Magic allows the main character to move between the present and the past of her favourite author. It took a lot for me to accet that as part of the events in the story that lead the MC to resolve the final ties to her life within the cult. I feel this book would have resonated more with me if it had been a more realistic conclusion.

Thank you Netgalley for an earc of this book in exchange for my honest review

I’m a huge fan of Alice Hoffman and was really excited to read this book and it didn't not disappoint.. well until the 2nd half of the book. Loved the entire first half of the book and then everything changed. Its almost like the entire genre changed and it just became weird. I still really enjoyed many aspect of this book and would reccomend

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I wanted to love this SO much but it fell flat for me. I LOVED the first half with Mia growing up and living in the cult, then leaving it etc. but I just could not connect with the direction the book ended up taking afterwards. It felt very disconnected and like I was reading 2 different books.

I do have to say that I have seen a lot of bookstagrammers whose reviews I normally align with and agree with that loved this one, so I think I might be the odd one out!

Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada and Atria Books for my copy of this!

i was loving this book until the halfway point at the time jump, and then it ended up feeling like two completely different books. i wish the first cult story line continues to develop instead of the time change.

I went on a journey right alongside main character Mia Jacob in The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman.

This book can be divided into two halves; the first half is spent building this commune world in which Mia resides, and the second half is her seeking love through Nathaniel Hawthorne's book, The Scarlet Letter, and needing emancipation from the oppressive cult leader, Joel. There is a character that is introduced at this half way junction, and the story lost a bit of it's appeal to me at that point. Everything made sense, the story worked, and I liked both halves individually, but the juxtaposition of them together caused the second half to really fall flat. It's honestly hard to picture the ending of this story after finishing it, but I can visualize every aspect of that first section without a problem.

With that being said, this book is written so beautifully! It is immersive in a way that caused me to literally lose track of time while reading (during that first half especially), and is indescribably atmospheric. Never before have I read a book that feels like the setting is being built up to surround me as I read!

This is my first by Hoffman, and even with the contrast between these two halves, it certainly will not be my last!

Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada and Atria Books for the complimentary copy to read and review.

The story of family conflicts, dilemma of raising a young family, belonging into a strange community. The writing was well delivered and the way its executed throughout the storyline was defined. Sometimes its hard to imagine in certain situations how a reader will react especially if a certain event is close to being real.

Overall, I recommend this book to anybody who is into family drama and women empowerment.

3.7/5 stars

Thank you Netgalley & Simon & Schuster Canada for the copy.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

Alice Hoffman can tell a tale and suck you right in. I love the way she writes, her Practical Magic series are some of my favourite books. This book was about Mia, a young girl who tries to escape a cult-like family and be her own person. Mia discovers the library (which they are not allowed to visit) and in it finds a novel that gives her the strength to be herself, to strive for more, and she finds herself falling in love with an author who has been dead for many years. The characters were well developed and I enjoyed the story. There is a magical quality to all of her books, and this one was no exception.

The Invisible Hour is an interesting story. It involves a cult, a literary icon, and time travel. I struggled a bit with this one. I loved the first section that depicted life growing up in a modern day, isolated cult. When we started to involve a crush on Nathaniel Hawthorne, it just felt like two separate stories. I’m not sure it added anymore to the story and I think it would’ve stood alone without it. ⁣
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Thank you to @netgalley and @simonschusterca for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Invisible Hour is the first novel I've ever read by Alice Hoffman. With its elements of magical realism, this is a lovely book to read by candlelight this fall.

This is the story of a young lady named Mia Jacobs who - after reading books that have opened a window to the outside world - escapes from the cult, or "Community" in which she was raised. This story is an ode to the power of books and literature, and how one book can change a person's life.

This book is divided into a few parts. It begins with Mia's mother Ivy's story of how she joined the Community and came to raise her daughter there. The story follows Mia's childhood, and then her escape for freedom. However, some transitions were rather abrupt: the reader learns little about Mia's adaptation into the "outside" world and how she grew into the young woman she became. There is also a rather abrupt transition into the parts of the story where famed author Nathaniel Hawthorne makes his appearance, and where the elements of magical realism come into play. Although I appreciated the historical side of Hawthorne's life, the sudden magic/blast from the past came in an unexpected, awkward manner.

It would however be interesting to see what fans of Alice Hoffman have to say on her latest novel, and how it compares to her other titles.

⚠️ Potential trigger warnings: thematic cult life elements, death of a family member, abortion (may not be an exhaustive list)

🙏 Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for the gifted electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Invisible Hour was a beautifully woven story about the magic of books. I really enjoyed the stories of Ivy, Mia, Nathaniel and his sisters. I felt the emotion in this book and connected with the characters despite having different experiences.
The magical realism aspect took me out of the story a bit, but I still felt I could appreciate the purpose of this story and the power of the written word.
Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada, Atria Books for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While I typically enjoy books by Alice Hoffman, The Invisible Hour was not for me. I did enjoyed Hoffmans focus on mother-daughter relationships, family and the power of books, but time travel, cults and magical realism are just not my cup of tea. I felt like I was more invested and interested in the first half of the book but around the halfway mark my enthusiasm waned. I want to thank Atria Books and Netgalley for an e-arc of this book. I won’t let views on The Invisible Hour skew my feelings on reading future books by Alice Hoffmans. She really is a talented writer and I’ve enjoyed her previous works.

Beautifully written, by Alice Hoffman and I loved the cover art. I did find the story a bit hard to get into, as fantasy/magical realism isn’t usually my favourite genre to read. This was a short read and something different for me. I would read another book from Hoffman again in the future.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC.

I had high hopes for this book and I really enjoyed it but it was not my favourite Alice Hoffman book. I liked the book but there were some things I just didn’t quite enjoy or like with the book itself.

I love Alive Hoffman’s writing but this book did not resonate with me at all. I wasn’t prepared for the turn it would take about halfway through and the plot from that point on felt shallow and false. I also like my villains to be more nuanced than Joel turned out to be.

Ivy Jacobs falls pregnant when she is a teenager and leave her affluent family to join the community run by Joel Davis. Mia is born, and Ivy marries Joel, who is controlling and enforces strict rules for his people. Those who do not follow the rules, are punished swiftly. Mia breaks the rules and visits a library, taking out the Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. She quickly falls in love with the story, but mistakenly leaves her copy in the old barn where it is discovered by Joel. Mia flees, and escapes, but is pursued by Joel. She then finds herself in 1837, where she meets the author of her favourite book.

I thought this was a really cool concept for a book. I loved learning about Ivy and her backstory. Cults are one of my buzz words, so I did enjoy that aspect of the book. I adored the relationship between Mia and her mother, Ivy. Mia was such a great character! I loved how independent she was, and still tried to be adventurous and learn things even though she was scared of Joel. I will say that I liked the first part of the book a bit more then the time traveling portion. The romance felt a bit forced to me, and I didn't particularly care about them together. There is a lot of discussions on women's rights and the power of books, which I thought was really thought out and well done.

“One brilliant June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her.”

I love a book with just a touch of magic. Sometimes you want to bathe in a wholly new world, based only loosely in reality. Sometimes, you just want a sip from the magic cup.

This book was a mere taste.

This is only my second Hoffman book, but I quite enjoyed it.

I loved both the main female characters.

They were both strong, in their own ways, and I loved how reading and libraries and books played such a huge part in their story.

The inner working of The Community and its founder were fascinating to me.

The second half of the book interested me less. I suppose much of it comes from always disliking Nathaniel Hawthorne. Bios always read as whiny and spoilt and entitled, and I probably brought that bias into my reading.

I just wasn’t interested in Nathaniel and Mia as a couple, and Mia’s decisions around him seemed more on par with Disney’s Ariel, than an educated woman.

Regardless, I enjoyed this book, and will be on the lookout for more Hoffman in the future.

6/10

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Simon and Schuster Canada for this ARC.

The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman is a historical fiction novel about a young woman and her love for a dead author.

First, let me thank both Edelweiss and  NetGalley, the publisher Simon & Schuster Canada (and in particular Maudee Genoa) and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Mia Jacob has spent her entire life within the "Community", a cult who follows some very strict rules.  Life in the community has the leader, Joel, deciding who can marry, and who can be punished.  Pregnancies cannot be terminated, public schools cannot be attended, vanity will not be tolerated, contact with the world outside is not allowed, and books cannot be read...to name a few.  Breaking Joel's  rules can have your indiscretions posted on a board, hung around your neck, or worse.   

One day, Mia discovers the Nathaniel Hawthorne book "The Scarlet Letter".  It seems to tell the story of Ivy, Mia's mother.  How can this be?  She slowly falls in love with this dead author.  She sorely wishes magic was real, for she would travel the world and time to meet the man.


My Opinions:
This is the story of a mother and daughter, their dreams, their courage, their sense of self, and about true love.  It delves deeply (as is often the case with Hoffman's books) into women's rights.  It is also about the author Nathaniel Hawthorne...and a chance meeting.

The first part of the book is about Mia and Ivy, the second about Nathaniel Hawthorne  -- most of which can be found on wikipedia, but told in Hoffman's glorious story-telling mode.  The third part merges the two.

I loved Mia and Ivy, as well as Constance and Sarah.  The characters came to life on these pages.

I always admit to not being a fan of either historical fiction or time travel, and this book definitely hits both genres.  I definitely liked the first part of the book much more than I liked the Hawthorne segment, although the writing was superb throughout.

So overall, the prose was excellent, and the story was good.  But it isn't my favorite Hoffman book.  Although I will probably be in the minority, this book just didn't excite me....and for a change I was really thankful that it was a relatively fast read.

For anyone who has found the perfect escape between the pages of a book, The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman is a celebration of the impact of the written word. The story of Mia Jacob starts with her Mother Ivy. When Ivy finds herself pregnant and alone, she is drawn to a farm community cult where outside influences are forbidden. The leader, Joel marries Ivy and Mia is raised by the community. Relationships between mothers and their children is discouraged and any transgression results in punishment including branding. Ivy and Mia keep their distance and often end up together selling food in the local town. Mia is fascinated with the library and Ivy allows her to explore the building. Mia finds a copy of The Scarlett Letter with a dedication to her. Mia slowly starts to take books back to the farm and hides them so she can read them whenever she can. Tragedy follows and Ivy is killed. Depressed, Mia finds the copy of The Scarlett Letter and credits the story with saving her life.

The reader feels the oppression of Mia’s life on the farm. One day she escapes, thanks to the help of the librarian and she makes the most of her new life living with the librarian. Her love of Nathaniel Hawthorne and his famous story stays with her, to the point of obsession and she too becomes a librarian. In a moment of magic, Mia is able to time travel and meets Nathaniel who is besotted with her. Mia must figure out a way to ensure that Nathaniel writes The Scarlett Letter, a story that seems so close to her own upbringing, that he will not write for years to come. For readers who enjoy magical realism, time travel, classic literature, and strong female characters with a message about the power of stories, this book is for you. I will not soon forget the story of Mia.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As posted to GoodReads

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I deeply enjoyed this book, feeling like I fell under its spell and back into the magic of reading after a tough couple of weeks. It is romantic, and prophetic in a way even though the story of women having to fight so hard to have power over their lives and bodies continues to this day.

Alice Hoffman's writing is beautiful as ever, with an almost fairy-tale like quality to it. This book was easy to read and the plot moved along quickly enough but the story itself was a bit disjointed and strange. I'm all for magical realism but the first half of the book and the second half of the book felt like different books entirely and didn't really work together. That being said, not a bad book and not heavy despite some difficult themes.