This is a prequel to the better known Practical Magic, which I have not yet read. I am knocking a star off the rating, because it has that slight awkwardness of having to back into a previous opening, by their very nature, an issue with prequels. The prequel trilogy of Star Wars is a classic example. But it did make me want to read the original, so mission accomplished, I guess.
Magic Lessons covers three generations of a family of witches and their allies. Their powers are not flashy, but are primarily in the field of herbal remedies and love potions. There are also some of the more traditional attributes though, as in they cannot sink in water, and their touch turns silver black, but to the ordinary eye, they appear normal enough. But in the times in which they live, discretion is the key.
Maria Owens is abandoned in a snowy English field as an infant, with only her familiar, a crow, to watch over her. But like calls to like, and she is taken in by Hannah, a witch. It isn’t until she is nearly grown that she discovers her actual mother, who wants no part of her. From there, she escapes to the West Indies, then to colonial Salem, to New York, and then back to Salem again. For all her powers in matters of love, she has a difficult time applying it to herself, however, falling for the wrong one and not for the right one. Shoemakers’ children, I suppose.
But yeah, I will be looking into the next one.
