Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. I always enjoy Hoffman's work. That being said, I unfairly hold all of her books up the Practical Magic series and nothing will ever beat those in my opinion. Although, the writing was great as usual and there was an underlying of some magic, the whole section about Nathaniel Hawthorne and going back in time threw me off and I do not feel like the novel flowed after that. However, I did really enjoy the story of Mia and Ivy and the Community. I was so here for a cult novel from Hoffman.

I was so interested in the premise of this book, and then it all just kind of fell flat for me... Mia and her life in the cult felt so short, and then the remainder of the book went so quickly it almost felt like continuous plot summaries rather than a full fleshed story. Even the parts with her and Nathaniel were so quickly and then suddenly the book was ending. I usually love Alice Hoffman books, so this was disappointing because I know it could have been so much better.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.
It’s been several years since I’ve read an Alice Hoffman book but I’ve always loved her striking & thoughtful writing style & how she infuses her powerful stories with magic.

The Invisible Hour is another story in that vein, with a story that celebrates books & bravery & love, especially that of a mother for her daughter.

Playing with time, the book offers several different perspectives & time periods.

When the book opens, Mia Jacob is leaving the community where she’s lived her entire life, under the thumb of her adopted father who is also the strict leader of the community.

Despite its strictures, Mia has found solace before in books—especially The Scarlet Letter—& in her mother, whom she had a secret bond with. But now her mother is dead.

In the outside world, Mia forms new relationships, deals with the lingering threat of the community leader, & is haunted still by the words of Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose work offers her so much.

This fixation on Nathaniel Hawthorne struck me as a bit odd in moments but overall it adds another haunting note to a story of love & sacrifice & freedom. There’s a compelling parallel between Hawthorne’s time period & Mia’s life in the Community.

Though I found the story of motherly love & self-freedom inspiring, I also wanted more from Mia’s story itself. Some final, permanent proof that she would actually give herself the life she deserves on a daily basis.

But this story raises some captivating points & as always, I was moved by Alice Hoffman’s voice.

4⭐️. Out 08/15.

Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.

ID: Jess’ white hand holds the ebook in front of a sunset.

Alice Hoffman does it again! A beautiful coming of age story about a young woman escaping the cult she was born into in search for freedom, knowledge & to find herself. I really loved the character of Mia and her strength & fierceness. A wonderful story full of wonder

Alice Hoffman's latest tale is enchanting and whimsical. The characters are engaging and full of hope, though our female leads are a bit naive. I struggled with debating what to rate this. At times it was a three star read and at others it was a four star read.
The time travel within the book was a bit different but I really liked Mia.

This was a beautifully descriptive novel. I adore Alice Hoffman and her books, and I can now include this title as well. The story of Ivy and Mia was impactful. I loved how Mia was able to get time with her favorite author and, in the end, find happiness in her life post- The Community. I definitely would recommend this book to anyone that's looking into diving into another world.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 5
Pace: 5
Plot development: 5
Characters: 5
Enjoyability: 5
Ease of Reading: 5

Overall rating: 5 out of 5

The Invisible Hour was beautiful. It poignantly touches on love, relationships, freedom. It explores the idea of following your heart, living a life that you deserve, regardless of what societal expectations or people tell you to do. It makes it clear that relationships can transcend barriers.

I was immediately captivated by Mia and the strength she found to leave the Community. I loved how the library and the books within it captured her and showed her the possibilities of a world so much bigger than she could’ve imagined. I was uncertain when the POV shifted to Nathanial and went back to his time, and I was even more confused when he met Mia. That being said, it was wonderfully put together and I finished this with a smile on my face, wishing it wouldn’t end.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I am so excited for the opportunity to read Alice Hoffman's newest title, The Invisible Hour. I am a huge fan of her books and so enjoy her storytelling. This newest title did not disappoint. I loved the dual story timeline and how the character was able to travel back and forth. Great homage to The Scarlet Letter within a story that stands on its own. Another win by Hoffman!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! I LOVED it! Such a great book! I could get back to it quick enough each day. i rate this book a 4.3

Wonderful read. It was great. Alice knows what she is doing. She never fails me. I would recommend this book.

Alice Hoffman never disappoints in her ability to charm readers and transport them to magical places. The Invisible Hour is no different. Hoffman is always a must read for me!

This book truly feels like magic. The magic of finding love, the magic of freedom, and the magic of books.

Hoffman’s prose is beautiful and quick, diving headfirst into the journeys of Ivy, Mia, and Nathaniel. The pace is quick but ends ambiguously (which I didn’t entirely love, since it was chugging right along until whoops, it’s over). A few of Mia’s internal monologues were repetitive, but after the trauma she’s been through I was able to forgive her.

Despite all of the ups and downs this story had, it maintained a happy optimism (which I would say is one of Hoffman’s signatures). I was eager to finish but want to keep this book’s optimism with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Pros: I loved Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic series, but I had not read anything else by her until I read this newest novel. My favorite thing about it was its theme of the magic of books and how reading can transport a person (usually figuratively but, in this book, literally). This book has inspired me to read more of Hoffman’s books because I really like her writing style. I think this book’s use of The Scarlet Letter would make it an interesting reading pairing with the new book Hester. I also think it will be a great book for book clubs to read because of its use of time travel.

Cons: The transition from the first half of the book to the second half of the book was a bit jarring, but this is really a con to me and not the book because I had not read the description that noted there would be time travel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book.

A very unique book and was unexpectedly lovely. Although given it was written by Alice Hoffman I should not be surprised.

In reading Alice Hoffman I’m always hoping for another Turtle Moon, The Dovekeepers, A Marriage of Opposites. But more often I find The Invisible Hour, another story of ill-fated love in a magical setting. And with Nathaniel Hawthorne no less! (He who seems to be having a moment of romanticism in modern writing.) Add a very political message and you’re smack in the middle of one of Hoffman’s slightly interchangeable stories. Which I’ll keep reading in hope of the difference I know she’s capable of.

This was an enjoyable read, but it was almost as if I were reading two different books in how quickly it veered off in the "time travel" direction. It was well done in how it combined the two (and quite cleverly so). I'm just not the biggest fan of time travel and I guess I didn't pay attention to what the blurb or prior reviews were telling me. All in all, I think many will enjoy this one.

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman is intriguing, magical and utterly captivating.

Mia’s journey was incredibly powerful.
A beautiful journey of heartbreak, love, and time.
This was an enthralling novel about love, heartbreak, self-discovery, and the enduring magic of books.
I couldn't help but be so drawn into this story.
The details and descriptions were so vivid and full of emotion.
A magical and compelling story right from the start.
I love Hoffman’s writing style. She is a master at storytelling and it shows here.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Atria Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors. While this was an enchanting read and time spent reading an Alice Hoffman book is always time well spent, this one wasn’t a favorite. Still, it home when we consider our freedoms to read, and more importantly what we do with our bodies are at risk.

More like 3.5*

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman is the story of Ivy Jacob, a young woman who, finding herself pregnant and unwed in her teen years and without help from her family, decides to leave home in Boston, Massachusetts, and make her way to a commune three hours from home, led by a charismatic leader, where she remains for the rest of her life.

The commune, or farm, has strict working schedules; their members aren’t allowed to socialize with locals, books are banned, and reading is only allowed, from pamphlets, for religious purposes. The punishments for those who infringe the rules go from having their hair shorn, public shaming, branding of the initials for the broken rules, and enforced isolation.

Ivy Jacob, who first thought had been rescued by angels, grows increasingly disillusioned in this environment, but by then she is trapped beyond measure. Joel Davis, the leader of the farm, a man as magnetic as he is dangerous, took an instant liking to Ivy upon her arrival and made her his wife, promising to become a father to her baby daughter.

Mia, Ivy’s daughter—the protagonist— grows as free as it’s allowed in the farm under her mother’s protection. Nurturing the young is not encouraged, but Ivy and Mia develop a strong mother-daughter bond. Ivy was an avid reader in her earlier life, and she passes on her love for fairy tales to Mia. On Mia’s fifteen birthday, she discovers the joy of reading by visiting stealthily the local library. It’s there that she finds a first edition of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter with an inscription that speaks to her. The book’s story speaks to her as well; for the first time in her life she feels seen.

Over the next few months, a confluence of events will make Mia realize that there may be a life outside the commune, a life that is beckoning and whose call cannot longer be ignored.

Enthralling and page turning, The Invisible Hour is a novel with a prologue and three parts, a love letter to feminism, a woman’s agency, reading, libraries, and to The Scarlet Letter in particular. It reads easily and is a fine mix of literary and historical fiction, in which the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne becomes as central to the story as Mia Jacob is.

I liked the direction the book took; I thought it was original and well concocted, an origin story of sorts about The Scarlet Letter and how it came to be. Rather than writing a straightforward historical narrative, Hoffman took a risk that paid off. The Invisible Hour is not the best Alice Hoffman has written, or probably will, but it is entertaining, well told, and different. What more can this reader ask?

Disclaimer: The publisher provided me with a digital ARC, via Netgalley, in exchange for my honest opinion.