Review: The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

THE RULES OF MAGIC by Alice Hoffman

Releasing October 10, 2017 from Simon & Schuster 

Summary: 
Find your magic.
For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man.
Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk.

From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse.

The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy.

My review: 
This was my #1 book I wanted to grab at Book Expo. I was so excited to read it, but was also nervous. I find Alice Hoffman's works to be hit or miss with me. I either love them (The Dovekeepers, The Marriage of Opposites, The Museum of Extraordinary Things) or I'm let down (Faithful). Plus, while I've watched Practical Magic eleventy thousand times, I've never read it! This prequel to Practical Magic was like ordering a meal off a menu that sounds so scrumptious you moan at the description and then when you actually taste it you are transported to another world. The Rules of Magic was utter perfection. It was everything I wanted and more. A total 5 star read for me.