A review by samsweebooknook
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman

slow-paced

2.0

I'm reading the Practical Magic books in chronological order with this being the second in the series. 

I'll start with saying I loved Magic Lessons (I gave it 4 stars when I read it at the start of the year) so I had quite high expectations for this one. Unfortunately I was left underwhelmed and disappointed. 

The Rules of Magic is set a few hundred years after Magic Lessons in the 1960s and follows the lives of Franny, Jet and Vincent - the children of Susanna Owens and direct descendants of the original Owens witch Maria Owens. With a little help from their aunt Isabelle, they discover who they are, what their heritage is and how they are cursed when it comes to matters of the heart. 

As I said, I was really looking forward to this one but it was an extremely slow burn for me that failed to keep me engaged. I actually started this book in September and had to force myself to keep picking it up to get it finished. I didn't connect with any of the characters and found myself very bored throughout. This may seem like a harsh review but I genuinely had such high hopes after enjoying Magic Lessons so much. 

I'm not going to let it put me off, and I absolutely plan to read the next in the series (the famous Practical Magic). 

Don't be put off by my review, there are plenty of 5 star reviews of this one. Unfortunately it just wasn't the book for me!