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Practical Magic
Practical Magic
Alice Hoffman | 2003 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.1 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
They focus on relationships between the women in the house, learning to appreciate each other and who they are. (0 more)
The film adaption was nothing like the book though that is usually an expected problem. The movie was light and almost whimsical, while the book is much darker, serious and almost sinister in nature. (0 more)
Good Witches based book!
I liked the book on a few different levels. Being a writer can be difficult, and she wrote in third person which to me can be very difficult.
 The mother is the main character because she overshadowed her daughter's actions (lives). It's about the Owen's family, mainly the sisters who resided in Massachusetts with their aunts. I love the themes of a family bond, they have to learn to appreciate each other and for who they are but also highlights the differences in the sisters. Learning that magic doesn't always fix everything. They use magic sparingly, only when they needed it.
 Alice made Fate a real and breathing thing, the secondary theme. If you haven't read the book, prepare yourself to have an open mind because the story is a bit darker than you would expect. It can be entirely entertaining towards the right audience.
  
You Were Never Really Here (2018)
You Were Never Really Here (2018)
2018 | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

"I was at Sundance for 36 hours this year and this was one of two movies I wasn’t going to leave without seeing. Lots of friends worked with Lynne Ramsey on this one, and told me tales of the production, and in other cases I can usually see such stories in the finished products. But not this one. This was its own untouchable thing, hovering far above from whatever means it took to make it, barely there and unbearably heavy at the very same time. I went to see it a second time opening weekend, and then listened to the score repeatedly until the movie itself was released on iTunes, at which point I let it become background music, playing on a loop as I drift around the house, hoping to subconsciously siphon off some of that tough magic."

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The Self-Working Trick (and Other Stories)
The Self-Working Trick (and Other Stories)
John Gaspard | 2022 | Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Eli Faces Crime in This Short Story Collection
For the eighth book in the Eli Marks series, author John Gaspard decided to present a short story collection. While two have been previously released, the rest of the twelve stories here are new. Over the course of this collection, Eli must help his ex-wife and her new husband figure out what happened in a bizarre murder/suicide case. Eli finds himself being questioned by the police when someone who gave him a one-star review is found dead. Eli finds himself being sent in by the police to perform magic for a man who refuses to come out of his house. And Eli and his uncle Harry figure out what happened to a man shot in front of a crowd on Halloween night.

While a couple of the stories don’t feature a crime, they still give us a great chance to see Eli in action and let us get some insight into his character. The rest of the stories feature a crime, often with a perfect puzzle that only makes sense when Eli uses his knowledge of the principles of magic to solve it. If you want to be fooled by magic, you’ll be happy to know that these principles are discussed in such a way that the solution to the mystery makes sense, but the specifics of how a trick works aren’t ruined. I love that. Fans will love getting these small glimpses of what else Eli has been up to between the big cases we’ve already read about. If you are new to the character, you’ll find the information you need to follow these cases with nothing from the regular novels spoiled. Most importantly, these stories are fun, with a few laughs along the way as well. This is a completely enjoyable short story collection.