I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books!

I went back and forth on how much I enjoyed this novel. It start’s with Ivy’s coming of age story (mother) and then transitions into Mia’s (daughter). The remainder of the first part of this book is about Mia and her escape from the cult her mother found them in.

Davis’ (cult leader) sociopathic behavior towards Mia is super creepy! Be cautious if you have any triggers for stalking and manipulative/narcissistic conversations.

Mia has a love for Nathaniel Hawthorne and his novel The Scarlet Letter. She feels it was written just for her. The story takes a break from these women and transitions into a historical narrative of Nathan Hawthorne’s life. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical aspect of Hawthorne’s side of the story. It made me want to read The Scarlet Letter, for sure.

However, the two timelines then merge and that was the part that I am not so sure about. I was very intrigued and wanted to keep reading, but I also couldn’t help but feeling like it was a little weird.

I will say that the story did not end the way I thought it would. this was neither a good nor a bad thing. Overall I do recommend this book. It didn’t have the fall witchy vibes I was anticipating, but it did have a level of magical realism that made it a fun fall read.

I couldn’t wait to read this, and the first half had me turning pages so quickly with its captivating story of resilience and strong women. But, the second half felt like a completely different story, disjointed form the first half. If Hoffman had stuck with the execution from the first half, I would have loved it more. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC!

Where do ideas come from? Well, this novel has an interesting and fantastical theory about Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel <i>A Scarlet Letter</i> that I won't explain because it involves spoilers. Not my favorite Hoffman, but you may like it if in the mood for a literary fantasy novel about adultery, cults, time travel, and, of course, love.

What would you do if you could go back in time and meet your favorite author before he writes the book that saves you? Mia Jacob lives in a community with her mom, Ivy but just cannot conform to all of their rules. The power of books in the local library becomes her refuge and her demise.
A well balanced story, strong character development, heartwarming and heart breaking story is a compelling read.
It's highlighted by a bit of magic and twisty twists in time travel. Highly recommend.

Fall always seems like the perfect time to read Alice Hoffman's work. This story requires suspension of belief to journey through time. Oddly enough, this cult story came right after reading A History of Wild Place's by Shea Ernshaw, which I felt did a slightly better job building the world of the cult. I really liked Mia's relationship with all of the women in here life. Topical issues are covered in this novel from a woman's right to choose and book bans. This work is classically Hoffman with such a beautiful magical realism writing style that allows you visualize fall in New England and also highlights the power that books can have in people's lives, however for me the fascination Mia has for a dead author, and Joel's repeated lurking without conflict, made this book a solid 3 for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing access to a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"September was a glorious month, when the whole world turned yellow."⠀
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Alice Hoffman, The Invisible Hour⠀
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The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman is a hauntingly beautiful, surreal book that brings to life the magic of reading, libraries, and womanhood. ⠀
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The book has a story telling, dreamy vibe from the very beginning and drew me in with an entirely quotable first chapter. I loved the multiple points of view in the story and thought it really brought the characters to life by being able to see their personal motivations and thoughts.⠀
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Ivy was a clever and complicated character and her love for Mia and for reading shaped this entire tale. You can see the threads of her personality and desire in her daughter and I think it's beautiful how Mia chose to honor her. Mia is headstrong and artistic, with a passion for life borderlining madness. I admired her spirit and wit as well as the strength she possessed throughout her traumatic upbringing. ⠀
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The use of classic stories, like The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, helped set the scene and build a wonderfully imaginary yet realistic world full of love, heartbreak, and secrets. I'll admit I was looking forward to a magic drenched book, but this had very little by the way of supernatural or witchy content. Instead, Hoffman chose to highlight how the simplest words and choices can bring about a magic all of its own. ⠀
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As Mia said, "Sometimes when you read a book it's as if you were reading the story of your own life. That was what had happened to me. I woke up when I read the first page. I saw who I was and who I could be." ⠀

A really great read. The way it combined historical fiction with a fictional, more modern day telling, was done with excellence. You'll find yourself rooting for Mia, and oh so sad for Ivy.

Alice Hoffman has set many of her memorable novels in the present, but also many in various years or centuries past. With The Invisible Hour, we travel with Mia from her life as a teenager in a modern day repressive commune into adulthood, and then miraculously, back to 17th century Salem, Massachusetts to meet and love Nathaniel Hawthorne, whom she idolizes.

Readers will find adventure, loyalty, danger, heartbreak, and romance in The Invisible Hour, told with Alice Hoffman’s lyrical voice sprinkled with quotable life messages.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC ebook.

This story starts with Ivy, a headstrong young woman who finds herself pregnant and abandoned by the child's father and her own parents. She joins a cult community and is married to the leader, Joel. Ivy becomes entrenched in "the Community's" authoritarian rule and stays out of fear for herself and her daughter, Mia.

As Mia grows up, she discovers a love of books. She escapes as often as she can to a local library to further escape in wonderful literary tales. After a tumultuous event, Mia grabs a final book, The Scarlet Letter. She reads and recognizes what seems like a detailed account of her life with her mom in the Community.

(And this is the point where the story flips and it started to lose me -- insert: time travel). Mia travels back in time and meets Nahaniel Hawthorne, falling in love with him.

I usually enjoy Alice Hoffman's writing - she has beautiful prose and describes the ethereal scenery so that you can easily see it in your mind while reading. But, this story fell a bit flat with the time travel aspects. I think I would have preferred the story without time travel, but understand Hoffman's intent. 3/5 stars.

Atria, you take way too good care of me. I was honored to be able to read and review this amazing book.

Synopsis: Mia Jacob is a member of the Community, a cult reminiscent of the Puritan communities of Salem. No books. No vanity. No wickedness. No material possessions. After a terrible loss, Mia can no longer see a reason to live... until she finds one in a forbidden place - the library. She comes across Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and is enraptured that an author could somehow perfectly capture her loss, and her pain. Mia discovers a love for the author and for reading, and learns that books have the power to transport you to another time.... literally.

Review: this book was beautiful. It's an exploration of loss, grief, love, and above all, the power of reading, books, and words. Mia's life before she finds Nathaniel is depicted perfectly and with so much raw emotion. The Community is very similar to the Puritan communities in Massachusetts, and it is through reading that Mia is able to find beauty and purpose again. I loved that portion of her character's journey. There is so much loss in this book, and at times it is hard to read, but the emotion is so beautifully written that it's difficult to put down. I felt so many things for Ivy and Mia - sympathy, frustration, fear, love... and it's the work of a great author when the reader can feel so many emotions while reading. This one comes very highly recommended.

Cults, the Scarlet Letter, and time travel- this one has a lot going on, but it works. I enjoyed reading this so much. Perfectly autumnal and atmospheric, just in time for the season.

Reading a book by Alice Hoffman is always a delightful experience. Her exquisite writing and boundless imagination consistently weave enchanting and captivating tales.
“The Book of Magic” is no exception, and it holds a special resonance for bibliophiles. It delves deep into the profound impact of libraries and books, how they unfurl new realms, shed light, empower change, and amplify our capacity to dream.

Throughout history, totalitarian regimes have recognized books as a potent threat to their dominion, leading to the banishment of countless works. In this narrative, we encounter a repressive regime nestled within a rural community cult in West Massachusetts, under the magnetic sway of the charismatic Joel Davis.

Ivy Jacobs stands as a fiercely independent woman who adores books. She faces rejection and vilification for her pregnancy, inadvertently stumbles into the clutches of the cult, and soon becomes the wife of Davis. Initially, she believes she has found refuge and stability, but the idyllic facade begins to crumble. Cult members endure severe rules, constraints, and brutal penalties, with all contact with the outside world and books forbidden. Ivy forges a deep bond with her daughter, Mia, who grows up within the shadows of the cult’s oppressive regime.

The author masterfully elevates the ordinary to the extraordinary, infusing the narrative with a sense of magic and time travel. She poignantly illuminates the courage and resilience of women, the pursuit of liberty, the transformative power of books in the face of daunting challenges.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this one. Time travel a girl travels back to Hawthorne's time while he's writing The Scarlet Letter. And her life also mimics the story. However after reading this one it made me realize that Alice Hoffman's writing is not for me.

3.5 stars
I am a huge fan of Hoffman's work, so I requested this book as soon as I saw it on NetGalley. Once again, Hoffman writes a story through generations, with a bit of magic thrown in for good measure.
Hoffman begins with a heartfelt note about the importance of The Scarlet Letter in her own life, and then expertly weaves the history of this famous book into The Invisible Hour.
In beautiful settings, Hoffman renders a picturesque Massachusett's town into a symbol of something eerily sinister and acutely hopeful at the same time. While I loved the incorporation of the famous location and book—what book lover doesn't love a character inspired by a book?—I think the story would have been better without actually including Nathanial Hawthorne as a character. I felt like this added an unnecessary plotline that actually took away from the seriousness of the original story's theme.

I will forgive Hoffman the sentiment that may have led to that, because I loved so many of the other characters in this book. Her compelling sense of story still made this a must-read for me.

Realistic fiction with a little bit of magic. The magic is never explained, and the second half is like a different book, but I felt the ending paid it all off eventually. I wasn’t always eager to pick this up but I’m glad I finished it.

Alice Hoffman is hit or miss for me. I absolutely LOVED the practical magic books, but I disliked the world that we knew. Unfortunately, her latest novel falls into the latter category. It is extremely well written and will undoubtedly appeal to many, but the story failed to reel me in.

The Invisible Hour

Hmmm I loved one of her books and a couple I didn’t love and this was halfway. I liked parts but some parts were odd. After taking time after reading the book to process my thoughts I found that I only liked half the book.

Mia is an Angel and I loved her I loved getting her story. While I did love how Nathaniel and Mia then had this story together and how she influenced his future career with her life. However, there was this middle part that was setting up their relationship that I didn’t love. I found it slow and quite boring. Getting to know Nathaniel wasn’t interesting at all.

It felt like she wrote multiple books or storylines and then just smashed them together into one book without it making much sense. We have one plot storyline going on and then all of a sudden it’s a huge weird twist and we have a completely different type of story. The twist in the story came out of nowhere and didn’t make sense. I wish Hoffman would have stuck with the beginning cult story and taken a magical turn somewhere Whit in that timeframe instead of the weird turn it took. I think I would have like this more if she separated the plots into two separate books.

I came to Alice Hoffman late in my reading life and I am so glad that I found her. This book does not disappoint and I read it in large chunks as I could not help but want to know where Mia's story would bring her. The parallels between Mia and her mother and Hester from The Scarlet Letter are eery and the premise that Hawthorne wrote the novel based on time-traveling Mia is both perfect and heart breaking. I hated to say good bye when the book ended but find myself anxiously awaiting Hoffman's next novel.

I absolutely loved this story. Full of magical realism, the love between mother and daughter, finding hope at the top of a library shelf, time travel, and The Scarlet Letter. It was beautiful and heartbreaking. I loved the parallels between the Puritans and the community that Ivy finds. The ending did feel a little rushed and I would have liked to see more of a slow wrapping to the end of the story. It was beautiful though.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It’s available now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

One day, when fifteen-year-old Mia Jacobs has decided that she can no longer live in the oppressive cult where she has spent her entire life, she is saved by a book: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The book was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life in the cult. As Mia makes the decision to change her life, she discovers that time is more fluid than she believed. As a child, she fell in love with books. Now, as an adult, she has fallen in love with the brilliant writer who saved her life. But could her time spent with Nathaniel affect the past? What if he never writes The Scarlet Letter?

This is a beautifully written book. I need to say that first. It’s beautiful. Now, normally I’m not a huge fan of magical realism, but I really liked this book. I loved Mia, and the life she created for herself. It’s a very emotional novel, and the parallels drawn between then (mid-1800s) and now regarding book banning and bodily autonomy are a little terrifying, if I’m being honest. I also feel like I need to reread The Scarlet Letter. I highly recommend this love letter to writers, readers and novels.