sifuCJC reviewed The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic Series, #2)
Discovering the depths of the Owens'
4 stars
Great characters continue the Owens' bloodline. Another book that feels like home.
paperback, 400 pages
Published June 26, 2018 by Simon & Schuster.
Find your magic.
For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1680, 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 …
Find your magic.
For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1680, 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. Yet, the 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 memorable aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.
Great characters continue the Owens' bloodline. Another book that feels like home.
I had issues with the book's pacing and repetition at some points, and I didn't connect with any of the individual characters as much as I'd have liked, but this book's true magic lies in its messages of being true to oneself, fighting for what you want most in life, and grieving the inevitable losses in life by loving more, not less--important lessons that I need to be better about integrating into my own life. Would recommend.