Reviews tagging 'Stalking'

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

11 reviews

gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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

Blended reading (audiobook + physical)

The Details:
Narrated by Laurence Bouvard
Unabridged

Mild spoilers will be in this review as I talk about different parts of the book.

I was initally apprehensive about the lack of chapters, but I needn't worry about that because everything just flowed in such a gentle storytelling way. It was also helpful that it was broken into parts.

I wasn't expecting such a generational saga, but I loved growing up with the sisters Sally and Gillian as they went to live with their peculiar aunts in Superstition. It was interesting to see little bits of witch craft, and from the little snippets of the movie I've seen (only very small scenes out of context), I was surprised that there was a lot of hexing and manipulation of love. It was fascinating to see how both of the very opposite sisters felt about it and also how everyone around them changed their views in different ways as they grew up. I felt like Sally was always getting the short straw of life, rather unfairly, just for being kind and not as bold and carefree as her little sister, so when she finally got a chance at love later on in this part and had a family I was so happy.

In Premonitions I'm happy that Sally was still a main character but the focus shifted on her two children growing up and mirroring the experience her and her sister had with school. I also loved seeing the OG sisters, who had become more and more estranged, reconciled at last.... but not over wholesome circumstances.
The lilacs haunting the sisters, suddenly reminded me of a scene from Weep, Woman, Weep and I wonder if that was inspired by Practical Magic. A pivotal development in this part was Kylie's 13th birthday and that did not go anyway I was expecting it to!

With the way that part ended, I was super interested to see how Clairvoyance would progress the story futher, now that Kylie was coming into her own. The story really developed here as powers were further unearthed and consequences began to come to a head for the run up to the conclusion.

It's weird how fond of the aunts I was, despite them feeling more like off page characters. I missed them and the cats so much when we were following everyone else living their lives.

The whole feel of this story was very whimsical and cosy and felt as if you were being narrated through this odd life, that wasn't super out of the ordinary, but enough to make you second glance. I absolutely adored it and am looking forward to reading the sequel and two prequels.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Addiction, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Stalking, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Blood, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Car accident

ce_read's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I was raised on the movie so it's hard not to compare the two. The writing could be a bit hoakey and ham-fisted for me at times, but ultimately compelling and entertaining. I second some other reviews that said some characters were introduced abruptly or not well-enough developed, and of there were themes or plot devices, I didn't pick up on them. Not my usual fare 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death

prairiebunny's review

dark emotional lighthearted mysterious tense 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Murder, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal cruelty and Stalking

chasingpages1's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Car accident, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Stalking, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Rape

eve_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted sad tense 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

3.75

 Overall Thoughts:
⁕ Hoffman's writing style is very distinct. She uses a lot of quirky metaphors and sensual descriptions that create an overall sense of fairytale-like nostalgia. I didn't feel super connected to the characters or even the plot while reading, but just the general sense of fall coziness that her writing provides was enough to keep me happy.

⁕ I love that Hoffman keeps the themes of sisterhood and family at the forefront. While, again, I didn't feel super passionate about the characters, her honest depictions of family feuds was the closest they got to being relatable.

⁕ I didn't really care for any of the love interests. Many of the relationships relied upon the "love at first sight" and fate tropes, so there was no natural development and they just simply weren't interesting.

To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content

uranaishi's review

adventurous 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Death, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Pregnancy, Drug use, Abortion, Cursing, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Violence, Vomit, Murder, Alcohol, and Blood

zannayo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Sexism, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders

corinnereads7's review

dnf, felt quite sexist. too cheesy and unrealistic with the romances while shallow with the relationships between the Owens women/girls. focuses intensely on how hot they are, including the 13 year old girl who has a glow-up when her hair is dyed blonde and then is immediately abandoned by her male best friend because he’s too attracted to her or something? and instead of writing him off as an asshole and getting better friends, she bakes him his favorite cake. she’s then chased across a cornfield by grown men whose graphic thoughts about a CHILD the author kindly details for us. gross.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Stalking, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

atlanticgiantpumpkin's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

As an autistic woman, I spent a lot of the book thinking “Is this actually how people think?” Because everything was very exaggerated.  I do feel like it went on a bit at times giving unnecessary details, but it was wonderful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Murder, Stalking, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual content, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Pedophilia, Bullying, and Alcohol

At one point, one of the girls is chased down in a field by men trying to rape her.

bedtimesandbooks's review

dark hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

I just finished rereading this, and I have to admit it’s been awhile since I’ve read it - simply because I don’t really reread books. 

This is a book I’ve long considered one of my all time favorites, but I think that honor may be given to Magic Lessons (which is part of this series, and tells the story of Maria Owens). 

BUT, this book is still great... I just think Alice Hoffman has perfected telling the stories of the Owens women the farther she gets into the series. I cannot wait for the final installment (The Book of Magic) to come out later this year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Alcoholism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Stalking, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Murder, Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Child death