Two Dogs and a Book

The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman My rating: 4 of 5 stars I received a copy of this book from Simon & Schuster Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Rules of Magic is the story of three siblings whose family has been cursed by an ancestor. The Owens are witches and warlocks and they have been forbidden to fall in love. If they do, the person they love will die. The story follows the three siblings from their early teens to their adulthood. They will all fall in love. One will see the curse first hand. One will die to trick the curse. One will live to trick the curse. At first, I thought this book was written for young adults, but as I progressed in the story, I realized adults would enjoy it too. Alice Hoffman addresses many 60's taboos in this book and injects historical factoids here and there to keep the story grounded. This is the prequel to Practical Magic published in 1995. I am off to read this book next to know

Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker by Gregory Maguire My rating: 3 of 5 stars Are you a fan of Brothers Grimm and E. T. A. Hoffmann stories? If you are, you will like this book. Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker is a beautiful and often sad story of Dirk Drosselmeier's life. As a child, Dirk dies and visits an enchanted forest. The great god Pan gives him a second chance and returns Dirk to life with the mission to find a home for the enchanted forest. This purpose is quickly put far aside as Dirk grows up and learns to navigate the world in all his naivety. Eventually, he becomes the godfather of Klara, the grand-daughter of his best friend Felix. On a Christmas Eve, Dirk gives a Nutcracker to Klara to protect her from the seven-head king mouse. If you know the Nutcracker story, you know what happened. This book explains the origin of the Nutcracker, but, in my opinion, the true story is about Dirk fulfilling h