An absolutely must read for any fans of the Owens family. As each book within the series has provided readers with a different generational tale hat enriches the overarching story, we now get the origin story of the “ Owens Curse.”

Magic Lessons is the origin story of the Owens women. Set in the 1600s, it begins with Hannah Owens who finds an abandoned newborn baby. She raises the baby, Maria, and teaches her the Art with No Name. We learn why and how Maria leaves Essex County in England for Essex County in Massachusetts. Her life takes some detours. We see her cast the curse that follows the Owens women into the twentieth century.

Maria has a daughter named Faith. The story gently morphs into Faith’s coming-of-age tale as she learns to deal with the storm that is brewing within. “The dark was rising in her soul and she was glad of it. She was at the age when innocence seems like a flaw.”

Hoffman incorporates the historical figure of John Hathorne, one of the judges of the Salem witch trials who, unlike other men that had sat in judgment of the accused, never expressed regret for his role in the murder of innocent women.

Hathorne was the great, great grandfather of the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne who added the “w” to his family name, probably as a way to disassociate himself from his murderous ancestor. [See also Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.] John Hathorne is no whipping boy in this tale but is an integral part of the seemingly simple but emotionally complex tale that Hoffman weaves.

Also fascinating for this history buff and maritime enthusiast is the Jewish pirates in the story. Due to raging antisemitism, Jews, Hoffman writes, “had often lived at sea, especially when there was no country that would allow them entrance.” Jewish navigators and mathematicians were also part of the sailing exploration tradition.

I don’t know if the characters of Dias and his father are based on specific historic persons, but they do represent the Jewish people who were murdered during the Spanish Inquisition and driven out of Spain and Portugal. Like Maria, Dias witnessed a loved one being murdered due to irrational hate.

All of this historic hate and murder is somehow balanced and even overshadowed by the tremendous love and wisdom that infuses the characters and the story they find themselves in. Hoffman is a beautiful writer. I have now twice been left feeling better about humanity after finishing one of her novels. Hate and murder are still with us, but Hoffman reminds the reader that love can overcome. We often just don’t understand what love is or how it works.

Maybe a good start is following Hoffman’s rules of magic:

--Do as you will, but harm no one.
--What you give will be returned threefold.
--Fall in love whenever you can.

Regarding that last rule, I think it would be wise to ask yourself this question which a character asks in Magic Lessons: “Is it the man you want, or the feeling inside you when someone cares?” How different the world would be if we each replaced the word “man” with whatever we were craving (food, money, power, etc.). I do believe it is love that makes the world go ’round.

Magic Lessons is an infusion of hope in a world gone mad with hate.

[This review was part of a longer blog post: https://chriswolak.com/2022/01/18/magic-lessons-by-alice-hoffman/]

A simply magical tale. Alice Hoffman at her absolute best. I adored the Owens family origin story and was absolutely gripped the whole way through. The ending was incredible! 5 stars!

This book starts out kind of slow, but it really picks up, and I got so engrossed in the characters I couldn’t put it down - I wish I had known that when I first started it (I put it aside for awhile, but picked it back up determined to read it.) so, if you start this one, and start thinking it isn’t for you, hang in there, it is well worth it. This book is a predecessor to Practical Magic and the other Owens family books, and goes through the origin of the family curse. It starts in Essex County England where a woman named Hannah finds a baby (Maria), and raises her. Maria starts learning about healing from Hannah, and also learns that Hannah had been jailed for being a witch, and that someone she loved had turned on her. After a stranger pays them a visit, Maria is ripped from the only home she has known and sent to Curaçao, and then ultimately she makes her way to the United States.

This is a great book, with complex characters, and a definite surprise delight for me. By the end, I found myself pondering how the line between good and bad can be blurred when someone you love is lost, or in danger. A definite home run (5 stars) from me!

A wonderful new book by the brilliant author, Alice Hoffman. Readers that enjoy a bit of lyrical prose with some stream of consciousness fiction will enjoy this. A magical book that I will recommend to readers.

A witchy read perfect for fall. I truly enjoyed the characters. At times I felt like the story abruptly jumped around, and I was surprised how unexpectedly it was a different character as the lead. This seemed to hinder the flow of the story. That being said, I love a witchy read and still enjoyed the book overall. I look forward to reading more in this series.

The writing is gorgeous and lush. The kind of writing that transports you. But duh, it's Alice Hoffman. She's amazing. The story itself was good. I didn't like it as much as Rules of Magic but still very solid. Love the origin story for the owens family.

𝚂𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏, 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝.

•𝙳𝚘 𝚊𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚖 𝚗𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎.
•𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚍.
•𝙵𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗.

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
Rating: 5/5⭐️
Thoughts: All of the witchy, magical and empowering vibes. Alice Hoffman crafts the most spell-binding tale, transporting readers back to the 1600s amidst the Salem Witch Trials and mass hysteria. Lovers of Practical Magic will enjoy this story spun around Maria Owens… you know, the one who casts the curse on any man who ever loves an Owens woman: “To any man who ever loves an Owens, let this curse befall you, let your fate lead to disaster, let you be broken in body and soul, and may it be that you never recover.”

To all my fellow witchy women, I can’t recommend this series enough. And I can’t wait to sink into my ARC of The Book of Magic. ✨ Thank you @ahoffmanwriter @simonandschuster

“𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍. These are the lessons to be learned. Drink chamomile tea to calm the spirit. Feed a cold and starve a fever. Rᴇᴀᴅ ᴀs ᴍᴀɴʏ ʙᴏᴏᴋs ᴀs ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ. Always choose courage. N͟e͟v͟e͟r͟ w͟a͟t͟c͟h͟ a͟n͟o͟t͟h͟e͟r͟ w͟o͟m͟a͟n͟ b͟u͟r͟n͟. Know that love is the only answer.”

I adored this book. Alice Hoffman did such a great job of creating flawed but lovable characters who you root for and are scared for. She also does a flawless job of integrating historical detail and events. I can’t wait to finish this series.

It's officially spooky season, and I, for one, am excited to celebrate the array of witchy books available. For nonfiction history buffs, look no further than Stacy Schiff's The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem (Back Bay Books, $19.99), which offers a comprehensive account of the Salem Witch Trials, starting with the convulsions of one young woman and resulting in the execution of more than a dozen men and women.

Alice Hoffman's Magic Lessons (Simon & Schuster, $17) also transports readers back to 17th-century Salem, offering an expanded history of the Owens family that stars in her popular novel Practical Magic (Berkley, $17) and its more modern-day prequel, The Rules of Magic (Simon & Schuster, $16.99).

Nearby Lowell, Mass., provides the setting for C.S. Malerich's The Factory Witches of Lowell (Tordotcom, $14.99), which imbues women on strike in the small mill town with a bit of strength in witchcraft. Danvers, Mass.--where the accusations originated that kicked off the Salem Witch Trials--also serves as the setting for Quan Barry's excellent We Ride Upon Sticks (Vintage, $16.95), as the 1989 Danvers High School field hockey team taps into darker powers to secure a state championship.

That's not to say New England has the corner on witch trial histories: Rivka Galchen draws on historical accounts from Württemberg, Germany, in Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $27), which our reviewer called "a vibrant, provocative story" with a "decidedly modern tone."

Never one to miss a good contemporary romance (or a punny title), I gobbled up Lana Harper's Payback's a Witch (Berkley, $16), a queer revenge-gone-magic tale of a handful of witches out to take down the magical bro who's hurt them each in turn. Here's to the magic of the season!

While Magic Lessons is different from it's predecessor, Practical Magic, it a fascinating look at the Salem Witch Trials, told from one woman(/witch's) perspective. The author effortlessly guided the reader from England to America and all along the east coast as Maria Owens learns about the upside and the downfalls to being a witch. I couldn't put this book down and I would love for Alice Hoffman to write more historical fiction novels.

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman is the perfect book to get you into the fall feeling. It’s a prequel to Practical Magic and takes you back to the original Owen’s line in the 1600’s. A great mix of historical fiction, witchcraft and a touch of romance makes this the perfect read for a cold, crisp fall day.

This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read and I definitely plan on continuing on with the rest of the books!

I’m not usually a reader of this genre but I absolutely love Alice Hoffman and her stories. This book was great and I highly recommend. Thank you for the opportunity to read/review.

So wonderfully whimsical and magical! I’ve been waiting so long for a book about Maria Owens and this did not disappoint!

This is the 0.1 prequel in the Practical Magic series.

Why on earth did it take me so long to start this series? I am 100% hooked. I just finished Magic Lessons and am on to The Rules of Magic now. It’s also been an age since I watched the movie Practical Magic, and I’m saving up a rewatch for as soon as I’ve finished that book.

Magic Lessons traces the origins of the Owens’ witchy bloodline, and shows us how their centuries-old love curse starts. Yes there is lots of delicious witchy magic, but the history in this book was what really got me. We learn bits and pieces about the Jews on the island of Curaçao, pirate life, and the start of Brooklyn and Manhattan as we know them today. There is young love, heartbreak, family betrayal, and persecution of women who just want education and freedom.

It was a phenomenal book, and one that will suck you right in and immerse you in another place and time. I read part of the book and listened to part of it on audiobook, which is narrated by Sutton Foster!

If you haven’t already read this series, now is the perfect time to get started!

My née favorite Alice Hoffman! Perfectly paced, witchy, and full of drama and action. I loved the setting and history of The Owens women. Loved it!

Like the other Hoffman books in this series, the reader is pulled in to a magical, historical world far-removed from the one we learn about in history books. Hoffman's descriptive characterizations and sense of real-world place make for a captivating and enjoyable read.

While this plot plods in some places and doesn't seem to move as quickly as the other, more modern tomes, this work also builds setting quite uniquely. It was an enjoyable read all around.

Alice Hoffman offers another great book to the Practical Magic Series. I really enjoyed the writing in the book and look forward to the next installment.

In this book, the Practical Magic series is brought back to the beginning. How the curse started and why it started. I will be honest that this book was much slower than the others but still vital to understanding the WHY of the family curse.

Thank you to the author Alice Hoffman, the publisher, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley, for providing me an ARC in exchange for my candid review.

I enjoyed this book a lot. While supernatural in nature, it is a great historic reference to why and how the Witch Trials took place in Salem. I understand that it is a prequel to Practical Magic, which I look forward to reading.