”Some stories begin at the beginning and others begin at the end, but all the best stories begin in a library.”

I loved getting lost in this fourth and final installment of Alice Hoffman’s vibrant, magical world! Reuniting with the Owens family one more time, to enjoy their spells and charms and familial bonds, was just what I hoped it would be.

”Although Sally considered herself to be a logical woman, she knew there was more to this world than could be seen with the naked eye.”

The Book of Magic is a beautiful story about the significance of a life well-lived and the necessity of love, with a tribute to the real-life magic of books sprinkled in along the way.

”Love was inside every story. Love lost and love found, red love that stained your heart, the darkest love that twisted into despair or revenge, love everlasting, love that was true. You carried love with you wherever you went.”

Hoffman’s world-building and sense of intrigue are fully on display as she weaves her unique brand of mystical elements into the narrative. If you’ve read the other books in this series, it will feel like falling back into a familiar routine as you re-encounter the people, places, and particulars from other stories.

”The future rises from the ashes of the past…”

The first third of the story deals with Jet Owens, a beloved character from earlier in the series, who is now advanced in age and grappling with her own mortality, as her death is mere days away. The remainder of the book follows Kylie, a young woman in the newest Owens generation, who is determined to break their family’s curse once and for all.

”Franny understood this was how loss began. She had been here before, but then, like anyone else, she had forgotten this is what happened, that things ended when you least expected them to, that you could not protect those you loved from nature and fate.”

I wouldn’t recommend reading the Practical Magic series out of order or beginning with this book - it doesn’t work well as a standalone novel; as a reader, you really need the situational and relational connections from prior books in order for this one to really be meaningful.

”Even for those with the sight it was a marvel to behold time in all its beauty and confusion: What has been, what is, what will be.”

But, if you already know and love the Owens family and the magic they bring, The Book of Magic is a delight. Hoffman spends significantly more time on plot than on character development, so the story moves quickly and is a fast read. A nice conclusion to a beloved series!

”She had thought it was hard to love, but it had turned out to be easy, all you had to do was have the courage to open your heart. The future was what mattered most, whether or not it continued without her. Let there be courage. Let there be love.”

——

A huge thank you to Alice Hoffman, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
What a stupendous conclusion to this series. I expected some disappointment but I felt none other than being sad that this is the end of the series. This book tied everything together neatly. It ends well but still I am sad.

“When you have a sister, someone knows the story of who you were and who you would always be.”

Oh, how I’ve loved spending time with the Owens family from Practical Magic through The Book of Magic. Every book, every generation, tells such a beautiful story about the power of love and the lengths we are willing to go to protect it.

The Book of Magic was the perfect conclusion to this series. We get to peek in on all of our favorite Owens women and see how their lives end up as they seek to break the curse that has kept them from seeking love their whole lives. It’s beautifully written, the dialogue and characters are witty, and there are fun easter eggs to previous books throughout. I enjoyed it start to finish.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for the early copy. All opinions are my

Bewitchingly Brilliant!! I have been a huge Alice Hoffman fan but absolutely love the Practical magic books. In this book, the Owens sisters finally figure out how to break the family cures. The curse of falling in love only to end of loosing them. This book brings readers back to Essex County to confront their and end the mysterious curse forever.

A beautifully woven story that is so amazingly written. The writing brings you into their magical story where you loose yourself in all the beauty and magic.

For over 300 years, the Owens family has been cursed. Those of us who have loved the Practical Magic series from the beginning have watched this family endure heartbreak upon heartbreak due to the curse uttered by Maria Owens at the gallows. Just before placing her head in the noose to hang for witchcraft, Maria cursed any man who ever loved an Owens. In The Book of Magic, the final book in the series, her descendants are determined to finally break this curse.

For those of you who, like myself, have loved the aunts from the first pages of Practical Magic, I should warn you that the book starts with Jet hearing the death watch beetle and knowing she has only seven days to live. As she prepares to say her goodbyes, we are reminded of the lengths these lovely characters have gone to in order to protect their loved ones from the curse. Remember when Vincent had a whole funeral to protect William? He missed watching his daughter grow up and has never met his granddaughters or great-granddaughters. Jet spent one night a month with Rafael for years. One night a month and then returned to pretending they didn’t even know each other. And Gillian and Ben? Still living in separate apartments. Sally’s daughters, Kylie and Antonia, have been raised to believe the curse is an old family story and nothing more. However, when Kylie’s boyfriend, Gideon, becomes the latest victim of the curse, she knows it’s time to find out the truth about who she really is.

This is one of my favorite series, so this was a bittersweet read for me. So sad to see it end, but loved it just the same. Hoffman does a beautiful job of writing a final installment, wrapping it up like a beautiful gift for her loyal fans. I highly recommend this book, but I recommend reading the series from the beginning. There is so much here that you will miss if you haven’t learned the history of this unique family.

This one comes out on October 12, 2021 - perfect for spooky season. Please spoil yourself by indulging in the whole series.

Thanks to Alice Hoffman for giving us this wonderful story to cherish for years to come. For being a strong feminist voice, for reminding us to always be ourselves, for creating such beautiful magic. Thanks also to Simon and Schuster, as well as Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

5 stars / This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com today .


This series is one of my faves. Alice Hoffman gave us another perfect story about the Owens women. Sally & Gilly are now older. Sally has two daughters of her own. Antonia is the older, a med student, and Kylie is the younger, trying to find her way in the world.

The curse that has followed the family for years is still in play, as we meet Franny’s & Jet’s long lost brother Vincent, who has recently lost the love of his life. Gilly is “married” but living separate from her husband to avoid the curse. Sally has kept the curse a secret from her girls, as well as keeping them from knowing about the Owens magical powers.

When a distant relative mentions the curse at a family gathering, Kylie’s ears perk while Antonia dismisses it as family gossip. But when tragedy befalls the family, and Kylie, it sets her off on a path to find out the truth and save her true love.

Sadly, this is the end of the road for the Owens family saga. Brilliantly written and in keeping with all the previous novels, Hoffman gives the family the right closure to their story. Reading about where the little girls have ended up, now grown, where the beloved aunts are at this point in their lives, and finding new family members to love make every page of this novel memorable.

If you haven’t read any of the Owens family books, start at the beginning. If you’ve only seen the movie, start at the beginning. You won’t be disappointed. As always, the books are better than the film (which is still one of my faves.)

Thank you Netgalley, author, and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this e-arc.

"The Book of Magic" is the perfect conclusion to Alice Hoffman's bewitching series of books about the Owens family. Though it is filled with familiar characters, this book can also be read as a stand-alone novel. I was both delighted and saddened while reading this book; delighted to be immersed in the magical lives of the Owens sisters again, and sad that their saga has come to an end.

Like the other books in the "Practical Magic" series, this book follows members of the Owens family as they try their best to fall in love despite the family's curse. However, this time, after a tragic accident threatens to take away the one she loves, Kylie is determined to break the curse once and for all. She is willing to do what she must to save her love, even traveling far from home to where the curse began...and delving into the darker side of magic. The ending is a bit predictable, but I, and I can imagine most fans of the series, would have been very disappointed if it had ended any other way. Ms. Hoffman does a great job wrapping up the story and leaving no loose ends.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the privilege of reading an advanced digital copy of this absolutely lovely book in exchange for my honest review.

“Some stories begin at the beginning and others begin at the end, but all the best stories begin in a library.”

It’s been four years since I read this series but it was so easy to jump back into life with the Owens family. Hoffman does a great job of slowly reintroducing us to each of the family members and giving background info in a way that feels like returning home after a long vacation.

This book is filled with magic, love, and adventure. It’s emotional and stressful but in the best of ways. I highly recommend this book—and the entire series—which couldn’t be more perfect as we head into spooky season!

4.5 rounded up!

• Make sure to read the Historical Notes at the end.

The Owens women. Black soap. Lavender for luck. Lost loves. A family of witches. In this final book of the magical saga, we finally get to see the end of the curse - the curse that killed off any man who dared love an Owens woman. With almost every book in the series, I have wanted more from Alice Hoffman, yet am drawn to this enchanted yet cursed family. The Book of Magic is no different. Maybe it's the magic. Maybe it's relating to the struggles in love of each family member. Whatever the case, I have enjoyed following this family's trajectory, from the casting of Maria's curse to the dramatic ending of it revealed in the last installment of this series.

I must admit, the opening chapters felt rushed, wrapping up loose ends and creating new story plots on a subtle whim of the author, but once things got going, I was on the edge of my seat. Twists and turns, dramatic imagery, and a deeper dive into dark magic makes this story a grimmer tale than the others. But, they say things get darker before you see the light. Familial love and sacrifice is the name in this game, and more than one person pays a dear price to see the end of the suffering of this family.

If you've read all the books or have only seen the movie, this book will give you the satisfaction of answering the biggest question threaded through the story of the Owens family - and just in time for Halloween.

I have to admit something that I don't know if I have ever said aloud - I don't think Practical Magic is the greatest book. Now, I admit, some of that is because I saw the movie first (at probably an entirely inappropriate age while we are at it). I really enjoyed the film and did not actually read the book until my mid twenties. The book is good, but it only captured me in some moments and felt too different from my nostalgic rememberings of the book for me to fully enjoy. Nostalgia, like hype, can really ruin a good story.

Nonetheless, I eventually picked up the prequel, Rules of Magic, after having my daughter in the midst of some late nights feeding sessions. Released 20 years after Practical Magic and I truly fell in love with the entire Owens family. Hoffman's writing felt deeper and more connected with the story. The book felt as though it was just connected enough to Practical Magic but different enough that it could stand on its own.

5 years later in 2020, Magic Lessons, was released. I don't think that I am alone in saying that fantasy and magical realism was a real life saver in the midst of the challenge of 2020. I was so excited to read the book and I remember that I was in the midst of writing my thesis when it was released. I went to the beach to work by myself for 2 nights and my reward at the end of the day was being able to step into Hoffman's magical world. The story felt so perfectly woven.

Needless to say, when I saw that a final book was coming out, I was quite determined to get my hands on it. Thanks to the ever so kind people at NetGalley, I was able to read it early. As an ending book, it definitely achieved what it set out to do - finish the series. However, it was shaky at time as Chrissy described. The first section of the book truly does feel like coming home. The magic of Hoffman's writing is truly melting off the page. Then, it goes a little wobbly in its storytelling. It was just too long without enough substance to keep me fully engaged through the middle of the book. I think some of it was we had so many characters and most of them lacked some warmth. The relationships just felt a little contrived at points. By the end, though, I was back on board with it. The ending genuinely made me smile, even if it was a bit predictable, and I felt like all of the books were brought together nicely.

One of the things that I really enjoyed with Hoffman's writing on all four of these books is that they all could be read as a stand alone book. She drops enough detail from the other books that serve as reminders to those who have them all, but also would just be interesting tidbits if you only knew about or read the single book. That takes a lot of nimble writing. If you haven't read any of the series, but would like to then I would recommend reading them in chronological order instead of published order because they jump back and forth strangely in the published order. You can learn more about the reading order by visiting Alice Hoffman's website.

Hoffman is always an author that I enjoy seeing what she comes up with next. She often deftly handles magical realism and when her writing is good, it's really good.

In the final book of the Practical Magic series, Alice Hoffman takes us back to the lives of the Owens family. They have been unlucky in love for over three hundred years, but Kylie Owens is in a race against time to change that. As the family travels across continents to save the life of one young man, the younger Owens discover secrets they never knew existed, while the older Owens realize the cost of keeping those secrets.

I struggled some with this one at the beginning, but was soon invested in the story of the generations. It was easy to fall back into their stories - Hoffman gives enough background to remind you of who is who and what they did previously to keep the story going without feeling like she's recapping the previous 2 books. This was well done and a great ending to this series.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Available October 12, 2021.

This book is so bittersweet. If you are a fan of Alice Hoffmans previous work, this one is a no brainer! As the last installment in the series, Hoffman does an exceptional job at bringing this series to a close while keeping the story alive. This book has all of the components her books always have and what I love in a story; magic, strong women, potions, herbal recipes, and beautiful settings. If you love witch stories, magic, or long stories with strong characters please pick up this series! You won’t regret it!

Thank you to the publisher for my e-copy in exchange for a review!

5.0 stars

I received a complimentary Kindle book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Alice Hoffman, Simon Schuster, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

First off, I must confess that I have loved and adored The Practical Magic series. The Owens family has been so incredible for so many reasons! I am so sad to say goodbye to them and am tearing up as I write this. The most important and best part of this series is it is a book about women as the main characters, witches (who doesn't like them?), love, and a woman author!!

I have read many of Alice Hoffman's books and The Book of Magic was brilliant. The author has a lovely, luscious style of writing that is engrossing. Honestly, I only wish that I had found her books SOONER!! But, I am slowly making my way through the unread books and hopefully more incredible books to come.

What a FANTASTIC way to end the series. Alice Hoffman just has THE GIFT of writing. I so didn't want to read this book because I knew that that series was over, but once I got going I just couldn't stop reading it. That is THE sign of a brilliant book!!

HIGHLY recommend!!!
5.0 stars!!

What a wonderful way to end the series!

This book is a bit different than the first three books, but it is the best of them. I loved the movie Practical Magic though I think it influenced me too much where instead of just enjoying the book, I spent most of the time comparing the two. But the two prequel books (written after Practical Magic) were fantastic. Magic Lessons was Maria’s story and how the Owen’s curse originated. The Rules of Magic was the story of Frannie, Jet and their brother Vincent and was so very awesome. This book involves all the main characters from The Rules of Magic and Practical Magic in a great story about love and family.

I can easily see this being made into a movie. The movie Practical Magic takes place when Sally and Gillian are in their twenties and Sally’s children Antonia and Kylie are young. This book takes place when The aunts are in their 80’s, Sally and Gillian are in their 40’s, Antonia and Kylie are both attending Harvard. It could definitely be made into a movie with the same actresses. Though the ages would just need a bit of fudging.

Though I definitely didn’t need it in movie form to picture it all in my head and I really enjoyed every bit of this book. Alice Hoffman has a writing style that truly lends itself to this genre extremely well. It makes even the smallest things sound a bit magical. I liked the way the previous books had so many little touches of magic here and there. These witches are no Samantha, Sabrina, or Charmed sisters. They have small magics, potions for healing and the sight.

Not that they can’t do bigger magic, but a lot of the more showy magic is left handed magic or dark magic and there is always a price to be paid for that type of magic. Left handed magic is what Maria Owens used to curse her descendants, trying to prevent them from heartache like she suffered. So to this day, anyone an Owens loves is ruined and in turn so are they when they lose that love.

The family finds out in this book that to get rid of the curse, you have to walk the crooked path and left handed magic is what will remove the curse, though it will take a sacrifice. The Owens family goes on a journey to save one of their own who sets out to remove the curse and save the man she loves. They want to save her from harm because they know that she will be following a dark path to get what her heart desires most. All I can say is I loved it and when will the movie come out?

I voluntarily read & reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster for sending me The Book of Magic in exchange for my honest review. The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman is the conclusion to the Practical Magic series. Might I say that the ending was a perfect way to finish the series? This book brings characters back from the past books and just really puts the reader in the Halloween spirit!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The final installment of the Practical Magic series is here! I have loved the Owens family since Practical Magic and have enjoyed each book in the series, even though Hoffman's writing annoys me a little. It's just not my style BUT I love the stories. This was similar - I enjoyed the story, I liked the characters and development, and I loved the end, but the book was a little slow in parts. That's fine - still 4 stars from me!

First let me start off by saying I love Alice Hoffman's writing she does such a wonderful job being descriptive. However, I have come to terms that this series is sadly not for me. I find that it is just to drawn out. Giving 3 stars since her writing is lovely. Wish I. Could have connected with the characters but I had a hard time staying enticed in the story and following along.

First we had Practical Magic, and when the movie came out, everyone was introduced to the Owens women. Then we had Rules of Magic and Magic Lessons. Now, Alice Hoffman gives us the final books in the Owens Family saga, The Book of Magic, and what an ending to the series it is! In a way I’m a little sad to see it end, but then again, I am grateful to have closure too.

I think it’s time to dust off the first book and read them all over again. If you haven’t read the other books in the series, or missed one or two in between, get them now, you’re going to want to read them all over again too. No one tells a story like Alice Hoffman…and no other witchy family captures your heart quite like the Owens ladies. Settle in for the duration, because you won’t be putting this book down until you turn the last page.

Alice Hoffman has done it once again. From the first word of this book she stole my heart away and I was not booking it down until I had finished it. The author's latest installment in her Practical Magic series did not disappoint this long time fan in the teeniest bit. I also find that even if you aren't a reader who is as familiar with the character in these books they still read fantastically on their own. 10/10 would recommend. should be a must read on everyone's fall witchy tbrs!