Reading an Alice Hoffman book never fails to create a warm, immersive and exciting feeling. This conclusion to the story of the Owens witches pulls you in immediately and wraps up a world tour of family history. All your favorite characters are back, all the famous places are visited and the ending of a generations-long curse gets everyone their happily-ever-after. This one will make a perfect fall read!

I have always said you can never go wrong with an Alice Hoffman book. The Book of Magic is a work of pure genius. Alice Hoffman evokes pure magic with every stroke of her pen. To say I loved this book does not even come close to how I truly feel about it. You are set loose in the world of the Owens family. Where spells, enchantments, curses, revenge, trust, turmoil, and love is a spinning, tumbling, whirling storm that rains down upon you. You can feel every emotion, all their pain, and the love for each other that bursts from this family.

For over 300 years, the Owens family has been cursed in love. They utter that simple four-letter word to another, dare to feel a spark for someone, and their loved one is on a way trip to the grave. Will the Owens family ever be able to overcome this horrible pain that the curse has conjured over the passing generations? Or are they doomed to a loveless life or a life where there is a string of lovers sent to their death simply for loving another.

The Book of Magic brings to light all the past characters that you feel head over heels for in the past books in the Practical Magic series. Hoffman not only develops these beloved characters but brings to life a whole new set. That bring more depth, knowledge, and feelings to the book. Her descriptions land you right in the center of the story. You can see the magnolia trees in Massachusetts, hear the toads in Essex County, England, feel the cool water washing over your body, smell the lavender, and see the blue threads sewn into their clothing.

I was brought to tears at the end knowing I was saying goodbye to some beloved characters, Jet, Franny, Maria, Vincent, Sally, and the list marches on. You are also left feeling satisfied. There is closure, and questions are finally answered. If you are in the need of the most enchanted read, with love and family being at its core, be sure to add this book to your list. You will not be disappointed. Thank you to Alice Hoffman, Simon and Schuster, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this truly enchanting book. One last point always beware of the deathwatch beetle. You never know when they will call!

Oh, the Owens family. I did not know I needed more of their story, but apparently I did! From the beginning story told in Practical Magic I have been a fan of the Owens'. I love the twists and turns each story takes as it entwines the reader forward and backward motion, This fourth, final chapter of the story does not disappoint. Small holes missing, that I was not even aware of, were filled in, as the story continues into the modern age with Sally's daughters not aware of their heritage or the full nature of the family curse. Desperate times call for desperate measure, though, and Kylie, the younger of the two sisters sets out, determined to change the course of history. We meet familiar characters - Jet and Frannie; Sally and Gillian, and even Vincent makes a re-appearance. Time has passed and much has changed, but family ties and history are the glue that make this story work.

Thank you, Alice Hoffman, for telling a story that is satisfying and fascinating all at once. My only complaint? I would love to know the recipes for Black Soap - and for the famous Tipsy Cake!

Alice Hoffman has done it again! This book is part of the Practical Magic series and what a wonderful addition to the series. In this tale, the Owens Family is fighting a 300-year-old curse, confronting evil, and finding strength in themselves and each other. Each Owens family member has dealt with the curse of love and loving in their own way. But when the deathwatch beetle comes for Aunt Jet and one of the youngest member of the family learns of the curse in a devastating way, things for this family begin to change. The story takes the reader on a journey from Massachuttes to Paris and London, heading to Essex where things went horribly wrong years ago. I first read Alice Hoffman, several years ago, I loved that bit of magical undertone, hidden in plain sight that she weaves into her stories. The Practical Magic series brings the magical undertone out in the open more but without the twitching noses aspect. I also enjoy how she weaves the different stories of each character seamlessly into the story. Each character brings a voice to the story, no one voice overpowering the other but evolving, maybe twisting, ultimately adding to the story. The sense of family that is woven into this story is wonderful. Whether it’s a sisters or siblings, I can sense the connectedness of this family. If you have read Alice Hoffman before, you will certainly enjoy this story. If this is your first book, you are in for a wonderful treat. Welcome to the wonderful world of the Owens family in this Practical Magic series, sit down, get cozy and prepare to be delighted.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This book is pure magic and a wonderful conclusion to the Practical Magic series. It had all the charm, magic, heartbreak, and love that one would expect in Alice Hoffman's work. The return of characters that seemed gone is a lovely way to tie up the story for the family. I definitely cried several times as this has so much emotion as the characters move through dealing with the curse Marie Owens put on the family so many years ago.

Like all of Hoffman's books in this series, this is full of lovely language about magic and friends and family and love and despair and fear and depression and happiness. But boy is it white and wealthy. It's a little too easy for the characters to just leave jobs and demands and hop on airplanes, and everyone wants to help them and trusts them. The villain is a bit cartoonish and his backstory is pretty thin and superficial. So enjoy the language and moving passages, but do give a thought of how simple it seems it is to be white and rich and a witch, even a cursed witch.

Alice Hoffman continues to cement her spot as one of my most favorite authors. I loved this book and the Owens. I truly hope this is not the last of them. Like Rules of Magic and Magic Lessons, this was another outstanding and heart felt journey - An ode to books, libraries, love and family bonds. Put this on your TBR.

Please see my GoodReads review for much greater detail: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4130856030

I absolutely loved this whole Magic series by Alice Hoffman. I enjoyed this final wrap up of the Owens family of witches. Sorry to see it end, it was so well written and researched.

I will highly recommend this to my book club and friends. Start with book 1 and savor the whole saga.

As much as I hate to see this saga end, I don’t think it could have been done better. It was timely, heartfelt, well-rounded and held so much wisdom, written in an enjoyable way. I love Alice Hoffman’s magical writing, and this was some of her best. Lots of characters, but no difficulty keeping them straight. Loved it.

A yellow lighted room, enough to read by but not so bright as to draw your face into harsh geometric planes, a blanket for your feet, a cushion for your lap, and, if you are very, very lucky, a puppy snoring softly nearby, her paws twitching slighly in imagined pursuit.

Alice Hoffman does it again!
I love her books with the Owen women stories, especially since I am a relative of the Owen generations.
Hoffman’s historical research crafts immersive stories with these characters.

I highly recommend this author and reading these books especially if you loved the Practical Magic movie, there’s so much more in the books. I also recommend this author and this next book if you enjoy historical fiction and also on the fence of reading about witches. You won’t be disappointed.

This book made me so happy. Author Alice Hoffman has gifted us a wonderful final installment in the Practical Magic series and with the Owens family. THE BOOK OF MAGIC connects the previous books and weaves everything into one final tale that is satisfying, meaningful and let‘s us leave these beloved characters in good hands.

One of my favorite family's stories comes to an end in The Book of Magic. The beloved Owens family comes together to tell the rest of their story, both present and past. I think we all want to believe we have a little witchery in our veins and a hidden family grimoire in our attics. The aunts have grown older. The youngest Owens girls have begun families of their own and are settling into their college/ career life. And of course that is when tragedy always strikes. Everyone knows how dangerous love is to the Owens women. The deathwatch beetle makes its appearance more than once in the story. And love is at stake.
Overall, this was a great ending to the Magic story of the Owens family. A little bit of me hoped they would always live on. Everyone needs aunties like Jet and Franny. They have made this story one of the most heartfelt from the beginning. I will always be on the outlook for work by Alice Hoffman and will always recommend her stories. I love how she can transport you away to a magical land with her perfect storytelling. Special thanks to Alice Hoffman, NetGalley, and Simon & Schuster for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 5 stars

Leave your world and step into that of a magical family cursed from love for three hundred years. Three generations of women begin a journey to end the curse forever, facing dark magis and a revengeful man. The novel is the perfect ending to the previous books by Ms. Hoffman.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Can’t believe this is the last of the Owen’s stories! The lives of all the different generations of women has been fascinating and so magical. I love all the plant lore that’s weaved in the pages. It’s all wrapped up nicely and we get closure for one and all. Ms. Hoffman has always been one of my top three favorite authors. With every book I read I jot down things that stand out and touch me. There were many from this one. One phrase that hits close to home - “There are some things you have only once in a lifetime, and then only if you’re lucky.” Reminds me of my son who I miss every day.

First I want to say that I was so excited to receive an arc of The Book of Magic! I have loved reading this series so much and this book was the perfect conclusion. Beautifully written and keeps you turning the pages to the very end. The Owens have a special place in my heart!

The final installment in Hoffman's Practical Magic series, this book will satisfy those who want closure and want to fill in the blanks in the Owens family history. With its focus on the youngest generation, it could stand on its own, but readers familiar will the series will get more out of the elements completing the some of the family stories, particularly those drawn from the Practical Magic prequel The Rules of Magic. Although the new characters may not be quite as finely drawn and engaging as some in previous novels, the youngest generation of Owenses have much to offer and show how the world has evolved to accept new definitions of family and suggest possibilities of love, forgiveness, and healing not available to previous generations. A must-purchase for public libraries, given the success of the series and Hoffman's popularity, this book will also find a home in academic libraries with leisure reading sections and/or curriculum exploring witchcraft, contemporary literature, and family sagas.

A wonderful coda to the story of Jet and Fanny. Great character development, a strong story line, and a story that captured your heart. A wonderful acknowledgement of these special characters who grabbed our hearts so long ago.

One of the best parts of Practical Magic is its firm planting in the realm of magical realism. We are wholly left to our own imaginations to wonder if sprigs of rosemary or table salt thrown over a shoulder truly lead to luck and good fortune or if a soup of lye could do anything more than dissolve a dead man’s bones. Or was it his wretched soul? In Practical Magic, the question remains: are the Owens’ women really witches, or do they simply bear the heavy burden of the New England witch fever? Alice Hoffman’s continuation of the Owens’ family history with her prequels The Rules of Magic and Magic Lessons leaves nothing to the imagination: the Owens women (and men) are descended from witches, practioners not only of the nameless art, but of bloodline magic. This makes the Book of Magic a not so unpredictable dive from realism into the truly fantastic. We get a tidy if not sad end to our hero from the desert, Gary Hallett, see Antonia transformed from a brat to student doctor, and follow Gillian and the science teacher to their intentionally divided home as we are introduced to the Owens’ curse. Only briefly touched upon in Practical Magic as the sisters being “unlucky in love” we now know that there is a true curse set down by their ancestor Maria Owens, and this curse is what killed Gary, and Sally’s husband Michael before him. Gideon and Kiley venture headlong into the curse, and the Book of Magic begins to bind all the ties that have separated the Owens family for years, reuniting siblings and matching lovers, even amid loss and danger. We are rushed into the world of left-hand path magic and all its perils while the Owens family collects a truly interesting cast of magical characters. The Book of Magic is a fantastical tale where blood line magic meets the nameless art practiced by humans for thousands of years, mingling destiny with true love. Breaking curses and mending hearts. It is truly about claiming your heritage, being your truest self, and letting love in. Even those disappointed by the spring from magical realism to a book series full of outright magic will love seeing the Owens Family story tie together completely in the Book of Magic.