Review: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Cover Source: GoodReads

Title: Practical Magic
Author: Alice Hoffman
Series: Practical Magic #2
Narrator: Cherry Jones
Version Reviewed: Finished AudioBook
Website: www.alicehoffman.com

I borrowed this book from my local library.

GoodReads Synopsis:

The bestselling author of Second Nature, Illumination Night and Turtle Moon now offers her most fascinating and tantalizingly accomplished novel yet -- a winning tale that amply confirms Alice Hoffman's reputation not only as a genius of the vivid scene and unforgettable character but as one of America's most captivating storytellers.
When the beautiful and precocious sisters Sally and Gillian Owens are orphaned at a young age, they are taken to a small Massachusetts town to be raised by their eccentric aunts, who happen to dwell in the darkest, eeriest house in town. As they become more aware of their aunts' mysterious and sometimes frightening powers -- and as their own powers begin to surface -- the sisters grow determined to escape their strange upbringing by blending into "normal" society.
But both find that they cannot elude their magic-filled past. And when trouble strikes -- in the form of a menacing backyard ghost -- the sisters must not only reunite three generations of Owens women but embrace their magic as a gift -- and their key to a future of love and passion. Funny, haunting, and shamelessly romantic, Practical Magic is bewitching entertainment -- Alice Hoffman at her spectacular best.

Review:
I watched Practical Magic for the first time when I was a very young child. I grew up on horror movies and mainly had nightmares when I watched kids programming so watching Practical Magic as a young kid wasn't a big deal. I've always been Halloween obsessed (it's also my birthday!) and a lover of all things spooky so I found myself going back to the movie tons of times and, especially, each year around the spooky season. To be honest, until the release of The Rule of Magic, even as a book lover, I had no idea that Practical Magic was a book. I knew that I had to read it this year and I was so excited to dig in!  With all that being said, I found myself... disappointed.

Practical Magic was a good book but after being obsessed with the movie for so long, I honestly felt the book to be a bit lacking. Normally I'm a hardcore book-over-movie person but I really do feel like the movie is better than the book in this case. The story basics were still the same but it just seemed like the book was a little lackluster. I enjoyed the characters and the setting deeply but it just felt like there was a lot of build up and never any peaks. Like you were riding a rollercoaster and slowly felt yourself climbing the highest hill only to stop at the top and never go over the edge.

There just wasn't that much excitement for me. I will continue to watch the movie each year and be okay with my love for the cinematic version. I will be diving into The Rules of Magic soon so, even though my hopes aren't as high as they were before, I can't wait to dig in.

Rating: 3 Stars.