This book was amazing! I cherished every word of this magical and inspring yet heartbreaking story reminding us of how much books influence our lives.

Imagine living in a world without books. This is how Mia grows up after her mother joins a cult while pregnant with her. Ivy was a desperate unwed mother looking for someone to love her and her baby. She is easily captivated the cult's leader, Joel, and brought into the deceptive man's spell of "love". When Mia is born she is taken away from Ivy to be raised by the community but Ivy still finds a way to be a mother to her child. Mia grows up knowing that her mother loves her and that the community cares for her as long as she abides by their rules. This changes when she is introduced to books at the town's library. She becomes defiant to the community and strives to find a way for her and her mother to escape the cult. This brings on a chain of events that change many lives.

There is magic within the pages of this book. Alice Hoffman has a way with words that bring you into the book to walk with the characters while they experience the stories she writes. This book is no different. The scenery and characters are described perfectly giving you an amazing view into Ivy and Mia's world. To make parts 2 and 3 of this book work you must suspend your beliefs and travel with Mia to the past and enjoy her amazing journey.

This book reminds us that knowledge is power and amazing things can happen when you believe in yourself. I highly recommend this book, especially if you enjoy magical realism and historical fiction.

I am extremely grateful to Atria Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a digital copy of this amazing and magical book in exchange for an honest review.

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman

I’m always a fan of Alice Hoffman’s books but I loved the time travel aspects of The Invisible Hour.

Mia Jacobs finds an inscription in a copy of The Scarlet Letter seemingly addressed to her and it powers her life as she leaves the cult her mother joined and starts a life of her own. But when the leader of the cult threatens her new family, Mia finds herself back in time to meet Nathaniel Hawthorne, whose inscription started her journey.

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I love Alice Hoffman. The writing is beautiful and I love how the book is sectioned; first from Ivy, Mother and second from Mia, Daughter. I loved the tie in with Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter. It certainly made me want to re-read this classic. The end where the two stories merged was difficult for me to follow; I had to read some portions a couple of times to be able to have fluency with the story. Overall, I thought this was an amazing book.

Compelling story! Vivid setting and details just like any other Alice Hoffman book. Quick easy read….

This book has everything you need for spooky season: magic, a cult, Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts setting, and Alice Hoffman's brilliant writing. I loveeeeed the first half of the book, but I couldn't super get into nathaniel hawthorne's character. Parts also felt rushed or skipped over. Still a short and sweet fall read!

First, let me express my thank you to Atria Books via Netgalley for the advance copy.

I am a huge Alice Hoffman fan but I must admit that this book is not my favorite of hers. The Invisible Hour has two completely different halves of the story. Both storyline line has two distinct main characters but share the same antagonist. First part of the book is about Ivy while the second is about her daughter Mia. I can’t deny the beautiful writing. It has Alice Hoffman’s touch, grace , class and signature style. Ivy’s story is the one I like best compared to Mia’s. I was comprehensively missing the intensity, the grit and hint of ferocity and vigor that only Alice Hoffman’s magical realism can bring. I miss the simmer of earnestness when the plot thickens because somehow the turn of events did not gave me the same powerful effect..Nevertheless, its still a good read and a beautiful story that was fast enough for me to enjoy to say the least!

What a beautiful, magical story that is not just about the love between two lovers but also the love between a mother and her child. I loved everything about this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books!

I went back and forth on how much I enjoyed this novel. It start’s with Ivy’s coming of age story (mother) and then transitions into Mia’s (daughter). The remainder of the first part of this book is about Mia and her escape from the cult her mother found them in.

Davis’ (cult leader) sociopathic behavior towards Mia is super creepy! Be cautious if you have any triggers for stalking and manipulative/narcissistic conversations.

Mia has a love for Nathaniel Hawthorne and his novel The Scarlet Letter. She feels it was written just for her. The story takes a break from these women and transitions into a historical narrative of Nathan Hawthorne’s life. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical aspect of Hawthorne’s side of the story. It made me want to read The Scarlet Letter, for sure.

However, the two timelines then merge and that was the part that I am not so sure about. I was very intrigued and wanted to keep reading, but I also couldn’t help but feeling like it was a little weird.

I will say that the story did not end the way I thought it would. this was neither a good nor a bad thing. Overall I do recommend this book. It didn’t have the fall witchy vibes I was anticipating, but it did have a level of magical realism that made it a fun fall read.

I couldn’t wait to read this, and the first half had me turning pages so quickly with its captivating story of resilience and strong women. But, the second half felt like a completely different story, disjointed form the first half. If Hoffman had stuck with the execution from the first half, I would have loved it more. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!

Where do ideas come from? Well, this novel has an interesting and fantastical theory about Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel <i>A Scarlet Letter</i> that I won't explain because it involves spoilers. Not my favorite Hoffman, but you may like it if in the mood for a literary fantasy novel about adultery, cults, time travel, and, of course, love.

What would you do if you could go back in time and meet your favorite author before he writes the book that saves you? Mia Jacob lives in a community with her mom, Ivy but just cannot conform to all of their rules. The power of books in the local library becomes her refuge and her demise.
A well balanced story, strong character development, heartwarming and heart breaking story is a compelling read.
It's highlighted by a bit of magic and twisty twists in time travel. Highly recommend.

Fall always seems like the perfect time to read Alice Hoffman's work. This story requires suspension of belief to journey through time. Oddly enough, this cult story came right after reading A History of Wild Place's by Shea Ernshaw, which I felt did a slightly better job building the world of the cult. I really liked Mia's relationship with all of the women in here life. Topical issues are covered in this novel from a woman's right to choose and book bans. This work is classically Hoffman with such a beautiful magical realism writing style that allows you visualize fall in New England and also highlights the power that books can have in people's lives, however for me the fascination Mia has for a dead author, and Joel's repeated lurking without conflict, made this book a solid 3 for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing access to a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"September was a glorious month, when the whole world turned yellow."⠀
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Alice Hoffman, The Invisible Hour⠀
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The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman is a hauntingly beautiful, surreal book that brings to life the magic of reading, libraries, and womanhood. ⠀
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The book has a story telling, dreamy vibe from the very beginning and drew me in with an entirely quotable first chapter. I loved the multiple points of view in the story and thought it really brought the characters to life by being able to see their personal motivations and thoughts.⠀
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Ivy was a clever and complicated character and her love for Mia and for reading shaped this entire tale. You can see the threads of her personality and desire in her daughter and I think it's beautiful how Mia chose to honor her. Mia is headstrong and artistic, with a passion for life borderlining madness. I admired her spirit and wit as well as the strength she possessed throughout her traumatic upbringing. ⠀
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The use of classic stories, like The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, helped set the scene and build a wonderfully imaginary yet realistic world full of love, heartbreak, and secrets. I'll admit I was looking forward to a magic drenched book, but this had very little by the way of supernatural or witchy content. Instead, Hoffman chose to highlight how the simplest words and choices can bring about a magic all of its own. ⠀
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As Mia said, "Sometimes when you read a book it's as if you were reading the story of your own life. That was what had happened to me. I woke up when I read the first page. I saw who I was and who I could be." ⠀

A really great read. The way it combined historical fiction with a fictional, more modern day telling, was done with excellence. You'll find yourself rooting for Mia, and oh so sad for Ivy.

Alice Hoffman has set many of her memorable novels in the present, but also many in various years or centuries past. With The Invisible Hour, we travel with Mia from her life as a teenager in a modern day repressive commune into adulthood, and then miraculously, back to 17th century Salem, Massachusetts to meet and love Nathaniel Hawthorne, whom she idolizes.

Readers will find adventure, loyalty, danger, heartbreak, and romance in The Invisible Hour, told with Alice Hoffman’s lyrical voice sprinkled with quotable life messages.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC ebook.

This story starts with Ivy, a headstrong young woman who finds herself pregnant and abandoned by the child's father and her own parents. She joins a cult community and is married to the leader, Joel. Ivy becomes entrenched in "the Community's" authoritarian rule and stays out of fear for herself and her daughter, Mia.

As Mia grows up, she discovers a love of books. She escapes as often as she can to a local library to further escape in wonderful literary tales. After a tumultuous event, Mia grabs a final book, The Scarlet Letter. She reads and recognizes what seems like a detailed account of her life with her mom in the Community.

(And this is the point where the story flips and it started to lose me -- insert: time travel). Mia travels back in time and meets Nahaniel Hawthorne, falling in love with him.

I usually enjoy Alice Hoffman's writing - she has beautiful prose and describes the ethereal scenery so that you can easily see it in your mind while reading. But, this story fell a bit flat with the time travel aspects. I think I would have preferred the story without time travel, but understand Hoffman's intent. 3/5 stars.

Atria, you take way too good care of me. I was honored to be able to read and review this amazing book.

Synopsis: Mia Jacob is a member of the Community, a cult reminiscent of the Puritan communities of Salem. No books. No vanity. No wickedness. No material possessions. After a terrible loss, Mia can no longer see a reason to live... until she finds one in a forbidden place - the library. She comes across Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and is enraptured that an author could somehow perfectly capture her loss, and her pain. Mia discovers a love for the author and for reading, and learns that books have the power to transport you to another time.... literally.

Review: this book was beautiful. It's an exploration of loss, grief, love, and above all, the power of reading, books, and words. Mia's life before she finds Nathaniel is depicted perfectly and with so much raw emotion. The Community is very similar to the Puritan communities in Massachusetts, and it is through reading that Mia is able to find beauty and purpose again. I loved that portion of her character's journey. There is so much loss in this book, and at times it is hard to read, but the emotion is so beautifully written that it's difficult to put down. I felt so many things for Ivy and Mia - sympathy, frustration, fear, love... and it's the work of a great author when the reader can feel so many emotions while reading. This one comes very highly recommended.

Cults, the Scarlet Letter, and time travel- this one has a lot going on, but it works. I enjoyed reading this so much. Perfectly autumnal and atmospheric, just in time for the season.

Reading a book by Alice Hoffman is always a delightful experience. Her exquisite writing and boundless imagination consistently weave enchanting and captivating tales.
“The Book of Magic” is no exception, and it holds a special resonance for bibliophiles. It delves deep into the profound impact of libraries and books, how they unfurl new realms, shed light, empower change, and amplify our capacity to dream.

Throughout history, totalitarian regimes have recognized books as a potent threat to their dominion, leading to the banishment of countless works. In this narrative, we encounter a repressive regime nestled within a rural community cult in West Massachusetts, under the magnetic sway of the charismatic Joel Davis.

Ivy Jacobs stands as a fiercely independent woman who adores books. She faces rejection and vilification for her pregnancy, inadvertently stumbles into the clutches of the cult, and soon becomes the wife of Davis. Initially, she believes she has found refuge and stability, but the idyllic facade begins to crumble. Cult members endure severe rules, constraints, and brutal penalties, with all contact with the outside world and books forbidden. Ivy forges a deep bond with her daughter, Mia, who grows up within the shadows of the cult’s oppressive regime.

The author masterfully elevates the ordinary to the extraordinary, infusing the narrative with a sense of magic and time travel. She poignantly illuminates the courage and resilience of women, the pursuit of liberty, the transformative power of books in the face of daunting challenges.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this one. Time travel a girl travels back to Hawthorne's time while he's writing The Scarlet Letter. And her life also mimics the story. However after reading this one it made me realize that Alice Hoffman's writing is not for me.