Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family. When Maria is abandoned by the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always love someone who will love you back. Under the care of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the “Nameless Arts.” Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? With Maria Owens, in the 1600s, when she’s abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. In an unforgettable novel that traces a centuries-old curse to its source, beloved author Alice Hoffman unveils the story of Maria Owens, accused of witchcraft in Salem, and matriarch of a line of the amazing Owens women and men featured in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic. If you haven’t already read this series, now is the perfect time to get started! I read part of the book and listened to part of it on audiobook, which is narrated by Sutton Foster! It was a phenomenal book, and one that will suck you right in and immerse you in another place and time.

There is young love, heartbreak, family betrayal, and persecution of women who just want education and freedom. We learn bits and pieces about the Jews on the island of Curaçao, pirate life, and the start of Brooklyn and Manhattan as we know them today. Yes there is lots of delicious witchy magic, but the history in this book was what really got me. Magic Lessons traces the origins of the Owens’ witchy bloodline, and shows us how their centuries-old love curse starts. It’s also been an age since I watched the movie Practical Magic, and I’m saving up a rewatch for as soon as I’ve finished that book.

I just finished Magic Lessons and am on to The Rules of Magic now. Why on earth did it take me so long to start this series? I am 100% hooked. This is the 0.1 prequel in the Practical Magic series. Thank you to Simon Schuster for gifting me a review copy of Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman.

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