A magical book indeed! Thank you NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and Alice Hoffman for the advanced reading copy of The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman. A wonderful story about the Owens family, spanning for hundreds of years, where the powers of magic are both a gift and a curse. Taking place mostly in NYC and Massachusetts, as the family of unusual children, despite great efforts to maintain a "normal" life, are eventually true to themselves. They experience great struggles in avoiding true love, and major conflicts as well as tragedy with the love that they attract, and eventually embrace. I really enjoyed this book!

I haven't read Practical Magic, but found that The Rules of Magic read as a good stand alone novel.

I will admit, I have not read Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic, and I am not a fan of books or television series about witches. Except for Bewitched, which I loved, but I was eleven years old then.

Consequently, I did not know what to expect when the publisher offered me The Rules of Magic based on my having read the author's previous The Marriage of Opposites, imagining the marriage of the artist Camille Pissarro's parents. Based on the last mentioned book alone, I have collected quite a few Hoffman books now languishing on my TBR shelves!

What happened was unexpected, for I was instantly in love with Hoffman's language and The Rules of Magic characters. Although the novel is about three teenagers struggling with the powers and limitations of having magical abilities, it is really about universal themes: the power of love, and how we must love regardless of the costs, and that we must embrace who we are.

Franny, Jet, and Vincent are complex characters burdened with the knowledge that they are cursed to bring destruction to the men they love. As they grew up, their parents tried to protect them from self-knowledge, but they recognized they were not like other children. "It's for your own good," her mother told Franny. "What makes you think that's what I want?" Franny counters.

"What is meant to be is bound to happen," and in 1960 the children's lives change when they visit their Aunt Isabella, a contact that "inflame[s] characteristics" which were "currently dormant." And over the summer each child learns their genealogy, their abilities, and about the curse and joy of love.

The book was a joy to read, lovely and moving. I felt a deep connection to the characters.

The Rules of Magic is a prequel to Practical Magic, telling the backstory of Frances and Jet who accept their brother's granddaughter into their home. I found I did not need to know the previous book to understand and enjoy this one; it stands on its own, and without any tedious linkage to the other book.

I received a free ebook from the publisher in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

Magic it was! A fan of Alice Hoffman, I was intrigued when the publisher reached out to see if I'd be interested in reading for an honest review prior to publishing. Can't be happier they did! I have enjoyed Alice Hoffman's writing, but could anything be as good as The Museum of Extraordinary Things? This was truly a magical book. It's a prequel to her book Practical Magic, but you don't have to have read that book to read this. Told with compassion and wonderful characterization, Ms. Hoffman has brought to life three siblings with a one hundred year old curse who are witches. It's about love, loss, and family, but further still touches on birth control, the Vietnam War, gay rights, and feminism. This book kept my rapt attention and did not disappoint. How timely that this is to be released in October!

Alice Hoffman is quickly becoming my favorite author. Her plots and character development are interesting and special. She knows how to keep her reader totally involved with her stimulating and quickly moving story line.

Alice Hoffmann's "The Rules of Magic" narrates the life of the Owens siblings as they try to navigate the transition from adolescence into adulthood within their cursed magical family. The writing is beautiful and flows well and the characters are well-rounded and sympathetic. The plot felt slow to me, but I think this might not be the case for readers who are already familiar with "Practical Magic". I also think this is one of those books that will be best enjoyed in paper format. As much as I enjoy my e-books, for this one I felt like I would have liked to read it going back and forth, dog-ears and all.

I'd rate this a 3.8. I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. This is a fun read, no more no less. It is a prequel to her earlier novel, Practical Magic, which both centering on the Owens family women, who ostensibly are cursed in their love relationships. Probably great for beach or a plane ride. Alice Hoffman is a very diverse writer. This novel is not like her generally serious literature such as Faithful, The Dovekeepers or The Museum of Extraordinary Things, which I liked a lot, but it definitely shows she has a talent for writing different literary genres.

I felt that the book was quite slow and, whilst beautifully written, didn't feel like much was happening at first. At some point, I must have been engaged as by the end I was crying my eyes out! A really well written book, perhaps a little light on plot but really readable and moving.

I don't consider fantasy as a genre that I read; HOWEVER, I always love Hoffman's books. The Rules of Magic, like all of her books, mix together reality and fantasy. Not only is the story good, but equally important for me is that the characters are 'real' and hold true to the story she is telling. Through fantasy, Hoffman makes us aware that fear, love, hate, anger, sadness all play a significant role in our behaviors - often more important than reason. The other thing the book illustrates is that you can not change who you are even if you are uncomfortable or unsure. One's true self always 'wins'.

As a fan of the Practical Magic movie, I was intrigued by the idea of a prequel looking at the lives of the Aunts. I hadn't read the original book, but now I HAVE to. This was a wonderful story, not just of magic but of family and sacrifice. What choices do we make when we think we know how things will end? What do we loose because of the choices we make and the ones we don't. I loved this book so much more than I expected. The characters are so vivid and the emotions so raw. Beautiful story that was lovingly told.

I don’t give 5-star reviews often, but this one earned all 5 stars for me. I’d never read Practical Magic, but had seen and loved the movie and it’s been on my TBR list forever. When I had the opportunity to read this prequel, it just made sense to read it first, and I’m so happy I did. I loved reading about the girls who would become “The Aunts”, and about their equally interesting, and talented, brother. This book is evocative and fascinating and heartbreaking and, well, just lovely. As I read it, I knew I’d be diving into Practical Magic as soon as I was done - and that’s exactly what I did. There were a couple of interesting disconnects between the aunts' stories in the prequel and what was said about them in the second book. But that didn’t make me love this book any less. I highly recommend it.
Copy provided by Netgalley and Simon & Schuster in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for allowing me to read The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman. Living a full life and finding love isn't always easy in our everyday world, but add a little magic and life gets very interesting! In 1620, Maria Owens was charged as a witch for loving the wrong man. Now, over 100 years later, the descendants are finding out that they have some very similiar abilities that leave them ostracized by the neighbors and afraid to fall in love. Aunt Isabelle acts as mentor and friend to Frances, the oldest, Bridget, called Jet, and their very handsome, carefree brother, Vincent. Their lives and magical skills are tested as each finds and tries to avoid true love, as tragedy strikes and they attempt to build their lives stronger, minus true love. This book is so entertaining and heartfelt. I loved the characters and their lives and read this book quickly. I look forward to more stories by Alice Hoffman.

I have never read Practical Magic, but fortunately The Rules of Magic can truly stand alone. The stories of Vinny, Franny, and Jet are timeless and universal, even though these magical siblings have both skills and problems that others could never imagine. Every sentence in this book is beautifully written. I hated when the book was finished, though now I get to go read Practical Magic. A must read for fans of Alice Hoffman.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman is the prequel to her 1995 bestseller Practical Magic. It is the story of three siblings: Frances “Franny.” Bridget “Jet,” and Vincent, the only son born after centuries of daughters. Their mother, Susanna, is a part of the Boston Owens family who have been accused of being witches for centuries. She ran away from home and married a psychiatrist and settled in New York City. She gave her children very specific rules to follow and as the children got older, one by one the rules were broken. One summer, when Franny turned 17, the siblings went to stay with their Aunt Isabelle in Boston. There they learned their family’s history and discovered their own unique powers. When they return home, they know that life as they knew it was over and the three, in their own way, deal with their new knowledge. Until one day, tragedy strikes and the siblings have a choice before them. Do they fully embrace their heritage or do they hide and deny their history?
I was invited to read The Rules of Magic because I have reviewed two of Ms. Hoffman’s books before. While I have never read Practical Magic, I accepted the invitation because I had enjoyed Ms. Hoffman’s books. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy The Rules of Magic. I felt it was drawn out with pages and pages of nothing. At first, I was intrigued and eagerly read as I was introduced to the family and their abilities. However, the constant hints at why the family has been ostracized in Boston and why a certain family draws fear in some of the Owens family. I had enough. I could not finish it. I no longer cared about Franny, Jet or Vincent. The book did not intrigue me enough to seek out Practical Magic. I read other reviews and many gave this book a glowing review and I’m not sure what I missed. If you are a fan of Practical Magic, you may enjoy the Rules of Magic. However, if you are not a fan, I do not recommend The Rules of Magic.

The Rules of Magic
will be available October 10, 2017
at all major booksellers

'The Rules of Magic' was a really fun and enjoyable read. We follow the three Owens children as they gradually become aware of what they are, where they came from, and what they are capable of. This is a book about family, love, loss, self-discovery, and self-acceptance. I loved all three of the Owens children, and Aunt Isabelle as well. I was sad when it ended, but am looking forward to now going back and reading 'Practical Magic'. Highly recommended.

Franny, Jet, and Vincent always knew they were different. Birds flocked to Franny, Jet knew things, and everyone was obsessed with Vincent but it took a visit to Aunt Isabelle’s Massachusetts house the summer Franny turned 17 for them to begin to understand. They learned the rules, began to figure out what made them different, and became aware of the Owens curse. A story of family and finding yourself and survival and finding love in spite of a curse.

I love all of Alice Hoffman's books and this is no exception. LOVED returning to Magnolia Street and learning the history of the aunts and their very charming brother. I was enraptured by this enchanting book

This is a beautiful book, I really enjoyed it. The Owens family humanity and bravery stays with me.

I really wanted to enjoy this book after loving "Practical Magic" when it was first released. However, I just couldn't get past the writing in the book. The emotions characters felt seemed flat and boring, which was strange considering so many out-of-the-ordinary events happened to these characters! I also had trouble with the timeline--it's very hard to follow in that all of a sudden, 6 months to 3 or more years would pass, and all there would be is a sentence that mentions the characters were older or some event lets you know that time has passed. Ultimately, I just didn't care much for the characters and what was happening.