For more than two hundred years, the Owens women had been blamed for everything that went wrong in their Massachusetts town. And Gillian and Sally endured that fate as well; as children, the sisters were outsiders. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, but all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape. One would do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they shared brought them back-almost as if by magic…

My rating:  4.5 stars out of a scale of 5

My review: I read this book for the Terryville Library’s Fiction Lover’s Book Discussion group discussion for this month (October). This book was about Gillian and Sally Owens, sisters who go to live with their elderly aunts in Massachusetts after their parents death. Gillian and Sally are as different as two sisters can be, but it is their status in the town that ostracizes them from society and forces them to be closer than they might have otherwise. Because there’s something different about Gillian and Sally and their aunts too – they’re all Owens women and they’re all witches. As Sally and Gillian grew into women, neither of them end up where they thought they would be. Sally lives in NY with her 2 daughters and hasn’t seen her sister in years, though they talk on the phone regularly. And Gillian moves through relationships at break neck speed until she meets the one that can make her stay, even though he’s a heartless abusive bastard. And then one night Gillian shows up at Sally’s house with a dead guy in the car, and both sisters lives are changed.
Overall I really liked this book. I’ve read this one before and it was actually my book club pick for this month. This is one of my favorite books of all time, I love how magical it is. For any of you that have seen the movie, the book is very different from the movies. The story lines are very different but I’ve always felt like the idea behind the story line stayed true. I like that the book went into more detail with all of their lives, including Sally’s daughters. There is magic and danger and romance all combined in a great story about love family. This is a great read and I would recommend, especially for those who like a touch of magic in their reads.

The bottom line: I love this book, it is probably my all-time favorite book. It is very different than the movie but I love both the book and the movie! A great read and I would definitely recommend.

Link to author website

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