisters from the movie Practical Magic so it was interesting to learn more about them from this book. It was a very long, strange book; it almost didn't have a point but I think that was the beauty of it!

The thing that surprised me about both books was that there wasn't a whole lot of magic. The characters are obviously witches and they understand that but it wasn't witchy in a sense of traditional witches, it wasn't about Halloween -- it didn't even all take place in the fall but it felt very cozy. I think that's a testament to Hoffman's writing. I was inside the mind of the characters and needed to know where their stories were going. It was just so good and a book I think I would love to re-read every fall.

Practical Magic

After finishing up The Rules of Magic, I dove headfirst into starting Practical Magic. I will say, I think I liked Rules of Magic better only because I didn't have a preconceived notion of what the story was going to be. The book is totally different than the movie -- it was sort of the same but really, really different. For instance, Sally's daughters are teenagers the entire time, Jimmy doesn't come back from the dead, and Sally lives in Long Island for most of the book! It was wild but also really fun that it was totally different. I think I liked the book more than the movie! The writing was just as flowery, beautiful, creative and warming -- it was just so good!

Neither one of these books is Halloween themed but I think they are the best books to read during the fall season. They are cozy, fun, creative, and comforting; I simply cannot describe it...for lack of a better word, they are magic, pure magic!

The movie is no different, really. It's a classic for a reason! It's definitely a little scarier than the books and for a while, I couldn't watch it because of the aspect of Jimmy possessing people around him. In the middle of reading "The Rules of Magic," I simply couldn't wait any longer to turn the movie on; I rented it on Amazon Prime and spent a Sunday afternoon watching it. Ugh, it's just so good and Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, and Stockard Channing are brilliant. I would dare say it's one of my favorite movies and one that I need to watch more.

If you have not read or watched any of the Practical Magic books/movies, please do so! If anything, watch Practical Magic tonight and start reading ASAP! While these are definitely my fall comfort novels, they don't NEED to be read during this time of year. Just read them -- you won't regret it!

xoxo
B