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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Rules of Magic in Books

Feb 19, 2018  
The Rules of Magic
The Rules of Magic
Alice Hoffman | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.6 (14 Ratings)
Book Rating
So I actually didn't know that Practical Magic the movie was based on a book. But when I saw The Rules of Magic billed as the prequel to a movie I had loved, I knew I had to read it. And I'm so glad I did. The Rules of Magic is, well, magical. Magical and nostalgic and spell-binding. Most book worlds feel different than their respective movie-worlds, but this felt like a logical prequel. (It may be because I haven't seen the movie in some time - I intend to remedy that soon, and I might just have to read the book as well.)

Practical Magic, the well known movie with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, centers around the two girls and their elderly aunts. The Rules of Magic is the aunts' story. And what a story. It begins in New York, as the older of the two aunts is turning 17. On an Owens' girl's seventeenth birthday, they receive an invitation to spend the summer at the Owens home in Massachusetts. Frances, the older of the two girls, receives the invitation, and her two siblings won't let her go alone, so all three of them (yes, three, the movie doesn't mention their brother that I recall, though I suppose Bullock and Kidman's characters had to come from somewhere!) pack up and head to Massachusetts, where they meet their Aunt Isabelle. Over the course of the summer, they learn their family history, and get verification that they are indeed witches. (They'd had certain powers throughout childhood, though their mother tried to deny it.)

It was Vincent's storyline that intrigued me, since I knew where Frances and Jet ended up. There was an unexpected curveball that I won't spoil here, but I enjoyed it. It was Jet and Frances' storylines that had me crying at the end of the book, though. Not the very last chapter - it ended on a hopeful note - but the few chapters preceding it had me in tears. (It was midnight, and everyone else was asleep, so I had myself a good cry over my book, and then had to try to sleep on a wet pillow.)

If you enjoyed Practical Magic the movie, you should read this book. It's a perfect prequel.

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
  
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David McK (3557 KP) rated The Long Earth in Books

Jan 28, 2019  
The Long Earth
The Long Earth
Terry Pratchett, Stephen Baxter | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry
4
7.7 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Terry Pratchett has long been one of my favourite authors; I don't think I've ever really read any of Stephen Baxter.

I do know that Pratchett has collaborated with other authors before - Neil Gaiman springs immediately to mind (<i>Good Omens</i>) - but Pratchett is better known for his series of Discworld books. Unfortunately, Discworld this ain't: slow moving with not much happening and might as well end with three little words: To Be Continued ...

Truth be told, on reading this it didn't really get much of a Pratchett 'feel' to the story - there was only occassional hints of his touch on the contents. I can't speak for how much it felt like a Baxter work, not having read many of his before, but if this <b>is</b> predominately his feel, and based purely on this one book, he's not an author I would be looking out for.

In short: disappointing.
  
    Healthy Mind Fit Body

    Healthy Mind Fit Body

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    Podcast

    This podcast is based on the book by the same name, found on http://www.healthymindfitbody.com that...