Can the Practical Magic books be read as standalones?

Yes. While they are connected by family history and the Owens curse, each book has a self-contained story. However, reading them in publication or chronological order provides a much richer emotional experience.

Which Alice Hoffman book should I read first?

If you love magical realism and witchy stories, start with Practical Magic (1995) . If you prefer rich historical fiction, The Dovekeepers (2011) is her highly acclaimed masterpiece.

Is the movie Practical Magic the same as the book?

The 1998 movie adaptation starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman captures the witchy, sisterly essence of the book but changes several plot details, including adding a more dramatic climax and a different tone for the aunts.

Are there any upcoming books in the Practical Magic universe?

While the Owens family saga concluded in The Book of Magic , Alice Hoffman is launching a new connected coven series starting with The Witches of Cambridge , scheduled to release in September 2026 .

What is the Once Upon a Time Bookshop series about?

It is a series of cozy contemporary short stories ( The Bookstore Sisters , The Bookstore Wedding , and The Bookstore Keepers ) centered on two sisters saving a family bookshop on a Maine island.

Who wrote the books in the Inheritance Collection?

Although often listed under Alice Hoffman's name, the Inheritance Collection is an anthology by five different authors. Hoffman only wrote the first story, Everything My Mother Taught Me .

Alice Hoffman Books in Order

How to Read the Practical Magic Series

Alice Hoffman's most famous work is the Practical Magic series, which blends magical realism, family curses, and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood. Readers have two distinct and equally rewarding ways to experience the Owens family saga: by publication order or by chronological order.

Option 1: Publication Order (Recommended for First-Time Readers)

Reading in publication order allows you to experience the world exactly as Hoffman's readers did over the course of more than two decades. This path begins with the contemporary story of Sally and Gillian Owens before diving into the family's historical roots and the origin of their love curse.

Practical Magic (1995): The book that started it all. We meet sisters Sally and Gillian Owens, who are raised by their eccentric aunts in a small Massachusetts town. They must grapple with a centuries-old curse that brings tragedy to any man who falls in love with an Owens woman.
The Rules of Magic (2017): A prequel set in the 1960s. It focuses on the aunts from the first book—Franny and Jet—along with their brother Vincent, as they navigate their youth, discover their powers, and try to escape the family curse during a tumultuous era.
Magic Lessons (2020): Another prequel, taking us back to the very beginning in the 1600s. The novel tells the story of Maria Owens, the matriarch who first cast the love curse after being betrayed by her lover in Salem.
The Book of Magic (2021): The concluding novel in the main saga, which brings the family's story full circle. Three generations of Owens women come together to find a way to break the curse once and for all.

Option 2: Chronological Order

If you prefer to follow the Owens family timeline in linear fashion, start in the 17th century and work your way forward to the present day. This order is highly recommended for re-readers who want to see how the curse and family traits flow across generations.

Magic Lessons (2020) – Set in the 1600s (Maria Owens' story)
The Rules of Magic (2017) – Set in the 1960s (Franny, Jet, and Vincent's youth)
Practical Magic (1995) – Set in the late 20th century (Sally and Gillian's story)
The Book of Magic (2021) – Set in the modern era (The final showdown with the curse)

An Upcoming Expansion: The Lilith Society

For readers looking ahead, Hoffman is expanding her witchy universe with The Witches of Cambridge (scheduled for release in September 2026). Set in 1950s Massachusetts, it introduces Ava and Lauren at Radcliffe College as they are recruited into the Lilith Society, a secret coven with roots dating back to the colonial era. While it features a new cast of characters, it shares the same magical atmosphere and historical depth that fans of the Owens family adore.

The Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories

For a lighter, cozy contemporary read, Hoffman wrote a series of interconnected short stories set on the fictional Brinkley's Island in Maine. The series focuses on estranged sisters Isabel and Sophie Gibson, who inherit their family's beloved bookshop. These stories should be read in order of release:

The Bookstore Sisters (2022): Isabel returns to the island to help her sister Sophie save their family bookstore, forcing them to confront past misunderstandings.
The Bookstore Wedding (2024): Isabel plans her wedding to her childhood sweetheart, Johnny Lenox, amidst island-style complications.
The Bookstore Keepers (2025): Explores the lives of the sisters several years later as they face new milestones and family challenges.

Reader's Note: Hoffman also released a companion short story, The Bookstore Family (2025), which moves the action to Paris and follows Sophie's daughter, Violet, as she pursues her dreams of becoming a pâtissiere.

Water Tales and the Green Angel Series

Alice Hoffman has also written beautiful, emotionally resonant fiction for middle-grade and young adult readers.

Water Tales (Middle-Grade)

The Water Tales are two stand-alone stories that explore themes of friendship, magic, and the sea. They are often sold together in a single volume:

Aquamarine (2001): Two best friends discover a literal mermaid in a beach club pool during their last summer together. (Inspired the 2006 film adaptation).
Indigo (2002): Follows two brothers with webbed fingers and a dream of finding the ocean, exploring what it truly means to belong.

Green Angel (Young Adult)

A post-apocalyptic duology about trauma, healing, and resilience. The two books are sometimes compiled under the title Green Heart:

Green Angel (2003): Following a massive, city-destroying disaster that claims her family, a young girl named Green retreats into her garden and constructs a hard shell around her broken heart.
Green Witch (2010): Green begins to heal and sets out on a quest to compile the stories of local women labeled as witches, discovering her own inner strength.

Must-Read Standalone Novels and Historical Fiction

While the Owens family remains her most famous creation, Alice Hoffman has penned over 30 standalone novels. Here are the key highlights to add to your reading list:

The Dovekeepers (2011): A historical masterpiece focusing on the lives of four extraordinary women during the tragic siege of Masada in ancient Judea.
The Marriage of Opposites (2015): Set on the island of St. Thomas, this novel reimagines the youth of Rachel Pomie, who would become the mother of the famous Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro.
When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank Before the Diary (2024): Written in cooperation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, this novel explores Anne's life in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam before she and her family went into hiding.
The Invisible Hour (2023): A love letter to literature and libraries, telling the story of a young woman who escapes a cult and finds solace in the pages of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.

A Reader's Caveat: The Inheritance Collection

Some reading lists catalog the Inheritance Collection (2019) as a series of books written by Alice Hoffman. In reality, this is a multi-author Amazon Original Stories collection. Alice Hoffman wrote only the first story, Everything My Mother Taught Me, a haunting short story about a girl at a Massachusetts lighthouse in the early 1900s. The other four installments in the collection—Can You Feel This?, The Lion's Den, Zenith Man, and The Weddings—are written by Julie Orringer, Anthony Marra, Jennifer Haigh, and Alexander Chee, respectively.