The Rules of Magic

This book was spectacular from start to finish! Honestly I liked this even more than Practical Magic. I LOVED learning about the great-aunts and how they came into magic and into the Owens family house. It was a fantastic prequel that began in New York City  with an oddball trio of siblings - Franny, Jet, and Vincent. They grew up completely "normal" - even though there has always been something pulling at them. When Franny gets an invite to go to her aunt's house in Massachusetts for her 17th birthday she feels the pull. She never even knew she had family outside her household, so the siblings are extra curious. All three decide to spend the summer with their mysterious aunt and that's when everything changes. They learn about their family's history, curse, and magic bloodline. Nothing will ever be the same for them. Filled with love, loss, lyrical genius, and heartbreaking beauty - this book is impossible to put down. I loved every flawed, complicated, and beautiful character. 

Magic Lessons

Captivating from the very beginning - fans of Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic, will absolutely adore every line in this prequel. Set in the seventeenth century this prequel traces the family magic all the way back to Maria Owens and her daughter. Filled with adventure, travel, curses, familiars, the witch trials in Salem, love, and the all too familiar witchy adages - this prequel fits perfectly within the series and help fleshes out the backstory of a family's magic. I don't want to divulge too much other than this is gorgeously written and will make you want to re-read the other books in this series. Truly this may be my favorite. I adored the characters and the trials they faced as Owens women. Fantastic - I hope that Alice Hoffman writes more about this amazing family. The Owens' curses, magic, and familiars merged together for a perfect October read. I need more!

Practical Magic

I haven't seen the movie in a minute, but I grew up LOVING it. I was way past due reading the book the film was actually based on and I''m so excited that I listened to the audiobook version of it, it was WONDERFUL! I couldn't have asked for a better narrator, she embodied the Owens sisters so completely! It's a witchy book that's not really about witches; it's about sisterhood, love, trust, and hope. It's beautiful and haunting and you really root for all the characters despite their faults. It's the perfect fall time read as the leaves change and the witching hour grows closer. The Owens sisters had a unique childhood; raised by their aunts, the girls were mercilessly teased and bullied for their aunts potions and love spells the villagers used in desperation. Sally just wants to be normal and settle down, whereas Gillian wants to paint the town red; jumping from man to man until she can get the hell out of town. Years pass and the sisters have moved on with their lives though they haven't seen each other much in two decades. Sally is living with her two daughters in a nice suburban town when Gillian shows up on her doorstep with a problem so big it threatens to tear everything apart. Wonderful. Such unique and vibrant characters! The writing is beautiful as well! Although the movie is quite different; it's a wonderful tribute to the book!