Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

9 reviews

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.

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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

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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

alexjoneswrites's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective slow-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

4.75

Really enjoyable and wonderful to read. I really like how the prequel because a full circle towards the end as someone who grew up watching the video of the original so much it wore out! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, and Confinement

tilde_c_s's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death

Minor: Cancer, Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Medical content

aislinn_mcd_harrison's review against another edition

mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This was one I wanted to keep reading but i didn’t feel I really loved the writing style or even the characters. There was a sadness all through the book that made it difficult to enjoy but I don’t think it had a particularly strong message or view on its theme of love is disaster / love is the only good. Also don’t like books whose endings only set up the next book. 

Questions to ask book club:
Is the curse real? 
What do you think Alice Hoffman’s writing about youth and beauty and age? 
Do you think Franny is consistent? 
What do you think of how she portrayed real events like the Vietnam war and the stonewall riots? 
Did you like the siblings? Who was your favourite? 
This book is a prequel and the ending fairly unapologetically has nothing to do with the book you’ve read and is a preamble to practical magic - did it make you want to read the next one and why? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Cancer, War, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, and Sexual content

scam_lark's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Car accident, Homophobia, and Sexual content

allyhoo811's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

While I enjoyed Practical Magic, I found myself loving this second installment in the series. It was everything I loved about its predecessor, but better. There was more magic, more witchiness, and more character development -- Plus less absurdity. What's not to love? All things considered I give this book 4.5 stars (rounded up to 5). There were two small issues that dampened my enjoyment a tad, but overall a great read!

My Issues:

1. There was still too much insta-love. It was somewhat better than Practical Magic in this regard, but it was still too much for me personally. I know this series is supposed to have a fairytale feeling about it, but it just doesn't work for me in this regard.

2. I wanted more resolution to what the "curse" really was. Towards the end of the book, it seemed like the author was trying to get across the message that the curse had always just been in the minds of the family members, but then when Sally and Gillian's parents died it was written as if the curse had caught up with them. Doesn't ruin the story, but I didn't like feeling that you could actually trick the "curse", by doing things like changing your name or by living separately and not marrying.

Note: This story is told by a third person, omniscient narrator. There is a lot of head hopping. I found it worked fine for me (when it usually doesn't), but just know that going in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Terminal illness, and Cancer

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

poursandpages's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Officially a convert. Can I be an Owens now?!

The Rules of Magic was SOOOO much better than Practical Magic, IMO. I devoured it, loved all of the characters & story lines, & loved seeing how Practical Magic came to be. Plus, it’s infinitely more
plot-heavy.

You can definitely read it as a stand alone, but reading (or watching) Practical Magic first gives you a bit of context. Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Rape, Death, and Suicidal thoughts