Summary: Three siblings come of age while trying to shield their loved ones from the truths of who they are.
Rating & Recommendation: 3/5; recommend for fans of Practical Magic
Review: This is a prequel to Practical Magic, and I'll admit, I never read Practical Magic, and I didn't watch the movie until after reading The Rules of Magic. Logic dictates that one doesn't have to read a thing before its prequel. I'm sure some of the charm of this book is in revisiting familiar characters in a familiar world, but I was disappointed. Nostalgia doesn't a good book make, and that seems to be the only thing carrying this work.
"Know that for our family, love is a curse."
I assume the campy aspect was intentional, and made it more enjoyable for some, but the tone of this one really turned me off. You don't necessarily need to have context off the Practical Magic-verse to understand the book, but the siblings are poorly fleshed out - completely uninteresting and unevolved. That they're young suggests you might see some growth through the course of the book, but that never happened.
The writing is simple and clearly meant for a much younger audience, despite the fact that I saw it on multiple Book Club and Best Of lists. I definitely didn't understand the hype, and would recommend skipping this one unless you're really invested in the Owens family.
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