Beautifully written and sentimental, Magic Lessons is just the type of book best read with a mug of apple cider by one’s side on a brisk Fall day – cliché to be sure, but certainly inviting to that kind of experience.

My interest in this book was piqued by the idea of a prequel to Practical Magic (I haven’t read the book, but I’m fond of the film and generally give it a watch come every Halloween). Adaptations could go both ways, but I’ve found that many thrive in film where they fall short in source material that is wanting stylistically but rich in concept. While I have yet to test this theory with Practical Magic, I was pleased to learn that Magic Lessons doesn’t suffer any lack of detail or imagination, making me hopeful for the author’s other works. From the get go Hoffman does a skilful job of setting a scene; the story opens on a cold January day when a babe is found in a snow-laden field, taken up by a witch whose philosophies of magic and love will serve generations to come. Thus begins the story of Maria Owens, whose humble beginnings lend little precursor to a life of loss, love, betrayal, and finding herself all over again.

To echo the sentiments of many, Magic Lessons is lush with details and casually shows its familiarity with history and lore in every paragraph. More than a story, this book is a great primer for understanding life in the 17th century through various geographical terrains, whether in rural England, the tropical seaside Curaçao, developing New York, and, most intriguingly, in Massachusetts when the Salem witch trials were at their height, offering an inventive alternative history that leverages real historical landmarks and figures. By land and sea, Magic Lessons is a novel of voyages, taking the reader by unexpected turns, promising nothing while delivering more than one bargained for.

I think I’ll be taking a little break from the Owens’ family, but am very curious to see what’s in store when I revisit them in The Rules of Magic and Practical Magic.

Thank you immensely to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for this spellbinding read!

I had just finished reading The World That We Knew when my request for this book was approved. I was excited to read another Alice Hoffman book!

I was unaware of the other books in this series but was able to read this one without the surrounding books (although I am going to be reading Practical Magic and Rules of Magic as well).

I loved this book and truly felt I was back in the 1600's while reading it. I really did not want to put it down and had to stop reading so I could get to sleep. I would recommend setting up a good block of time to read this book straight through. The lists of herbs/concoctions felt sort of strange in the middle of the story but other than that it was perfect. There is sadness and death and tragedy but overall it is a book about love.

Thank you to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy of this book.

This book explores where it all once started, with the original Owens curse. During the 1600s, Maria Owen travels to the new Americans, abandoned by her parents. Here shes called a multiple of thing, a witch, a healer, the devil but her only goal is to help others through her powers and to not fall in love.

This is my first book by Hoffman and I was not disappointing. This book took me through a world wind of emotions, hatred, love and frustration. Every emotion that was felt by Maria went strait to my heart. It is beautifully written and all of the character and amazingly developed. I loved seeing the characters change and grow into themselves as we follow them through the years. I loved how independent and strong willed Maria was, despite any women being called a witch for having spoken her mind, Maria breaks these rules. She makes her own and lives life according to her own compass.

Later we are introduced to her daughter, Faith, which gives great juxtaposition to Maria. Even if you hate or love a character, you can always feel the character.

Alice Hoffman has created another unique and engrossing story with Magic Lessons and I highly recommend you pick it up.

Alice Hoffman’s books are always a surprise, but always something original, thought provoking and beautifully written. This is a book about magic, about family, about love and loss, about injustice and about history. Full of Hoffman's magical prose, vivid descriptions, the Owens family history and the Salem Witch Trials.

This is a story about the fear, hate and injustices of man against those things that they cannot understand. The women who practiced the “Unnamed Arts” were gifted individuals who understood the medicinal properties of plants. Branded as witches they were persecuted for centuries and ultimately culminated in the Salem Witch Trials in the 17th century.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This is an enchanting story that goes much further than being a story about a woman accused of being a witch. This is a story of true and unending love, that of a mother for her child and a woman for a man. It is a story of strength and believing in yourself. Maria is a strong woman that has faced much sadness yet she stays true to what is right and never lets her faith in truth go astray.

The characters in this book are deep and richly developed. I could easily picture them in my mind and I found it easy to relate to their lives.

While this is a fairly long book I found it could have included even more details as it was so well written nothing seemed trivial. I loved how this wasn’t just about casting a spell but more about herbs and the medicinal uses of them. It was about working hard for what you want in life and staying true to your values.

There was one character I would have like to seen get his comeuppance but perhaps that would take away all of the good in the book. I would highly recommend everyone to read it as you will be swept away by this magical story and magnificent characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for allowing me to read this beautiful book.

Unbelievable. Alice Hoffman never fails to disappoint, I’ve devoured nearly everything she’s written and am just in awe of what she does. For me it’s the FEEL of her words, the atmosphere she creates every time, surrounding you with story, immersing you into its depths. This is the third in her books about the Owens women, this time taking us all the way back to their origins, to the matriarch Maria Owens in the 17th century, from England to Curacao and inevitably into the dark time of the Salem witch trials. Hoffman’s practised hand with history and magical realism and character all weave so seamlessly into brilliant storytelling I hated for it to end. But there is still plenty of room for her to continue with more stories of this magical family And I can’t wait to read more.

Even though there is minimal dialogue, I enjoy Alice Hoffman's style of writing. Although it wasn't necessarily a quick or particularly easy read, I found the historical fiction mixed with magic to be really interesting and the characters complex and beautifully human.

I had high hopes for Magic Lessons after really enjoying The Rules of Magic, but unfortunately, this was not for me. I felt like Magic Lessons lacked the charm of The Rules of Magic and there wasn't as much focus on the characters' personalities and relationships. This book seemed to drag out a lot and Maria and Faith weren't as developed as I would've liked. I didn’t relate to Maria and she didn’t have many motivations besides finding lost people. She also seemed to do a lot of things just because she had seen it already. I was hoping Faith would be a redeeming character, but she lost me with her abrupt change later in the novel. It felt really out of character and didn’t fit with the tone of her personality. The only characters I mildly enjoyed and felt any sort of emotional attachment to were Samuel and Abraham Dias.

This story has more background history and descriptions of the setting, but I wasn’t really interested in those aspects of the novel. I also understand that this book takes place in the 1600s when it was okay for younger girls to be with older men, but it still made me uncomfortable by how often men were distracted by Maria and Faith’s good looks when they were children.

I guess I expected something else from this novel, but I'm sure those interested in the history of witches would appreciate this novel more than I did.

Witches, curses, the Salem trials and most of all the Owens family starting with Marie!

It cant get better than that.

You follow Marie's journey as she is born into the sisterhood of magic , her journey and the birth of her daughter.

There are rules to magic, potions and spells and when they get broken you can only blame yourself as it will come back to get you.

So many strong women in this book that lived through a horrific time in Salem .

There is so much more to this book than that though.

I thoroughly enjoyed it , makes me want to go back and read the other books in the series.

Well done!

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster Canada, Simon and Schuster for a bewitching read that I got lost in.

A herbaceous story abounding in the famous Owens trinity of love, heartbreak, and sacrifice. ‘Magic Lessons’ takes the reader to the beginning of Maria Owens and the curse that will haunt her ancestors for generations to come. We witness her precarious birth, her green witch childhood, and her trials and tribulations as a young witch learning to navigate her heart through the witch hunt craze in Europe and in the New World.

It’s a story that conjures courage in the face of adversity, love in the presence of heartbreak, power in the depths of sorrow, and faith in the ability to do the right thing. As beguiling as this work of fiction is, the simple lessons of being good and true no matter the obstacle is one that connects us back to our heart, if we are willing to take a risk and listen to it. Magic holds a responsibility in the 'Practical Magic' series as both the mysterious messengers of fate and purpose and the thorny consequences of breaking the rules.

Herbs, spells, rituals, hedge witchery, and healing remedies are integral components of this bewitching story. The characters are persevering and inspiring in their refusal to waiver from their heart’s calling. They are my favourite characters so far in this series because I felt they had the most chutzpah and strength compared to their descendents. I loved the grimoire inspired notes featured throughout the story and the abundance and variety of magic.

Overall, another spellbinding read by Alice Hoffman that will inspire readers to learn the lesson and follow the rule of ...falling in love whenever you can.