Alice Hoffman's prequel to Practical Magic did not disappoint! It was a love letter to New York City, to bloodlines, to fate, and to the only thing stronger than fate: love.

This book was so beautiful. I cried! It made me cry bittersweet tears. I love how the story was delicately woven with the intertwining perspectives of the siblings. It was such a gift, a beautifully wrapped story that allowed for escapism and self-reflection.

This is a prequel to Practical Magic but it is not imperative that you have read Practical Magic first.
This is one of those books that immediately pulled you in and won’t let you put it down until the end!
If you love magical realism…if you love Alice Hoffman’s writing…even if you have only watched the movie…you MUST give this a try. It’s such a beautiful story of love, devotion and the strength of family ties.
In this book you get to learn more about Maria Owens and the origin of the curse.

This is the story of Jet and Frances when they were the younger generation, full of longing and fears.

There is the dreaded curse that threatens doom to any man who loves an Owens woman, but these are woman who deserve to be loved and would want to be loved, if only it weren’t for that darned curse!

If you haven’t already read Practical Magic, you will want to after finishing this book 🙂

This book is a definite 5 star book and worth so much more than just a read!

I hope you enjoy it as much as i have.

The book will be released in the UK on 10th October 2017 and can be pre ordered from

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rules-Magic-Alice-Hoffman-ebook/dp/B06X3XMK82/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503260089&sr=1-1&keywords=the+rules+of+magic+alice+hoffman

I love Alice Hoffman books- she is such a diverse writer. This book is a prequel to Practical Magic, which I have not read, but definitely plan to do so.
This is a totally delightful story about 3 siblings who have magical powers, but the bad news is they are also cursed. The Owens siblings were engaging characters-I loved all three of them. Their awakening to their potential; their fear of love thanks to the cursed placed on all descendants and their ultimate discovery of love was a joy to read.
The author incorporates some lines of poetry from Emily Dickinson, one of my favorite poets. One I especially loved: " Unable are the Loved to die, for love is Immortality".
This is a book that left me tearful and happy equally. Alice Hoffman knows how to tell a story!

Beautifully drawn characters with a haunting story. They know and understand their destiny, but how to change it?

That was fun. I usually love Alice Hoffman books. And though I liked this one and was kind of sad finishing it, it was slow. It was so wordy while not getting anything done or convincing me that anything got fixed.

As the movie, Practical Magic deals with the curse of the family that should never fall in love, that is the theme here, too. And since romance novels bore me I found myself doing other things than reading, so it took longer to finish than it should.

Don't get me wrong, it is worth picking up and reading. Would be a great vacation read. But if you are like me, the book, the characters, don't seem to gel until near the end. I must admit to misting up near the end so I must have finally gotten into it.

I wish I knew how to improve this read. Maybe I needed the audio rather than text-to-speech? A real voice or bunch of actors playing the story for me? I do remember pulling out of the book thinking 'show don't tell' but then as I looked at it I couldn't figure out how that could be done.

Don't take my word for it. You may love this book. Like is as far as I can reach.

In this prequel novel, we follow the earlier lives of the Owens family, learning about Jet, Fanny, and Vincent's childhood, young adulthood, and adult lives. We follow their loves, losses, and the development of their gifts. I found this book very good, even though I had never read the novel it is meant to preface, Practical Magic. The relationships between the siblings are built and destroyed, then rebuilt again and again. We learn about the Owens family curse, and all the weight it carries.

I am anot Alice Hoffman fan, and this book did not disappoint. I read and enjoyed Practical Magic long enough ago that this book felt.fresh, but at the end, I remembered how they tie together. I.love that you don't have to reat one to enjoy the other.

I really loved this book. I felt that I was easily transported into the world of the Owens family. I loved that I could picture their world as if I was there myself. There was a great cast for the story including the Owens family that we see the most, Franny, Jet, and Vincent, their direct and extended family throughout the book, and some animals, known in the book as familiars. I felt like I got to know everyone very well, and no details were lacking. I felt like I was able to get to a personal level with the characters, and I felt for them when bad things happened, and I was glad for them when things were good. I felt horrible for Jet when her heart was breaking in a million pieces, and at other times of loss in the book as well. I cheered for Vincent when he fell in love without looking back.
Even though I have read "Practical Magic", it is not necessary to read it before reading "The Rules of Magic". This book reads as a standalone in the series, and can be enjoyed as such without reading "Practical Magic". I loved how the book ended, opening the world for "Practical Magic". The ending made me very happy to see Sally and Gillian going to such good people.

This was a did not finish for me. I have not read the book for which this is a sequel so perhaps I would be more invested in the characters if I had. Instead, it felt like broad brushstrokes without a cadence or flow of story telling. It almost felt like the story was trying to hurry up and get to the good part but 20% of the way through, I wasn't ready to hurry along anymore.

This is the long awaited prequel to ‘Practical Magic’. In it we learn who the aunts were before they were the old ladies we see in PM- and they had quite interesting young lives! The story of how they grew up, along with their unnaturally beautiful and attractive brother- the only male born into their Owens line- includes being orphaned, being broke, falling in love and losing love, being feared and scorned by the small town their own aunt Isabelle lives in, and, of course, living with the curse of Maria Owens.

So much happens in this novel that I can’t give a capsule recounting of it. Suffice it to say that the teenaged Owen’s have a hard time of life, and choose different ways of dealing with the problems. In this story we meet other Owenses; aunt Isabelle, an unexpected cousin, and mother Susanna with her list of rules that include no walking in the moonlight or having cats and, most important of all, no falling in love. Of course we know they will flout that rule!

You do not have to have read ‘Practical Magic’ to enjoy this book. Except for the very end, it’s completely stand alone. It’s very magical; everything about the Owenses’ lives revolves, whether they like it or not, around magic. But it also revolves, as our own do, around human connection and love. Five stars.

Practical Magic is not a fav in my house. In fact, two people,very close to me, have called it "the actual worst." That being said, I really enjoyed The Rules of Magic.

Alice Hoffman writes books that have an air of the mystic. There's a little glimmer here and there, unexplained things. The Rules of Magic follows the Owens family through the turbulent 60's, while they are teens, just discovering their magical powers and the powers of love. SURE, it's a LITTLE pop culture heavy - what with Bob Dylan, the Stonewall Riots and Vietnam being significant events. That being said, this is an engrossing read about a family in the middle of change.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

When it started raining yesterday afternoon I knew it was the perfect time to cuddle up with my cat and start reading The Rules of Magic. Little did I know, that I would be still at it long after the rain stopped and the sun set. Dinner was delayed, phone calls ignored and, with apologies to my best friend, whose birthday it was yesterday, texts abruptly answered. The prequel to Practical Magic, was impossible to put down.

When I was done I felt as if I had been on an emotional journey from joy to despair and back again. Woven throughout is that love, no matter how messy, inconvenient or dangerous it is, can heal even the heart of a witch. The story is made all the more rich by Hoffman's descriptions of nature. Whether it's the vast expanse of NYC's Central Park or a quiet New England cemetery, her flowers, herbs and wild life restore not just the characters but the reader, as well.

A fan of the film Practical Magic I couldn't wait to read this book and was not disappointed. Hoffman gives life and a wonderful backstory to aunts Jet and Franny and the mysterious brother that was not mentioned in the film, it was great learning Moore about the Owens family. Cannot wait to get a print copy this book for my home!

Hoffman starts the story way before the town began, sharing the experiences of the very first settlers, what they did, how they survived, and why they called things what they did. Then, she jumps forward in time to show how time changes what keeps its name, what gets changed, and how things get lost to each successive generation. Threaded all through this is a family curse that needs to be broken.

Such a sad and sweet book. Written quite simply it reads like a YA novel, but is also so full of feeling. The Owens siblings have quite the life as witches in hiding, their parents, however, will do what ever they can to hide the magic brewing in their three teenage children, hoping to protect them from curses and the general taboo of witchery. Tragic accidents are aplenty in this book, and the children ban together to try to make sense of their lives, and keep moving forward.
We follow them as they age and try to find happiness in a world that just keeps bringing them down. Written as a prequel to Practical Magic (which I haven't read) it definitely leaves you glad to know there is more to come in this unique family saga.

The Rules of Magic is a prequel to Practical Magic, which I read so long ago that all I can remember about it is that there were lilacs. There are lilacs here, too, and many other plants, too, and wild, beautiful, and haunting settings. It's the story of three siblings, born in New York, into a magical family; magic that they embrace or run from and different times in their lives. Ultimately, it's about being yourself, and the importance of love.

I somehow have never managed to get around to reading the popular and much loved "Practical Magic". But I couldn't resist the temptation of the prequel "The Rules of Magic", when I saw it up for request on NetGalley. When I understood that it could be read as a stand alone, or in advance of Practical Magic, namely thanks to the lovely Elise's words of wisdom on GR, I had to immediately start reading it.

The narrative is straightforward and moves in a linear pattern as we follow the three Owen's siblings as they discover more about who they really are. Their mother Susanna Owens escaped to Paris as a young woman and then married and settled in New York having three children - Frances, Bridget (known as Jet) and Vincent. They live in the family's shabby town house on Eighty-Ninth Street on the Upper East Side. Despite their mothers attempts at hiding their pasts and extended family, along with a list of seemingly strange rules, the children grow up to be unusual.

Then one day everything changes. On Franny's 17th birthday she receives an invitation to go to her Aunt Isabelle's in Massachusetts for the summer holidays. Her younger siblings suggest to their parents that they will accompany her to look over her. Their mother warned them that their Aunt would test them when they least expected it and she would be aware of everything they did. Against their parents wishes, they arrive on Magnolia Street on a long Midsummer's Eve, the summer solstice, with the knowledge nothing would ever be the same again and that they would be entering into a different life altogether once the summer was over and they returned to New York.

Oh what a glorious book. The prose is simple but so delightful. You become immersed in a world with beautiful descriptions of nature and of the smells and changing of the seasons and weather, in Massachusetts and also New York City of all places. Alice Hoffman makes Central Park sound like an oasis of nature, full of flora and fauna and magical delights. It will make you view Manhattan through new eyes and see another layer to the city.

Being new to the Owen's family I have no idea what the future holds, or whether this book would have more meaning if I had read Practical Magic. This feels almost like a coming of age story, in a magical realism realm. I do personally like that prior to reading P.M, that I now already know the backgrounds and back stories of the family, and what turmoils they have been through and overcome; therefore what shapes and made them who and what they are as adults.

There were so many things i adored about this book; the peppering of herbal remedies and little sayings and quotes "Unable are the Loved to die, for Love is Immortality", Emily Dickinson. The insightful life lessons - life is short, so live and live a lot. The emotions and feels. The exquisite descriptions. The character development is superb and I felt like part of the bewitching Owen's family by the time i finished. Although I definitely didn't want it to end, I wanted to read more about the saga of the Owen's family, and in particular certain characters.

The Rules of Magic is a truly captivating, moving and magical story, perfect for readers who love their books to contain a sprinkling of magical realism.

With many thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and the author Alice Hoffman, for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

How much did I love this book? I cannot even count the ways.

Franny, Bridget (Jet), and Vincent Owens are siblings growing up in New York City in the late 1950s and early 1960s, raised by no-nonsense parents who discourage their children from exploring their uniqueness. Their mother Susanna knows that her children are different—headstrong Franny can talk to birds, beautiful Jet can read people's thoughts, and charismatic Vincent has been charming people to him since birth, and he uses that to his advantage.

Susanna has many rules she demands her children follow—no walking in the moonlight, no books about magic, no candles, no crows, and most importantly, never fall in love. The Owens family has been cursed since 1620, when their ancestor, Maria Owens, who was accused of witchcraft after loving the wrong man, predicted ruin for anyone in her lineage that dared fall in love. Many bore the scars of that curse, including Susanna herself.

While the children know they are different, at first only Vincent wants to understand what they really are. But after spending the summer at their feisty Aunt Isabelle's house, they are urged to embrace their heritage and their differences, rather than hide who they are and what they can do. Living in the small Massachusetts town where everyone looks askance at the Owens family, believing the rumors of witchcraft and evil to be true, they learn to have pride in who they are, to be bold and unafraid of those who disapprove.

It is in Massachusetts where each of the children come face to face with understanding the curse that plagues their family, and they try to test its limits. As they grow into adulthood, they must wrestle with the dilemma of embracing their identity and keeping love at bay, or risking it all for the magic and fire that love can bring? And what will that risk entail?

The Rules of Magic is utterly compelling, exquisitely told, and really just so fantastic. It's a story of family, identity, self-discovery, embracing your fears, love, loss, and, of course, magic. These characters are so affecting and fascinating, and I could have read a book about each of them. Alice Hoffman is once again at the top of her storytelling form with this book, which has so many beautiful, memorable, touching moments which I'd rather let unfold for you than tell you about.

While this book is a prequel to Hoffman's fantastic Practical Magic, don't worry if you've never read it or, like me, don't really remember it. (It was published in 1995, so don't feel bad.) You absolutely can read this one without any knowledge of the Owens family and enjoy it immensely. And if you've never read Alice Hoffman before, you're in for a treat.

I'm so sad this is over!!

NetGalley and Simon & Schuster provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman definitely fits into the world that I already know from Practical Magic. Although I haven't read the book I have seen the movie multiple times and I was delighted to be able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The setting of this book is the 1950s/60s and the story revolves around three magical siblings. Rather than embracing their magical blood these siblings were taught to hide it because of the family curse. (If you've read or watched Practical Magic you are already familiar with this curse.) As someone who didn't live through this time period it was at times hard to relate and at other times it was refreshingly different. I vaguely know about the different movements of the time and to see them tied into the coming of age journeys for all three siblings was delightful.

I loved getting to know the three unique siblings as they found out who they are and who they wanted to be, as well as who they wanted to love. I loved that they weren't exactly the same nor were they polar opposites. Their relationship among themselves truly felt like that of siblings who shared a magical bond. The romances the siblings had throughout the book were also drastically different and yet all were loving in their own way. It was a treat to see how they each came to accept love in their lives.

The only issue I had at times was a lack of direction with the plot. If it was just to watch the siblings grow into their own then it surely accomplished that. However, it almost felt as if Franny was meant to achieve something great, something beyond herself and it never obviously happened. (Maybe I missed it because it was subtle? Or maybe they are referring to events in Practical Magic?) Nevertheless, there was never a true climax for me nor a true resolution. I'm sure many readers won't mind as they'll rely on Practical Magic to have already provided those but I wish Franny and Jet had some grand moment together like Vincent had. Maybe they did in their own ways (I won't spoil anything here) but I had hoped for a more momentous and shocking evolution for them rather than a slow methodical movement to their futures in Practical Magic.

I give this book 4 stars because it was well written, the characters were engaging and fully formed, the story was something that I hadn't come across before, and it is a solid prequel to a movie I love.