Reading expands the mind and sets one's emotions soaring to places far beyond our reach.

That's exactly what Alice Hoffman does in The Invisible Hour. She'll take us on a journey through the footsteps of these characters in such a way that we seem to live and breathe in cadence along with them. Hold fast to the moments we'll have with Ivy and Mia and even in the likes of Nathaniel Hawthorne himself.

Ivy was a trusting soul......so much so that she will be left waiting in the wings while others move past her. She placed her heart in the hands of a neighbor young man who abandoned her in the time of her greatest need. And she was cast aside by her own parents who valued the mind's eye of others rather than that of their own child.

With no other recourse, Ivy runs away. But she's leaving one set of empty promises for another. The cult appears to be welcoming at first. She steps into this community with eyes wide open and with no other support system. Then the controlling element rises to the surface in the form of Joel Davis, the head of this commune. Soft and gentle with harsh binding ties. No books, limited access to the outside world, and children raised by all. Ivy is soon suffocating under its weight.

Mia's birth is the sole joy now in Ivy's world. This joy comes with guardrails. Mia will be raised by those in the children's unit and Ivy will be monitored if she oversteps these rules. As Mia grows, she has a curious nature. Ivy sneaks her into the town library and Mia is dazzled by the shelves and shelves of books. And it is The Scarlet Letter that will change Mia's life forever. The Scarlet Letter will be a gateway to another life. Indeed.

Alice Hoffman is a gifted writer. "If a book spoke to you, you wanted to speak back." That's why many of us share reviews and comments about our favorite or least favorite books. Hoffman guarantees a heartfilled journey every time she puts words to the page. And she does this superbly in The Invisible Hour. The time travel element may not appeal to all readers, but it does bridge Mia's deep connection to Hawthorne. Hawthorne sets Mia on a widely different path. To see this unfold, you must reach for this one. A remarkable story awaits you.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster and to the talented Alice Hoffman.

If you read or have read any Alice Hoffman you know that her books are nothing short of magical, allowing yourself to suspend belief in what you "know" to enjoy her stories is the first step. She is able to seamlessly weave a story that connects with current day truths, the supernatural and dash of fantasy, The Invisible hours is no different.

Hoffman uses this story to touch on some very relevant issues in our world right now including book banning and the freedom of women. In this book a young girl Mia who is born into a cult where reading and books are banned, breaking away she find solace in her favorite author and time travels back where she meets Nathanial Hawthorne author of the Scarlet Letter. I won't go more into it as I don't want to spoil your read, but this was truly a wonderful book of not only love but a woman breaking free from what is holding her and striving to have a better life.

Not really my kind of book or really my kind of book. I couldn’t get into it and couldn’t finish it. Probably just me

My absolute favorite read of the year thus far! Alice Hoffman did it again. She created such a wonderful world full of intrigue, history, magic and just plain fun. Mia's character development was so wonderful to watch - and one of the best characters to root for! Cannot wait to recommend this book once it hits shelves.

This was my first book by this author and it was an interesting read
Thanks for the advanced copy to net galley and the publisher

I first fell in love with Alice Hoffman’s stories after watching Practical Magic as a young teen and my love for her writing has continued over the decades with each book of hers I pick up. I love how she writes about women living life their own way, while fighting those in power seeking to snuff out their voices, strength or magic. And through The Invisible Hour, Hoffman reminds readers that when the right book finds you at the right time, magic can strike.

This felt like two different stories, and I was loving the contemporary story with Mia and Ivy, but then the time traveling began. I love time travel and magical realism, but throwing in the sudden romance was odd. While The Scarlet Letter and Hawthorne’s words served as a catalyst for Mia to rescue herself, this happens when she’s 15 and she becomes even more enamored with Hawthorne into her adult years.

I very much loved Hoffman’s note at the beginning about the transportive power of books and how stories come alive when readers pick them up. Very much personal preference, but the chapters were quite long, which led to story feeling sluggish at times.

I love how otherworldly Hoffman’s writing is (some of my all time favorite books are hers!), and while I enjoyed aspects of this story, the story was too disjointed and the romance left me feeling uncomfortable and was unnecessary.

4.25 I always enjoy Alice Hoffman’s works, and this one, The Invisible Hour, did not disappoint. This tale wove many of her themes from earlier books. It involved spiritual magic as in the Practical Magic books, and a historical side as with The Dovekeppers, The Marriage of Opposites, and The Museum of Extraordinary Things,, along with the familiar themes of love, heartbreak, loss, mother daughter relationships, and love of books, among others. Ms. Hoffman’s mastery of storytelling reverberates throughout the story. Mia is the daughter of a woman, Ivy, who after finding she is pregnant as a teen and the lack of acceptance of it by her proper Bostonian family, runs off to join a puritanical cult in western Massachusetts Children in the cult were generally forbidden to read anything, and were taught very little, but after Mia escaped once to a library in the town, with the help and understanding of the town librarian and with the various stories her mother told her as she was growing up,, she developed a love for books, particularly The Scarlet Letter. Herein starts a magical journey with Nathaniel Hawthorne. A very entertaining read. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for an unbiased and candid review.

This is the first book I have read by Alice Hoffman and it did not disappoint. If you love historical fiction, fantasy and time travel this is the book for you.
Ivy is young woman who finds herself alone and pregnant with no choices or hope for her future. She becomes involved with a commune and it does not give her or her daughter the freedom she craves. Her daughter Mia rebels and through her love of reading is able to break away and travel to the past to ensure her future.
I loved the connection with The Scarlet Letter and her relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne.
The description of the the community surrounding the Berkshires was also beautifully written.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After reading my first Alice Hoffman book earlier this year, I was hooked... although I first experienced her storytelling capabilities when I fell in love with the movie, Practical Magic. After reading the first two books in that series, I wanted to savor the characters and hold off on the final one, but I also needed to read more Hoffman... that's when I noticed The Invisible Hour appeared on NetGalley, and I was lucky enough to get a copy. Very different (yet remarkably similar, this book focuses on Ivy and her daughter, Mia, who grow up on a commune in Western Massachusetts. All the usual things that happen on communes occur, both bad and good, which prompts Mia to run away after an incident. She's taken in by a kind librarian and her girlfriend, and that's when the book takes different turn. Mia transports back in time to be with her favorite author, Nathanial Hawthorne, as she felt like the stigma of the scarlet letter symbolized their life on the commune. That's when Hoffman teases readers by showing us that Mia inspired Hawthorne to write the book, and the book is what saved Mia from staying on the commune and bring abused.

Loved the concept; less magical than other books, as it was just the concept of transporting through time rather than spells and potions. I think I prefer the spells and potions, but adoring Hawthorne's books made me also feel connected to this one. Slightly confusing at times, the plot zigzagged through history to connect several characters and relationships. Ultimately, I view this less as a plot-based contemporary/historical novel and more as a character-based literary novel. Life lessons are taught. Imagery is shared to push readers to think about how and why things happen. Are coincidences always coincidences, or has someone like Fate been pulling strings. A good way to experience Hoffman, but I wouldn't start with this book as your intro. Looking forward to sample more in the future.

First off, I want to say that Alice Hoffman is my favorite contemporary author and that will never change for me. Her writing is always whimsical and spiritual and her prose is always brilliant. I am still reading this because once it hit the time travel mark I have been trudging through. I like the time travel bit, but the relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne is hard for me to swallow. I love how she makes you care about her characters, but for some reason I don’t care much about him. Besides being a brilliant writer, I don’t have a strong sense of compassion from him. This is where the story has some issues. I would perhaps have loved to see Nathaniel travel to the present, perhaps being pulled to Mia in some transformative way because of a writing block. Her power is to heal him. And take it from there. Oh well. Still a wonderful read if not up to par with her other novels. And not every one of them have to be perfect. She is the best, always!

Thanks netgalley and s&s for allowing me to review an ARC of this book!

Mia grew up in the cold confines of the Community, a cultish commune in western massachusetts, where her only lifeline is her beloved mother, and the library that is supposed to be forbidden to her. After her mother tragically dies, Mia finally runs, finding a new life for herself, but is still haunted by the memories of the community, and saved by hiding in books, until the distant past and her future collide.

I love how hoffman writes and the first half of the book was so damn beautiful to me- so much regret and hidden joy and it was just so special. The magical jump, initally, was a little too much for me. In the end, it worked out but it was still, even in a magical world, a bridge too far. But i still enjoyed this quick read, and the authors note at the beginning was really special. I feel like i need to recisit some hawthorne after reading this.

❤️ 3.5 stars, really.

Such a magical story about the power of books. The
Invisible Hour is a multi-generational story of a
mother's love, the magic books hold, and a girl's story
to coming into her own.
I loved the story of both Ivy and Mia growing up and
into themselves. Ivy strives to do everything she could
for Mia as a mother, and Mia finally realizes this years
later. The aspect of cults has always fascinated me, and
this book definitely gives you an inside look to that life
Mia's found family, her love of reading, her
determination all made for a character you continually
rooted for. This was a beautifully written storv.
Mia Jacob is a member of the cultish Community where
rules are stringent and reading books aren't allowed.
After tragedy hits, Mia finds solace in forbidden books
at the local library where she picks up The Scarlet
Letter. She finds such comfort in the story because it
reminds her of her mother Ivy and all she went through.
Mia was at her darkest when she connected with the
book and it's author Nathaniel Hawthorne which gave
her the strength to escape the Community and begin
her new life.
Through her connection with The Scarlet Letter and
love for the author she discovers books can also guide
you through time travel and help your dreams come
true. She finally meets the love of her life when she
travels back in time, but she starts to struggle with
becoming invisible. Her dream has come true, but what
will the consequences be? Will finally meeting her love
change everything that occurred before? She struggles
with living out her dream and ensuring to keep the future intact.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CrqNV21rgun/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I'm a fan of Alice Hoffman so of course I was excited to be allowed to read this arc.

I really enjoyed reading about the character Mia and her escaping from that community

The story lost me with the time travel stuff.

Overall, a good story that I recommend

Thanks Atria and Netgalley.

All thoughts and opinions are my own and aren't influenced by anyone else

This is of my favorite authors and have always loved the whimsical, enchanting tone that a lot of her stories take. The first part of this book really had me so drawn to the plight of both women and how the love of books is both transformative, but also sets them apart and makes them different from other people. I really liked how this idea really encompasses this concept from the scarlet letter and uses this to tell the story. The tie in with Nathaniel Hawthorne however just feels forced. The book is demonstrated to be something that saves Mia and then out of nowhere there is time travel and fantasy elements that really do not work with the original story. It ended up feeling like I went in reading fiction and then the book just decided to change up the genre and become disjointed. This did not really work for me as a reader. I felt that the book was trying to tie in the stories about the mother and daughter, however it just did not get there for me. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley. I still felt that this was a good read.

Prepare to be swept away on a journey of sorrow, mystery, love and magical adventures.

Ivy finds herself pregnant and alone at the tender age of 16. Rather than give her child up as her father insists, she chooses to run away and join a commune. At first, she feels loved and secure and feels privileged to be courted by the leader, Joel, and she soon becomes his wife. When Mia is born, the rules state that the child must be shared with The Community. Not long after Mia’s birth, Ivy realizes The Community is worse than the home she left behind. Women cannot make their own decisions, they must share their children with everyone, they are told what to wear, they are subordinate. To Ivy, escape seemed an impossibility. To Mia, escape is inevitable.

When tragedy strikes, Mia runs and seeks refuge with the kind town librarian. She will never feel safe and secure from Joel’s retribution, but she finds an escape in the world of books, especially “The Scarlet Letter”. It’s almost as if that book was written about her mother. Mia fancies herself in love with Nathaniel Hawthorne and her imagination allows her to emotionally escape to a better time where she can fall in love and feel safe in his arms. Or can she truly travel through time and back again?

This book brings an awareness to current issues through artful wording and beautiful prose. It’s as happy as it is sad. It’s as beautiful as it is tragic. It’s as light as it is heavy.

This impactful book deserves 5 stars. It completely captured my imagination. Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC. The Invisible Hour hits the shelves in August 2023.

DNF - The story didn’t pull me in the way Alice Hoffman’s stories usually do, and the relationships felt off, the writing felt off, the dialogue felt stilted, and I just wasn’t invested enough to stick with the story when it went off in a completely different direction.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was my first book by Hoffman. The storyline was good but the overlap didn't really work for me. I struggled to finish

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman What started out as an exciting and promising book took a steeeeeep nosedive into nothing but a lyrical rant about current controversies. Ivy is alone and pregnant with no where to go but West of the Moon. She finds The Community and Joel finds her. This cult is where Mia, Ivy’s daughter, is raised and where she eventually flees. Part 2 is when it plummets into awful. We now are introduced to a young Nathaniel Hawthorne. What could have been a beautiful, albeit weird, love story is turned into a political rant and it leaves the story in the background. Just yikes and ewww.

Thank you to #atriabooks and #netgalley for an advanced readers copy.

This was my introduction to Alice Hoffman and I’m grateful for it. Excellent story, great writing, I am hooked

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman, publication date set to be August 15, 2023 by Atria

This book is a story of family - both biological and chosen. It's a story of love and heartbreak mixed with a bit of magic.

I chose to request this ARC because I absolutely loved Practical Magic and The Bookstore Sisters. This book did not disappoint. What I view as Hoffman's trademark feminism was present. The novel was beautifully written with excellent character development. It's my favorite of the three novels of hers I've read so far! Five stars!