Abandoned as a baby, Maria Owens was found in a field by Hannah Owens. Hannah realized that Maria had gifts and trained her in the arts of witchcraft. These are mostly healing arts, but some black magic is there also. However, Hannah’s most important teaching is to love someone who will love you back.
Maria forgets Hannah’s advice when she follows her lover, John Hathorne to Salem, Mass. Maria is obsessed with Hathorne, rejected by him and distraught, she invokes a curse that will haunt her family for generations.
This book starts slowly, but the characters are so realistic you find connection to them and want to learn out more about their lives. This story, although filled with witchcraft, is mostly about love. Maria thinks she has found true love, but when abandoned she turns to obsession and fails to see the true love when she is presented with it.
The book is very well written. It’s filled with descriptions of spells, and magic recipes. It also has dark moments when the art of witchcraft delves into the darker aspects such as the pursuit of revenge. This is the prequel to Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. It is the beginning of the Owens story and leads the reader through the perilous times in first England and later in Salem, Massachusetts. As a prequel it can read as a standalone, but will encourage you to learn more about the Owens saga in the following books.
I received this book from Net Galley for this review.
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