Beautifully written. This story follows the story of witch Maria Owens around the time of the Salem witch trials but doesn't focus solely on that event. I actually really liked that it gave a little but of perspective of what other places thought of the trials. Love and family being more than just blood were just as central as magic to the heart of this book.
This book is a prequel to Practical Magic but can absolutely be read as a standalone.. Everything you'd expect from Alice Hoffman.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this gorgeously written book and did not want it to end.

I also want to re-read Alice Hoffman's other two wonderful books about the decendents of Maria and her daughter.
Practical Magic & The Rules of Magic

This is a spellbinding and interesting read. It is filled with devious characters and enlightened characters that tell a captivating story of love, betrayal, and danger.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I would rate this a 4.25. I do like Alice Hoffman but find that her writing can be inconsistent through her novels. I enjoyed The Dovekeepers, Faithful, The World that We Knew but was less enthusiastic about the Practical Magic novels. That being said, this one is definitely the best in the series. I really liked this book. It is the prequel to Practical Magic and takes part in the 1600s, where we learn about Maria Owens, the matriarch of the Owens women who are later featured in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic. It's a fascinating story of Hannah, Maria's adoptive mother, her real mother, and Maria's journey to the US to escape the plight of women accused of witchery in Essex, England. Via Curacao, Maria ends up in Salem, Massachusetts where she herself is accused of witchcraft. I wish this had been the first novel as it explained so much about the events and people in the later novels and clarified so much. The historical details were fascinating, for example, what the town of Salem means, how Wall Street got its name, and many other interesting historical. tidbits. The book also goes into the reasons behind the "love" curse on the Owens women and their progeny. However, in addition to the extensive research on 1600s England, Massachusetts, the Salem witch trials and New York City, Hoffman does an excellent job in dealing with the issues of love, loss, the complexities of the mother daughter relationship, and evil. A very good read.

This was just "okay" for me. I thought it lacked the charm of the other books in this series. (And I must say that I hated the cover.)

Alice Hoffman's "Magic Lessons" was enchanting, captivating, heartbreaking, and joyous. This is the second book of hers that I've read.

Hoffman does an excellent job drawing you into the magical world of the Owens women. You follow the tragic journey on how their curse on love came to be. The reader feels so many emotions throughout this book. Her characters really take over and bring the story to life through her vivid descriptions. These strong women, making their way in a world where men have hurt them and everyone is against them is so inspiring. I'm so sad to have finished but will be looking forward hopefully more from this series.

Perhaps I am being nostalgic but I just walked in the steps of these characters through the beautifully written words of the author. Alice Hoffman gave us lessons on history, love, family, betrayal in addition to magic as is the book's namesake. Once I picked up this book up, I couldn't put it down- definitely enchanted from the start. As I followed Maria's story from the self-proclaimed practical girl she claimed to be and vowing never to follow in her own mother's footsteps when it came to love, only to be blind sighted later in life by false love - I commend this character's actions and the way her journey was written. Yes she went down the path of chasing after what she thought was love while ignoring an opportunity of true love right in front of her. How many times have we done that ourselves: chase the emotionally unavailable and friend zone someone who could truly make us happy all based on a false sense of what love should look like?!?! Maria and Dias' journey was at first heartbreaking but it all came together in the end after many hardships and harsh lessons are endured. As for Maria's daughter, Faith's journey, I was a bit conflicted but in life enduring certain hardships shapes a person's life and can affect individuals differently; either they learn and grow from it or burn everything in their path because they are still hurting from past events. Faith chose the latter, and acted the part of stubborn, destructive teenager even though I had to remember that during this time period she would have been considered a woman. But eventually she saw the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Overall this is 100% a must-read, you will not regret it !!

Another gem by Alice Hoffman. If you enjoyed practical magic this story tells you where it all began. Fantastic character development, attention to detail, and a story that includes the Salem Witch Trials and the city of New York when it was surrounded by wilderness- in a word, FANTASTIC!! Don’t miss this book when it is released in October.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
I was very excited to read this book as I had never read an Alice Hoffman book before. Honestly, I thought it was a prequel to the movie Practical Magic (which I have not watched but have heard rave reviews about). But, no sadly, after starting it I realized this a completely different Book series. I did not like the way it was written, the “prose” I suppose I’m supposed to say. I was bored. I would wait to do chores, change my baby’s diapers, just to stop reading. I regretted requesting this arc, Sorry but not sorry. I just don’t want to read about lists and love that doesn’t event seem sincere.

I have never been disappointed by an Alice Hoffman book and that track record still stands with Magic Lessons. She has once again brought the Practical Magic world back into my life in what might be my favorite installation in this series. If you have read the other books in this series or are just a Hoffman fan or just love witchy things this is the book for you.

Magic Lessons is a beautifully written story that pulls at your heart strings in the best way possible. In the early 1600s, Hannah Owens discovers baby Maria bundled up in the snow and takes her in. It quickly becomes apparent that Maria is gifted in the Nameless Art much like Hannah. As Maria grows, Hannah guides and teaches Maria to use her magical powers to best serve others. However, a series of tragedies strike and Maria finds herself ripped from her idyllic home and transported across the Atlantic Ocean to Curaçao and eventually to the dismal town of Salem, Massachusetts. Throughout her journey, Maria’s magical skills strengthen but she becomes embittered and resentful, believing love causes nothing but pain and heartache. Alice Hoffman has an incredible command of language that sweeps the reader along on an emotionally gripping and transformative journey. I connected deeply with the characters and found myself smiling, laughing, crying, and gasping as I made my way through the story. I’m convinced this book is pure magic because it left me completely entranced. Highly recommend!

I really wanted to like this book. Like really really. I loved some of the earlier books in this series and couldn't wait for this one. And then it was such a slow, slow slog. I found it tedious at points...I mean, how often do I want to read a list of herb/flowers and their remedies? I'll tell you, the answer is now zero. I had read and enjoyed the most recent predecessor in the series, The Rules of Magic, but had not loved it the way I had loved Practical Magic and some of Hoffman's other early works. Perhaps we have grown apart. Thanks for the ARC.

This evening I finished #MagicLessons, the upcoming novel from @ahoffmanwriter (due out this October) and it's my favorite read of 2020 so far! This book is magnificent. It's also now my favorite of the series! 💫

Magic Lessons is altogether transportive, eye-opening, wonderful, and utterly heartbreaking. I didn't want the book to end and I prolonged finishing it as long as I could 💫

I can't recommend Magic Lessons enough, especially if you've already read #PracticalMagic &
#TheRulesMagic. My love for this series began with Practical Magic, and I'm reading the series as the books are published because,
for me, my desire to know more & more about the Owens Women wouldn't be the same without PM as the foundation. And I love connecting the dots back to PM as I journey back in time throughout their family history! (This is just one humble readers opinion, you can read them in whatever order you wish). 💫

All the stars and #allthefeels 💛 This book hangover is going to take while to clear! (And it'll take time for a full review so stay tuned!) Officially 5⭐️

Thank you again to @simonandschuster @simonbooks and @netgalley for this e-galley of Magic Lessons*

The alchemy between a writer and a reader is a mystery that has never and will never be elucidated. It is beyond fathoming why a decent story told with all the right words in the right places will still sometimes leave me cold, with the impression that the author's heart simply isn't in the game. Such a book is Magic Lessons.

Perhaps it is time for Hoffman to move on from the Magic series of books and take on something new. She just seems tired to me, as if she can write this in her sleep, which is no very good reason to do so. There are other authors I have felt this about, who had a great deal of passion early on but lost the fire and kept writing anyway (Anne Lamott comes immediately to mind).

Maria Owens, our heroine, is a practitioner of the Unnamed Arts, a healer, and by some estimations a witch. She can certainly do magical things, and knows many herbal remedies for other ailments. What she traffics in mostly are love and the results of love gone astray, though she finds this trade largely distasteful. That is, until she finds a love of her own, which leads her to a greater love still.

All of this really is fine, and this story line, taking in as it does a sweep of many decades, should be very gratifying, but in this case just isn't. As I said in the first paragraph, I can't quite put my finger on why this is, but it is nonetheless so. Hoffman is a deeply talented writer who I would love to read again in another form, and hope that I will have the opportunity to do so in the near future.

A magical view into the past of one of the best novels written. Being Abel to take a look at the back story, back to the beginning, is a privilege when reading this book. The beautifully written words and the way the author weaves them if nothing if not perfection.

Magic Lessons exceeded my expectations. I'd say it's about par with Practical Magic in terms of characters, investment in the story, plot. Everyone likes a magical, mysterious main character with a familiar!

I was a little frustrated at how the Owens women really didn't think things through. I mean, just insert a small "pretend" into the curse so that only those pretending to love an Owens women would fall victim to it! Especially since she had reason to believe in love... I'm not sure I totally bought that scene.

But aside from that, it was a quick and enjoyable book. Thanks to Netgalley for providing a copy of this in exchange for an unbiased review.

Storytelling at it's best, as expected from Alice! A follow-up to Practical Magic and the Rules of Magic, this story goes back to the beginning of the Owens family, when Hannah Owens finds Maria, a wee baby, left in the fields near her house. She takes her home and grooms her in the ways of magic, having seen that this baby is special in a magical way. We then follow Maria through her turbulent life, and Salem is of course a part of the tale. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my edition of this wonderful novel.

In the prequel to Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman takes us into the magical past and the origins of the Owens family curse. This book is a must for anyone that has read the previous novels in the Owens’ family saga and for those that haven’t, this is the book with which to begin.

It starts in the 1600s with the matriarch of the Owens line, Maria Owens, found abandoned as an infant in a snowy field. We then travel with her from England to Curcao to the persecution of witches in Salem until we finally learn the story of the curse that will define her descendants for generations to come.

I loved it. I loved the portrayal of strong women whose strongest bonds are with one another. The titular magical lessons learned are done so through heartache, despair and ultimately love. Yes, there are witches and magic, but there is so much more to this novel. It is part historical fiction, part fantasy and part love story. This book is Alice Hoffman at her lyrical best with incredible storytelling, vibrant characters and luminous prose.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Familiar yet new. Dark yet enlightening. A marvelous prequel to one of my favorites series that makes me want to reread them again!

Magic Lessons (October 2020
By Alice Hoffman
Simon and Schuster, 416 pages
★★★★

When it comes to the fine art of storytelling, few American authors can hold a black candle to Alice Hoffman. That’s the paraffin color we need to consider in Magic Lessons. In 1995, Hoffman published Practical Magic, which introduced us Gillian and Sally Owens, and their aunts Frances and Bridget. Each was gifted with conjuring power that traced back to Maria Owens, a 17th century ancestor tried for witchcraft. In 2019, Hoffman penned The Rules of Magic, a prequel set in the 1950s that gave us the backstory of aunts “Franny” and “Jet.”

This time Hoffman dishes out the über sequel, that of Maria Owens herself. We learn that she was abandoned by her mother, Rebecca, who took up with actor/conman Thomas Lockland. Maria isn’t a bloodline Owens; that’s the surname of Hannah, the woman who raises her and teaches her about herbs and spells–mostly from the white arts with admonitions of the dangers of dabbling in the black. Maria grows up with a crow named Cadin as a familiar, discovers that she floats, watches local women come to Hannah for cures, and eventually comes to grips with the knowledge that her powers exceed Hannah’s.

Tragedy will send her to Curacao, where she works through an indentured servant contract and becomes an herbalist. Alas, she has the same curse that will later befall other Owens women: her teen years involve falling in love with the wrong man. In her case, the 15-year-old Maria is impregnated by 37-year-old John Hathorne, a youthful-looking Massachusetts merchant visiting the island. (You might recognize the name!). She gives birth to Faith, whose red hair and grey eyes mark her an oddity, as does a half moon-shaped birthmark on her left hand.

Love draws Owens women to impulsive behavior and it doesn’t get much more impulsive than deciding to go to Massachusetts to search for Hathorne, over whom Maria is a besotted mooncalf. She locates him in Salem in 1680. Uh-oh! I won’t say too much more about this, other than to note that intrigue and tragedy are deflected by a Portuguese Jewish sailor/ex-pirate Samuel Dias—several times.

There are subplots in which Faith is separated from her mother, dabbles in black arts Maria counseled against, and seeks revenge against her Puritan bigot of a father. Hoffman excels at organization and manages to weave into the novel tales of Samuel’s father, a mysterious woman named Catharine Durant, a progressive doctor, new familiars, a second daughter, and several near-death experiences. You will also gain insight into grimoires (spell books), how Wall Street got its name, how the rules of magic acquired its third commandment, and—for fans of early 1960s pop songs—the actual ingredients of Love Potion # 9. Along the way, you’ll get a personalized take on Puritan intolerance, and perhaps come away thinking it might have been better had New York remained a Dutch colony. For purposes of the Hoffman witchyverse (my term), we see the power of Owens women increase with each new generation, , though not necessarily knowledge or wisdom. Hoffman ends her book as the 17th century is about to give way to a new one. Two sisters endure, Faith and Hannah, so there’s plenty of room for future Owens’ adventures. (Will there be an interquel, a sequel to a prequel?)

Alice Hoffman continues to delight with books that are to be gobbled, not nibbled. Among the spells she casts is that she reverses the photocopy curse. That is, each of her Owens family books thus far has been stronger than its templates. Each novel focuses on magic and the healing arts, but is immersive in the sense that external details unveil the customs and social milieu in which they are set. Rosemary, lavender, and Indian ginseng are said to increase creativity. Alice Hoffman must have a garden filled with them.

Rob Weir