This is the conclusion to one of my favorite series. Alice Hoffman wrapped everything up neatly and dramatically and left me completely satisfied. I'm just sad it's over.

The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman is the final story in the “Practical Magic” series. This story takes place after the Practical Magic novel chronologically. Of course, Maria Owens is referenced throughout the book and we find out even more about her. We are also greeted by characters from “Magic Lessons” and “Practical Magic”.



The new generations of Owens women, Kylie and Antonia are unaware of the magic they have within them. But, when Kylie hears the deathwatch beetle she runs to her Great Aunt Fanny for help. Three generations of Owens women and a long last brother come together to fight the curse that has been part of the Owens family for centuries.


I want to first say that I am a huge fan of the Practical Magic series. I have loved and treasured all three books that I have read and wanted to hug them during and after reading. Unfortunately, this was not the case with The Book of Magic. While it is a magical story of family and love, there are many portions that drag on and on. The beginning was great but as the story continued I kept finding reasons to close the book and do other things. I felt that the story could have been told in a shorter amount of time and still been able to do the Owens family justice.


With that out of the way, I still enjoyed the book and believe that it is a 3.5/4 star read.

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

This book was everything I wanted in the conclusion of this series. I have loves every book about the Owens women and this one tied them all together with returning characters and perfect continuity. I feel like I just took a vacation all over the world after reading this because Alice's writing is so lyrical and descriptive that I always feel like I am in her settings watching the action. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how everything unfolded with the ancient curse and which characters showed their true natures. This was maybe my favorite of the series. I want to go back and reread them all now. All the stars! Fantastic!!!!!!

I adored every page of Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic Series. It’s been so much fun following generations of Owen’s women as they discovered their magical abilities, fell in love, and realized how forbidden love was for them.

In The Book of Magic, we return to the story of the Owens but Jet and Franny are now old women. They’ve still got spunk, but even they know that all good things must come to an end. At the beginning of the book, Jet discovers that she has a week to live and is able to prepare in the way that anyone magical would for her very own demise.

But while the sisters embraced magic many years ago, their nieces were never told of the curse. It must have never seemed the right time. But Kylie hid a love affair from her family and the curse has come knocking. Part of Jet’s preparations included leaving a book for the person who would break the spell. With her death, a new plan is set in motion that takes the family abroad to break the curse once and for all.

Hoffman has drawn such rich characters in The Practical Magic Series, that I truly feel that I know them. I laughed, I cried, and I was terrified right along with them the whole time. I’m a little jealous of someone who hasn’t come across the series because it’s just that good. I wish I could go back and read them all again for the first time.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. The Book of Magic is out now.

"How lucky they'd been to be raised by women who taught them what was most important in the world. Read as many books as you can. Choose courage over caution. Take time to visit libraries. Look for light in darkness. Have faith in yourself. Know that love is what matters most."

I am so sad this series is over! It was a great series and I thoroughly enjoyed every book.

I loved getting more of Sally and Gillian. I think this was a great conclusion to the series. Now if only they would make more movies!

If you have enjoyed this series I think you'll like this one. If you haven't read any of this series, what are you waiting for?!

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the eARC of this book.

The first 70 or so pages were very hard to read because they cover the week leading up to Jet's death and then her funeral and it is all very sad. But, if you can push through that part, then the rest of the book moves on and is not as sad. This final books ties up the series nicely, I thought. In this series, I liked The Rules of Magic the best, followed by Magic Lessons, followed by The Book of Magic, followed by Practical Magic.

I've been in love with the Owens family for many years and am so glad this book has lived up to the rest of them. I always enjoy going back to this magical world and Hoffman did an amazing job with the story and writing, as always.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

’Some stories begin at the beginning and others begin at the end, but all the best stories begin in a library.’

Generations of cursed witches beloved by generations of readers in the real world, my heart was full of bittersweet anticipation for the final book in the Practical Magic series. The Owens women come together in this perfectly imperfect book, and learn that love is worth any sacrifice, and that it will heal them as much as it had broken them.

Satisfying conclusion to the Owens’ family curse. I truthfully don’t have a whole lot to say about this beyond that. I enjoyed the dynamics between the whole fam together and how this final installation brought it all together. Nothing blew me away, nothing was shocking, and it was straight up enjoyable.

The Book of Magic is the fourth and final book in Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic Series. Please note that each one can be read as a standalone novel and your enjoyment will not be sacrificed. Since I read them in order of their publication date, I am excited to now read them in chronological order:

1.Magic Lessons (2020)
2.The Rules of Magic (2017)
3.Practical Magic (1995)
4.The Book of Magic (2021)

These books follow several generations of the Owen family in which the women are all witches. I normally don’t read books about witches and maybe you don’t either but I recommend you make an exception for this series. The common thread through all of these books is a curse, which began with Maria Owen. The curse was on any person that was romantically loved by an Owen woman. In this story, the youngest Owen girls are determined to end the curse. But what will be the price and are they willing to pay it?

Strong women are the focus in the entire series. Hoffman creates complex characters and appealing relationships that are sure to engage. Some of these women partake in different spells and remedies — Hoffman has a vast knowledge of the herbs and their different uses.

The wrap up of the Owens saga, though I am sad to say goodbye, was satisfying and fulfilled my expectations. I strongly recommend this series and can’t wait to re-read them in chronological order.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

It’s no secret to anyone who follows my blog that I’m a huge fan of Alice Hoffman’s books, especially her Practical Magic series. My love for this series about the Owens women, their magic, and the fact that they have been cursed in matter of love for generations has only grown with each passing book. I loved how Hoffman used the second and third books in the series as prequels to gradually take us all the way back to the origins of the Owens family curse. What I was not expecting, however, was a fourth book, and specifically a fourth book that would function as an actual sequel to Practical Magic, but that’s what we get with The Book of Magic

The Book of Magic takes us full circle back to Gillian and Sally from the first book, along with their beloved, quirky old aunts, Jet and Franny. When the story opens, we learn that Jet has seen and heard the death watch beetle and knows she only has seven days left to live. She decides it’s time to try to end the family curse. She wants future generations of Owens women to be able to fall in love and live happily ever after rather than suffer the endless heartbreaks that have plagued her, her sister, and all other Owens family members going back 300 years. Seven days isn’t enough, however, and while she sets some things into motion, she is unable to complete the task prior to her death and knows it will fall to someone else in the family to finish what she has started. She has left clues for what must come next but it remains to be seen which Owens will find her clues and if they’ll be brave enough to make the sacrifice that needs to be made to set the rest of the family free.

Jet and her sister Franny were my two favorite characters from the first book, so I was heartbroken from the opening pages of the book learning that Jet was going to die. At the same time though, I loved how determined she was to break this awful curse once and for all. Her family has had way more than its fair share of heartbreak and it has ruined so many lives over the years, and I just loved how she really wanted breaking it to be her legacy.

I also loved getting to see all the beloved characters from the earlier books – Gillian, Sally, Franny, Vincent, and so many more, as well as meeting two younger members of the Owens clan, Sally’s daughters Kylie and Antonia. Kylie and Antonia, thanks to their overprotective mother, have grown up not knowing about magic or their family’s curse, and when they start to hear whispers of it at Jet’s funeral, Kylie in particular, starts looking for answers and stumbles upon some of Jet’s clues. When her boyfriend Gideon falls into a coma, Kylie’s desperate actions put her in danger and become the catalyst for the bulk of the story’s plot, which involves the entire Owens family coming together to confront enemies from the past, try to save both Kylie and Gideon and to finish what Jet started.

I don’t want to say anything else for fear of spoiling the journey, but with The Book of Magic, Alice Hoffman has gifted me with everything I could have possibly wanted in a sequel for these beloved characters, and so much more. This story broke my heart and made me cry, and yet somehow it was also heartwarming and left me with a smile on my face. There’s just something so satisfying about closure and Hoffman absolutely nails it with The Book of Magic.

oh my gosh ! Literally the perfect end to an era. I don’t want to go into too much detail but this was just amazing and was everything I wanted

While I am a huge fan of Alice Hoffman and the Practical Magic series, this installment was not quite up to my expectations. I can't quite put my finger on why, it just somehow felt like the characters were not as likeable and it was harder to follow the story. I'm pondering rereading it because I feel like I missed something important that tied the story together. I still love the writing and would read more by Alice Hoffman, but perhaps one without the magical aspect.

The Book of Magic is an all around great book. Fun, exciting, informative, a wonderful expansion from Practical Magic. Finding out what happened with Sally and Gillian and the other characters satisfied something I didn't know I was needing. I will recommend this book to all.

I started this series late and have been hastily correcting that! I am sad to say goodbye to the Owens family but I loved the book. It’s truly a modern fairytale. I see some readers disliked that portions are unrealistic. It’s a book about magic! Get a grip. Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the arc.

As a thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of Alice Hoffman’s “The Book of Magic” I provide this honest review. This novel brought many elements of the previous novels together that as a reader made reflecting on these characters so memorable. The Book of Magic brings three generations of Owens Women and a long-lost brother together to address sudden misfortune caused by centuries year old curse that was created by their ancestor Maria Owens. The curse was invoked to right a wrong caused by love. However it is in this novel that the Owens women draw together their magic and travel to the likes of France, and England where the curse was originally cast. Overall the novel was a fitting finale to this Witchly band of Women known for over twenty years. The novel was fast paced, and gave each character a parting farewell to be savored. I enjoyed this novel and gave it a high five out of five stars. I recommend it to fans of family dramas, supernatural themes, witches, and romance.

The Book of Magic is the last book in the Practical Magic series, and while I really enjoyed the first two books in the series (Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic), this one had a bit too much rambling in it for my taste.

I still found it to be a sweet ending to the series, but I was wishing for more “action” throughout most of the book. The Book of Magic is more similar in style to Magic Lessons, which I struggled to enjoy. Still, if you’re in the mood for something cozy and descriptive, with a little witchy-ness, this might be the book for you!



**Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for providing an advance copy of The Book of Magic!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Words can not simply express how much I loved this book. I have loved every single book of this series but this might be my favorite. It brings us the journey of Owens’ women to a conclusion. We get to know Sally’s daughters, Kylie and Antonia as adults. This book, while about the magic is truly about family, loyalty and what we will do for love.

I really enjoyed Practical Magic so was very excited to get an advanced copy of this. Unfortunately, I had a really hard time getting into it. I thought the writing was fantastic, but the plot dragged. There are several new characters and I had a hard time keeping up with everyone and with the plot.

I felt it was a fitting end to the series and while parts were sad, the overall message of love and family made for a happy ending. If you enjoyed the other books, the definitely give this one a chance!