Review: The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

Cover Soure: GoodReads

Title: The Rules of Magic
Author: Alice Hoffman
Narrator: Marin Ireland
Series: Practical Magic #1
Version Reviewed: Finished Audiobook, ARC eBook
Website: www.alicfehoffman.com

I borrowed the audiobook from my local library and received the ARC from the publishers in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

GoodReads Synopsis:

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.

Review:
After reading Practical Magic, I found myself a little disappointed. It wasn't as great as I had expected and left me a little nervous about reading The Rules of Magic. This book did have one thing to rival Practical Magic. For the previous book, I had seen the movie and loved it for years. With this one, I had nothing to compare it to. So I went into this book unsure of how I was going to feel about it but excited all the same to learn more about the aunts.

I am so insanely happy that I gave The Rules of Magic a try. In my opinion it was sooo much better than Practical Magic. All the arcs of the story had climaxes and all of the calmer moments were balanced by moments of action and conflict.  The characters were great in their different personalities and it was great to learn about each individual and how their lives were affected by love, magic, family, and the Owen Curse.

I definitely enjoyed learning more about Maria Owens and the family's history. I loved how Hoffman used the real Salem Witch Trials and the real people involved and twisted them into her story. The Scarlet Letter is one of my favorite classics and I really enjoyed the addition of Nathaniel Hawthorne as a distant relative of Jet, Franny, and Vincent.

This book was absolutely amazing. It's crazy to me how much content Hoffman can pour into one book. I honestly think the contents of each book could easily be spread out into a long series, but works in their current form.

Whether you have or haven't read Practical Magic, enjoyed or didn't enjoy it, I highly recommend you read The Rules of Magic! It's an amazing story all on it's own.

Rating: 4 Stars