Oct 2

Oct 2 Magic Lessons (Practical Magic, #0)

Author: Alice Hoffman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

In an unforgettable novel that traces a centuries-old curse to its source, beloved author Alice Hoffman unveils the story of Maria Owens, accused of witchcraft in Salem, and matriarch of a line of the amazing Owens women and men featured in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic.

Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? With Maria Owens, in the 1600s, when she’s abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. Under the care of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the “Unnamed Arts.” Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always love someone who will love you back.

When Maria is abandoned by the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family. And it’s here that she learns the rules of magic and the lesson that she will carry with her for the rest of her life. Love is the only thing that matters.

Magic Lessons is a celebration of life and love and a showcase of Alice Hoffman’s masterful storytelling.

TL;DR Review

Magic Lessons is a dark, emotional, but not too heavy story perfect for October. I haven’t read Practical Magic, but it seems like a fantastic prequel.

For you if: You are looking for a literary witchy read.

Full Review

“Always love someone who will love you back.”

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing me an advanced copy of this one via NetGalley. It was the perfect read to get into the mood for fall!

I’ve never read or seen Practical Magic (for which this is a prequel), but I was reassured that I didn’t need to in order to read Magic Lessons. That turned out to be true (I still loved it), but now I definitely want to read the rest of these books! I’ve heard that Magic Lessons is a bit darker than the others. I believe that, but I don’t think it’s too dark.

This novel tells the story of Maria Owens, matriarch of the Owens family and originator of a family curse, in the time of the Salem witch trials. She’s raised by another woman practiced in the Nameless Art, but is forced to flee as a young girl when fear and hate come knocking. Despite her resolve not to fall prey to love, infatuation strikes, and she careens herself into a long, often painful journey of a destiny.

Reading this book felt like sinking into a pile of fall leaves wrapped in a plaid blanket with candles lit and a mug of hot apple cider. It’s pricking candles with a pin and spells and herbal mixtures and grimoires and familiars, but without any cheesiness. It just feels like literary October. And it’s clear that Alice Hoffman has done a good amount of research, both into the history of the region and traditional witchiness.

But it’s also got a ton of depth and heart. There’s much here about motherhood and daughterhood and chosen family vs blood, friendship and abandonment and true love and faith and trust.

I think this book will hold a special place in my heart for a long time!