The Book of Magic
A Novel
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4.5 • 290 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
“Hoffman certainly knows how to enchant” (The New York Times Book Review) in this breathtaking conclusion to the Practical Magic series—a spellbinding and bewitching novel that asks how far will you go to change your fate?
For over three-hundred years a curse has kept the Owens family from love—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.
A heartfelt and satisfying conclusion to a beloved series, The Book of Magic celebrates mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and anyone who has ever been in love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hoffman concludes her Practical Magic series about the Owens family women, cursed by 17th-century ancestor Maria, with an illuminating story of their inherited witchcraft. In present-day Massachusetts, octogenarian Jet Owens sees the death watch beetle, a sign that she has seven days to live. She pulls The Book of the Raven from her library—a "dark spell-book" that had corrupted Maria's daughter, Faith. The book contains the secret for how to end the family curse, which has caused the men they fall in love with to die, and its discovery sets off a series of cataclysmic events. Hoffman focuses primarily on Jet's niece, Sally, who quashed her magical powers, and Sally's daughters Kylie and Antonia, from whom Sally hid the family's unusual heritage. After Kylie's fiancée, Gideon, has a life-threatening car accident, she learns about the curse and travels to London where the book was made, in search of answers that could save Gideon. Meanwhile, Antonia, a lesbian, is pregnant and plans to raise the baby with a gay couple, one of whom is the father. Hoffman runs through the Owens family history over the centuries, and though the accounts of bloodlines and varied relationships can be confusing, the story brims with bewitching encounters and suspenseful conflicts revolving around good magic versus bad magic. Hoffman brings satisfying closure to the Owens saga.
Customer Reviews
Better than the first
This book was amazing, a perfect sequel to practical magic. I hope they make a movie adaptation.
Love and Curses
Love the overall book and storyline. Enamored by the characters. But…yes, it’s a sequel that falls short. It tries to explain everything in the lives of the Owens family down to the “nth” detail. I did not like the rush at the end to smooth the love path for every single member of the family. Also I don’t believe in suicide as a resolution. That’s just me and my belief system. Still giving it 4-stars because Hoffman develops such intriguing webs around scenes and characters. Finally, wish something really horrible would have happened to the Bad Guy. That was a true let-down.
The perfect ending
This was fabulous! The perfect way to end this series although I wish it could go on forever!! I love these women and their ancestors and everything about them! One of my favorite series by far!!!