Alice Hoffman’s newest book, The Invisible Hour, tells the riveting story of Mia Jacobs, a young woman who has grown up in an isolated farming community in the Berkshires. Run by a domineering man named Joel Davis, the community limits members’ interactions with the outside world and censors reading material. Although Mia and her mother’s experience takes place in the 21st century, it is an echo of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a book that saves Mia’s life when she decides to escape.

Mia’s mother Ivy is married to Joel, but she never fully renounces the stories and fairy tales that helped her to navigate her own turbulent adolescence. Stories become the bond that helps the women “walk invisible”, and books become a way for Mia to understand the world and her place within it. Mia builds her adult life around the beauty of libraries, and she forges a romantic relationship with an author from the past to help her process the opportunities and limitations of contemporary women’s lives.

Alice Hoffman is at her best when exploring magic, and The Invisible Hour oozes with it. Hoffman returns readers to the enchanted apple orchards and gardens of Blackwell, Massachusetts, a town made famous by the stories in her book The Red Garden, and transports readers to a fairy tale past. She lovingly presents complex relationships between generations of women, and shows how even the simplest stories can change someone’s life. Her prose casts a magic spell over her readers, leading them to a deeper understanding of the power of stories and a recognition of the sacred bond between readers and writers.

I loved every word of The Invisible Hour. Fans of Hoffman will find delight in her lush description and perfect pacing, and new readers will be spellbound by Hoffman’s storytelling prowess. Like The Scarlet Letter, a novel that reaches back to a Puritan past to comment on 19th century life, The Invisible Hour reaches back to the 19th century to comment on the 21st. Hoffman’s writing offers her readers both a romantic escape and a social exploration. The Invisible Hour celebrates the joy and potential of storytelling and will be remembered as an Alice Hoffman classic.

Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review.

This book was so magical and so heartbreaking all at the same time. There are books thag I just close my eyes at the end and wonder how did the author create something so captivating?

Alice Hoffman brought new light to The Scarlet Letter with this novel. A mothers love and a girls desire to save herself.

I was drawn in from the beginning and could not put this book down!

I was touched to read Alice Hoffman’s letter to her readers at the beginning of this novel. “The bond between writer and reader is a cherished and mysterious one. A book doesn’t live when it’s written. It lives when it’s read.” What a perfectly beautiful thing to say as this book is in many ways a ode to the powers of books and how they touch people’s lives. In this particular novel, it’s about how a one novel saved the life of a young woman living in a cult where reading was forbidden. As in a number of her other novels, there’s an element of magic. It’s through time travel in this story. Yes, of course you have to suspend your disbelief for a while to experience the modern day character connecting with and falling in love with her favorite writer. But for an avid reader, things don’t get any better than to imagine that. It’s clear from the beginning that there is a reflection on issues that are very relevant right now - book banning, the freedom of women to choose. A message here, for sure, but it’s an engaging, well written story . I always find Hoffman’s writing magical no matter what the story is about.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not entirely sure of when Alice Hoffman started to write this book, but I am certain she understood the hurt we face in this world and knew that we needed this book. I need this book. I need this story to carry me through the hard days when I feel as if my life, and its freedoms, is being rewound back to the stone ages.

The Invisible Hour tells of a tale when a young girl, Mia, decides she wants to die because death is better than life in The Community; an oppressive cult that forbids books and any contact with the outside world. But Mia’s plans to leave this earth is interrupted by her discovery of The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. She is mesmerized by his words. It’s as if the book, written almost two-hundred years ago, is about her mother. The more she reads and hides her stolen books, she realizes she must escape The Community to survive.

Now y’all, I’m not joking when I say I ugly cried. My husband brought me eye drops because I just couldn’t see clearly. It was as if I had poured salt directly into my eyes. This story will have your whole heart. The love between mother and daughter ran deep and showed up in Mia’s life in more ways than she expected.

This ARC doesn’t really need a review. It’s perfect. There’s nothing to be said to fix.

Mia’s story will live within me forever. Everyone on my Christmas list is going to be getting this book in their stocking this year. I’m not even kidding. OBSESSED!

• Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks , especially the author @ahoffmanwriter for this free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

You can never go wrong with an Alice Hoffman book. This latest novel took me a few chapters to get invested, but once I did, I was hooked. The book is told in two parts, one following Mia as she struggles to escape the cult where she and her mother live. The other part kicks in that magic realism, with Mia going back in time to meet her favorite author. I wish that the two parts just felt a bit connected. It almost felt like the back half was a completely separate novel, and then it felt like it ended very abruptly. I just wished for a little bit more, but despite that, I still enjoyed this one and didn't want to put it down.

I will start by saying that Alice Hoffman is one of my more recent auto-buy authors. I read and enjoyed the Practical Magic books, but The World That We Knew is a book that I absolutely loved.

The Invisible Hour was an excellent read. There are some wonderful themes in this book about the bond between mothers and daughters and the life-changing power of books. Strong female characters in this book abound-Ivy, Mia, Constance, Sarah, Elizabeth-and all of them are readers.

As with other Hoffman books, there are magical realism elements. For this one, there is some time travel involved. That doesn't bother me in the slightest and I don't have any trouble suspending reality in pursuit of a good story! My one wish for the story that kept me from giving it a full 5 stars is that I would have loved a flash-forward epilogue into Mia's daughter's (or grand-daughter's) life to get a final few details about how Mia lived out the rest of her life, some closure about what happened to Joel (really, rotting in an 1800s jail or asylum would be a fitting end for him!), and a nice ending for Sarah. I can make some predictions about what would happen to them, but an extra 5-10 pages would have given me 100% closure.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed The Invisible Hour and I would recommend it without reservation to any Hoffman fans. I would also like to extend a big thank you to the publisher for giving me an ARC to review!

Beautifully written book. Love Alice Hoffman's books.

Mia Jacob is living inside an oppressive cult community in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden, and books are considered evil. Mia discovers a building that looks like a castle in the town where they sell their fruit. She discovers a book on the shelf and takes it and opens it up. There is an inscription with her name on it. How can this be?

As Mia begins to read more and more books, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways.

"I only had the life that I lived here, but I had found other possibilities every time I read a book."

"Turn someone into a reader and you turn the world around."

Mia had enough with the lies of the Community. She lost her mother in an accident on the farm. She decides its time to runaway. She took the one book that had the inscription with her name inscribed in it...The Scarlet Letter.

As a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, as she makes her way back in time. "A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities." - Nathanial Hawthorne

Such a beautiful book of a girls dream and making it come true. Mia is a strong woman that learns she can think for herself. She can love and be loved.

This book touches on the trauma inside a cult community and the devastating affects it can have on someone's psyche.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. Loved It!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Press for allowing me to read a digital ARC of Alice Hoffman's "The Invisible Hour: A Novel." First, Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors; I will read anything she writes. When I received an email from the publisher stating I could read "The Invisible Hour," I did a happy dance. Alice Hoffman draws the reader into her stories and transports them to other realms or eras. "The Invisible Hour," tells the story of Ivy, a seventeen-year-old girl, who gets pregnant and flees the confines of a wealthy, safe home to a restrictive life in a commune, the Community, led by a nefarious man. Ivy marries the commune leader and births an out-of-wedlock daughter named Mia Jacob. Mia cannot go to school, so she sneaks away from work to go to the town library. During these furtive excursions, Mia pilfers books from the library, sneaks them into the commune, and hides them until she can read them. Ivy encourages her to read. One day, when feeling like she is at the end of her rope, she finds Nathaniel Hawthorne's *The Scarlet Letter" and reads the dedication to Mia, which gives her hope and encouragement. She wonders how this book accurately describes her and her mother's experiences in the oppressive Community. Whenever a Community member breaks a rule, they must wear a letter around their neck depicting their infraction; the women's hair is shorn.

When Ivy, her mother and protector, dies, Mia realizes she has to leave the Community. She escapes the Community and New England town with the help of Helen, the town librarian, Helen. Mia grows up, excels in school, and researches Nathaniel Hawthorne (Hawthorne). She regularly visits his grave and is transported to the 16th century, where a young Nathaniel Hawthorne existed. They have mystical and blissful encounters; Ivy has a chance to right the wrongs of the future in the past.

In "The Invisible Hours," books and libraries have the power to save you; they are balms that soothe your soul and lighten heavy burdens. Books are a transport to magical times, realms, and eras. The plot is unique, magical, and filled with twists and turns. The writing is lyrical, but I must admit the time travel to the 16th century puzzled me, but I have to admit this device worked. Falling in love with Hawthorne was strange, but he was the only man who showed her love and recognition, physically or in his writing. The woman or protagonists of this novel were strong and resilient characters.

I recommend this book to all bibliophiles and encourage them to read this imaginative 21st-century version of "The Scarlet Letter." The characters are well-written, and you, the reader, experience their angst, pain, suffering, and happiness along with them. The women in this novel are strong and refuse to be victims even in society's oppression conditions. What if a woman wrote "The Scarlet Letter"? Kudos to Alice Hoffman for writing another great book.

Such a beautiful heart wrenching story of a woman who, in trying to find kindness and belonging, ends up in a cult. She doesn't have the courage to run but her daughter does.

So so good!! I cried so much.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Alice Hoffman is a national treasure and The Invisible Hour shows the reader just why.

Mia is raised in a "community' (i.e. cult) in New England. There is to be no contact with the world beyond the scope of the small world and this includes book being verboten. Mia becomes hopeless and it is in this moment that she discovers The Scarlett Letter and Hawthorne himself. The magic that enhances all Hoffman novels comes in and time travel becomes possible. Mia's world is opened and the love of words breaks the chains that bind her.

Magic is everywhere. It's the power in Words. The driving force behind Love. The champion of Choice.
It's Alice Hoffman's books.
The Invisible Hour is a subtle time warp of fates, loves intertwining, and women enduring.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

I didn't think I would ever be as invested in characters as I was in Alice Hoffman's Owens family, but she has done it again. I fell in love with Ivy, and then her daughter Mia, immediately. Hoffman has a way of bringing strong, vulnerable women vibrantly alive in the pages of her books, which is why I will always be first in line to pick up her books.
Ivy has left home after she tells her boyfriend she is pregnant and he dismisses her and her parents are arguing about her future and planning the adoption of her baby without her. She runs to where she feels safe, somewhere she belongs. But what she runs to is worse than what she left. Finding herself married to the leader of a cult, Joel, who says he loves her and will always take care of her and treat Mia as his own, she quickly finds out nothing could be further than the truth. Once her daughter Mia is born, she is considered the collective daughter of the cult. While Ivy and Mia find ways to form an indelible bond, Mia knows they need to leave. Ivy passes on to her daughter a love of reading, which is not allowed at the cult and needs to be done in secret. But when Ivy is no longer there to protect Mia, and her secret trips to the library are found out, Mia follows in her mother's footsteps and runs away to find a better life. Taking only a few sacred belongings, including her stolen copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter, Mia seeks refuge with the librarian that has been watching over her. Mia's life, however, is shadowed by the fear that Joel will find her, and if the discreetly placed leaves of the apple trees found at the cult commune is any indication, he is never going to let her go.
On the run from Joel, Mia finds not only comfort in Nathanial Hawthorne's words, but love with Nathaniel himself as they realize love cannot be bound by time.
Alice Hoffman is a master of magical realism, allowing you to suspend your belief to enter the world she has created. Her characters are complex and she reveals their innermost fears and dreams so slowly that you don't realize just how much they have become a part of your life until you have turned the last page, and they're gone.
The ending for me was somewhat abrupt and confusing and I had to reread the last few pages to see if I was missing something. However, overall this is a magical read that I could not put down.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

REVIEW TO FOLLOW.

Another 2am read from Hoffman, and another triumph! I loved every page as always and think using Nathaniel Hawthorne with her usual twist of magical realism was perfection. Hit it out of the park again!

Thanks to Netgalley, Atria books And Alice Hoffman for this ARC. This author is one of my favorites so I was excited to be given the opportunity to read this new book. I enjoyed the beginning of the book, and there were so many references to Nathaniel Hawthorne, I thought why? But then I see and understand how this came in to play. It reminded me of a movie called “ the lake house” where two people live in different years but somehow can meet. Once I understood the magic of Mia meeting Nathaniel, I realize this is definitely an Alice Hoffman book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman is a heartwarming and enchanting novel that explores the power of books and the magic they possess. Mia Jacob, the protagonist of the story, finds solace and strength in The Scarlet Letter when she is at her lowest point. The novel takes readers on a journey of self-discovery, love, and heartbreak as Mia leaves behind the rules of the oppressive cult she grew up in and discovers the power of reading.

Hoffman weaves a beautiful tale that is both timeless and modern. The story explores themes of love, family, and the human spirit's resilience. The author's writing is evocative and poetic, transporting readers to another time and place. Hoffman's descriptions of the Community, Mia's childhood home, and her journey through time are vivid and immersive.

The characters in the novel are well-crafted, and the relationships between them are complex and nuanced. Mia is a strong and relatable protagonist, and readers will root for her throughout the story. The love story between Mia and the brilliant writer she falls in love with is beautifully written, and their connection feels authentic and genuine.

Overall, The Invisible Hour is a stunning novel that will leave readers feeling uplifted and inspired. Hoffman's masterful storytelling and beautiful prose make this a must-read for anyone who loves books and the power they possess to change lives.

When young Ivy Jacob becomes pregnant in high school, her parents give her little choice but to be sent away to give birth in private - eventually giving her child up for adoption. Raised in a strict, religious family in Boston, Ivy makes the ultimate decision to run away from home where she eventually ends up in a place called the Community in Blackwell, Massachusetts. Unbeknownst to her, Ivy has entered in a religious cult run by a man known as Joel Davis, who ultimately names Ivy as one of his wives and is declared the father of Ivy's child, Mia. Mia grows up in this environment, always feeling like something isn't quite right, but her and her mother's shared love of books that manages to carry her through. After Ivy's sudden passing, however, Mia is forced to take her life in her own hands and attempts to escape the Community. Her love of literature continues to follow her as an adult and it's her deep connection to "The Scarlet Letter" written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that gives her a pathway forward.

This is my first foray into Alice Hoffman's writing so I didn't quite expect the shift into magical realism / time travel in the later sections of the book. The first 2/3rds or so of the novel is strictly contemporary fiction and the passages I connected with most; you follow Ivy's story as she upends her life in an attempt to keep her daughter before it transitions to Mia's perspective as she grows up and realizes the Community she was raised in is far from just. The latter sections of the book and her interactions from Nathaniel Hawthorne felt quite jarring to me, especially with the unexpected element of romance thrown in.

I ultimately think this is a well-written novel with elegant prose that highlights the power of literature and books, but was perhaps executed in a way that I couldn't fully appreciate.

I just finished reading “The Invisible Hour” by Alice Hoffman. This book was provided to me an an advanced reader copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Overall, it was a wonderful book. I am a bit biased as Alice Hoffman is one of my all time favorite authors. Like most Hoffman books, this book envelops the reader in a world of magic from the very start. Even the ordinary, mundane things are magical.

There were a few places, particularly in the middle where I wasn’t sure I loved it. There were a few parts that seemed completely incongruous and took me out of the ex-Erie ce of the book. However, by the end I was won over enough to overlook those minor disruptions.

Overall, I loved it. It was all the beauty and magic I expect from Hoffman, but uniquely its own at the same time. I finished it in only a few settings and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys magical realism/fantasy.

Ivy was unmarried and pregnant when she arrived at the Community. They took her in and helped raise her daughter, Mia. Once she discovered that the Community was an oppressive cult, it was too late to get them both out. As a teenager, Mia is desperate to escape by any means necessary. One day she discovers The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The book closely aligns with her mother's story and the power of the words gives her a reason to live. She finds a way out, but the Community won't let her go easily. Through time and magic, Mia learns how to save herself.

I really liked this book. The magical realism really threw me halfway through, but once I understood what I was going on I was able to get back into it. I was really rooting for Mia. I also loved the idea of the power of words and how writers can impact their readers for centuries.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Mia Jacob, growing completely within a cult like community, knows nothing more than the farm she grew up on and the books she sneaks and steals from the local library.

After leaving the Community, attending school, and opening her eyes to more literary works, she falls in love with the writing and author, Nathaniel Hawthorne.

I really enjoyed reading about Mia, her mother's past, and the Community and her ultimate steps toward escaping.

The story lost me a bit with the time travel and falling in love with an author that died so long ago.

Overall, very well written.