Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Rules of Magic

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.

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sarasreading's review against another edition

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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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sophactuallyreads's review against another edition

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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.

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