The Book of Magic was my favorite book this year! I loved how Hoffman pulled all her previous Magic books together and wrapped them into this story. The writing, storyline, characters were all wonderfully crafted. It was a very satisfying read. Even though the ending didn't go the way I had hoped, it was perfect.

Hoffman is a master storyteller and she continues this amazing series with the final installment without ceasing to disappoint! I loved everything about this novel, the writing style being at the top of the list! Hoffman stands out because she has her own prose that can only be described as magical! Her imagery and ability to capture emotion is enthralling! I will continue to read and recommend Alice Hoffman for the rest of my life!

Alice Hoffman is back again with another installment of the Owen's family curse. A winding tale of family, promises, magic, and above all: love.

Though not my favourite book in the Practical Magic series, Alice Hoffman still has a way to sweep me up into a world of magic, womanhood, and love.

I adore Alice Hoffman novels. My first was Turtle Moon, which was actually my first exposure to the magical realism genre as well. From there, I read forward and backward in her works, having now completed all but the first two or three and one history-themed volume. While I was pleased to hear of this finale to the Practical Magic “series,” the Magic titles are not my favorites. In each of those I faithfully read about spells and curses, incantations and cures, and I did enjoy growing-up tale of Vincent and his sisters. And so this Book provided closure, and some of Ms. Hoffman’s signature snippets of wisdom for us sprinkled throughout. Many readers will call it a favorite.

The Book of Magic is the end of the Owens' story as well as a curse. One morning Jet Owens hears the death beetle and on her seventh and final day she discovers the book of ravens and the secret to help break the curse. I do not want to say much more and give the story away but every Owens has their story complete.

I really enjoyed this one and loved the attention to each of the Owens family members so they could have their stories resolve and set on a path of new beginnings.

Always and forever an Alice Hoffman fan. I love getting different glimpses into the sisters this way… and I love the non linear timeline. I feel like I am always finding out something new about the Owens. I’m so sad this is the end. Looking forward to experiencing them in a different order the next time I read the set!

I wanted something witchy for Halloween and this book was of course the perfect thing. It is technically book #2 of the four Practical Magic books but published last and pulls all the women together - from the very first Owens woman to be called a witch!

I have been in love with the Owens for as long as I can remember. Rereading Practical Magic until my copy quit literally fell apart. Then as the last few years and books have come out I’ve only fallen deeper into their story and the exquisite writing of Alice Hoffman. The Book of Magic was my most anticipated release this year and honestly I was slow to work my way through it. I knew it would be the last time I would dive into a chapter of the Owens’s life for the first time. I was reluctant to have it be over with.

I laughed out loud, I put the book down in frustration, and I cried. Like I really, really cried as everything wound down to the end that was truly a beginning. There are many books I love and treasure the experience of losing myself into them. And then there is the ending of an almost 20 year literature love affair. Hoffman not only delivered her beautiful world building, but the character development in The Book of Magic is brilliant. By far the most thought out and carefully constructed transformation of characters you could ever ask for. The story line is slow and smoldering. Allowing those of us that have been here from the start to truly tie together this journey and say our goodbyes.

Alice Hoffman continues to enthrall readers with her writing, and this book is no exception. Turning the pages I felt like I was falling back in to an old set of friends, waiting to hear what was new in their lives.

The curse...the dreaded curse. If you are a member of the Owens family you will be cursed if you fall in love.

This book starts out in the library...how perfect. What isn't perfect is that Jet hears the deathwatch beetle and she only has 7 days to live. And, a young man is near death as a result of the Owen's curse and that is where the tale starts.

I love this series! I'm so sad to see it ending. I've seen people say that this book was a little all over the place but the family was was over the world trying to end the family curse. I really enjoyed this book and feel like it wrapped up the series nicely. I loved how things tied together and it brought everything full circle from the beginning of the series. I do wish some of the side characters were developed more or maybe the book focused more on the Owens family but overall, I really loved it. This book is definitely in contention with Magic Lessons as my favorite of the series!! I wish this series wasn't ending and we could have more about the Owens women. I'm going to miss them!

Alice Hoffman is one of those authors whose characters you immediately fall in love with and become attached to the moment you meet them. This installment of the "Practical Magic" series is no different for Hoffman, the characters pulling you into their stories easily. The only reason "The Book of Magic" didn't receive five stars from me: it's the only Hoffman book I didn't cry about, and I missed some of her usual emotional pull.

The Book of Magic was another beautiful book by the amazing Alice Hoffman.
I love these stories and was so happy to get this story. Wonderful!!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review

Love is all that ails the Owens family, for whenever love strikes, their family curse follows. Sally Owens has kept the truth of this curse from her children, including her daughter Kylie. When Kylie naively sets off the curse, it sets off a journey for three generations of the Owens that will take them across Europe. Among all this hubbub, aunt Jet knows the clock is ticking on the rest of her life, as she has heard the deathwatch beetle, so every moment counts more than ever. Sally must reckon with her efforts to keep the family's heritage from her children before it's too late for Kylie, and that means visiting the place where the first Owen cast the first spell.

I've been entirely engrossed in the Practical Magic series since its inception, and I am happy to receive another entry in the series, and sad that this is the last we'll ever get. I sympathize with Sally's desire to keep knowledge of magic and the curse from her children, though I do think that the endeavor was short-sighted, as the curse doesn't seem to care whether those on the receiving end are aware of it.

Perhaps this lack of knowledge spurs Kylie onward, because she hasn't had the inevitability of the curse hammered into her from birth, and because the feelings she's experiencing toward the unfortunate victim of the curse drive her to do something about it in ways that previous generations would or could not. This series, and story, is all about family and love, and both of those intertwine beautifully in this final entry as sacrifices are made, bonds are strengthened, and love forges a path forward against all odds. The Book of Magic is a wonderful reminder of the power of the heart, and I recommend it without reservation to all fans of the Practical Magic series.

Was so pleasantly surprised earlier this year when I saw that Alice Hoffman was giving us a finale to the Practical Magic universe (the PMU if you will), especially after reading all 3 previous books last October! Practical Magic is one of my favorite movies, and I was thrilled to finally get to see what happens to Sally, Gillian, Jet, and Franny. This 4th book doesn't disappoint, and with the addition of Sally's daughters Antonia and Kylie to the mix, we have a full cast of fantastic female witches who try desperately to figure out how to move through life while avoiding the curse of the people they fall in love with dying (thanks to their distant witch relative who caused a whole lot of trouble for them back in Salem during the witch trials).

I was so sad to say goodbye to Franny and Jet especially, and adored the first half of this book. However, the second half gets a bit muddled and not sure why Hoffman had to introduce us to so many new characters when there are already so many to begin with! That was my only complaint: I couldn't keep track of everyone! Hoffman has always been a bit of a rambler, but if you've come this far with the series you already know that and it's definitely worth it to get to eh conclusion of the series (though I could certainly see it continuing, perhaps someday?)

2.5 stars but I'm not rounding up.

The finale of the Practical Magic series started off as a hope it would be the best one for me in this series. I was intrigued and had high hopes that maybe this one would be it and I'd actually enjoy it. And I didn't hate the ending. Very much like the other books in this series.

Although the beginning was mostly a recap of the previous books, I was excited to see how their story ended and glad to put this series to bed. However, like the previous books, the middle is where I began to drift and it felt like a chore to get to the finish line.

It was a meandering tale, with a bunch of unnecessary fluff, to the point where I feel the author had a word count goal and she exceeded it. I was just ready for it to be over. There's a lot of five star reviews for this series and it could very well just not be my cup of tea. I love a descriptive book but not when it feels redundant. Thankfully, it finished off strong and I'm glad to have a conclusion, but I would not recommend this book. Unless you loved the books leading up to it, in which case, you will love it.

***Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book!

The Book of Magic is the last book in the Pratical Magic series and it doesn’t disappoint! As the story begins the death beetle is clicking all over the house, Aunt Jet instinctively knows who is it coming for. The entire family gets caught up in ending the curse that has been on them for hundreds of years by their ancestor Maria Owens, that love would not end well for anyone in the Owens family, as she was being hanged for witchcraft in Essex, England. An accident which leave Kylies boyfriend Gideon in a coma and fighting for his life sends first Kylie to England and then the rest of the family to save her from the black magic she thinks she needs to end the curse and bring Gideon out of his coma. People are not always as they seem and the Owens family has to be careful on who to trust and who just wants to use them for their own dark means of revenge. When this journey begins the family are all going in different directions not sure how this will end but in the end they pull together to break the curse. I am a diehard Alice Hoffman fan and am sorry to see this series end. 5 stars
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Every October for the last 3 years, I've read the newest installment of the Practical Magic series, and every October Alice Hoffman draws me under her spell with her lyrical writing and her broken-but-lovable characters. The Book of Magic was a satisfying conclusion as the Owens from nearly all the books come together to try and break the curse. This book felt a bit like a reunion tour, checking in on all the old characters, with plenty of winks towards events in the previous novels. At times, I felt the pacing was a bit too slow, but I still enjoyed this magical story!

Be still my witchy heart. 🖤 The fourth and final installment of the Practical Magic series is downright delightful. I loved everything from the first sentence — "Some stories begin at the beginning and others begin at the end, but all the best stories begin in a library." — to the final walk up the bluestone path to the house on Magnolia Street, and especially the heartwarming reunion with Vincent Owens who is the fictional love of my life. SWOON. Read this when you are in the mood for a comforting seasonal mystery with lovable characters. It is the Louise Penny version of The Rules of Magic. Best paired with tipsy chocolate cake. XO, Tara

Thanks to Net galley, Simon and Schuster , and Alice Hoffman for this ARC.
I love Alice Hoffman books, Practical Magic being one of my favorites. This book was just okay for me.. in my opinion, there was a lot of unnecessary words and descriptions. Honest.y, I couldn’t wait to get to the end of this book. I rated it 3 1/2 as compared to all of this authors other fabulous books.