Barely 3 stars.

I knew there was a chance The Rules of Magic wasn’t for me and unfortunately I was right. But I wanted to give it a try because I’ve liked other books by Hoffman and because of a few enthusiastic reviews by GR friends. The story focuses on three siblings — Franny, Jet and Vincent — who are born into a family of witches in the 1950s in Manhattan. They live with a curse that makes love dangerous for those they love. What unfolds is a long melancholic saga about living on the margins of society with the burden of prescience and their family curse. I find any fiction that contains magic or surreal elements challenging, but every now and then a book comes along that works for me. In this case, as a concept The Rules of Magic had the potential to be a clever thought experiment. What if a few people living in what is otherwise the real world had a few magic powers? But the delivery didn’t really work for me. Hoffman’s writing is very strong, but I found myself unable to connect with the characters and the story. It felt long and overly dramatic.

But as mentioned, many GR friends loved this one. So take my review with a grain of salt. For my part, I’ll try sticking with my instincts when it comes to books featuring witches or other supernatural elements.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read a complimentary copy. (It was an advance copy, but it took me a while to convince myself to read it.)

The Rules of Magic is a story of witches and wizards. Even more so, the book is the story of the Owens family - siblings Franny, Jet, and Vincent. The element of witchcraft provides the background, but the emotions – love, sacrifice, guilt, and courage – of the book are one mere mortals can relate to. The magic of Alice Hoffman's storytelling draws me into this book and keeps me engaged throughout.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2017/12/the-rules-of-magic.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

Beautifully written, heartbreaking, a mix of fantasy and reality. All about the courage to love. I adored this book!!! Absolutely magical.

Not having read Practical Magic, I didn't know how easy it would be to get into this book, but I was pleasantly surprised by how accessible it was, and what a pleasure to read it was. A good rainy day read.

Alice Hoffman is a masterful storyteller. I loved this book as I have all of her others. It is well worth the read. I was given this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Alice Hoffman seldom fails to entertain with stories filled with quirky characters and interesting storylines. This book is no different. It is a prequel to Practical Magic, but you'll find it is not necessary to read that book first. This is a story that stands alone. Though "Magic" is a big part of the title, do not let that turn you off. This book is a well written, page-turner that is more about magical moments than witchery and spells. Alice Hoffman proves once again to be a master storyteller!

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman is a prequel to Practical Magic. The Owens family has a long magical heritage, but their family was cursed in 1620. Vincent, Franny and Jet Owens are the children of Susanna and James Owens. Susanna denies her magical heritage and has many rules in place for her children. One day when Franny turns seventeen she receives an invitation from her Aunt Isabelle. They three siblings are invited to Massachusetts for the summer to learn about their heritage and their gifts. Vincent, Franny and Jet set out to escape the family curse to find happiness and love. Is there a chance for them to find the love and keep it? Find out what happens Vincent, Franny and Jet before Sally and Gillian enter their lives in Practical Magic.

The Rules of Magic can be enjoyed without having read or watched Practical Magic. I found The Rules of Magic to be boring (sad, but true). It seemed like every single thing the author had read about witches (or thought of) was stuffed into this story. The best way to describe it is too “woo-woo” (best description for it). The teens in the story go out of their way to break every rule set forth by their parents and do the opposite of what they are supposed to do. The characters kept repeating the same mistakes over and over throughout the book (even as adults). I found the main characters (Jet, Franny, and Vincent) to be unlikeable. It seemed that the author was trying too hard with The Rules of Magic. I thought the pacing was inconsistent. It would go along at a nice pace (in the beginning) and then slow down to a crawl (it plodded along to the end). I found it a chore to read The Rules of Magic. There were a couple of bright spots, but they were few and far between.

When you truly love someone and they love you in return, you ruin your lives together. That is not a curse, it's what life is. We all come to ruin, we turn to dust, but whom we love is the thing last. Maybe I'm afraid of love. It is too powerful.

Hoffman is a brilliant writer! You can't help but to care for her characters no matter their differences. Her novels are always character driven that bring to life the most mystical. Three siblings; Franny, Jet and their brother Vincent come from a blood line of witches from their mother's side. They each have a special gift and special rules. The most important rule for them is not to love, for them to love is to bring a curse.

The three siblings are on a journey to not deny who they are but to embrace who they are. They are invited to stay the summer with their aunt who shares with them to have courage and each of the siblings takes the those steps in courage. It is these steps that they learn what love is. The vulnerability of love and risking all. That love waits with no expectations.

Because Hoffman writes with empathy and is magical with her prose, I came to care for these siblings. Their differences only give understanding of the battles of the simplest and most complex emotion of love. For me this is not an endorsement of free love but the complexity of love itself. Is there a right and a wrong way to love? Are the Rules of Magic really about no rules in love?

A Special Thank You to Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

Splendid as always, Alice Hoffman makes her characters come alive, and makes the reader feel involved in a magical world.

I received this book as an ARC and I've just now been able to finish it. I loved it. It's the prequel to Practical Magic, which I haven't read but have watched the movie more times than I can count on one hand. This is the first I've read from Hoffman but for some lite entertainment, I believe I will try more of her writing later.

This story follows the story of the Owens family of New England and is set somewhere near Boston and Salem. Hoffman adds a little history and a little folklore to weave a sweet tale of how the little girls in Practical Magic came to be. If you like this kind of stuff, this is a don't miss.

Interesting book about siblings growing up in the 50’s and 60’s in New York. Looking forward to reading Practical Magic, too.

I loved Faithful so much (one of my favourite reads of 2016) so when I had the chance to read the latest Alice Hoffman novel, The Rules of Magic, I was really excited. Unfortunately, The Rules of Magic didn’t elicit the same types of emotions. I found the characters to be one dimensional, self-centered, even stilted and I was unable to connect to them. The writing lacked fluidity and I just felt like there wasn’t a cohesive, encompasing story just a jumble of words an phrases. I know I’m in the minority here but I just didn’t enjoy this latest by an otherwise great author.

The Rules of Magic
November 28, 2017
Dorothy Sasso

Years ago, I read Alice Hoffman's "Practical Magic". I remember enjoying it, as well as the film with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. I can't recall if I saw the movie or read the

I wanted to like this novel, and tried to read more than once, but couldn't get into it. Perhaps I should read the previous novels.

I have chosen not to review this book, as i did not find it very entertaining. I wish I had!

I'm yet to read Practical Magic, although I do think I watched the movie years ago. The reason I wanted to read this, though, is because I have read a few of Hoffman's books and I think she is a very fine writer.
I'm happy to say that I didn't feel like I was missing any big storyline and the book flowed well. Perhaps as I get to read Practical Magic it will all come together in another way, but I really don't feel like that is a pre-requisite to starting this prequel.

Focusing on three siblings who are cursed through their family line to never be able to fall in love, we join them in the swinging sixties as they reach adolescence. This is a coming of age story, and although contains magic, never felt like it was far away from the characters and the fantasy element certainly didn't detract or take away from the main theme of family and love.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Rules of Magic is pretty much exactly what you'd expect in a prequel to Practical Magic. Hoffman's characters are always so quirky and interesting, that I just can't help getting drawn into the story, regardless of what it's about. I found this to be more young-adult in tone than other recent novels by Hoffman, and not just because the main characters are teenagers - I sometimes felt like I was being spoken down to as events were described. Overall, a clever, entertaining story that enriches the characters we already know from Practical Magic.

This novel was provided to me by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is another wonderful read by Alice Hoffman. The story of the three Owens siblings is both realistic and fantastic, but it will leave you believing in possibilities. It has similar qualities to the Harry Potter series with children learning to live in a world where magic is both strange and normal. Much of the magic is both practical and helpful. The bigger part of the story though is the lives of the characters. Due to an old curse, no one in the Owens family is able to fall in love without causing harm to the one they love. This brings about all kinds of conflict and situational problems for the three young people. Much of the story is delightful and a joy to read, but this curse obviously brings many relational issues and sad developments to the book.
This book is a prequel to "Practical Magic", but it does not seem necessary to have read or seen that movie to enjoy "The Rules of Magic". It is a magical and captivating story that will appeal to most readers.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

I did not love this book as I had Hoffman’s first book, Practical Magic, and the movie by the same name. That said, this was still a page turning read. When you have magical powers there is adventure, mystery and problems. This is also a story of love. I look forward to more in this series.