this is a nice book.
it’s a mixture of memoir, maybe even a bit self-help(ish) and do it yourself handbook rolled into on.

i don’t think that combination will work for everyone - the first section is very much focused on Hewitt working through her grief, remembering her mother and taking about that part of her life; where as the rest of the book is more of a “how to” typ of book from generating ideas for parties or little daily moments to recipes and back to how to plan parities.


it does work in some way since from the very first mention Hewitt talks about how her mother used “magic” in ways to make life special and how she would make a day special with little things and Hewitt more or less shares those ideas on how to make a day more special or magic in this book.

as i said - i don’t think necessarily a book that will work for everyone but for me personally it was mostly well done.
it was a bit of a strange mixture and felt a little jumpy in parts (sometimes repeat what was already said before, because she would jump from telling a story before her third child was born or how they found out she was pregnant to when he was born only to go back to a story before she knew she was pregnant or just found out… a bit more rearranging to make that a consistent timeline without the back and forth might have been nice but as it is it works too… or the jump from sharing her life into how to being this “magic” into the readers own life)


if you are not somebody that believes small things can make a big impact, this book isn’t for you!

if you don’t believe in holiday magic - be it christmas time and what can be magical about an during that time or any other time of the year? not the book for you.


if you want an in depth memoir of this actress? nope, not it.


but if you want a book that shares a woman and her way through losing a very important person, how she found a way to connect that loss with the love for her mother into her life after her mothers passing and trying? go for it.

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest, personal review. This was a great book if you are a fellow holiday junkie like Ms. Hewitt. She gives some great ideas for parties as well as sharing her personal connection to why she tries to find magic in everything even in the midst of grief. Very enjoyable read!

As a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt this book was a must read for me.

It is not your typical biography it is more like a book filled with anecdotes which didn't bothered me at all. I liked reading about her mother but also the ideas she gives to us parents to create little magic at home.

I would have loved it more if it was more like the typical biography where you really truly get to know someone but all and all was this book a good read.

I am a big fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt, so I was I excited to get a chance to read this. It's less of a memoir, and more a tip book with anecdotes..

J. Love's mom died just over a decade ago, and she was overcome with grief. After getting married, having 3 kids, and continuing her successful career, she finally realized that her grief could be turned into something positive. Her mom always made every holiday, every DAY, feel special! So that's what J. Love is disclosing. You'll read about her sorrow and depression, but you'll also read how she makes every single holiday amazing for her children. There are many never-before-seen pictures and recipes to boot.

I really enjoyed this. I felt it was heartwarming and practical at the same time. However, I would love an actual memoir from one of my favorite actresses at one point in time. :)

I have been a fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt ever since I was a child so it was interesting to explore her life beyond the screen. It was definitely an inspirational and admiral read that has inspired me with my own situation.

Summary:
Jennifer Love Hewitt gives you a glimpse into how she makes the everyday a little more fun. Dinner doesn't just have to be a meal eaten at a table. The end of a school year doesn't just have to be an excuse to sleep in. From things her own mother did while she was growing up to things she's created for her own children, get ready to see how you can turn the ordinary and mundane into magical.

I wish we had this book during the pandemic. Inheriting Magic is chalk full of fun, creative ideas to make the ordinary daily life things and turn them into fun, creative moments. She shares how her family turned dinner into an international extravaganza! Why have a junk drawer when you can have a magic closet full of things you don't always let your munchkins have? You can have regular water- or you can have moon water! And baskets don't just have to be part of the Easter fun! Jennifer shows you how those same baskets can be used to embrace new seasons or moments in life.

This book is so much fun and full of so much imagination! I'm bummed my kids are older because I would have implemented these ideas for them. We had an imaginative and fun household loaded with creativity, but this book had several ideas I would have loved adding to.

If you're a parent- or know of a parent- who loves to take the mundane and add creativity to it, this book is for you!! Memories are waiting to be made and this book gives you so many to choose from. Run to your bookstore to buy it!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 12/10/24!

I picked this book up as a years-long fan of the author. Within the pages, I found this book to be part memoir, part beautiful memorial of sorts to her maternal legacy, and part guide. Although not a parent myself, I still appreciated the author’s great ideas on how to recreate that “magic” feeling into everyday life - something we as adults can do for ourselves as well but often forget. If you are a parent or looking to buy a gift for an upcoming baby shower/holiday gift for a parent, I definitely recommend this book!

This book really hit hard. I knew it would but I still wanted to read it. My mom passed away in 2022 from cancer. This book made me sad and also smiled at all the magic and traditions that she created. I loved reading about Hewitt's mom and her magic that she created with her. Thank you so much for sharing such precious memories and photos! I know she is smiling down and so proud of you!

This is a sweet little book that is a lot like a celebrity mommy blog meets Pinterest. I had hoped for more depth about navigating grief and loss, and also more fun and simple ideas for making childhood magical. It’s more of a light memoir about her own life and kids, with lots of talk about how she decorates and celebrates holidays month by month to make them over the top for her kids. She has apparently launched a business for this.

It’s a fun book for parents of young kids or fans of hers. It is a little (okay a lot) heavy on buying stuff and going all out in a way that won’t be as accessible for some parents for various reasons (money, time, energy…). If you like Pinterest and following celebrity moms, you’ll like it. There are also some family recipes (no photos), but they are very standard ones. I have literally identical ones in some cases in my own family, like the cream cheese pie (it was a hugely popular one put out by Eagle brand condensed milk in free cookbooks they distributed in the 70s and 80s, though she calls it a Hewitt family recipe).

There are many photos of her kids and her decorations over the years.

A sweet, light read. Her children certainly seem to be growing up with a fun childhood.

I read a temporary digital loan of this book for review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc.
While it’s about creating magic in your everyday life, it’s also a love letter to Jennifer Love Hewitt’s mom who was so magical in her eyes. She shares how having kids really helped her in the grief of losing her mom and bringing back the magic into her life for them and her. So many great ideas and wonderful pictures throughout. You can really feel the magic from her book.

Inheriting Magic is a heartfelt memoir that reads as a love letter from JLH to her late mother. Through JLH unique storytelling and memoir format, she navigates through how she is able to take the magic that her mom created for her growing up and incorporate it into her own family's lives. From decorating for every holiday you possibly can decorate for, to creating Moon Water to help her kids set their intentions, to family recipes, this was definitely a unique memoir format.

While a short read, I found this memoir to be surprisingly intimate. It felt like I was reading a personal blog about how she brings magic into her and her family's lives. It's nice to see the amount of effort she puts into creating not only a magical childhood, but establishing magical routines, to keep love and excitement in their lives. I'm not a parent, nor do I plan to be, and I don't think you need to have kids to enjoy this memoir either. If you do have little ones, definitely pick this up! There are TONS of cute ideas in here.

You will also read the word "magic" more than you probably have in your entire life!

Like JLH says: "The world will provide all the hard truths, scary lessons, and heartbreak that's needed for all of us to grow. Make your home safe, magical, and happy."

Thanks to NetGalley, BenBella Books, and JLH for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.


I will be posting my review to Goodreads and my Instagram today, Nov 1, 2024. I'll also post to retailers on the publication date. Per the approved request email, I'll email the contact provided once I've posted my reviews. Thank you!

Part memoir, part self-help, part reflections.
I found it cosy and inspiring at times
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I was very disappointed with this booké

I really like Jennifer Love Hewitt - mainly because she has gotten down to what her reality is, especially when it comes to the comments, she has had over the years, about her weight.

So, I was expecting an honest and down to earth memoir - which this is not.

Rather, this is an esiteric book, filled with images that only she can see about life and especially her mom.

Pass.

Thank you to BenBella Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC of actress Jennifer Love Hewitt’s upcoming book “Inheriting Magic”.

Jennifer tragically lost her mother to cancer and shares how this moment changed her life forever. She describes her personal journey through grief and how she keeps her mother’s memory alive with traditions and magical moments throughout the year.

I can empathise with Jennifer, having lost my mother too. My mother, like Jennifer’s, missed out on seeing me marry the love of my life and her chance to be a grandmother (I am pregnant currently with my first child). Those special occasions and milestones are when we feel the loss most deeply.

As a wife and mother of three, Jennifer encourages quality time with family and to cherish every moment with our loved ones. It’s a book with lots of fun and inspiring ideas on how to create joyful memories, with those we love, every day of the year.

Overall, it’s a lovely book that I can tell has been written with much love and consideration.

I would also like to acknowledge Vanessa Rivera’s (the_life_of_aivax) awesome cover design for this book — It’s so fun and whimsical!

Thank you to BenBella Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book before publication!
When I saw this book on Netgalley I was so happy, I have always been a big fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt and this has just made my feelings stronger!
Growing up with her mother must be have been magical and she proves that she has taken steps to keep her magical; legacy alive.

The effort that she puts into being a self proclaimed 'Holiday Junkie' is without a doubt incredible! you can tell that she truly loves being a mother and bringing joy or magic as she likes to call it to her children and all other children she knows.

She must have the wildest imagination and be so creative I wonder how she didn't go into party planning herself!
This book was so easy to read and oh so enjoyable!

This book is part love letter to Jennifer Love Hewitt's mom, and part practical guide to adding "magic" to your kids lives. I liked some of the ideas and it being spooky season, used one idea right away: washi tape on pumpkins for toddlers. It was a win!

I like that some of the ideas are open ended and you can go as big or as small as you want to or can. Her pictures are more inspirational, than doable for my budget. But it's great ideas. It's a short and delightful read.

Thank you, BenBella Books, for the ARC.

“Inheriting Magic” by Jennifer Love Hewitt is part memoir, part journey through grief, and part holiday/mom blog. It doesn’t dive terribly deep into any of those topics, and it’s a light, warm, quick read.

The book starts by talking about the author’s loss of her mother and then the many warm and beautiful memories made with her mom and her own journey into motherhood. The stories were sweet but stayed pretty high-level throughout, not digging too deep into any one aspect of her personal life, which was fine for me, but fans expecting more of a memoir might be a little disappointed by the brevity.

The second half details different traditions and ideas for fun that she uses to create everyday magic in her home. Some of the ideas were more accessible than others, but there are some really cute ideas that are sure to inspire parents to inject some new fun into their routine. To think that any average parent would have the time and resources to be able to keep up with all of the activities and traditions detailed here is a bit far-fetched, but approaching it like Pinterest or a blog and find some ideas and inspiration, makes it much more reasonable and digestible. None of the ideas are groundbreaking or new to anyone who’s spent time browsing Pinterest, but it is nice to see a celebrity mom embracing motherhood and really investing in quality time with her family. It did feel like it was setting up a future launch of a lifestyle brand at times, though.

The writing is very casual and friendly. I also liked that the book has lots of bright, colorful personal pictures of the different traditions the author discusses. The family recipes were also a really nice personal touch.

Overall, this is a very sweet celebrity offering, blending memoir and lifestyle content. Fans of books like Reese Witherspoon’s “Whisky in a Teacup” and Kate Hudson’s “Pretty Fun” will probably enjoy this one as well.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced read.

Jennifer Love Hewitt's heart shines so bright in her book Inheriting Magic. After the loss of her mother, she had to figure out how to keep the joy and magic in her life. Her mother made every day magical and memorable so Jennifer wanted nothing more than to keep that legacy alive. In Inheriting Magic, she details how grief helped her find the magic again and how her becoming a Holiday Junkie was her therapy. While you can expect to learn fun activities for your family along with amazing party planning tips, you can also expect to feel the emotions of her grief. I could feel the close relationship she shared with her mother. It broke my heart to see her not only lose her mother but lose her best friend. This experience changes anyone. But what I know is special and thanks to her mother is how she chose to live her life creating magical memories that bring smiles to her family and friends. My favorite part of the book is her vulnerability. I can't even imagine how tough it must have been to relive some of the hard memories, but it helps me realize how important it is to create magic in our everyday lives.

I am somewhat skeptical of the typical "celebrity books. Kudos to Jennifer Love Hewitt for writing this beautiful book, Inheriting Magic. Like many, losing a parent changes you. Ms. Love Hewitt writes honestly and achingly about the passing of her mom. She now has children and a husband, and the legacy is passing on the magic of daily life to her kids. It was so much more than I'd hoped.
I love the recipes and ideas, and I would highly recommend this book. It comes out at the holidays, and it would be a great gift. I'm ordering a copy for myself that is not on my Kindle.

Thank you to Ben Bella Books and Net Galley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #BenBellaBooks #JenniferLoveHewitt #InheritingMagic

Jennifer Love Hewitt has written the most beautiful book.Her love for her mother & the sadness that overtook her when her mom passed away.She shares her family with us her life with her adorable children and wonderful husband.I love how she is a believer in the magic we can have in our lives.This is a book with so many wonderful idea and delicious recipes.I will be recommending and gifting this wonderful book.#netgalley #benbellabooks.