THE WAY I LOVE THE OWENS WOMEN. The absolute chaos of this series has become endearing to me? It’s important to note how wary I was going into Practical Magic, the namesake of the series, the original installment and the inspiration for the iconic movie adaptation. Having never read Practical Magic and having never seen the movie, I opted to read these in chronological order: Magic Lessons, set in the 1600s, the “origin” story of the Owens family curse; The Rules of Magic, set in the 1960s, prequel to Practical Magic and coming-of-age stories of Aunt Franny and Aunt Jet; Practical Magic, the original, set ostensibly in the 90s; and finally, The Book of Magic, the last book she published AND the last chronologically.

Hoffman returned to build out this series more than 20 years after publishing Practical Magic, and you can absolutely feel the tonal departure between the original and her later installments. Where Magic Lessons and The Rules of Magic are heart-wrenching and darkly magical, Practical Magic is campy with a sharply humorous edge. Thankfully, I was warned of this before starting Practical Magic, and knew to expect a sharp left turn.

All that said - I loved this! I don’t know if it’s my 90s nostalgia or just the fact that I love Hoffman’s writing style, but I read this at the exact right time and thoroughly enjoyed it. This series reminds me of everything I love about magical realism, the subtle blending of the fantastical with the everyday - red hair that turns even the water that touches it red, too, lilacs that bloom out of season, steam that rises from beneath your cuticles when you’re hot and bothered, toads that will race you in the garden and beg you for treats, a gaggle of cats named after birds. It’s just entrancing to me.