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thebibutterfly's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A beautiful, poignant book that was well written, but I was unprepared for the sheer number of deaths in this one, many of which were devastating. The massive time skips can be a tad jarring, but the ending was quite a full circle moment. My main issues with this book were the *multiple* incestuous relationships and an Adult/minor relationship. They were said to be distant cousins in both cases, but still. It seemed incredibly weird that Bridget wasn’t even told until afterwards and that April practically jumped Vincent in his own bed, then blamed him for getting her pregnant. Further still, that Isabel didn’t intervene despite having “the sight” and claims that she always knew what was going on. That was all handled very poorly, in my opinion. This one was overflowing with triggering topics, but most were handled fairly sensitively.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Child death, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Death, Incest, Sexual content, War, and Homophobia
ksilvio's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, and War
Minor: Animal death and Murder
booksntea99's review against another edition
The story reads quite juvenile and the main characters are all teenagers, none of them very likeable. The rules of magic are never really explained. A sad rehash of Practical Magic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Adult/minor relationship
ginbat's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Easy to get sucked into. Perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket, Wes Andersen, Forrest Gump and The Little Prince.
The plot is somewhat sad/bittersweet. But the true art is in the writing.
The plot is somewhat sad/bittersweet. But the true art is in the writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Grief, and Addiction
Moderate: Death of parent, Incest, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug use, Terminal illness, War, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Cancer, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, and Forced institutionalization
There may be a lot of triggering things in this book, but because of the way the book is written, they pass by quickly to move on to the next (also triggering) thing. Death happens relatively frequently for instance, but specifically the death of a parent isn't a repeated thing. If something triggers you but you still want to continue reading, it's generally pretty easy to skip a few pages and then it won't be brought up again. Except for death!! If someone dies that shit is brought up like crazy! Incest:judassilver's review against another edition
Dropped due to the incest he gets his older cousin pregnant fyi and the comments around youth and beauty and the conflation of love and obsession-- something that seems to be used as a way to handwave the grooming and sexual assault that Vincent is victim to, which I didn't see addressed in any meaningful way. It felt very victim blaming that it was "his charm" that made his 30-something neighbor grope and then sexually assault him. His aunt seemed to think it was normal for him to have these "flings" , at 14 years old. I also wasn't a huge fan of the constant mention of sex, drugs, alcohol, and smoking that peppered this book-it made it feel edgy more than anything. I wish I had known going in, so let this be a word of awareness to unsuspecting readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Pregnancy
colorwriter's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Having read Practical Magic first, I enjoyed this book more. In Rules of Magic I enjoyed the dive into exploring the siblings and their respective gifts and their awareness and use of then throughout their lives whereas in Practical Magic the sisters seem unaware of their gifts entirely. I loved the expansion of the Owens family through distant cousin April and entire other branches of the family that weren't explored in Practical Magic.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, and Mental illness
Minor: Incest, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and War
sarasreading's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this prequel, learning more about the aunts when they were young in New York City. It managed to be sad and also incredibly hopeful and uplifting at the same time, making for a poignant read.
Alice Hoffman's descriptions really make the magical elements come to life and make the world feel real and true. The more she describes the Owens' Massachusetts house, the more I wish it were real. These books make me want to grow an herb garden and start a town scandal.
Alice Hoffman's descriptions really make the magical elements come to life and make the world feel real and true. The more she describes the Owens' Massachusetts house, the more I wish it were real. These books make me want to grow an herb garden and start a town scandal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, and Confinement
sophactuallyreads's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
How do I even describe this? This was such an engrossing read and after Magic Lessons, totally not what I was expecting. It’s the strongest of the three Practical Magic books so far— and my absolute favorite.
1) I think Franny is a contender for my favorite fictional character I’ve read this year.
I simply adored Franny’s character. Granted, I always have, from the moment I saw the movie for the first time (yes I saw it before reading the book). The harsh one, with a great sense of style (which is NOT reflected in the book, but I respect it). The real one when Jet sugar coated.
I loved seeing her character grow from a gawky teenage girl into the rock of the family. Her flaws made her interesting— I love how she had her hard edges and was stubborn. You don’t see protagonists quite like Franny in much, save for Little Women, maybe. Parts of me related to her as she had to pick up responsibilities, and I’m an only child. I don’t know what it was about Franny, but she was just the most lovable, cranky witch I’ve ever read about.
Also, I loved the ups and downs of her relationship. Her and Haylin were so engaging. I hated them at times and loved them by the end. Lewis was pretty funny too, and while I wish she would’ve had a familiar more like Cadin, I understood why Lewis was written as he was. Cheers to you, Lewis.
2) Vincent and Jet were pretty darn cool too.
I got irritated with them both at times. And and Hoffman’s decisions to… well, write a lot of what happened with Vincent, were pretty alarming. Like, if it wasn’t for Franny being so awesome, what she wrote Vincent having done would’ve made me stop reading. In ways it was more concerning than Magic Lessons, which also bothered me. I wish I’d checked TWs before starting, just so I would have been aware going into it that I would be uncomfortable once again!
Overall, I loved Vincent’s romance, and Jet’s relationship with a certain older man warmed my heart. It’s nice to see people come together despite their differences.
3) I just… really liked it. Plain as that.
It didn’t make me emotional quite as Magic Lessons did, but it was such a quick read and just made me happy to read. I would’ve finished it a lot sooner if I wasn’t working late. It was never a burden to pick up, instead leaving me excited to see what Franny and gang would do next.
I wish we had more from Franny and Jet’s perspective. Picking up the Book of Magic next so we’ll see! All in all, I just love this series.
Put magic and New England in the same sentence, and I’m here for it.
1) I think Franny is a contender for my favorite fictional character I’ve read this year.
I simply adored Franny’s character. Granted, I always have, from the moment I saw the movie for the first time (yes I saw it before reading the book). The harsh one, with a great sense of style (which is NOT reflected in the book, but I respect it). The real one when Jet sugar coated.
I loved seeing her character grow from a gawky teenage girl into the rock of the family. Her flaws made her interesting— I love how she had her hard edges and was stubborn. You don’t see protagonists quite like Franny in much, save for Little Women, maybe. Parts of me related to her as she had to pick up responsibilities, and I’m an only child. I don’t know what it was about Franny, but she was just the most lovable, cranky witch I’ve ever read about.
2) Vincent and Jet were pretty darn cool too.
I got irritated with them both at times. And and Hoffman’s decisions to… well, write a lot of what happened with Vincent, were pretty alarming. Like, if it wasn’t for Franny being so awesome, what she wrote Vincent having done would’ve made me stop reading. In ways it was more concerning than Magic Lessons, which also bothered me. I wish I’d checked TWs before starting, just so I would have been aware going into it that I would be uncomfortable once again!
3) I just… really liked it. Plain as that.
It didn’t make me emotional quite as Magic Lessons did, but it was such a quick read and just made me happy to read. I would’ve finished it a lot sooner if I wasn’t working late. It was never a burden to pick up, instead leaving me excited to see what Franny and gang would do next.
I wish we had more from Franny and Jet’s perspective. Picking up the Book of Magic next so we’ll see! All in all, I just love this series.
Put magic and New England in the same sentence, and I’m here for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Incest, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: War
lifa's review against another edition
Not the vibes I was going for. I got to the part of the adult/minor relationship and it's messed up to me. The way it's framed, like a 14 year old boy is having escapades, it's just so gross. And then the grimoire just repeats wicca tenets at the beginning, so I became even less interested. I was intrigued by the old school writing of head hopping, but yeah. Not for me at this point in time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
honeymoonleo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Pedophilia