Page-turning ... Hoffman is not afraid to use a healthy dollop of deus ex machina to keep her complicated story moving. And move it does — though for the first 100 or so pages, readers get bogged down in detailed, sometimes confusing, back stories of a sprawling cast of characters ... The book finds its zing ... If the ending feels overly tidy, well, fairy tales don’t enchant with nuance so much as the sweep of their stories. And, like the witches who populate her stories, Hoffman certainly knows how to enchant.
Hoffman brings the Owens family full circle in a tale of finely wrought female relationships, magic, and love. The generations reflect a societal refrain: the younger ones are headstrong and heedless; the elders are stoic and self-sacrificing, their characters and characterization stronger. The result is a magical realist tale rich in fresh Owens clan lore, providing a hopeful and satisfying conclusion to Hoffman’s beloved Practical Magic series.
This page-turning Atlantic-crossing caper is, above all, a paean to family love ... With QAnon, modern America is again in a grip of witch-fever. But these fast fairytales for grown-ups are full of enchanting comfort — more escapist cure than curse.
Illuminating ... Though the accounts of bloodlines and varied relationships can be confusing, the story brims with bewitching encounters and suspenseful conflicts revolving around good magic versus bad magic. Hoffman brings satisfying closure to the Owens saga.
... a novel overripe with plot twists, lofty romances, and some ugly violence along with detailed magic recipes, enjoyably sly literary references, and somewhat repetitive memories of key moments from the previous volumes ... Hoffman strongly hints that the danger arising when someone chooses incorrectly is less a matter of magic than psychology and morality. Ultimately, for better or worse, each Owens woman must face her fear of love. For all the talk of magic, the message here is that personal courage and the capacity to love are the deepest sources of an individual’s power ... An overly rich treacle tart, sweet and flavorful but hard to get through.
