An instant New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick from beloved author Alice Hoffman—the spellbinding prequel to Practical Magic.Find your magic. For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to … of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.
From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Yet, the children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the memorable aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.
Alice Hoffman delivers “fairy-tale promise with real-life struggle” (The New York Times Book Review) in a story how the only remedy for being human is to be true to yourself. Thrilling and exquisite, real and fantastical, The Rules of Magic is “irresistible…the kind of book you race through, then pause at the last forty pages, savoring your final moments with the characters” (USA TODAY, 4/4 stars).
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Very different and loved the characters. Enchanting
So fun to read the story precluding Practical Magic!
Definitely a different read for me. Still I did enjoy it. I did love the character development
great prequel for Practical Magic fans
an interesting look into the tragic world of magic.
When I learned this book was a prequel to my beloved Practical Magic, I had to read it. I was not disappointed.
A story about families and love. This book brings happiness and sadness to the reader. It shares the bonds of family that tie us together. It show us how resilient we can be during trouble. The characters are so rich and enduring, you can’t help but like them all. You want to know as much as you can about the Owens and their particular past. Are they witches?? Or are they just individuals who have plenty of faith in themselves to being luck and/or pain to them. I can imagine the quaint little town the family lives and. It seems that the author has written this story for another book to ensure the reader gets to know how Sally and Gillian grow up. I love also that each of the Owen’s found their true loves. Although, I get sad about Harry being left by. Invent and then dies from turning old and lonely.
First off, I didn’t realize that Practical Magic was a book, so I definitely didn’t know that it had a prequel. After seeing this somewhere online, I got both books from the library. I love the movie Practical Magic, which is, of course, a little different from the book, but that’s okay. I really liked reading The Rules of Magic to get the back story on the aunts. I would definitely recommend reading both books!
You can count of Alice Hoffman for two things: lyrical prose and an original story.
This book was great. I read it after Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. Although I liked Practical Magic, I thought the prequel was wonderful.
The enchanting story of a family legacy and how each person fights against it. This is a prequel to Practical Magic, which was made into a movie. The Owens family curse is revealed from its beginning. Hoffman weaves magic realism into a seamless creation. Haunting. Eloquent.
Loved it!
Alice Hoffman is brilliant. She has an imagination so out there it’s staggering. I just love the way she thinks. If you liked Practical Magic – and who didn’t – you have to read this book.
One of my all time favorite books is Practical Magic. Alice Hoffman has just written a prequel entitled The Rules of Magic which is a story about the two elderly aunts in Practical Magic, Jet and Franny. The is wonderful and takes place during the turbulent 60’s giving us the background of Franny and Jet as well as their brother Vincent. The characters in the book are complex and well developed and the story is full of love and magic. I loved it.
I read Practical Magic years ago, close to 20 years I think. I had forgotten most of it and so this was all new to me. It was great fun! I love the Rules and the sayings and the practices! I don’t think that I have ever highlighted this many passages in a single book before. I loved the story and the characters, and I really so enjoyed the characters during the years of the 6o’s and the trip to San Francisco. I’ve recommended this one to my friends and family, and my daughter Betty is borrowing it from the library this week. I just know she’ll love it too. It was not until the last chapter that I realized that the kids who would become the old aunties in Practical Magic had just been introduced. I had to laugh. Run out and get a copy today – you’ll be glad you did!
This book is about the bonds of family and the love they share . I really enjoyed this book.
I loved everything about this book. Even though it is magical realism, with its doses of bizarre character twists, I found myself crying in parts and hoping for happily ever afters that evolved differently than one might expect. Alice Hoffman does not disappoint.
I liked it very much. It is great escapism. You can always expect the unusual from Alice Hoffman.
Wonderful prequel to Practical Magic. I hope there will be a movie.
Although I’m not sure I’ll read the other books in the trilogy (because I didn’t quite like the way it ended), I found this one utterly compelling.