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.
Advance Praise for The Book of Magic:
“…the story brims with bewitching encounters and suspenseful conflicts revolving around good magic versus bad magic. Hoffman brings satisfying closure to the Owens saga.” —Publishers Weekly
“Hoffman brings the Owens family full circle in a tale of finely wrought female relationships, magic, and love….The result is a magical realist tale rich in fresh Owens clan lore, providing a hopeful and satisfying conclusion to Hoffman’s beloved Practical Magic series.” —Booklist
“The Book of Magic gives an engrossing and satisfying conclusion to the series.”— BuzzFeed
“There’s a magic to Hoffman’s prose; delicate, deliberate and soothing. Indeed, she casts a spell that makes the reader reluctant to leave the world of the Owens family, even if just for a minute.”— The Berkshire Eagle
“Hoffman’s lyrical prose and bewitching storytelling portray vivid, unforgettable characters throughout the final volume, as the family travels the world to destroy the curse.”— The Free Lance–Star
“The Book of Magic holds all the beautiful discoveries and endings for these beloved characters that any fan of Hoffman’s could possibly desire.”— The Book Reporter
Named as a Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2021 by: Reese’s Book Club, LitHub, Scary Mommy, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, St. Paul Pioneer-Press, Yahoo!, Edmonds News, BuzzFeed, AARP Magazine, Her Campus, Bustle, Book Riot, Popsugar, E, New York Times Book Review, Retrogazing, The Herald-Dispatch, Edmonds News, The Book Reporter, The Joplin Globe
Check out my interviews with: Hey Alma, Entertainment Weekly, Enchanted Living, The Middle, Moms Don’t Have Time to Write, Double Booked Podcast
LibraryReads October 2021 Hall of Fame Pick
My Review:
I adored every page of Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic Series. It’s been so much fun following generations of Owen’s women as they discovered their magical abilities, fell in love, and realized how forbidden love was for them.
In The Book of Magic, we return to the story of the Owens but Jet and Franny are now old women. They’ve still got spunk, but even they know that all good things must come to an end. At the beginning of the book, Jet discovers that she has a week to live and is able to prepare in the way that anyone magical would for her very own demise.
But while the sisters embraced magic many years ago, their nieces were never told of the curse. It must have never seemed the right time. But Kylie hid a love affair from her family and the curse has come knocking. Part of Jet’s preparations included leaving a book for the person who would break the spell. With her death, a new plan is set in motion that takes the family abroad to break the curse once and for all.
Hoffman has drawn such rich characters in The Practical Magic Series, that I truly feel that I know them. I laughed, I cried, and I was terrified right along with them the whole time. I’m a little jealous of someone who hasn’t come across the series because it’s just that good. I wish I could go back and read them all again for the first time.
Special thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. The Book of Magic is out now. Get your copy!
Women in Trouble Book Blog 
Leave a comment