Magic Lessons

Book 1 of the Practical Magic series

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Before acquiring this book, I dug around to find something that is part of a series - a story told in more than one volume. But more than that, I wanted the main characters to be women, the book to be written by a woman and, ideally, it would be about magic.

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Honestly, I think the universe breathes a sigh of relief when a person defines their desires so precisely. It makes it easy for the universe to bring it to us. This first book of a four-book series was great!

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Certainly, she never explained why she refused to venture into the ocean when on their free Sunday afternoons she and Juni went to the shore. The day might be glorious, the sea might beckon, but she knew what would happen to someone such as herself in the water. She would float no matter what, and in doing so, she would reveal her true nature. This was why Hannah had kept herself hidden in the woods, and why Rebecca showed her talents to no one. It was a dangerous world for women, and more dangerous for a woman whose very bloodline would have her do not as she was ordered, but as she pleased.

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This story gives a peek into how life was for women in the 1600’s in the Carribean (liveable) and in New England (absolute shite). Women in New England at that time were poorly-treated chattel but the women who feature in the book speak up, they can read and write, they're knowledgeable about plants and people, and they love fiercely. Of course that makes them stick out in a place where women are supposed to be stupid, to stay quiet, and keep their hair and body covered.

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Maria found Cadin in the tall weeds, a black heart lying still in the grass. The men in the field couldn’t tell one crow from another, but she knew her dearest friend immediately.

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She tore the skirt of her dress and wrapped him in the fabric and wept as she did so. Her cries could be heard as far as the wharf, as far as sound could carry, even at sea, and the men collecting crows stopped what they were doing, feeling haunted. Many believed that a female crow was mourning the loss of her mate.

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A hush fell over them, even though they were soaked with sweat. They had been elated by their hunting madness, but even the most thoughtless among them now felt pricked by fear, embarrassed by their foolish acts of cruelty.    

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Love is the major topic of the story, but featured is the power of herbs, how men who deny themselves the truth of their wholeness become evil, the deep relationship of a familiar with their chosen person, and how something said in the heat of the moment can affect generations of people to come.

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The characters and storyline are so solid I never wanted this book to end.

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