The Book of Magic (Practical Magic #2)

 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Book of Magic (Practical Magic #2)
Author: Alice Hoffman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: 10.12.21


Publisher’s Summary
Master storyteller Alice Hoffman brings us the conclusion of the Practical Magic series in a spellbinding and enchanting final Owens novel brimming with lyric beauty and vivid characters.

The Owens family has been cursed in matters of love for over three-hundred years but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured, when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has only seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger—the curse is already at work.

A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women, and one long-lost brother, to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from them in matters of both magic and love by Sally, their fiercely protective mother. As Kylie Owens uncovers the truth about who she is and what her own dark powers are, her aunt Franny comes to understand that she is ready to sacrifice everything for her family, and Sally Owens realizes that she is willing to give up everything for love.

The Book of Magic is a breathtaking conclusion that celebrates mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and anyone who has ever been in love.


My Review
This series is a bit confusing in regards to release dates and story timelines. After the 1998 release of Practical Magic, the next book in the series, The Rules of Magic was released in 2017 as a prequel to Practical Magic, followed by Magic Lessons in 2020, a prequel to The Rules of Magic. The latest book in the series, The Book of Magic is a sequel to Practical Magic, picking up with Sally's daughters, Antonia and Kylie, as young twenty-somethings. As the youngest in a family of witches cursed to never love, Antonia and Kylie know nothing of the curse or their powers until tragedy strikes, sending Kylie on a mission to save her lover. As the final book in the series, it is both heartbreaking and hopeful and while I enjoyed reading each book, I am happy to put the Owens family to rest. All these years later, I still can't help but compare the characters and settings to the movie Practical Magic (released 1998.) I saw the movie before I read the book (released 1995) and I don't know if it is because of seeing the movie first, but I just don't connect with the books like I do the movie. While there are similarities between the movie and the book, I love the movie so much more. I am pretty sure this is an extreme exception to the rule of the book always being better than the movie, but I always feel let down by the books because I'm chasing that high of the movie.