The Book of Magic

Book 4 of the Practical Magic series

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An excellent read! The main characters from the previous books are brought back and several new international characters are added to the story. It’s a roller-coaster ride of emotions and intrigue that spans continents. I enjoyed it a lot.

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The stray dog was a comic mix involving a corgi and half a dozen other breeds, a clown who jumped up on gravestones during their walk in the cemetery. Vincent decided to call the stray Dodger, in praise of his ability to have clearly lived for so long on the streets of Paris without being run over. Soon enough, Dodger wouldn’t leave his side, and Vincent wondered if William had sent his new companion to him to make certain he wasn’t alone.

Having not read anything by Alice Hoffman before this series of books, I can’t say if her characters are always so well-developed, but I can say that in these books, she does a bang-up job of so clearly defining characters that I can see them in my head while I’m reading (which is not always the case, for me), so when they re-appear in this last book, they are already whole and understood.

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She took one look at the parcel he carried and instantly knew what was inside. “Are you sure about this?” she asked.

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Black mirrors were dangerous. Look into one and you could never forget what you’d seen.

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Vincent shrugged. “Who can be sure about anything?”

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“That’s the spirit,” his old friend agreed wholeheartedly. Why not take a chance as long as you were still alive?

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At this age there wasn’t much more to lose, only the beautiful world, only every morning and night.

This book revolves around the curse that had been brought upon the family by an ancestor. For centuries, members of the family tried to trick the curse, pushed those they loved away from them, went to great lengths to avoid it, or decided they didn’t believe in it and paid the cost. But, of course, no one moves through life without love, even if it happened for just a short while in one’s youth, love changes a person and makes course corrections to the direction of one’s life.

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Sally’s last act of magic was the one that meant the most. Ian opened his eyes and watched the crows above him through the timbers of the ruined ceiling. A beautiful woman crouched down beside him.

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Sally placed her hands on his face and used all she had left inside to draw out the poison. He had been dreaming he was a crow and that he was high above the manor house and could see everything, acres of land and clouds, fields and trees so old they had lived longer than anyone on earth.    

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The plot moves along quickly, the characters are solid and believable, and I like stories that include magic.

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It can be read on it’s own, but if it is read as part of the series, the enjoyment increases.

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