Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Magic Lessons: The Prequel to Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

4 reviews

gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

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

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Ah! What a beautiful, enchanting prequel. This was written just as wonderfully as practical magic and I adored it just as much.

Hoffman writes generational, magical stories about women so fantastically.

I loved learning how the Owen's curse began and who began the legacy, and growing with them. I felt attached deeply to Hannah, Maria and Faith and though some decisions took characters down some dark roads, the character development that came from that was phenomenal.

There's a few heart wrenching animal deaths that absolutely broke me, so just prepare if things like that greatly upset you too.

The writing was lush and rich. I always adore the little spell work included between chapters/parts. It just feels so wholesome and perfectly placed.

Overall, I adored this so much!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Genocide, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Sexual content, Infidelity, Infertility, Death, Dementia, Child abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Confinement, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Stalking, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Pedophilia, Blood, Medical content, and Violence

chasingpages1's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, and Death

Moderate: Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Stalking, Confinement, and Infidelity

Minor: Chronic illness, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Infertility, Slavery, Sexual content, and Dementia

linesiunderline's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.25

I discovered Alice Hoffman only in the last two years, and I’m a fan. Sign me up for her books when I am in the mood for something lush and atmospheric that just says, “Fall.” Add witches, and a love story, and I’m in. 

While this one didn’t sweep me up quite so entirely as Practical Magic and Rules for Magic did, I still thoroughly enjoyed spending more time with a few of the Owens women, mostly because they are brave and gifted and full of heart. Something about the alternating perspectives didn’t entirely work for me - I wasn’t as consistently engaged as I was with her other two books in this cycle.

Hoffman really creates a strong sense of place, and writes so that all of your senses get involved in the reading process. I love that. Also, you want some strong women? This is a book with many of them.

Hoffman is a gorgeous storyteller. Grab a mulled cider and cozy up. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Torture, and Xenophobia

apoppyinthewind's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

  I enjoyed Magic Lessons a little more than Rules of Magic so going with 5 stars. It feels closer in style to Practical Magic which makes sense Maria Owens' story is outlined in Practical Magic already, this book expands the story and weaves in far more details.

My only complaint is that Faith’s portion of the story feels like it was wrapped up too quickly and neatly.

Throughout the story, there’s a building up of this dark path she’s on and yet when she finally confronts her father it frizzles out and she just....changes her mind about revenge? It felt like it was done more for the sake of having a happy ending for everyone. Which, fair enough. I like these characters and have no objection to a happy ending though it does feel a little odd given the setup of Practical Magic.

In Practical Magic the Owens family has this so-called long-standing curse and the people of the town are scared of them. Yet at the end of Magic Lessons Maria & Faith have a library and a girl’s school so...what led everyone in town to be such assholes to Sally & Gillian?

I get it, time & superstitions could have easily led to the shift in the behaviour of the town for the later book. Not to mention the Owens after Maria & Faith could have caused trouble. Still, it felt a little too neat.

Oh well, I did enjoy it and will likely re-read it in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Medical content, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Minor: Dementia, Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence