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!

Preface:
Let me begin by saying that I am a huge fan of the Practical Magic movie, but have never read Alice Hoffman's book -- more specifically book one. People always told me that the movie was better. After reading Magic Lessons and now The Book of Magic I have a difficult time believing the movie captured this complex family better than the books. I'm not saying the movie still isn't great -- it absolutely is! But the movie wraps everything up from three books into one story (mostly book one) and gives the characters endings from that point. Likely the filmmakers didn't anticipate so much more to be told. That said, I will completely understand which parts turn off fans of the film who grew so attached to these amazing women.
Review:
Since I never read book one, but did know Maria Owen's history with her biological and adoptive mothers and their fates, I felt fine jumping into book two. If you have the chance to begin fresh I recommend reading them in timeline order, not in publication order: Magic Lessons, Practical Magic, The Book of Magic.

Parenthood is a particular theme explored since the women are not homogenous. The great aunts, Jet and Franny, take in young Sally and Gillian after their parents are tragically killed. Franny never expected to be interested in raising children, but she and Gillian have a strong bond. Gillian desperately longs to have a daughter; noting, that by this point the youngest girls are in their twenties so Gillian (working at MIT) is probably late forties and Sally (librarian) is around fifty. Sally's daughters, Antonia and Kylie are as different as can be. Like Franny, Antonia didn't expect to be find a connection to mother. She is dedicated to her education and work life. She didn't believe in love, but she believed in motherhood and has decided to make a unique family with her lifelong best friend, Scott. It turns out both of them are gay (though Antonia seems bi) and this kid will have four parents plus extended family that love it to pieces. Vincent is Sally and Gillian's grandfather they never knew. He ran away from the family to live in France.

As for dear Kylie Owens, she becomes the center of this book's story. She finds Maria's secret book of shadows, The Book of the Raven which was written by Amelia Bassano. Kylie is in a relationship and battling the Owens curse. Some other relatives have taken drastic steps to try and trick the curse into not noticing their relationships. Kylie's relationship with Gideon Barnes sets off all the turmoil for the characters.
Hoffman is a master and that title shouldn't be thrown around lightly. What I found interesting as far as her technique is that she does exactly the opposite of what every mentor, friend, and editor have told me about my on writing: don't "head hop" especially not in the same chapter. Well, my friends, Hoffman does it and it's fine. It's fluid. It never once brought me "out" of the story as people have told me numerous times about this technique. To each their own. Fans will like what they like.

The "big bad" in this book is a distant relation which ties back to Magic Lessons and the connections between Rebecca (Maria's biological mother) and Hannah Owens (her adopted mother). Tom Lockland is named after the man who swore he married a witch, Rebecca. Rebecca sought help from Hannah Owens, a local woman skilled in the Nameless Art -- a learned witch as opposed to a blood lineage witch. After those Locklands and the townspeople destroyed Rebecca and Hannah, the Lockland family itself was ruined for many generations. From nobility to poverty. The modern day Tom, nicknamed "Bad Tom" by local women who learned not to trust a thing he says, lives a destitute life. He routinely goes back to the destroyed Lockland Manor with its crumbling roof and walls to connect to the power of his ancestors and to work on his own magic. The connection is: Kylie is the thirteen-times great-granddaughter of a witch who had been married to his six-times great-grandfather.

That catches you up on the main characters. What brings them together is that Kylie's life partner Gideon ends up in a coma and she is led to this mysterious book that was hidden for ages, the Book of the Raven, which includes dark, left-hand magic about curses. The book has the answer for casting curses and breaking them. Kylie follows the codes and ends up back in the first Essex County, the one over in England, to find the people who can help her break Maria's curse and save Gideon's life. Bad Tom isn't only a selfish misogynist; he's every kind of bad news an Owens witch could possibly encounter.

Kylie and her mother Sally go through significant transformations during the story. Kylie repeats Maria's slide into left-hand magic. Her hair goes black to show it. Sally, who had not been able to see the color red after closing herself off to magic reverses that symptom. As many fictional witches (or super-powered characters from any genre), Sally builds up incredible power as she protects people. Afterwards... I won't spoil it. Let's just say Sally may have been finished with love, but it wasn't finished with her. Part Four is subtitled The Book of Love. Writer and expert on magic, Ian Wright is perhaps "Mr. Right" for Sally.

Speaking of Kylie's hair changing colors, this is something that Hoffman loves to detail. Colors are mentioned often. Red magic. Red hair. Red boots. Red ink. Blue thread. Black hair. Silver eyes. They were black for weddings and white for funerals. Hoffman also loves to list the plant life in certain locations. She introduces readers to what would be native or planted. The great lore of the magnolia tree comes up repeatedly since it was a gift for Maria Owens from Samuel.

With the theme of motherhood/parenthood comes the connected cycle: birth, life, death, afterlife, new birth.

In Practical Magic, the big question was: what wouldn't you do for love? In The Book of Magic, the big question is what wouldn't you do for the people you love? There's no way I couldn't give this the highest recommendation. The characters are complex and quite individual with strong family ties they get to discover along with the reader.

Rating: 5 stars

How very wonderful to have completed a series that made me wonder and love the gifts of magic contained within its pages! As Alice Hoffman's series of Practical Magic continued, we once again are enamored with the Owens family as they deal with the many possibilities love can take and how being denied this wondrous emotion can possibly be overcome.

Perhaps, for those of us who find joy in reading of magic, we, too, would love to be part of this family either in the past or presently. The curse placed on the family has had many who have valiantly tried to avoid its happening and when a young man loved by one of the current sisters, she will do anything to trace down the curse and try to eliminate it. The family rallies to her support traversing overseas to eventually wind up where it all started with Maria Owens. As three generations of the Owens family work together to reverse the curse and save the young man traveling to death's door, they learn that love in all its forms can conquer all. Franny Owens, with the aid of a book and her long lost brother realize that anything worth fighting for involves a sacrifice, perhaps the greatest sacrifice of all.

Joined in love and that wonderful gift they all possess even though Sally Owens wants to keep her daughters away from the secret, they all come to the final truth that love is worth every sacrifice, every stolen moment, and sometimes requires every bit of courage and magic one possesses.

I have loved this entire series, and of course am saddened by its ending. However, the magic in the world will continues as the old saying goes, love conquers all.
Thank you to Alice Hoffman, Simon Schuster, and NetGalley for a copy of this endearing story which published recently.

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

Truth!

Alice Hoffman continues to bewitch and dazzle me with her writing and this book is no exception. I loved falling into the pages of this book, being reunited with some characters, and having characters of the past mentioned again. It all comes full circle.

If you are not familiar with the series, the Owens family has been cursed when it comes to love for over 300 years. DO NOT FALL IN LOVE or the cures will take effect.

This book begins in a library and with the appearance of a deathwatch beetle brings the knowledge that an ending for one is coming soon. The Owens family is a tight knit group who love each other deeply. But what happens when they love others? You got it - the CURSE!


As they attempt to save a young man, they learn secrets, undiscovered truths, and the meaning of sacrifice.

"When you save someone's life, they belong to you, no matter what they might say."

Hoffman's writing is beautiful, moving, lyrical and beguiling. She has the ability to transport her readers to the various locations in this book. It's pure magic! Her descriptions are vivid and crisp. Her characters are likeable and endearing.

"What begins can end. What is done can be undone. What is sent in the world comes back to you three tines over.

So go out, do good, love, and if you have not read this series, you need to do so, but I suggest not starting with this book. To fully appreciate this book, read the other books first.

Thank you to Simon & Shuster and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

*3.5 stars rounded up. How far would you go to remove a curse on your beloved? Kylie Owens has to find out in the conclusion of Hoffman's enchanting Practical Magic series. As always the story is filled with fascinating history, remarkable characters and plenty of witchery and spells but I found the first third of the book to be a bit dull and rambling before I was finally drawn into the story. It's certainly a study in people not being honest and forthcoming with each other. So many problems might have been avoided if they had been.

The perfect background music for this book would be the folk song The Water is Wide which is mentioned several times in the story. Here's my favorite version from the 1997 Lilith Fair: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d32rA...

Does the description of chocolate tipsy cake have you drooling? A recipe I found online: https://www.hungry-bookworm.com/2017/...

I received an arc of this new novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity.

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

And so begins the fourth and final novel in "The Practical Magic Series."

In "The Book Of Magic," due to hit shelves Tuesday, Oct. 12, author Alice Hoffman takes us back to the magical house on Magnolia Street, where the story of sisters Sally and Gillian Owens first began. It was there the orphaned sisters learned about the family curse — cast over 300 years earlier by family matriarch Maria Owens, that causes the untimely death of anyone loved by an Owens. It is where the sisters, under the care of their ancient aunts Franny and Jet Owens, learn of the magical gifts they possess as hereditary witches. And later, years after escaping from the extraordinary lives, it was where the sisters, as adults (Sally with two young daughters in tow), would return to embrace the magic and family they had left behind.
It has been 26 years since Hoffman first published "Practical Magic" but not the first time she has brought us back here to the house, where daffodils push up through the earth a month before anywhere else, black cats are plentiful and where, if the porch light is on, those looking for help in matters of luck or love might get a bit of help. We first returned to the Owens house in 2017, in "The Rules of Magic," when in the 1960s, the Owens siblings Franny, Jet and Vincent, first learn of their magical powers when a trip to Massachusetts lands them on the doorstep of their Aunt Isabelle.

It is on Magnolia Street the Owens siblings learn why their mother has set down certain rules: no walking in moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic and most importantly, never ever fall in love. The trio uncover family secrets and begin to understand who they are, all while practicing magic and hard as they try not to, falling in love.

In 2020, Hoffman returned with a third book, another prequel, "Magic Lessons," which details the life of Maria Owens, who, in 1620, cast the curse. Charged with witchery after falling in love with the wrong man (whom she followed from England to Salem) and exiled after escaping execution, it was Maria who built the ancestral house.

And so, it is here, on Magnolia Street, that beloved Aunt Jet, now in her 80s, first hears the deathwatch beetle, a sound that means she has only seven days left to live. It is the sound that sets off events — the discovery of a long forgotten book, The Book of the Raven, hidden in the family library. It's a book that holds the promise of breaking the family curse, but the cure comes with the price of a great sacrifice.

It is also where we find Sally, once again shut off to the possibility of magic. Tragic events have caused her to close herself off and to, in an act of love, shield her daughters Antonia and Kylie, now grown women, from their hereditary powers and any knowledge of the family curse. But try as she might to protect them, the family curse comes calling for Kylie's true love.

Kylie, desperate to save the love of her life, discovers the Book of Raven and begins a journey that will take her back to the land of her ancestor, the epicenter of where Maria's heart was first broken and the roots of the family curse reside. Her journey takes the majority of the Owens clan overseas as well, where long-lost brother Vincent (the only family member to escape the curse) comes out of hiding to help his sister and granddaughters track down Kylie before it's too late. For Kylie's journey has brought her directly in contact with the descendant of the man who sparked the family curse. He, too, is looking to break a curse, one that caused his family to fall from grace and fortune. But unlike Kylie, his intentions aren't pure but born of hatred, revenge and dark desire.

Hoffman, who lives near Boston and has connections to the Berkshires (Hoffman's "The Red Garden" is set here), will surely delight fans with this final chapter of the Owens' family series, which from the first page is a homecoming of sorts. It was if I had just arrived in a memory, just out of reach, filled with warmth and comfort and the smells of a freshly baked chocolate tipsy cake the aunts serve for breakfast.

There's a magic to Hoffman's prose; delicate, deliberate and soothing. Indeed, she casts a spell that makes the reader reluctant to leave the world of the Owens family, even if just for a minute.

The beauty of the series, and in this return to the start of the series, is that Hoffman allows her characters to not only grow, but also to retreat to old comforts, and then learn from past mistakes. Ultimately, the story of Sally and Gillian, of Franny, Jet and Vincent, of Kylie and Antonia, is one of perseverance; of secrets and curses; of dark and light; of unconditional love. It is all of those attributes that make the story of the Owens family so easy to slip back into and makes it so hard to say goodbye to them for good.