Practical Magic cover art

Practical Magic

The Practical Magic Series, Book 1

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Practical Magic

By: Alice Hoffman
Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard
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About this listen

As children, sisters Gillian and Sally were forever outsiders in their small New England town, teased, taunted and shunned for the air of magic that seems to sparkle in the air around them.

All Gillian and Sally ever wanted was to get away. And eventually they do - one marries, the other runs as far from home as she can manage. Years later, however, tragedy will bring the sisters back together. And they'll find that no matter what else may happen, they'll always have each other.

Practical Magic is the much-loved novel that was the basis of the classic film starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock.

©2018 Alice Hoffman (P)2018 Oakhill Publishing Fantasy Genre Fiction Magical Realism

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All stars
Most relevant  
It was an easy listen, and I liked the narrator. I just wish I enjoyed the book more, as the Practical Magic movie is one of my all time favourite films. However, this was one of the rare exceptions of the movie being better than the book.

Easy Listen

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This is a beautiful, twisting story full of whimsy and quirk. The narration was great, adding so much to the story. I’m off to get the second instalment!

Twists and turns

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The book is a good story but the narrator voices and accents are terrible

bad narrator

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I have listened to all the Practical Books but kept this one to last as I didn’t want them to end and loved the film so much. It didn’t disappoint. Absolutely lovely and magical as are all Alice Hoffmann books.

Magical, beautifully read and written

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It had a lot of promise but by the end I was bored and glad it finished. It seemed to rush through the early years of the main characters, it spent a lot of time summarising events instead of describing them in more detail, whereas lingering here would have made the story more interesting.

Average story.

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Enjoyed the prequel but this one I couldn’t get to the end. Wasn’t a single character I cared about (okay maybe the rabbit).
Narrator did well enough but the story didn’t work for me.

Couldn’t get through it

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a magical tale read very well. I had seen the film many times, but this book contours up a magical image.

excellent

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Truly magical read. Very soothing. Gentle and original storyline. A book for the girly girls. 5 stars .

Whimsical

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I really wanted to like this story however I found the pace too slow (nothing to do with the narration, simply how plot progresses and characters develop). Secondly, at times because of this slowness I found myself bored and questioning why there was soo much detail which seemed unnecessary at times. I could put all that aside however if the story itself was worthwhile and amazing. unfortunately, I find it to be a toxic message of beauty gets the guy, beauty gets the happily ever after and pretty much every page has something about someone's good looks on it. I don't know why this series is so popular, honestly, it's nothing like the movie which, in this instance, is a rare case of the film is better. I am an avid fantasy reader, watcher and, player and this just was disappointing and very aged. The book goes steadily downhill with each chapter. I do not recommend.

mixed feelings

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3.75/5

As we approach autumn (my favourite season), I've been looking for books with a more spooky or cosy feel to them, books you would read under a blanket on a rainy day, drinking hot chocolate. Practical Magic was recommended to me as a fit for the above vibe. The plot follows Sally and Gillian Owens, sisters who are raised by their witchy aunts.

- This book is less of a story and more of a meandering journey. There are themes that pervade through the entire book or large parts of it but a lot of it seems to be just a meandering biography of the Owens sisters' lives. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but for those expecting a distinct plot line will be disappointed.

- The magical elements are well done and told in such a way that you can imagine some of those things being real occurrences. It's an undertone to the plot rather than dominating it and it works well in this sense.

- I enjoyed the different characters however, some of their choices appear to be incredibly sudden or not clearly motivated and it does feel jarring at time. People change within short periods of time for seemingly little reason and it just felt a little odd.

An atmospheric, witchy book which is worth a read by those who enjoy the journey of a book more than the destination, cottage magic vibes and books with an autumnal feel.

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