It's no secret that I love Alice Hoffman, and was absolutely delighted when I got the chance to read her latest early, especially because of how much I adored Practical Magic (both book and movie). This book is new, gives insight into characters I'd loved before and new characters, and yet it felt like coming home. The book takes place over many years, shows ebbs and flows in love and understanding, unveils secrets into the magic of his world and how different people react to people and beliefs and things they think they understand but cannot until they are willing to be open to learning the truth.

I loved it.

I remember being delighted by Practical Magic when I first read it. This prequel brought back that feeling and more. Love these characters.

Firstly, let me say thank you to the author, Alice Hoffman, and the publisher, Simon & Schuster for sending me a galley of this to review!

Secondly, let me give a full disclaimer at the start: I loved this book so much that I'm not sure if I will review it well.

Without a doubt, this was the best book that I've read so far this year. I dragged out completing it when I honestly could have swallowed it up in just a few sittings. My husband said that I even drew out finishing this more than The Deathly Hallows in my recent Harry Potter re-read, so that alone says something.

This book tells the story of Franny, Jet, and Vincent Owens while they are teenagers and young adults, primarily, but leads on into their adulthood near the end. It builds the timeline, world, and history of these beloved Aunts that are later met in the lives of Sally and Gillian Owens in Practical Magic. 

Things I liked about this: 

I really appreciate Alice Hoffman's writing style. It's full of a detail and richness that reminds me quite a bit of two of my other favorite authors, Tracy Chevalier and Elizabeth Gilbert. Actually, the way I was sucked into the story of this book reminded me greatly of my experience reading The Lady and The Unicorn by Chevalier.

I also adored the character development throughout the book. It was very engaging and emotional, and you felt as though you were growing and changing with them.

There is also a Courage tea that I need someone to make and mail to me, asap.

Things I didn't like about this:

The only thing I can think to say is that it takes some time for the story to go anywhere. I, personally, did not feel this way, but I saw that this was an issue for a lot of other reviewers so I wanted to include it for anyone thinking of reading it.

Again, I loved everything about this book from start to finish. I plan on purchasing a copy when it comes out in October!

Alice Hoffman's writing does not disappoint and The Rules of Magic is no different! I am a huge fan of Practical Magic so was excited to have the opportunity to go back in time with this prequel and explore the journey of Jet, Franny, and Vincent. I found each character to be so deeply developed that I honestly fell in love with all three of them (through the good and bad!) I have to admit I am not always drawn to stories with magical realism but this one, I could not put down! Hoffman has the magic touch throughout this beautiful story that intertwines family, drama, and love. It's heartwarming and hard to put down! Be prepared to lose a little sleep when you can't stop reading it at night!
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Once again Alice Hoffman does not disappoint! I enjoyed reading this book immensely! Everyone needs a little magic in their life and this book pulls you into the story of Franny, Jet & Vincent. I laughed and cried. Always a great sign!

Hoffman is the Queen of Magic Realism! If you enjoyed "Practical Magic" you will love this prequel novel that tells how the aunts came to be.

Too fairy tale frothy for my taste, and not what I've come to expect (and love) from Alice Hoffman. Unless, is this supposed to be a juvenile or teen book? Disappointing.

Decades before the events of Practical Magic, Franny, Jet, and Vincent are just three kids trying to navigate life in 1950s New York City. Their mother, Susanna, has forbidden them from doing anything that might reveal their magical bloodline: no black clothes, no cats, no crows, no magical books. Most importantly, due to an old curse, no falling in love. The children grow accustomed to these rules.

But when their mysterious Aunt Isabelle offers to host them for the summer at her Massachusetts home, the children experience freedom like they’ve never known. Not only are they allowed to run around at all hours of the day and night, but Isabelle also teaches them about their magical abilities and the perils of trying to ignore them. Despite Isabelle’s lessons, the children are still no closer to breaking the curse -- will any of these characters be able to find love?

Have you ever loved a book so much that you didn’t even know what to say about it? From the first chapter, I loved these children. As we watched them grow up, I wanted to keep them safe from the heartaches that I knew were coming, but I also wanted them to learn and grow into better people. Once I hit Part 2, I was fully immersed in this story and could hardly put it down.

I would love to go into a detailed review about this. How the writing flows and the story moves fluidly from town to town, from decade to decade. How much I loved every single character. How the plot twists were just twisty enough to keep me on my toes, but never out of place or over-the-top. But I feel like I’d be doing readers a disservice to get into the plot. This book is so good that I think it’s best to go in nearly blind.

I think I’m in the small minority of people that have neither read Practical Magic nor seen the movie, but I need to remedy that ASAP. I only just finished this book and I already want to go back to this universe.

The Owens children, Franny, Jet, and Vincent, each grew up with different magical talents. Although their mother tried to protect them and ignore that they were descendents from witches, they learn to embrace both their gifts and their differences from others. And they struggle to avoid and accept the family curse of tragic events that occur from love. This prequel to Practical Magic is a quick and enjoyable read

The Rules of Magic
Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman has again spun a magical world within the familiar, weaving in history, geography and the mythology of the Craft. Following siblings Jet, Franny and Vincent from their youth to old age as they deny and then embrace their unique gifts to navigate a world hostile to their magic. These three young witches, raised by parents who want to keep them safe, travel to see their Aunt Isabelle in their teens and everything changes. It is here they learn of the family curse, that anyone they fall in love with will be ruined.
Falling in love isn’t as easy to prevent as each young witch hopes, and one by one they encounter their own weaknesses. They learn that the rules they’ve grown up with are the opposite of how witches live, and learn that love and curses are out of their control.
Blended with lovely classic poetry, The Rules of Magic casts an unforgettable spell as it covers four generations of the Owens family dealing with a legacy that dates to the Salem witchcraft trials. It is a spell from which we hate to awaken.

If you don't read this book because you don't believe in witches or in magic, you would truly be missing out on a wonderful story that is about so much more. If you don't read this book because you haven't read Practical Magic, the book to which this is a prequel, you'd be missing out . I haven't read Practical Magic (although I intend to now), but yet I loved so much about this book . It is not just a story of spells and potions and special powers. It is a story of family, of love, a story that reflects so much about the times in the 1960's. There IS real magic in this story, though. It was the spell that Alice Hoffman's writing cast over me that made me accept who these characters are in spite of not really believing in witches. Not just accepting them but caring about them and hoping that they will make it through their tragedies, their fate and wishing for them to be happy.

I couldn't help but be drawn into this story of these three siblings, Franny, Jet and Vincent Owens who are told the rules they must live by in order to avoid the family curse, which goes back to 1620's in Massachusetts when their ancestor, Maria Owens is "charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. " The most important rule - do not fall in love . Well, of course they do and this becomes a story of the heart. I loved everything about it - the writing, the characters, the places. As I said I have not read Practical Magic, but I will definitely read it because I don't want to let go of this family. Alice Hoffman is a treasure, such a versatile and prolific author, writing of past and present, such very different stories in so many novels. This is just the fourth novel of hers that I have read and I feel lucky to have so many others yet to read.


I received an advanced copy of this book from Simon & Schuster through Edelweiss and NetGalley.

Loved the story, characters, setting. I think this could have been shorten dramatically and the impact would have been stronger but I enjoyed getting lost in the story just the same.

I absolutely loved this book I could not put it down. It had a bit of everything . If you love reading anything about witches and family this book is for you.

"Writing itself was a magical act in which imagination altered reality and gave form to power."

This is how Hoffman describes the power found in the writing of women, in this case the Owens women who we first came to know in Practical Magic. That book told the story of Sally and Gillian Owens and how they broke the curse on their family which made it impossible for them to love someone without tragedy. This book goes back two generations before Sally and Gillian, telling the stories of Franny, Jet (the Aunts), and Vincent (the Grandfather).

Hoffman builds a bigger world where there are Owens women and men all over the world, but the nucleus of the family remains on Magnolia Street in Massachusetts. We learn more about Maria Owens, caster of the infamous curse, and how she loved and was betrayed by an equally infamous witch-hunter in the 17th century. The focus here, though, is the three Owens siblings – Franny, Jet, and Vincent – and their lives in New York City through the 1950s-1960’s.

When we first meet the trio, they have no idea they’re witches. Their parents have kept the knowledge from them, trying to ensure they will live normal lives. Franny is the scientist, Jet the poet, and Vincent the musician. While their lives seem normal enough, they all know there is something different and special about themselves and their family. Exactly what that specialness is comes to light when they go to Massachusetts to spend the summer with Aunt Isabelle, when they learn about their magical heritage. They spend the next two decades experiencing great tragedy, running away from love, and participating in the major events of the time – Stonewall, Vietnam, the Summer of Love. Hoffman neatly connects Rules of Magic with Practical Magic at the very end, and I was left thinking about who will be cast in the film that will surely follow.

All the usual things a reader expects from Alice Hoffman are here – lovely writing, strong female characters, a solid and engaging story – so this will definitely be one of the hot books this Fall. I enjoyed learning about the Owens family history, and found the primary trio of characters both charming and exasperating. This was an advanced review copy, so I am sure there will be some editing, which is needed. There are parts of the story which could move a little faster, and I think the ages for Sally & Gillian at the end are too young for their behavior and language, but those are nit-picky things that truly don’t affect the readability factor of this wonderful story. It’s not necessary to have read (or to re-read) Practical Magic before you read this one, but I guarantee you will want to read it after you finish.

Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Published by Simon & Schuster
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced review copy
Reviewed at http://itsallaboutthebook.org

3 ½ stars

The story had a nostalgic feel to it, perhaps because I watched the movie version of Practical Magic just before starting this.

If you have ever wondered about the eccentric aunts that brought up Sally and Gillian then you won’t be disappointed.

The story follows Franny, Jet and their brother Vincent growing up under their parent’s scrutiny, especially their mother had rules abound. Never wear red shoes, don’t walk in the moonlight, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And never, ever, fall in love.

The children of course did their best to break every single rule set out for them and learn the hard way that the famous Owens curse is not something to be played with.

And then there is aunt Isabelle, who lives in a big house in Magnolia street, in a small town full of prejudice folk who do their best to ignore her existence. Unless it’s in the middle of the night, then the women can be seen sneaking up to the old porch to beg for help and a little magic.

This was light and easy, full of the magic that Alice Hoffman weaves around her characters. For me, the story was driven by Francis and Vincent with Jet taking a bit of a back seat but overall I enjoyed the experience and think this would make a great holiday read.

I loved author Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic, and I love this sequel, The Rules of Magic, which follows three siblings as they navigate life with the unusual powers and haunting curses that follow them. This new novel explains how the Owens family members became witches. It's a tale of love and loss, written in beautiful prose and developed with artful storytelling. Highly recommended.

The Rules of Magic is a prequel to Practical Magic, originally published in 1995. I was told I didn’t need to read Practical Magic in order to enjoy The Rule of Magic, which is true and not the reason for my poor star rating.

Magic is the catalyst for the plot in The Rules of Magic. The Owens family has been cursed since 1620, so they cannot fall in love unless they wish to bring ruin down upon the person they’ve fallen in love with. So, I went into this book expecting a magical coming of age story where the siblings discover their magic, the curse, and work to break it. Instead, this book focuses on each sibling as they discover who they are and who they want to be while desperately trying not to fall in love. What this book is isn’t bad; it’s just not what I was expecting. So, that may or may not have coloured my final impressions of the novel, but my rating reflects my lack of connection to the characters and the pacing.

I’ve come to realize that I dislike stories told in third person. I find it difficult to connect with the characters and the plot. It feels as if there’s a glass barrier between the story and myself. Since this is a character centric story, not being able to connect to the characters dampened my enjoyment. There were moments that I truly enjoyed and thought were well written, but they ultimately felt like sporadic unconnected flashes of light in a dark room.

The pacing of the novel is on the slow side of the spectrum. This isn’t a criticism because I love slower paced novels that simmer in the day-to-day activities of the characters. However, nothing really happens in the siblings’ day-to-day life that’s worth spending pages upon pages describing. They complain about the curse then do nothing to change their situation. They’re passive about their lives for a large portion of the novel. Considering the message the novel is trying to convey by the end, it seemed counterintuitive for them to be so passive despite their passionate feelings.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy The Rules of Magic as much as everyone else since I’m overwhelmingly in the minority when it comes to this book. A character driven novel should hook me at the beginning of the novel and convince me to invest my sympathy, instead The Rules of Magic made me lack any sympathy it could have garnered from me.

A magical book indeed! Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Alice Hoffman for the advanced reading copy of The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman. A wonderful story about the Owens family, spanning for hundreds of years, where the powers of magic are both a gift and a curse. Taking place mostly in NYC and Massachusetts, as the family of unusual children, despite great efforts to maintain a "normal" life, are eventually true to themselves. They experience great struggles in avoiding true love, and major conflicts as well as tragedy with the love that they attract, and eventually embrace. I really enjoyed this book!

I haven't read Practical Magic, but found that The Rules of Magic read as a good stand alone novel.

I will admit, I have not read Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic, and I am not a fan of books or television series about witches. Except for Bewitched, which I loved, but I was eleven years old then.

Consequently, I did not know what to expect when the publisher offered me The Rules of Magic based on my having read the author's previous The Marriage of Opposites, imagining the marriage of the artist Camille Pissarro's parents. Based on the last mentioned book alone, I have collected quite a few Hoffman books now languishing on my TBR shelves!

What happened was unexpected, for I was instantly in love with Hoffman's language and The Rules of Magic characters. Although the novel is about three teenagers struggling with the powers and limitations of having magical abilities, it is really about universal themes: the power of love, and how we must love regardless of the costs, and that we must embrace who we are.

Franny, Jet, and Vincent are complex characters burdened with the knowledge that they are cursed to bring destruction to the men they love. As they grew up, their parents tried to protect them from self-knowledge, but they recognized they were not like other children. "It's for your own good," her mother told Franny. "What makes you think that's what I want?" Franny counters.

"What is meant to be is bound to happen," and in 1960 the children's lives change when they visit their Aunt Isabella, a contact that "inflame[s] characteristics" which were "currently dormant." And over the summer each child learns their genealogy, their abilities, and about the curse and joy of love.

The book was a joy to read, lovely and moving. I felt a deep connection to the characters.

The Rules of Magic is a prequel to Practical Magic, telling the backstory of Frances and Jet who accept their brother's granddaughter into their home. I found I did not need to know the previous book to understand and enjoy this one; it stands on its own, and without any tedious linkage to the other book.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.