A beautiful, romantic prequel to the wonderful Practical Magic. The Rules of Magic tells the story of the aunts from Practical Magic from their childhood to the arrival of two young nieces. Magical and heartbreaking in equal measures, fans of the book and the movie of Practical Magic will not be disappointed.

This is a prequel to Practical Magic but it is not imperative that you have read Practical Magic.
This book immediately pulled me in. I couldn't put it down!.
f you love magical realism...if you love Alice Hoffman's writing...even if you have only watched the movie...you MUST give this a try. It's such a beautiful story of love, devotion and the strength of family ties.
You also learn more about Maria Owens and the origin of the curse. That book centered on Sally and Gillian. Here, we have the story of Jet and Frances when they were the younger generation, full of longing and fears. There is the dreaded curse that threatens doom to any man who loves an Owens woman, but these are woman who deserve to be loved and would want to be loved, if only it weren’t for that darned curse

The Rules of Magic is the story of those wonderful Aunts from Practical Magic, y'know, those Aunts we all wish we had, those that advocate eating chocolate cake for breakfast and encourage you to stay up as late as you like. The rules are different because when you are a witch the rules are the Rules of Magic.

We are transported back to when Franny and Bridget (Jet) (the Aunts) are young and follow them through their and their brother Vincent's lives. We are with them through tragedy and trauma, we are with them as they discover love (even though the Owen's curse means they mustn't) and somewhere along the way we learn something of the Rules of Magic.

A tremendous read, in order to remain in this world a bit longer my other books have been set aside, that's how much I don't want to let this family go. We can term the Rules of Magic the missing link, it answers all those questions (some you didn't even know you had) post Practical Magic. Alice Hoffman has once more delivered a wonderfully uplifting novel full of magic, wonder and oozing charm.

A big fat thank-you to Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Why do I love this book so much? Because I just love all things Alice Hoffman. She's never lets me down. This is my new favorite Alice Hoffman book. Just loved it.

The film version of Practical Magic is very special to me. Like Sally and Gillian, I grew up with one sister - one of us dark haired, one of us light. One of us sensible, the other a dreamer. Both of us in love with love and magic. Sadly, unlike the girls, we never discovered powers (not for the want of trying, that late 90s witchcraft phase was no joke, I think we even tried to bind someone once).

It was only a few years later that I realised the film was based on a book, and so it served as my introduction to Alice Hoffman. I liked the book, but for me it lacked the sparkle that the film had. It lacked, if you want to be cheesy, the magic.

This is the long awaited prequel to Practical Magic - and the magic is back. With a bang.

This is just dreamy. It's a gorgeous book. It's everything I wanted from Practical Magic and then some.

The Owens women are cursed. Any man who falls in love with an Owens woman is doomed. They have their own strategies for dealing with this - some choose to keep lovers at arms length, others choose to enjoy it while it lasts. This book is about Frances, Jet, and their brother Vincent. Fans of the first book will know that Frances and Jet are Sally and Gillian's Aunts, but here they're teenagers, wild and full of promise. This book follows them through their loves and losses, along with their beautiful brother Vincent and how the curse affects him.

I read it in one sitting - I couldn't let it go. It was like a warm, magical hug. I absolutely adored it.

This is the story of three siblings, borne of Susannah Owens - Franny, Jet and Vincent, who finally discover who they are when they visit their Aunt Isabelle on Magnolia Street, Massachusetts.


Vincent takes a glimpse into the black mirror at his Aunts house one young summer and can see his future. It makes him a difficult child, with a charm so strong it makes him irresistible. He loathes himself and his family, he explores dark magic through The Magus, and even though he knows the rules of magic and therefore the consequences, he doesn't care. His fate is sealed. Even the adoration of their cousin April cannot lift his spirits. The girls discover what love can do to them very early in life and vow to not love again. But Jet [Bridget] can't help herself and is drawn to Levi Willard who the Owens family are already inextricably linked to by their entwined histories. Franny, the responsible one, the studious girl who is meant to go off to Harvard is loved by her best friend Haylin. He knows everything about her except that she can never sink in water, she can only float. This one fact stays with them as they grow older denying them trust and affection, until it's almost too late.

Rich and full with spells and sorcery, with a growing awareness of what they are, the three siblings show the reader all their powers of mayhem and magic in a coming of age tale. Lavished with the secret of the Owens curse and sprinkled with the history of witches, a feast of words conjuring colourful imagery bring to life beauty and spectre in this prequel. Sometimes dark and visceral, but also exploring the meaning of love, this story will grab your imagination and draw you in.


If you've ever wondered what happened before two very young girls named Sally and Gillian moved to Magnolia Street, or who Aunt Frances and Aunt Bridget were before they left the porch light on after dusk, read The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman published by Simon and Schuster on 2nd November 2017 @simonschusterUK #RulesofMagic

Themes: true love, homosexuality, humanity, prejudice, being true to yourself, the sixties, war, self-esteem, trust, friendship, family ties that bind us, expectations, a touch of regret

The Rules of Magic is a prequel to Practical Magic, I’ve never read Practical Magic although I’ve watched the film and loved it. When I started reading The Rules of Magic I wanted to skip through until I found some action. The novel is written in the past tense and often it reads like a report rather than a narrative- you are told about something happening rather than witnessing it unfolding on the page. (Please note that there are just my opinions and everyone is different, so please read this novel yourself to see what you think.)

However, Alice Hoffman is a good storyteller and tells the story of three siblings who are learning about themselves and the magic that’s in their blood. It’s a sad and melancholy story. It’s not a fast paced tale but more of a slow burn. We are taken through the lives of Jet, Franny and Vincent and introduced to the magic of herbs and spells. The characters are very real and I enjoyed reading about them and learning more about their world, the story really is about them it’s not about magic or witchcraft.

It doesn’t seem to have any conflict/problem that stands out, although there is a curse that needs to be broken which is given some thought. But having seen Practical Magic I know the curse won’t be broken so knowing the outcome I can’t get too involved in the conflict, in this way it feels like a prequel rather than a story you could read on it’s merit - things that are resolved in Practical Magic can’t be resolved in this novel. The history of the Owens’ and their ancestry is different to the film which isn’t a bad thing, I think I’d have to read Practical Magic to better understand how these books fit together, especially with regard to the curse and the family history before I can really form an opinion.

I have mixed opinions of the style of this book sometimes the past tense report-like narrative frustrated me. But then the description of the places made me feel like I was actually there. There is no dominating conflict or problem, but maybe it’s not meant to, it’s a good story of three very real characters, whose lives I was drawn into. There are tense scenes and mystery told at it’s own time and pace, in keeping with the feel of the novel. In making me care about the characters and making me feel sad Alice Hoffman has done her job as a novelist.

I will definitely read Practical Magic. The Rules of Magic is a sad but enchanting story and it has stayed with me after I’ve finished reading.