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kerileilareads's review
4.0
3.5* This one didn’t pack a punch like the previous Practical Magic novels did for me, but I still think it was all in all a perfect conclusion to the series. ❤️
halirose's review
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The final book of this series reads slower than the others, but I’m glad for the conclusion and found it to be inspiring
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
harleyrae's review
5.0
I have loved listening to this series! I never though I would love these books as much as I did! This was such a perfect conclusion to the series!
megn317's review
5.0
I will miss the Owens family dearly. I enjoyed how this final book wove together all of their stories and histories into a great ending. I will have to revisit these books again! They are so good.
kharkeyz's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
hiiii!!!! this is coming from the most biased of places, because most often, i rate the last installments of series as the highest. there isn't much to say about this installment because hoffman says it all. every nugget of lessons spread throughout this series comes to a heartbreaking conclusion within this novel, using everything we've learned to teach the readers, and the characters, the ultimate lessons. this installment had it all, love, a trip to the dark side, loss, manipulation, reappearances and disappearances, and so much more. truly, with a story like the practical magic series, it's a double-edged sword reading the conclusion, let alone writing it. an impossible task to do correctly, but an impeccably easy journey to get to the end with little to no gripes. spoilers aside, there's nothing i would truly change about the ending, even the losses of specific characters, because if there's one thing this series has taught me, accepting your fate is an incredibly brave and just thing to do. there's nothing i would change about the story, despite it ripping my heart out, as hoffman managed to finalize the series with the most suitable heartbreaking and heartwarming ending i could ever imagine. just realized that vincent will now have to live the rest of his life mourning the loss of his sisters after they spent so long mourning the loss of him </3
anywho! spoiler aside, it's impossible not to give this book 5 stars, purely after spending the last six months of my life with this family, and finally finding them at peace. emotions aside, hoffman, you're amazing!
anywho! spoiler aside, it's impossible not to give this book 5 stars, purely after spending the last six months of my life with this family, and finally finding them at peace. emotions aside, hoffman, you're amazing!
pam2375's review against another edition
5.0
This is definitely "The Book of Magic". I think that my Kindle was vibrating as I read page after page of this wonderful series that I do not want to end.
The beginning of the book is hard to get through with the deathwatch beetle following our beloved character. It is heartbreaking and wonderful, all at the same time. I loved this book and I loved this series.
It doesn't have to end, Alice. You can keep going...
Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release Oct 5, 2021.
The beginning of the book is hard to get through with the deathwatch beetle following our beloved character. It is heartbreaking and wonderful, all at the same time. I loved this book and I loved this series.
It doesn't have to end, Alice. You can keep going...
Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this advanced readers copy. This book is scheduled to release Oct 5, 2021.
moth_dance's review against another edition
4.0
A magical beginning right to the very end. This saga has taught me so much.
But mostly: I can start at the end. I can begin again.
This is such a beloved world with so many genuinely crafted characters. I was afraid the final book wouldn't live up the last ones which have been phenomenal. And while the middle of this final story did drag a bit--as if there were too many additional characters (i.e. men) being thrown into the very close Owens world--in the end, everything Alice Hoffman wove into her tapestry of magic has been revealed with perfect love and perfect trust.
And it's thanks for writers like Alice Hoffman (and imo her closest magical realism writer companions [a:Francesca Lia Block|9072|Francesca Lia Block|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1530045619p2/9072.jpg] and [a:Zoraida Córdova|4824952|Zoraida Córdova|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1644072903p2/4824952.jpg]) there's magic to be found no matter where you live, no matter who you are.
***I have such immense nostalgia and sentiment tied to this Practical Magic series, and really all of Alice Hoffman's stories. I first found [b:Practical Magic|1281393|Practical Magic|Alice Hoffman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446013485l/1281393._SY75_.jpg|4030671] by way of my high school library, tucked next to the book I was first searching for--her YA story [b:Green Angel|410615|Green Angel (Green Angel, #1)|Alice Hoffman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389760023l/410615._SY75_.jpg|4030676]. But I choose Practical Magic first.
After I had to return it to my high school library but wasn't finished reading it, I moved to get it from my local public library. I vividly remember how both of these books were the original hardcover edition with the Rosetti "Persephone" artwork on the front and large pages that seemed to envelope me with each word. I eventually bought my own copy of this edition at a Half Price for like $10 but then lost that copy between moving back and forth from NYC to TX (or maybe my very witch-fearing mother actually throw it out while I was away...). Later I had to hunt for the hardcover edition, but I now own it again and fiercely protect it.
Much like the book, the movie holds such sentimental feelings, too. It was one of the movies with sister-characters that my former bff and I bonded over for years; she was the Gillian and I was the Sally. But that friendship ended on a very toxic note. For a while I couldn't watch the movie as I had done every year since 2006, and I couldn't reread passages of the book or even get into the following books in the series which haunted me from my TBR.
It wasn't until I moved to NYC that I had the courage to return to the Owens family and find comfort in the aunts, more than the sisters. In the most fitting fashion possible, I started and finished [b:The Rules of Magic|34037113|The Rules of Magic (Practical Magic, #0.2)|Alice Hoffman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492802012l/34037113._SX50_.jpg|55038896] at multiple benches in Greenwich Park during my first summer in NYC. And [b:Magic Lessons|50892349|Magic Lessons (Practical Magic, #0.1)|Alice Hoffman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593355938l/50892349._SX50_.jpg|75786942] became my grounding practice during a very difficult autumn/winter season back in TX.
Now, as I make plans to move back to NYC once and for all, I've finished the saga with this book, and I feel content. I can leave this story and these characters who've held so much of my life here in TX. And I can also return to them whenever I want from the magical comfort of the east coast.
But mostly: I can start at the end. I can begin again.
This is such a beloved world with so many genuinely crafted characters. I was afraid the final book wouldn't live up the last ones which have been phenomenal. And while the middle of this final story did drag a bit--as if there were too many additional characters (i.e. men) being thrown into the very close Owens world--in the end, everything Alice Hoffman wove into her tapestry of magic has been revealed with perfect love and perfect trust.
And it's thanks for writers like Alice Hoffman (and imo her closest magical realism writer companions [a:Francesca Lia Block|9072|Francesca Lia Block|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1530045619p2/9072.jpg] and [a:Zoraida Córdova|4824952|Zoraida Córdova|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1644072903p2/4824952.jpg]) there's magic to be found no matter where you live, no matter who you are.
***I have such immense nostalgia and sentiment tied to this Practical Magic series, and really all of Alice Hoffman's stories. I first found [b:Practical Magic|1281393|Practical Magic|Alice Hoffman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1446013485l/1281393._SY75_.jpg|4030671] by way of my high school library, tucked next to the book I was first searching for--her YA story [b:Green Angel|410615|Green Angel (Green Angel, #1)|Alice Hoffman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1389760023l/410615._SY75_.jpg|4030676]. But I choose Practical Magic first.
After I had to return it to my high school library but wasn't finished reading it, I moved to get it from my local public library. I vividly remember how both of these books were the original hardcover edition with the Rosetti "Persephone" artwork on the front and large pages that seemed to envelope me with each word. I eventually bought my own copy of this edition at a Half Price for like $10 but then lost that copy between moving back and forth from NYC to TX (or maybe my very witch-fearing mother actually throw it out while I was away...). Later I had to hunt for the hardcover edition, but I now own it again and fiercely protect it.
Much like the book, the movie holds such sentimental feelings, too. It was one of the movies with sister-characters that my former bff and I bonded over for years; she was the Gillian and I was the Sally. But that friendship ended on a very toxic note. For a while I couldn't watch the movie as I had done every year since 2006, and I couldn't reread passages of the book or even get into the following books in the series which haunted me from my TBR.
It wasn't until I moved to NYC that I had the courage to return to the Owens family and find comfort in the aunts, more than the sisters. In the most fitting fashion possible, I started and finished [b:The Rules of Magic|34037113|The Rules of Magic (Practical Magic, #0.2)|Alice Hoffman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492802012l/34037113._SX50_.jpg|55038896] at multiple benches in Greenwich Park during my first summer in NYC. And [b:Magic Lessons|50892349|Magic Lessons (Practical Magic, #0.1)|Alice Hoffman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593355938l/50892349._SX50_.jpg|75786942] became my grounding practice during a very difficult autumn/winter season back in TX.
Now, as I make plans to move back to NYC once and for all, I've finished the saga with this book, and I feel content. I can leave this story and these characters who've held so much of my life here in TX. And I can also return to them whenever I want from the magical comfort of the east coast.
raniadivine's review
2.0
Almost a DNF- the ending of this one was the only reason why I didn’t give a 1 ⭐️
I was rather disappointed in this series. I felt the characters were unpleasant most times, the story was inconsistent, and they literally introduced too many damn people in this last one.
It might just be me, but it’s a bit unsettling how much the Owen’s would do for love. They would erase their identity and turn to left handed magic, abandon their entire family and not look back, and withhold ALL VITAL information about their family’s history/story. All for LOVE. Now, I’m not a love expert but I think their motives were very selfish the majority of the time. This family never seemed to learned any lesson and they were completely blinded by what they thought was healthy love. There wasn’t middle ground with the Owens. You either rebutted love, or you gave up literally everything for it. Eventually they favored the second part. This family needs therapy and bad……
Regardless, I still am still sad that this is the end of the Owen’s even if the books were not that great.
I was rather disappointed in this series. I felt the characters were unpleasant most times, the story was inconsistent, and they literally introduced too many damn people in this last one.
It might just be me, but it’s a bit unsettling how much the Owen’s would do for love. They would erase their identity and turn to left handed magic, abandon their entire family and not look back, and withhold ALL VITAL information about their family’s history/story. All for LOVE. Now, I’m not a love expert but I think their motives were very selfish the majority of the time. This family never seemed to learned any lesson and they were completely blinded by what they thought was healthy love. There wasn’t middle ground with the Owens. You either rebutted love, or you gave up literally everything for it. Eventually they favored the second part. This family needs therapy and bad……
Regardless, I still am still sad that this is the end of the Owen’s even if the books were not that great.
rikican2's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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