Here, young Maria is seduced by an older American businessman named John Hathorne. After Maria Owens was abandoned in a snowy field in England as a baby, she came under the care of Hannah Owens, who teaches her the “Nameless Arts.”Īfter Hannah dies, Maria reunites with her birth mother, who practices dark magic, then lands in Curaçao as an indentured servant. Summary: Set in the 1600s, Magic Lessons begins the story of the Owens women. While this series is about love at its core, I found this book to be very much about mothers and daughters too. I had never read about the Salem witch trials before, and I don’t read much from that time period, so it really intrigued and immersed me. My thoughts: I found Magic Lessons to be both lyrical and stunning.

Reviews of the Practical Magic Books (in Story Order) Magic Lessonsīest for: fans of Salem witch trial books

Practical Magic Books in Order Publication Order Reviews of the Practical Magic Books (in Story Order).Yes, I realize this is a real thing that a lot of queer people go through in their journeys in real life, but something about a straight white women representing queerness only in this way doesn’t feel cool. Vincent then becomes kind of a player, sleeping around with women quite often, before eventually realizing that he’s not attached to them because he’s actually attracted to men. The way it’s written makes it seem mutual and him just “sleeping around,” but homie was being groomed & writing that situation in the way Hoffman did did not sit right with me at all.

Spoilers ahead: we follow Vincent as he sleeps with his older cousin (impregnating her in the process, & it is her daughter Regina’s kids who we follow in Practical Magic), & then his 30+ year old neighbour when he’s 14 years old.

SpoilerVincent’s journey to discovering his sexuality was a really annoying queer trope. Magic Lessons definitely had diversity, but this one was very bland on that front, apart from SpoilerVincent’s queerness (which i take issues with in some ways as well)ģ. Hoffman tells such a profound generational story with these books & it would benefit so much more from being more diverse. There was literally no reason for it, & I know she had to include it because she had written it into Practical Magic already like almost 20 years previously, but hated that it was even there at all.Ģ. I love Alice Hoffman’s whimsical & folkloric witchy writing and the way she writes the Owens & their magic & curse & trauma & the history of the world around them so much!!!!!!!! God damn I love the Owens family 😤😤😤 I will definitely be continuing these books!! That being said, this book had some….

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