The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman
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 realized that she is willing to give up everything for love.
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Alice Hoffman’s books always weave such an enchanting and heart-wrenching tale and this book was the conclusion to what I believe to be her best characters’ story. I had a lot of high hopes for this book because the other three books in this series were absolutely amazing…. But this one fell a little bit short for me. The typical magic was still present and not just in the subject of magic but in the way this author is able to weave the story around you. All of our favourite characters had appearances or mentions throughout the book but there was just something that felt missing. I felt as if we went in reverse and the characters that grew so much in past books were reverted to their early selves just to help move the plot along. I did like how it ended for a majority of characters and I was soooo excited to have Vincent back in the narrative but it didn’t live up to my full expectations. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a good read, I enjoyed it a lot, it just didn’t meet personal expectations.
In the past I’ve been fully entranced by Maria Owens story so I was riveted on all the pieces of this book that related back to her original story and the original curse (anyone who loves an Owens witch usually ends up dying). My favourite book in the series was the Aunts’ story and how they grew into their magic, the trials and heartbreaks that they faced, and I’ve felt like Practical Magic with Sally and Gillian’s story was always a nice conclusion to the series even if there were still things left up in the air. And I stand by that. This book made the first written book in the series, Practical Magic, seem unnecessary and it became more of a “filler” book now that this sequel has come out. I was confused as to the point of this last book and because of that, the plot didn’t fully win me over.
Sally and Gillian went through so much character development in their original story. Sally fought her reservations and fell in love with her literal soulmate and Gillian found her way out of a very bad relationship and into a happier life. In this book, Sally is right back to the magic hating woman we first met who keeps secrets from her children. It’s like all her character development just disappeared. And she has a new love interest, someone positioned as possibly her actual soulmate? Which kind of negated the entire love story in the first book. Franny was one of the most powerful characters in The Rules of Magic. She was the outwardly cold woman who deep down had the biggest heart of gold and her relationship with Haylin brought forth her softer side. She retains her soft edges somewhat in Practical Magic and then in this book, she once again starts off as the ice queen who no one likes. Once again, character development obliterated just to suite the plot. I feel like poor Franny and Sally were both done dirty in this book, even if it all turned out ok in the end.
On the other hand, there were so many things that I loved: Vincent’s triumphant return to the family (he’s Sally and Gillian’s long-lost grandfather), Antonia’s love story, the introduction of Ian Wright, visits to the Owens origins and homeland, the introduction of new villains and old family ties (and even more curses). The main plot has Kylie, Sally’s daughter, journeying out to England to find a way to break the curse to save the love of her life, however, having been sheltered from magic from her mother, she easily falls sway to the Dark Arts triggering her mother’s frantic race to find her before it’s too late. Her story was a good plot driver, but I wasn’t a fan of her character, she seemed too naïve. Every other character, however, was perfect. Ian was a much better love interest for Sally than I had expected, his story was fascinating. Vincent was everything I’d hoped for and he remains my favourite character of all the books. As much as I despair over Franny’s start in this book, the development she goes through in this book was just as satisfying as her past story and I honestly think she’s one of the main and most important characters of the entire series.
It wasn’t what I expected but it was still a lovely story. The writing is never lacking with Alice Hoffman, her books are always so beautifully written. The characters were still so loveable, and the plot was definitely interesting. I gave it 3 stars just because it didn’t live up to personal expectations… and I didn’t really like how Sally was portrayed but it’s definitely a satisfying conclusion to this family story.