Today I’m sharing my review of The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman. I liked this book in the Practical Magic series even more. For my cocktail pairing I paired The Rules of Magic with a Spiced Cider Punch.
Synopsis
For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man.
Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.
From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.
The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.
Why I Decided to Read this Book
I committed to reading the Practical Magic series this year. I read the first book last month and was so excited to read this one next. You can read these in any order you want but I am reading them in order of publication.
Rating
4.5 Stars (Check out my rating system!)
My Thoughts
I loved this book! This book is a prequel to Practical Magic and it was published second in the series. I really loved getting the backstory of Franny and Jet (the aunts) who embrace their magic as opposed to try to escape it. We follow their story from when they were kids to all grown adults and it was magical. I mentioned in my Practical Magic review that I wished it had more magic. Well, this one delivered on the magic!
I also enjoyed the writing of this book better than Practical Magic. Maybe I was just used to it but I found it beautiful. I love all three main characters, Franny, Jet and Vincent, and I thought the character development is great. I already miss them so much!
If you are someone that doesn’t read much Fantasy I think this is a great book to read and still get that “magical world” feeling without being too overwhelmed by the fantasy world. I am not a huge fantasy fan and I love these books so much. A lot of people read these books in October for Halloween but I think these are great fall books (not just Halloween). If I had to describe this book in one word I’d say: Enchanting!
Content Warnings
Grief, Death, Car accident, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Homophobia, War, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death
Who I Recommend this Book to
If you read Practical Magic I think you’ll enjoy this one but it can also be read as a stand alone book or read before. The books in the series can be read in any order!
The Drink
Since I shared a matching cocktail for this book on my Instagram, I thought I’d share the recipe here!
Get the Book!
Did this review of The Rules of Magic convince you to read it? Check out the links below to order it from Bookshop.org and libro.fm. Please consider ordering it from a Black owned independent bookstore. This list of Black owned independent bookstores accepts online ordering.
If you’ve read this book let me know your thoughts in the comments!
