So rarely does a work of fiction reach out and grab me. Such was the case with the Rules of Magic. A prequel 20 years in the making, Hoffman returns to the legendary Owens family, this time telling the tale of aunts Frannie and Jet....and their little brother, Vincent.

The flowing prose and sweeping scope make the story at once fresh yet familiar, and I was swept into the world of the story from moment one. More than once I had to pause to let story elements was over me. It was the Owens story I never knew I needed and I am so grateful to have read it.

Fans of Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic will be enthralled by The Rules of Magic, the prequel to Hoffman's most popular book. Who would not want to learn the back story of the aunts, Franny and Jet, from Practical Magic? Starting with Maria Owens in 1620, condemned as a witch for loving a married man, the Owens women are not just unlucky in love but actually cursed. To save her descendants from heartbreak, Maria curses Owens women - they must never fall in love as it will prove fatal to the men they love.

Franny and Jet learn this lesson from their mother Susanna who seeks to protect her daughters and her charismatic son Vincent from the Owens legacy by leading ordinary lives, free of magic. But fate is inevitable, and all Susanna's children are magically gifted and unable to avoid love. Tragic events send Franny and Jet back to Aunt Isabelle and the house on Magnolia Street where secrets are revealed and magical lessons learned. Vincent walks his own path, ultimately leaving his sisters a surprising gift that impacts their lives forever.

The real magic here is the spell cast by Alice Hoffman on readers; her mastery of storytelling and evocative imagery allows readers to enter the magical world of the Owens family. Love binds them together just as much as magic, and they learn life lessons from the tragic, romantic and magical aspects of life. To love is to risk losing everything someday, but love is not a curse to be avoided - it is a vital part of life, rife with both happiness and heartbreak. Franny, Jet and Vincent prove to know the rules of magic very well indeed - the magic power of love to heal, to wound, to change life irrevocably, to last beyond death. Fall under the spell of The Rules of Magic - you will gladly give yourself up to the enchantment of this book.

I have no words…. Alice Hoffman took my heart and soul with this book. I am not battling book hangover. I am so happy that I finally got to read the Aunt’s story. I loved the aunts in Practical Magic. They were so much fun to read in that book. While you technically could read this book first I recommend reading Practical Magic first as it sets up the aunts story just a bit more. There is so much character depth here. This book had me crying out of heart ache for the aunts and laughing at their behavior along the way. This book had so much magic and imagery. It was written with beautiful prose. This book is wonderful and I loved the writing. Hopeful and dark, funny and sad, I could not put it down. This book shows us that although we may know the ending to our life, its more about the journey and how we get there. This book will surely be a chart topper. I also hope they turn this one in to a movie as well. I received this book in exchange for my honest review as an invite from the publisher to read on net galley. 5 stars from me.

I'm a huge fan of Practical Magic, both the book and the movie, so I was ecstatic when I discovered there was a prequel! I love that this gave more insight into the early lives of Franny and Jet (and their brother Vincent). The things they went through as children while discovering their powers reveal why they are so cautious with Sally and Gillian, and both Jet and Franny experienced the pain that all Owens women encountered when they loved someone. Getting to learn more about the story of this fun and mysterious family made for an overall excellent read.

A beautiful, romantic prequel to the wonderful Practical Magic. The Rules of Magic tells the story of the aunts from Practical Magic from their childhood to the arrival of two young nieces. Magical and heartbreaking in equal measures, fans of the book and the movie of Practical Magic will not be disappointed.

I would like to thank Simon & Schuster for sending me an advance readers copy of "The Rules of Magic." This is the 26th book I have read by Alice Hoffman, so I guess you could say I am a fan of her writing.

"The Rules of Magic" is the prequel to Hoffman's book "Practical Magic." It tells the story of "The Aunts," Franny and Jet, and their brother Vincent, their early life and coming of age in NYC, and coming to terms with their magical inheritance. Was this magic handed down for many generations in the Owens family a gift or a burden? That question could not be answered -- it simply WAS.
Franny, Jet, and Vincent have always felt that they were different, but full self awareness only came one summer spent at their Aunt Isabel's home in Massachusetts. There, they come to learn that self acceptance was as important as love for a happy and fulfilled existence. For centuries, the Owens women are taught that love is a burden, that falling in love carries deadly risks, but that a life without love is a small death in itself. It takes a lifetime to learn that the only cure for love is to love more.

"The Rules of Magic" is really Franny's story. She is the strongest of the Owens siblings and also the most stubborn, and certainly the most resistant to letting others into her heart. She dubs herself the "woman of thorns" and her heart is impenetrable, except for the love she feels for her two siblings. Even her childhood sweetheart, Haylin, can't break through the walls she puts up. Is it self preservation or self destruction? Or is she really the most loving because she thinks this fortress will protect those she loves most?

But the reader comes to love Franny. And seeing her journey gives you insight into how she became the way she is, and how her legacy being passed on to Sally and Gillian (in Practical Magic) was destiny.

This book was a pleasure to read. No one weaves a tale quite like Alice Hoffman. I can't wait to read my next Hoffman book!

I love Alice Hoffman stories and as always she does not disappoint. She tells a story with a heartfelt theme of family, loss and the ever enduring power of love as one tries to find themselves. Franny, Jet and Vincent have been told all of their lives they are cursed and not to fall in love. They come from a long line of witches and it does not end well if they fall in love due to the family curse but one cannot control who they love and as they try to find themselves in world they must discover on their own they always have each other. When their parents die unexpectedly their whole world changes and they soon realize everything must change. A great read and I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.

I loved this book. I loved the story. The writing is tight, descriptive and beautifully rendered, in my opinion.
This is a love story. But what makes it extraordinary is that Hoffman describes the pain of growing up and maturing, the heartbreak of loss that every human experiences and the need to keep loving without having to underscore it or rub our face in it.
The story just jumps along page after page never slowing down until we come to the moment when "Practical Magic" starts. I didn't want the story to end so I immediately went on Netflix and watched "Practical Magic". Since it's been almost 20 years since I read the book and first saw the movie, my memory isn't what it should be. However, I think this is the better story.
If you are a fan of Alice Hoffman, you will enjoy this book immensely. If you don't know her work, this is a good place to start. And if you just appreciate a really good story well told, I urge you to read "Rules of Magic"

Fans of Alice Hoffman's brand of magical realism will be thrilled with this prequel to Practical Magic. The backstory of the aunts is wonderful; I also appreciated the visuals of New York/Greenwich in the 60s. This book stands alone; no need to have read Practical Magic to appreciate the story. However, I can't wait to re-read PM now. Alice Hoffman has long topped my list of favorite authors, and The Rules of Magic keeps her firmly in place.

The prequel to one of my favorite Alice Hoffman novels, Practical Magic, THE RULES OF MAGIC takes us back to when the Owen’s siblings, Frances ( Franny), Bridget ( Jet), and Vincent were just beginning their lives.
Raised by parents who never wanted them to know the secret of their magical history, one summer during their teen years a letter from their Aunt Isabelle, an aunt they had no knowledge of, summon them to her ancestral home on Magnolia lane. The trio arrives at the house and their lives are forever changed.

While the curse of Maria Owens looms—always – in the background, the siblings mature, find love and eventual loss ( that damn curse!), and move about their lives in a constant state of towing the line between magic and living normal lives.

The biggest impact on me as a reader was Hoffman’s telling of the story of these three wonderful and tragic figures along the backdrop of the 1960’s and 70’s during the turbulent and militant times of those decades. She interweaves their stories to coincide with the times and as a prequel, it hits every spot of info I wanted to know about after reading Practical Magic.

Here, we’re introduced to the Sally and Gilly’s mom, Regina, and learn how she is related to the family – it’s a great way, BTW, and I was a little shocked when I discovered it.

Tragedy, loneliness, loss, and love are all highlighted into the siblings stories and I wept more than a few times at how their lives were shaped by Maria’s legacy and how it could so easily have been changed.

THE RULES OF MAGIC is one of the few prequel I’ve ever read that is almost as good as the book that came – chronologically – after it. In fact, I venture to say, it is equally as wonderful.

I was given an ARC of this book thru my association with Netgalley for an honest opinion. MY honest opinion is that this book is terrific. 5 well deserved stars.

Totally blown away by this book. Fell in love with all the siblings in the first chapter. It is chock full of magic, humour, sorrow and mostly love. I absolutely loved it.

I am a huge Alice Hoffman fan, but not a fan of magic books. I haven't read Practical Magic and when I first started this book wasn't sure if I was going to like it. But, afterall if was written by Ms. Hoffman who pulls me in every single time with her talent. She did not disappoint with this one either. I found myself unable to put the book down and read it in one day. Thankfully I'm down at the beach and was able to park in a chair for the day.

The Owens sisters and brother Vincent are enchanting and their story will linger with me for a bit as the characters in Hoffman's books generally do. Their tale is quite sad and the curse put upon the family really led to much heartache and worry. Franny, Jet and Vincent leave me wanting more and I will now have to order Practical Magic to continue this saga.

I am not a fan of fantasy or magical tales, but this one is a winner. Pre-order it now!

The Rules of Magic is the prequel to my beloved Practical Magic – one of my very favorite books and movies. I’ve read the book once, but have seen the movie countless times. I’ve always wondered about the aunts – Jet and Franny – and this novel is like a dream come true because we finally get to learn about their lives.

Jet and Franny live with their brother Vincent and their parents in New York City. There are so many rules at home – no red shoes, no night blooming plants – that the trio just don’t understand. As they grow older, they start to realize that they are able to do things that other’s can’t, like turn out the streetlights or make objects move. When Franny gets an invitation from Aunt Isabelle at the family estate in Massachusetts, her parents send her brother and sister as protection. While there, all of the siblings explore love, life, and magic.

But remember that the deathwatch beetle always comes to call for the Owens family and the lives of their loves are cut short. But Aunt Isabelle says that it’s possible to beat the curse, so the Owens children are determined to do find a way.

The story follows the Owens sisters until Sally and Gilly move in with them after their own parents die and the Practical Magic story begins. This is exactly what I needed to read this summer. It’s full of witchy goodness: herbs, spells, gardens, and romance. Fans of Practical Magic have something to look for when this book is released in October, which will be the best time of year to cuddle up with it! Now is the time to pre-order!!

I was a little worried about this prequel because I loved Practical Magic sooo much and didn't want to have my opinion of Franny and Jet altered, but it did not disappoint! Beautiful, magical and emotional, I read it cover to cover in one sitting.

If, as do I, you love Practical Magic and all things Hoffman, you'll sit down and read this through. And you'll do it again sometime down the road

I love Alice Hoffman's work. Up until now, Practical Magic was my fave. But it's been replaced now by The Rules of Magic. I intend to pre-order a copy for myself (HOPEFULLY, personally inscribed to me by Ms. Hoffman), and several girlfriends will be receiving this from me for Christmas. I did not want to leave the world of Jet and Franny and Vincent.

Alice Hoffman weaves a spell after every book she writes, and the result is always sheer joy. It's fantastic to be treated to another installment with the Owens family, and to see once again, how multi-fabeted and intriguing the characters are. Bravo indeed, and as always, I can't wait for the next book.

OMG!!! How excited was I to be offered an early copy of The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman? Very excited because I loved Practical Magic, purely absolutely LOVED it!

This book does not disappoint in any way. I was thrilled to visit Magnolia Street again and find out more about the early lives of the aunts that are featured in Practical Magic. There are so very many things to love about this story. I was pulled in immediately and found myself caring for all the characters as well as wishing that things turned out differently for most of them.

I really hope Alice Hoffman lets us visit Magnolia Street in the future, because I quite like it there!

I will admit that I am one of those bizarre people that rarely know what is going on in the movie industry, so I never even realized that Practical Magic was made into a book. I will be watching it soon! I can't believe I was so clueless!

A very special thanks to the publishers for reaching out to me and offering the ARC!! Thanks to Netgalley, as always and to Alice Hoffman, thank you for this wonderful prequel (which can be read stand alone) to Practical Magic!!! Is it too much to hope that a sequel is in the works?

Apologies for all the exclamation points, I'm not usually "that person" but I LOVED this book!

I gave up on this after about 7%. The characters just didn't interest me.

It's been many years since I read Practical Magic. That and Here on Earth made me a die hard Alice Hoffman fan. But she lost me for a while with the Dovekeepers and Green Angel. The Rules of Magic brought me right back.

The Owens come to life in this book - that is one of Hoffman's gifts, her ability to create characters who almost burst from the book. They seem so real you almost think you could find them, if you went to Magnolia St yourself. The Rules of Magic does not require that you've read Practical Magic first, as it's a prequel, but it may send you running off to buy that book next, because this book will make you fall in love. It may make you cry, as well - you can't read a book about a curse on a family without experiencing some tragedy. Especially when that curse involves love. Like real life, people are hurt in this book, people suffer, people hold on to guilt long past when they should. And in the end, they learn that the secret is that in spite of the pain, it is better to love more, not less.