Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Book Review: The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman

 Book Review


The Book of Magic 

(Practical Magic Series Book Four)

Alice Hoffman

 

 

Book Description:

Master storyteller Alice Hoffman brings us the conclusion of the Practical Magic series in a spellbinding and enchanting final Owens novel brimming with lyric beauty and vivid characters.


The Owens family has been cursed in matters of love for over three-hundred years but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured, when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has only seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger—the curse is already at work.

A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women, and one long-lost brother, to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from them in matters of both magic and love by Sally, their fiercely protective mother. As Kylie Owens uncovers the truth about who she is and what her own dark powers are, her aunt Franny comes to understand that she is ready to sacrifice everything for her family, and Sally Owens realizes that she is willing to give up everything for love.

The Book of Magic is a breathtaking conclusion that celebrates mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and anyone who has ever been in love


Release Date: October 12, 2021

Order now:

Amazon Kindle – Audiobook - Hardcover

 

My 5-Star Review:

Alice Hoffman has outdone herself with this last installment in the Practical Magic series. I am writing this review immediately after being completely charmed by The Book of Magic. To follow the Owens women throughout time (including the prequel that took us back to the beginning with Maria Owens) was a magical trip. There is no better word—magical! These books are not just stories of witches and their descendants. They are stories of a family lineage, powerful women, family connections, and most of all, love.

In The Book of Magic, Hoffman weaves words together that create vivid scenes you can’t help but picture in your mind as you read. We learn the fate of the Owens women, from Jet and Franny to Sally and Gillian and down to Antonia and Kylie—all the women we fell in love with in the first book and even the movie. We follow them as they travel across the ocean to attempt to do the one thing that will free all the women in their family—break the curse that has kept them from falling in love throughout the centuries. And as they are challenged along the way, sacrifices must be made, and acts of love so powerful they will bring you to tears.

I loved this last novel in the Practical Magic series. A must read for anyone who believes in the power of family and the magic it brings to your life.

 


About the Author:

Alice Hoffman is the author of thirty works of fiction, including Practical Magic, The Red Garden, The Dovekeepers and, most recently, The Museum of Extraordinary Things. She lives in Boston. Visit her website: www.alicehoffman.com