Reviews - Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic

2.82k reviews for:

Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic

Alice Hoffman

4.15 AVERAGE

lindsayparker710's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

k_ittk_att's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

madlie27's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective 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

Loved, reading the next one asap

jlblumenfeld's review against another edition

3.75

dark emotional 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: Yes

heartinateapot's review

4.25

adventurous inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

mollyringle's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is my favorite so far of Alice Hoffman's books! I hugged it to my chest after I was done reading it, and truly, I do not do that to most books. Given it's a prequel to Practical Magic and the others in the series, you can start here with no knowledge of those books (though I have read two of the others). Hoffman has managed to give us a historical novel that doesn't feel overly heavy on the historical details; it's lively and fascinating and deliciously spooky. Although it includes John Hathorne, real-life magistrate of the Salem witch trials, and although it does also feature bits of those trials, this novel feels much less like The Crucible (with its super dark nightmare quality throughout) and much more like The Scarlet Letter—melancholy, gorgeous, sometimes romantic, alternately bitter and sweet. But it has loads more genuine magic and witchcraft than either of those.

And, fun fact, Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, was the direct descendant of John Hathorne. Which I am sure Hoffman knows. So I see what she did there and I tip my hat.

staceydelaney's review against another edition

2.0

slow-paced

Really struggled to get into this one which surprised me as it's the story of how everything started.

There was a lot and I mean A LOT of useless information that kept being repeated such as " Do as you will, but harm no one. What you give will be returned to you threefold." And so many more!

The two stars I gave are for effort and for the couple of strong points in the book towards the end.