I have this thing with witches. And magic.
It started with Charmed (and a lifelong obsession with Shannon Doherty, probably). Next came Hermione Granger, who is the reason Harry and Ron managed to survive Voldemort, the Death Eaters, and school in general.
Vampires attempted to steal my allegiance with the release of Twilight, but I firmly was back on Team Witch with Deborah Harkness’ A Discovery Of Witches. I’m constantly re-reading that series, and stalking the forthcoming show’s updates on Twitter.
Petty Magic was a solid read, but it didn’t fill the whole that ADOW did. Nothing really has.
Until I picked up this book.
The Rules Of Magic is the prequel to the Practical Magic (one of the best movies, ever), and tells the story of the eccentric aunts – Frances and Jet – as teenagers growing up in New York.
I purposefully read this book slowly, savoring every word and event. While I was dying to find out how the book ends, I soaked in all of Hoffman’s stunning writing and brilliant storytelling.
The Rules Of Magic is a rare breed of book where the story, characters, and prose are all brilliant.
Also, witches.
The relationships are what really stand out in this book – the relationship between siblings, parents and children, aunts and nieces, lovers and friends.
The fact that there’s magic and witches strengthens the book, but it’s not the core of it.
It’s about love.
And is there anything more magical than that? No.
I share a book review every Friday. You can see them all here.
