Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for this ebook to read, enjoy and review.

Just what I needed - a book to take me away to another time and world. I am not much for historical novels from the 1600s, but this one that I wanted to read slowly,, to enjoy every word. It is a prequel to Practical Magic, but I believe it is a novel that can stand on its own. The story is about Maria Owens and takes place in Curaçao and New England - briefly in England. It is a story of love, betrayal, and of course, magic. I highly recommend this book.

Maria is left in the frozen snow when she was a baby. She was taken in by a woman who was a known herbalist. As Maria grew her adopted mother, Hannah new she had gifts and powers only granted to the most powerful bloodlines of magic. Hannah endeavour s to teach Maria that the craft should only be used to help and never to harm anyone. As Maria grows older she sees that a lot of women come to Hannah for love potions. They come for other reasons of course. Illness cheating husbands, mean husbands, sickness of all kinds. Mostly, love spells.
When Hannah is killed Maria and her pet crow. Cadin are left on their own. Maria takes all she has learned from Hannah and uses it in her life. Soon she meets a wonderful man who showers her with diamonds and sapphires. And leaves her with a baby. A little girl, with red hair and silver eyes. Soon Maria leaves Salem to find her man in Boston. What she will discover and how she copes with the changes in her life will leave her young daughter with hard feelings of revenge.
One of the best stories I've read this year. Absolutely Recommended!

Before there was Magic Lessons and Practical Magic, there was Maria Owens and a curse that would touch every Owen's woman thereafter who dared to fall in love. Wound in a blue blanket on a snowy January day, Hannah Owens discovers an abandoned baby named Maria with a crow perched on her basket. Hannah, a local healer, decides to care for Maria and her familiar. A natural and powerful witch, Maria is taught everything Hannah knows of the unnamed arts.
The first rule of magic: Always love someone who will love you back. Maria swears to never fall in love but fate has other ideas. When Maria falls in love with a man who abandons her with child, she follows him to Salem Massachusetts where she invokes a curse meant to make him suffer but instead kills any man who dares to love a Owen's woman.

Magic Lesson's is the fantastic prequel to both Practical Magic and Rules of Magic. Practical Magic was one of the first novels that I truly fell in love with. I was so excited to finally hear Maria's story and I can honestly say this novel was just as wonderful as I had imagined. The writing in this novel was very evocative of Hoffman's earlier works; many of which are among my favorites and what made me fall in love with Alice Hoffman's writing. In this novel we are introduced to Maria, and discover how she begins her study of the unnamed arts. Throughout the novel Maria travels to many places and meets other women who practice the unnamed arts. Every cure, spell, and lesson she acquires from these women she places in her treasured grimoire. Anyone who has read this series knows how the story ends but this novel introduces so many fascinating people and places along the way. I absolutely loved this novel and I can't wait to add a copy to my personal library. This is a must read for fans of Practical Magic and one of the best novels I have read this year.

Alice Hoffman returns to the rich history of the Owens witches in her new novel, MAGIC LESSONS. Readers of PRACTICAL MAGIC and THE RULES OF MAGIC will welcome this new prequel with open arms. Hoffman is at her strongest when she's writing about the Owens family, and some of the passages are so beautiful that I had to re-read them a couple of times to savor the gorgeous imagery.

MAGIC LESSONS tells the story of Maria Owens, and her daughter Faith, a pair of witches living in the late seventeenth century at a time when women were being hanged for witchcraft in the village of Salem. Maria's story begins when she's an abandoned infant, discovered by the wise woman Hannah Owens. There is clearly something supernatural about Maria, who is surrounded by crows. Indeed, a crow becomes Maria's familiar when she gets older. Hannah teaches Maria about the "nameless art," which brings both wealth and trouble to Maria over the next few decades.

To give away more of the plot would be a disservice to the reader. I highly recommend this beautiful novel to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, novels on witchcraft, or fairy tales.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Schuster for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful, delightful book. Fans of Practical Magic will be especially smitten, but this book is also perfect for lovers of words, nature, and sisterhood even if they haven’t read any other Alice Hoffman books. She’s truly a magical author, “making and unmaking the world in paper and ink.” Swoon.

Practical Magic is a good book- entertaining but slightly dark. The Rules of Magic was better- not surprising, since the author had about twenty years of writing in between them. Magic Lessons is better than both of them. I was always interested in Maria Owens, and I was so excited to hear that her story was being told. It doesn't disappoint. Weird, frightening, sometimes infuriating, but just really, really good.

A tale of light and dark magic. Maria Owens was abandoned as a baby and raised by Hannah Owens who taught her the art of healing. Maria comes from a long line of witches and uses her ability for good. When she falls in love with a man from Salem Massachusetts she finds out she is pregnant even though he has returned home from Curaçao. Eventually she follows him and finds out he is married. Her life in Salem is explored until she is accused of being a witch and is to be hanged. She is saved by a man she healed while on her ship crossing from Curaçao to America. Samuel has been in love with Maria since she nursed him to health on the ship but while Maria was about to be hanged she cursed all the Owen women to be failures at love. Maria’s daughter (Faith) also is gifted as a witch but is abducted by a woman. Maria spends 5 years searching for her daughter who has been unable to use her powers by her kidnapper. Once Faith escapes she is drawn to dark magic and wants revenge. This is a story of black and white witchcraft and the consequences of both. I’m not into fantasy but this was an interesting book about the Salem Witch Trials and Witchcraft in general.

I’ve always wanted to read a story about Maria Owens. Her story of heartbreak, fury, love, and power fascinated me as I watched the movie and read Hoffman’s books. I am very into witches and the history of witches, so this book was perfect. ⁣
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Needless to say, I loved it. I loved the history, the magical storytelling. Just like with Rules of Magic, I was entranced by her writing and I could feel myself in the settings, whether it was drinking Courage Tea with Maria in her small cottage in Salem or basking in the sun under a large Magnolia tree. ⁣
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This book teaches you about the start of the Owens line. It teaches you about the strength of women, the importance of words and reading and books. It teaches you to fall in love whenever you can, and to plant lavender for luck. ⁣
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Ah. I loved it. This book was just what I needed.

Thank. you for the advanced e-ARC win exchange for my honest review. I will post my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

Leave it to Alice Hoffman to take me to a magical place with witches and familiars and gorgeous trees. I am always looking forward to another one of her novels. Her narrative sings as she transforms women who don't fit into the mold of society into creatures to be envied. Love in her novels is the deepest, purest kind of love. Oh, if only I had her gifts. Both the gifts of the characters she paints and the mastery of her words.

This one was difficult for me to get through. I think it's a combination of Hoffman's writing style not being my thing and me having quarantine brain (ugh). But I do think fans of Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic will enjoy this deeper dive into the full story of matriarch Maria Owens.

Alice Hoffman knocks one out of the park with this Book! Ever since I first read Practical Magic all those years ago I wondered about Maria's story.
This book answered all my questions and took me on a fantastic and heartbreaking ride.
This book is not to be missed.... so, so happy she wrote Maria's story!
Thank You NetGalley and the publisher for this fantastic read!

"Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none." - William Shakespeare

Alice Hoffman read from her Grimoire and brewed up something special when she wrote this book. If this doesn't make one want to drop everything and read Practical Magic or any of her other books again, I don't know what will. Full of beautiful and insightful passages, Magic Lessons is a delight from beginning to end.

This is a book about magic, about family, about love, about injustice and about history. Full of Hoffman's magical prose, vivid descriptions, the Owens family history and the Salem Witch Trials.

"Be grateful if you have walked through the world with another's heart in your hand."

Maria Owens was just a baby when she was found in a field by Hannah Owens. Recognizing that Maria has a gift, Hannah teaches Maria everything she knows but especially to always love someone who will love you back.

When Maria follows a man to Salem, Massachusetts, she learns some harsh truths and she invokes the curse which will haunt her family. But while in Massachusetts she will also learn that love is what truly matters.

I was spellbound by this book. Simply put - I loved it. Plus, one might even find some natural remedies in this book to cure many bodily ailments. Hoffman is a gifted storyteller and she has outdone herself with this book. I love all things witch related and this book did not disappoint. Fans of Hoffman and of Practical Magic will not be disappointed. I found this book to be captivating, endearing and riveting. I was glued to the pages.

This book comes out in October and is not to be missed and remember:
"Do as you will, but harm no one.
What you will give will be returned to you threefold."

Highly Recommend!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

I mean, what can I really say here? I love everything PRACTICAL MAGIC, so this just fits right into my heart. It was an unexpected story to a character that I had mused about for years, not knowing much of her backstory. I enjoyed all of the gorgeous detail, from the blue thread, to the iron shackles, to the magnolia trees. It was certainly an interesting detour from the other books, but i loved it just the same. I would recommend keeping an open mind when reading this, because it is definitely a different tone than the other books, outside of the few familiar references to the original book and film. But it's so yummy - just let yourself live within the world that Alice Hoffman has created. It's a gorgeous trip.

I’ve read most of Alice Hoffman’s novels over the past 20 years and she continues to impress with her powerful ability to turn a phrase in thoughtful ways in her novel, Magic Lessons. She finds a way to seed moral philosophies & musings within journeys of the ethereal and it’s feels like “when the beat drops” every time.
The brand of magical realism that Hoffman has helped define takes a darker tone in this book that I found quite fitting for the 17th century historical context. One notable characteristic of this story was the many small detailed interjections of herbology and historical witchcraft practices as if the story was scribbled in the margins of an ancient grimoire bound in black toad skin to merge as one book.
I was thoroughly intrigued with the character arc of the daughter, Faith, and wanted more, but found the other characters including the main character Maria to be less so. The story moves with Maria from England to the Caribbean to Massachusetts to New York City, but a sense of place never really pulled me in as well as her other books set in New England. And unfortunately the shifting POV didn’t always transition smoothly.
Regardless I enjoyed this origin story of Practical Magic and found numerous moments in my reading experience that will make me want to revisit this novel again and again.

Alice Hoffman is one of those authors who I'm never not impressed with. In Magic Lessons, she brings us to the past of the Owens' women and she weaves this tale in her inimitable way. Her writing is lyrical and truly wondrous; her words are so rich that occasionally I could only read a few pages at a time before I had to close my kindle. Her words sink deep and stay with you.

This book was. absolutely, without a doubt, one of the best contemporary books I've ever read and I don't recall saying that about a title in years. I cannot recommend this one enough. You won't be disappointed with this book.


My sincere thanks to Alice Hoffman, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley.

This book....Oh this book. It was just incredibly delightful (OK, it dragged a little at a couple points, but overall, it was just a really good book). I love anything to do with magic, and this is full of recipes and witchcraft, plus the Salem Witch trials - I mean, these are my JAMS. I loved the information on the witch's grimoires and journals and the rules associated with them because a book of spells and recipes and drawings sounds AMAZING.

Every time you think you know what's going to happen, and you're feeling really superior and slightly bored, like "Oh this is SO predictable," the book shifts and you just feel dumb but also super happy because it's exciting and unexpected.

Did I want to slap Maria at times? OMG YES. Did I want to slap Faith at times? OMG YES. This was an ARC (shoutout to Netgalley) and I actually hope they edit out some of the repetitive parts of the women being dumb because it does distract from their awesomeness at points. It's like they are 90% awesome and 10% not awesome, but in the book, they're shown to be like 70% awesome, 30% not awesome.

I highly recommend this book.

My favorite Alice Hoffman book yet! The history of the Owens family made for a fascinating read. I was drawn in from the very beginning. Knowing the history of the family makes the other books in the series that much stronger.

This book is so addicting!! I was hooked right away at the beginning. This is written as a prequel to practical magic. Where the curse begins at the start. This starts off in England during their own period of witch trials. Where Maria Owens is being raised by a foster mother Hannah Owens who is a wise women. Although technically in history a women can be accused of a witch for looking the wrong way being to smart etc.
Maria Owens goes to many different places all the while in the background her foster mothers words are Hide who you really are. ( nameless art person) She ends up meetings some very notorious people throughout history all the while very cruel too. While at the same time someone is trying to win her heart over. Roadblocks get in the way of her travels. Highly recommend Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman its amazing!!

" You make love what you want it to be, Hannah had told her. You decide. You walk towards it, or you walk away." ( quote from the book) On love

This ARC was given to me by netgalley in exchange for an honest review :)

Having read Practical Magic and Rules of Magic, I was so excited to get a chance to read the advanced copy of Magic Lessons. I anticipated that this was going to be a great book and it did not disappoint me. This book tells the story of Maria Owens who created the centuries-old curse that affected the Owens women when it came to matters of the heart. I love how the book easily flowed throughout the important events of Maria’s life and the circumstances in which she created the curse. There were no dull parts in this book and I was fully engrossed in the story from beginning to end. That says a lot since I easily lose focus at times while reading even the best books. This story will cast its spell on the reader with its rich details of magic and love.