Reviews - Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic

2.83k reviews for:

Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic

Alice Hoffman

4.15 AVERAGE

adorescent_421's review against another edition

5.0

I very much enjoyed this book.

zen_chaos's review against another edition

5.0

Practical Magic has been a favorite movie of mine for years, but I somehow never got stuff to reading the book (possibly didn't realize there was one for a good while!)

I'm glad that I had to wait on hold for the library to have a copy for it and stumbled on this prequel in the meantime. She writes beautifully, with frequent poetic prose that's breathtaking, characters who are well fleshed out, and plots that keep you reading, both drawing on history and creative license. 5+stars. I absolutely cried in a few parts, and I am reminded of Anne Rice, but with more focus on a few characters and without elements of the southern Gothic/a bit more tame in some (comforting) ways.

auntiemaleficent's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

smclawler's review against another edition

5.0

Historical fiction, rich in detail, which takes the reader back to the beginning of the Owens family saga. The journey of Maria Owens begins in 17th Century Essex, England where she is found and raised by Hannah Owens, a kind witch and healer. Maria learns green magic, which she carries to Curacao, Boston, Salem and New York. The theme of the repression of women is sting, especially when the Owens women have the ability to cure and soothe, while their male counterparts often do not. Other plot points delve into the ability to love when cursed in love, and discrimination. The book provides a wealth of information about herbal recipes, like Courage Tea, black soap, blue thread, black mirrors, and the familiars--Maria's crow and Faith's wolf. Magic Lessons can stand alone and one does not need to have read Practical Magic or The Rules of Magic. Thank you Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the arc.