Magic Lessons

 What a great book to start off with for 2021!  I loved Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman which, of course, isn't surprising since I love all of her books.  This book is a prequel to Practical Magic by her.

Magic Lessons begins the story of the Owens women and the beginnings of the Owen curse.  Maria Owens was given up as an infant and was raised by Hannah Owens. Hannah taught Maria the Nameless Gift as she realized that Maria also had the gift. After Hannah was killed, Maria was soon sent to Curacao in servitude until she reached the age of sixteen. As she was leaving England, she vowed that love would never rule her life, after observing her mother's mistakes. But,alas, she did fall in love in Curacao.

"Any woman can make a mistake, especially when she is young, and sees the wrong man through a haze so that he appears to be something he's not."

Maria's lover returned home to Boston, and never contacted Maria. When Maria completed her servitude time, she boarded a ship to go find her lover and introduce him to his daughter. On the ship, she met Samuel Dais, who she nursed back to health on the voyage. Maria and Samuel fell in love with each other, although neither would share their feelings with the other.

The rest of the story takes place in Essex County, where Maria raised her daughter, Faith.

Ms. Hoffman's writing is stunning in every book of hers that I have read, and this book was no exception.

In one of Faith's dreams:

"She heard her mother tell her that when you were loved by someone, you never lost them, no matter what might happen next. Despite the curse, despite the losses you might endure, she knew now that love was the only thing that lasted. It was inside you and with you for all eternity."

And Samuel's father telling Maria as he was dying:

"When you fall in love like that, time doesn't matter.  This was the secret he told Maria, the last words he ever said. 

What belonged to you once, will always belong to you.

Be grateful if you have walked through the world with another's heart in your  hand."

This book is such a good story and a great prequel! I highly recommend it!