Practical Magic Book Series by Alice Hoffman: Reviews & Books in Order
With Practical Magic 2 arriving in theaters, there has never been a better time to fall back under the spell of the Owens family.
If you love the original Practical Magic movie—or you’re just discovering Sally, Gillian, the Owens women, and their wonderfully complicated relationship with love and magic—you may be surprised to learn that Alice Hoffman’s story extends far beyond the original novel.
There are four books in the Practical Magic series, spanning hundreds of years of Owens family history. Together they tell the story of the family curse, the women who came before Sally and Gillian, and what ultimately happens to the Owens family after Practical Magic.
And yes: if you’re excited about Practical Magic 2, there is one book in particular you’ll want to read.
How Many Practical Magic Books Are There?
There are four books in Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic series:
| Publication Order | Book | Published |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Practical Magic | 1995 |
| 2 | The Rules of Magic | 2017 |
| 3 | Magic Lessons | 2020 |
| 4 | The Book of Magic | 2021 |
The Practical Magic book series by Alice Hoffman includes four novels spanning generations of the Owens family, and there are two different ways to read the Practical Magic books in order. Alice Hoffman says readers can enjoy the series either in publication order or in chronological story order.
Practical Magic Books in Publication Order
1. Practical Magic
Practical Magic is where it all began.
The novel follows sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, who have spent their lives surrounded by rumors about the women in their family. For generations, the Owens women have been blamed whenever something goes wrong in their Massachusetts town.
Raised by their eccentric aunts in a house filled with black cats, unusual concoctions, and whispers of witchcraft, Sally and Gillian both grow up wanting to escape the family’s reputation—and the magic that comes with it.
But no matter how far they go, their bond with one another and their connection to the Owens family eventually pull them back.
The book blends magical realism, sisterhood, love, grief, family, and everyday life in a way that feels both witchy and wonderfully cozy.
If you know Practical Magic primarily from the 1998 movie starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, expect some differences. The novel gives you much more time inside the Owens family and has Alice Hoffman’s distinctive dreamy, lyrical style.
Read this if you love: sister stories, magical realism, family curses, small-town witchiness, and complicated love.
2. The Rules of Magic
The Rules of Magic takes us backward in time.
This prequel follows Franny, Jet, and Vincent Owens as they grow up in New York during the 1960s.
If you loved Aunt Frances and Aunt Jet in Practical Magic, this is the book that lets you finally understand who they were before they became Sally and Gillian’s mysterious aunts.
The three Owens siblings have grown up knowing that they’re different. Their mother has rules designed to keep them safe—including one very important warning:
Love is dangerous for an Owens.
But telling someone not to fall in love has never been particularly effective.
This book digs much deeper into the Owens family curse and shows how love, loss, family, and magic shaped Frances and Jet long before the events of Practical Magic.
Alice Hoffman describes The Rules of Magic as the prequel to Practical Magic, and it became a Reese’s Book Club pick after its release.
Read this if you loved: the aunts in the original story, 1960s settings, family sagas, bittersweet romance, and learning the history behind a beloved fictional family.
3. Magic Lessons
If The Rules of Magic takes you into the Owens family’s past, Magic Lessons takes you all the way back to the beginning.
This is the story of Maria Owens, the ancestor responsible for beginning the family legacy we eventually see in Practical Magic.
Set centuries before Sally and Gillian are born, Magic Lessons explores Maria’s life, her knowledge of magic and the natural world, and the love that eventually shapes generations of Owens women.
It also gives much greater meaning to the curse that hangs over the family throughout the series.
If you’re fascinated by the mythology of Practical Magic—rather than only the modern-day romance—this may be one of the most interesting books in the series.
Read this if you love: historical fiction, witch trials, herbal magic, strong women, family origins, and stories about how legends begin.
4. The Book of Magic
And then everything comes full circle.
The Book of Magic returns to the Owens family after the events of Practical Magic and serves as the conclusion to Alice Hoffman’s four-book series.
The Owens family has lived under its curse for more than three hundred years, but now several generations of the family come together in an attempt to finally break it.
Sally is back.
Franny is back.
The younger Owens generation becomes increasingly important.
And secrets about both magic and love that have been hidden within the family finally begin coming into the open.
Alice Hoffman describes The Book of Magic as the conclusion of the Practical Magic series, following three generations of Owens women as they attempt to break the family’s centuries-old curse.
And this book is especially relevant right now because…
Which Book Is Practical Magic 2 Based On?
Practical Magic 2 is based on The Book of Magic.
Alice Hoffman’s official website specifically identifies the new movie as being based on the final novel in the series.
The movie reunites Sandra Bullock as Sally Owens and Nicole Kidman as Gillian Owens, with Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing also returning. The sequel introduces a new generation of the Owens family as well, including characters played by Joey King and Maisie Williams.
Practical Magic 2 is scheduled to open in theaters on September 10, 2026.
That makes The Book of Magic the obvious book to pick up if the new movie has you wanting more Owens family history.
Do You Need to Read The Book of Magic Before Practical Magic 2?
Probably not.
The original Practical Magic movie worked perfectly well for viewers who had never read Alice Hoffman’s novel, and I would expect the sequel to be designed the same way.
But if you’re a reader who loves knowing the deeper story behind a movie, I would absolutely read The Book of Magic.
You’ll understand much more about the Owens family history, Sally’s children, the family curse, and where Hoffman ultimately takes these characters.
The only problem?
Reading The Book of Magic first means jumping to the end of the series.
So if you have the time, I think there’s an even better way.
What Is the Best Order to Read the Practical Magic Books?
Alice Hoffman herself says either order works. You can read them as they were published, or chronologically according to when the stories take place.
Publication order:
Practical Magic → The Rules of Magic → Magic Lessons → The Book of Magic
Chronological order:
Magic Lessons → The Rules of Magic → Practical Magic → The Book of Magic
For a first-time reader, I recommend publication order.
Starting with Practical Magic lets you meet the Owens family the way readers originally did. Then the two prequels gradually reveal the history behind the people, magic, and curse you already know.
Finally, The Book of Magic brings everything together.
There’s something especially satisfying about discovering the family secrets backward before returning to Sally and the later generations for the finale.
Should You Read Practical Magic If You’ve Already Seen the Movie?
Yes.
And I say that even if you’ve watched the movie approximately one hundred times every October.
The movie and novel share the Owens sisters, their magical family, and many of the themes people love about Practical Magic, but reading the book gives you a different experience.
Alice Hoffman’s writing is much more interested in generations, relationships, family history, the everyday presence of magic, and the complicated ways people love each other.
The movie may be what made many of us fall in love with the Owens women.
The books let you live with them much longer.
Why the Practical Magic Series Is the Perfect Fall Read
There are certain books that simply belong to a season.
For me, the Practical Magic series belongs to fall.
It’s black cats and old houses.
Herbs growing in gardens.
Women with complicated family histories.
Love spells.
Generational secrets.
A little darkness.
A little romance.
And that wonderful feeling that perhaps there’s something magical happening just underneath ordinary life.
What I especially love about the series is that the magic never completely overshadows the people.
These are ultimately stories about sisters, mothers, daughters, love, grief, family, and the things women pass from one generation to another.
That’s what gives the series so much more staying power than simply being a collection of witchy books.
Which Practical Magic Book Should You Read First?
If you’ve never read any of them, start with Practical Magic.
If you’ve seen the original movie and mostly want to prepare for Practical Magic 2, go straight to The Book of Magic.
If you want to experience the entire Owens family story from beginning to end, start with Magic Lessons and read chronologically.
And if you want my preferred experience?
Read them in publication order:
Practical Magic → The Rules of Magic → Magic Lessons → The Book of Magic.
Then make midnight margaritas, rewatch the original movie, and head into Practical Magic 2 fully prepared.
Final Thoughts on the Practical Magic Book Series
The Practical Magic series is so much bigger than the story most of us first discovered through the movie.
Across four novels, Alice Hoffman traces generations of the Owens family and explores where their magic came from, why love became so complicated for them, and what happens when later generations finally confront the legacy they’ve inherited.
You get witches and spells, but you also get family history, sisterhood, heartbreak, resilience, romance, and women learning to embrace the very things they’ve been taught to fear about themselves.
With Practical Magic 2 bringing Sally, Gillian, and the Owens family back to the big screen, this feels like the perfect time to begin the books—or read them all over again.
Because there really is something about fall that makes you want to return to the Owens women.
And maybe grow some rosemary by your garden gate while you’re at it.
