Thursday, September 17, 2020

Where Is Your Bookmark? (Then and Now - A Peek Into Rules of Magic)

I had hoped to crack my current read open sooner than I actually managed to, but personal reading time seems to be in short supply these days. My daughter and I have been reading more together again (yay!) and have gotten into The Haunted Library series by Dori Hillestad Butler. We also discovered the Whatever After series by Sarah Mlynowski, which Mouse insists we read more of--and soon.    

My personal bookmark is in The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman at the moment. I really hope I can carve out some quality reading time soon! I am enjoying what I have read so far.

For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. 

Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk. 

From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Back in New York City each begins a risky journey as they try to escape the family curse. 

The Owens children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the revered, and sometimes feared, aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy. [Goodreads Summary]



A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

Once upon a time, before the whole world changed, it was possible to run away from home, disguise who you were, and fit into polite society. [opening of The Rules of Magic]

Initial Thoughts: I cannot tell if it is my enjoyment of Hoffman's writing or the opening itself that has me settling in right away for a well-written story. In terms of the opening line itself, it really does seem like "once upon a time" when thinking of being able to disappear like that.With social media and technology today, it takes a lot of effort to completely disappear and start again even putting on a new persona. 




A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.


As it happened, Franny soon found herself pulled into consciousness in the middle of the night, awaking with a gasp. It was as if someone had reached into her soul and grabbed her to pull her from her sleep. Her name had been spoken, although how, and by whom, she had no idea. [excerpt from page 56 of The Rules of Magic]

My thoughts: I have had that feeling before, although I imagine it is for different reasons than it is for Franny. I wonder what woke her up? And what will she decides to find out?


Does The Rules of Magic sound like something you would like to read? What are you reading right now? 
A weekly meme in which readers look at what they were reading 
last year at this time and compare it to what they are reading now.  
Hosted by the great Maria from ReadingMaria.

In honor of Readers Imbibing Peril XV (R.I.P. XV) this year, I thought a book involving witches would be a great way to go. Anyone who knows me well knows how much I enjoy reading stories involving witches. And so at the beginning of the month, I enlisted you all to help me pick this month's TBR List book, and Alice Hoffman's The Rules of Magic won. I am not too far into it, but I have high hopes given how much I have enjoyed Hoffman's writing in the past. 

This time last year, I needed something light after reading a couple of dark reads in a row so turned to rom-com Well Met by Jen DeLuca, and what a delight it was! It is set around a Renaissance Faire, which just adds to the novel's charm. I definitely need more books like this in my life right no (Maybe the sequel, Well Played will be in my near future?). You can find my bookish thoughts on Well Met here.

 
These two books are quite a bit different from one another in terms of subject matter, although both focus some on characters carving out new paths for themselves in their lives. Having not gotten far into The Rules of Magic, it is hard to compare too much. I loved one and hope to love the other. 


What was the last book you read this past year around this time? How does it compare to your current read? Have you read Well Met? If so, what did you think?
*                    *                    *

A glimpse into what I was reading 5 years ago: 

 The Other Daughter by Lauren Willig











 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!


© 2020, Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

34 comments:

  1. Well Met is one of my favorite books. It's such a fun story.

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  2. I enjoyed The Rules of Magic...and love the thought of running away right now!!

    Here's mine: “CUSTODY”

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    1. Laurel-Rain - I am glad you enjoyed The Rules of Magic. I am enjoying it also! Thank you for stopping by.

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  3. It's definitely both Alice Hoffman's superb writing style and the opening lines that will get you settled in a reading mode. I loved The Rules of Magic a tad bit more than Practical Magic. One of her bests!

    Enjoy it! Happy weekend and here's my Weekend Book Friends #9

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    1. Elza - I am enjoying The Rules of Magic. I really like Hoffman's writing. Thank you for visiting!

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  4. Definitely a book I'd pick up, The Rules of Magic sounds like my kind of read.

    A quick search and hey presto! I was reading ... Sue Townsend's The Women Who Went To Bed For A Year at this time (more or less) last year.

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    1. Felicity - If you do read The Rules of Magic, I hope you enjoy it. I like the title of the book you were reading last year. Sometimes I wish I could go to bed for a year . . . Thank you for visiting!

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  5. I want to read Rules of Magic. It's on my wishlist! Happy weekend!

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    1. Freda - I hope you get a chance to! Thank you for stopping by!

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  6. I haven't read those. I hope you have a god weekend.

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    1. Mary - I hope you had a good weekend too. Thank you for visiting!

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  7. I haven't read that Alice Hoffman yet, but I did really like Practical Magic. And I loved Well Met and am looking forward to reading the sequel as soon as it comes in to my library. :)

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  8. I loved The Other Daughter! I had forgotten about that one. My reading comes in waves. Some weeks I read a lot and others almost nothing but I'm hoping I'll get some reading in too! Maybe it'll be a good reading week for both of us. Read alouds are a really wonderful thing! Glad you and Mouse have found some books you're enjoying.

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    1. Katherine - I loved it too. :-) Hopefully we will be able to get more reading in soon. Thank you for visiting!

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  9. The Rules of Magic sounds interesting - I keep hearing about it and I feel like I should pick it up one day. Have a great weekend!

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    1. Eustacia - I really like Hoffman's writing style and am enjoying The Rules of Magic. If you do decide to read it, I hope you will like it. Thank you for stopping by!

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  10. Eleanor and I recently finished the Haunted Library series. She loved it because she loves all things ghosts, but I admit that I kind of really hated it. The 'ghost terminology' was annoying to me and Kaz was such a whiner! We also just finished the Araminta Spookie series which is FANTASTIC, and your girl might like it if she is liking Kaz and Company.

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    1. Sarah - I am glad you and Eleanor enjoyed The Haunted Library series. It's a fun little series. I'll have to look into the Araminta Spookie series for her. Thanks for the recommendation! Thank you for visiting!

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  11. I'm not super into magic, but I enjoyed Well Met when I read it last year. Those two books are quite different.

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    1. Helen - Yes, they are quite different from one another. Thank you for stopping by!

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  12. The Rules of magic has been such great reviews — it’s absolutely one I want to read.

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    1. Verushka - I hope you enjoy it when you read it! Thank you for visiting!

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  13. Alice Hoffman helped me understand magic realism. Glad you had a chance to read her work.

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    1. Trin Carl - She brought me back to it after another book almost ruined magical realism for me. Thank you for stopping by!

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  14. Enjoy The Rules of Magic, it sounds good. My reading sucks this year unfortunately. I'm now in the middle of reading The Mist for R.I.P. which is a King novella and it's good so far.
    I've read Lauren Willig before and enjoyed her work.

    Happy reading this week!

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    1. Naida - I am glad you are enjoying The Mist. I find reading a challenge this year too. Thank you for visiting!

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  15. I really enjoyed both The Rules of Magic and Well Met. I actually just finished Well Played yesterday and thought it was a great continuation of the series. Makes me miss going to Ren Faires.

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    1. Suzanne - I am nearly finished with The Rules of Magic and am enjoying it so much. I love Hoffman's writing. I am glad to hear you enjoyed Well Played. I can't wait to read it! Thank you for stopping by!

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  16. I've heard a lot of good things about The Rules of Magic. Need to get to it someday. And I loved Well Met. Hopefully the next book will be just as good!

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    1. Melody - I hope you enjoy The Rules of Magic if you read it, Melody! Thank you for visiting!

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