I wasn't a total fan of this book. The writing was too dry and flowery. There was no real heart-wrenching action that kept me on the edge of my seat; I found it easy to set this down and go do something else. "Rules of Magic" has been my favorite out of the trilogy. I hope I enjoy Alice Hoffman's next book better.

Hoffman has such a unique writing style. One would consider her method to be head hopping, but the way she does it truly works. She is a master storyteller, and really that's how she writes. It's like she's sitting there with you, telling you a story. It was interesting to get the history\beginning of the Owens women. The book was truly an enjoyable read, and a wonderful addition to this series.

As a huge fan of Hoffman’s Practical Magic, I was delighted at the initial prequel, Rules of Magic, and hoped the author would eventually gift us with more of the Maria Owens story. I was over the moon when I heard that we would have the opportunity to learn more and adored being back amongst Owens women! This prequel centers primarily on the matriarch of the family, but is very much about mother daughter relationships as well as the very real history of persecution by Puritans and the hysteria that arose in Salem. This tale is truly magical and masterfully told. Vivid descriptions, dynamic and flawed characters, and a rich story made me wish it didn’t have to end! This tale won a special place in my heart and is my favorite of the three.

So excited to read this book thank you net galley and Simon schuster!!
Prequel or part 0 if you will.
Always love someone who loves you back
This hook pours magic and all of Alice Hoffman's talent.
Well deserved 5 stars

I loved this book. Actually, there hasn't been an Alice Hoffman book I haven't loved. This is the perfect flagship for the memorable and enduring Practical Magic trilogy.

This the third book in the series and the first I have read. I won't rate it low due to it wasn't my cup of tea...the writing was beautiful and the characters were well developed and the storyline intriguing. I would have liked to see a bit more historical facts injected into the story.

I highly enjoyed Practical Magic so I was excited to read the prequel - Magic Lessons.

This book got off to a SLOW start for me. There was so much information, spells, etc. I got a bit bogged down in the details of the story. I never reached a point where I felt hooked by this book. However, I appreciate learning the backstory for Practical Magic which I did really enjoy. There were so many things that happened in this book that set the stage for PM. As a standalone, it was long and slow, but as an extension of the Practical Magic story, it was more enjoyable. While this is not my favorite of hers by far, I would still highly recommend Alice Hoffman.

A beautiful, magical continuation of the Practical Magic novels. I love being able to learn more and more about the family and origin of how everything comes to pass. I just can't get enough of learning about the history

Magic Lessons is the prequel we have all been waiting for! Readers finally get a glimpse of Maria Owens's story and how the Owens's curse began. For those who are familiar with Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic, you are in for a treat.

Maria Owens was abandoned as a baby in front of Hannah Owens's home. Hannah is gifted at the Nameless Art and acted as a mentor for Maria as Maria grew during childhood. However, Maria did have a chance to find out who her birth mother and birth father are. Unfortunately, they were not all about raising Maria as a family unit due to a complex situation back in the 1600's. Maria eventually sees the harrowing death of someone she looks up to, gets sold in servitude on a boat to Curaçao, works hard to pay off her debt for freedom as a child, falls in love with a man who lives in Salem, gives birth to a child from said man, tries to locate this man in Salem, only to find out he was using her.

What Maria didn't know was that her daughter's father is actually a well-known man in Salem, MA who is married and has a child. Her heartbreak grows while a curse is a-brewing, as readers are immersed in the world of chaos. When I was reading this novel, I was silently rooting for Maria and Samuel Dias even though I know Maria steadfast in finding Faith's father.

Alice Hoffman has a gift in storytelling. She is able to narrate such a wonderful novel. Hoffman weaves historical fiction and magical realism within Magic Lessons. The pacing is steady and spans many years from when Maria was a baby to her adult years. I did enjoy reading sections where we see Faith's perspective when she flourishes helping others with the Nameless Art. Through hard work, love, regret, revenge and heartbreak, Maria lived a difficult life but she always tried to find the light beneath the darkness. She has escaped death several times. Unfortunately, her curse lives among the Owens's women for centuries to come.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite writers, so I may be slightly biased in my review. I was excited to see that Ms. Hoffman finally wrote a story that tells the story of the Owens' sisters famous ancestor, Maria Owens. For those who have read Practical Magic (or even just saw the film adaptation), you may recognize Maria Owens as the ancestor who was accused of witchcraft and spurned by her lover in the town of Salem in the 17th century and as a result, placed a curse on her descendants that no man would ever love an Owens woman without suffering a horrible fate. This story takes this tidbit and delves further into Maria Owens history from her beginnings in England, to the island of Curaçao to when she settled into Salem, Massachusetts. This is more a story about family, mothers and daughters, than it is about love. I really enjoyed it and it was nice to have a voice given to Maria finally. Anyone who has enjoyed the saga of the Owens' family in her other two books Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic, will definitely enjoy this.

Alice Hoffman is an auto-buy author for me so when I saw this on NetGalley, I had to request it immediately. She did not disappoint with her latest tale of the Owens family. Although it is a prequel to Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic, I feel it could be read as a stand alone novel. The characters are stunning as well as compelling. Hannah Owens is a force of nature and the quintessential mother figure for Maria, who was abandoned after her birth by her witch of a mother. This story really informs Maria Owens' character and sets the stage for the entire Owens family to follow. Among the backdrop of the historical persecution of witches in New England, is a fascinating origin story of the Owens family. A tale of love, loss, redemption, and motherhood. The ties that bind us is not always of blood but sometimes of choice or serendipity. The strongest lesson that I took away from this book is free will which can override fate, spells and curses alike. In the final analysis, love trumps all. Alice Hoffman again weaves her tale with heart and as always magic in every word. Highly recommend this if you are a fan of historical fiction, fantasy, and magic!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors so, as you can guess, her latest novel, Magic Lessons, is one of my most anticipated reads of 2020. I’m thrilled to say, not only did Magic Lessons meet my high expectations, it far exceeded them. I haven’t had many 5 star reads this year, but Magic Lessons is definitely one of them.

Magic Lessons is Hoffman’s third venture into the world of her beloved Owens witches. Where Hoffman’s second venture into this world, The Rules of Magic, gave us the backstory for the Owens sisters who grew up to be the aunts in Practical Magic, with Magic Lessons, Hoffman ventures back to the 1600s and the Salem Witch Trials, this time to give us the origin of the Owens bloodline as well as the events that led to the curse that has haunted their family for generations.

As always, what I love most about Hoffman’s novels is that her storytelling is truly exquisite. I felt transported back in time as soon as I started reading and was immediately caught up in the life of Maria Owens, the matriarch of the Owens witches. Hoffman does such a beautiful job creating an unforgettable character and crafting an origin story for her that flows seamlessly into the other two books in the series. As an infant, Maria was abandoned by her own mother, left in a snowy field in the English countryside. A woman named Hannah Owens, who is gifted in the “Unnamed Arts” finds Maria and raises her as her own. She recognizes that Maria shares her gift and therefore teaches her everything she knows. After Hannah’s death, Maria falls in love with a man and when he abandons her, she decides to follow him. This is how she ends up in Salem, right as the infamous witch hunts are getting underway, and this man’s betrayal of her is what ultimately leads to the Owens curse everyone who has read the other books is so familiar with.

Magic Lessons is a gorgeous and atmospheric read and I found myself completely invested in Maria’s journey, which is filled with both love and heartbreak, but also with hope, and of course with magic. I especially loved watching all of the pieces fall into place, with little shout outs here and there to the magic we see in the books that come later in the Owens timeline.

If you’re looking for the perfect atmospheric read to kick off spooky season, look no further than Alice Hoffman’s Magic Lessons. It was everything I wanted for this series and more!

Hoffman always manages to surprise me. When I read the synopsis for Magic Lessons, I thought I knew what to expect. I was right, and I was wrong. From reading Practical Magic, I knew the blending of realism and fantasy that I would encounter. I knew the human pathos and deeply engaging characters I would meet. I did not know the unique angle that Hoffman would take to a familiar time and place and history, catching me by surprise and bypassing all of my emotional defenses. Touche’.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for an Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Alice Hoffman is a national treasure, and her novels involving the Owens clan in Salem Massachusetts are reminiscent of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Buendia family in Macondo, but with an unapologetic feminist twist.. In Magic Lessons, we go back to the beginning to understand how the clan came to be, during the witch hunts that took place in many countries for many reasons, and Maria Owens's vow not to watch another woman burn. Hoffman's writing is vivid, and her use of magical realism suits the subject matter and deftly shows Hoffman's love for the beauty and the unknown of the world we and the characters inhabit. It is not a heavy-handed gimmick. The novel is a must-read for fans of Hoffman's previous books involving the Owens women, but it is not necessary for someone to have read either Practical Magic or The Rules of Magic first. A big-hearted novel about social justice and the murder of innocent women who did not fit in, as well as a tale of how true love blossoms like the exotic magnolia tree when women are loved for who they really are. There is real magic in that, regardless of the time period. .

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

4.5 Hearts Any fan of Practical Magic needs to read this book. Ever wondered why the family is cursed about their first loves? Wonder how they became witches? Well this book you will learn from Maria Owens. Through her history we learn how what we know began.

I enjoyed this story. This is not about witches or witchcraft or the supernatural. Just as with Practical Magic it is about love, family and learning about yourself.

Maria starts off as an abandoned baby and is raised by a witch. She becomes a servant, follows her “true love” to Salem, Mass (we all know that area) and then on to NYC.

As I said in the beginning. Any fan of Practical Magic needs to read this book!

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

First there was Practical Magic, then Rules of Magic and now Magic Lessons. If you have been a fan of these books, this one is a must have. We have all heard about the love curse put upon the Owens women many years ago by their ancestor Maria Owens. This story tells Maria’s story from an infant to adulthood and tells how she came to put this curse on the Owens family women and the consequences from the curse that she herself must face. This book went beyond what I was expecting involving historical aspects as well as showing how little women were thought of in those times and the cruelties that were falsely brought upon women during the Salem witch trials. Technically these books could be read in any order but having recently read Practical Magic, I could see some reasons for things I really didn’t understand until I read this book. I was given an early copy on Netgalley but have already ordered my own copy. Highly recommend!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ARC!!!!
Practical Magic is my favorite book, so the prequal was just what I needed.
The first 25% of this book was a little slow, but once it got into Marias story I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.
I already preordered a hard copy.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this fabulous book by Alice Hoffman - it's the prequel to Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic, which are both must reads as well. 5 stars for such a fabulous read - and so appropriate to read about witches and magic as we head into the Halloween season.

This book finds us in the 1600s as Hannah Owens discovers a baby left in the field who she takes in and raises as her own. Hannah recognizes the bloodline of witches in baby Maria and begins teaching her the valuable lessons of magic. The first two - Do as you will, but harm no one and What you give will be returned to you threefold. But then there's love and all the magic involved there. When Maria falls in love a man who leaves her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. When things go wrong, Maria puts a curse over all the women in her family and anyone who may love them.

Alice Hoffman is just the most gifted writer - while this book started off a bit slow for me, before long I was glued to the pages. We learn history here too - of the Salem witch trials but also of the history of New York and the way women were treated in these times. So many life lessons here to be learned as well as to how we treat each other and how very important love is. I loved how books were portrayed as magical - they sure are for me and this one definitely is! Highly recommended!

What a great book. Thank you to netgalley and to Simon&schuster and a special thank you to Alice Hoffman for writing this great book

To read Maria Owens story who was accused of witchcraft In Salem was a real treat. I will admit the book at times made me sad - but that was because of the injustices suffered upon women. - it was so easy to accuse them of being witches for simply looking at someone the wrong way or being a strong independent person. The story begins with Maria being found by Hannah Owens in England, in a snowy field in the 1600s- Hannah raises Maria up as her own, teaching her all about the unnamed arts. The book had a slow beginning but if you stay with it you will find a gem of a story about love, passion, betrayal and the curse that follows their bloodline. I’m so happy I got to read this book and learn about Maria This is a book that will stay with me for many years. Alice Hoffman is an incredible author and this book is a real treat. Remember Always love someone who loves you back.

I'm normally not a big fan of plot driven storytelling, but I love the Practical Magic series. Magic Lessons was no exception. It just as good, if not better, than the other two.

The reader follows Maria and her daughter Faith as they struggle with living in the 1600s. When women who wear red boots are witches. If accused of being a witch, you're tied to a chair and thrown into the water. If you float then you're a witch. If you drown then you weren't, but you're dead. In the original Practical Magic book, we know that their ancestor, Maria, cursed the Owens women when it comes to love. This is the story behind that curse. People make life hard for the Owens women. So much happens, but I don't know how to share any of the things that tell about the plot without also sharing spoilers.

I much prefer character driven, but I can't help loving these books. They are so well done. This one kept me wanting more the entire time and I'm so happy I got to read it! I've already preordered myself a hardback copy. Woo-hoo!