Maria's curse is inspired in La Zokorra legend, a witch who lived two centuries ago in a town in Alava region. It's believed that she cursed the town's residents after they had humiliated and sent her off the town. According to written testimonials of that time, that lady really existed and even her address was known. However, weather the legend is read or unreal, today, while you are reading this novel, the consequences of that damnation are still being fulfilled: since then, every resident dies, two others die as well... Prepare yourself to feel the fear.
In the 1600s, Maria was abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. Under the care of Hannah Owens, who recognizes that Maria has a gift, she learns about the 'Unnamed Arts.' When Maria is abandoned by the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. She invokes a curse that will haunt her family for generations. And she learns the lesson that she will carry with her for the rest of her life: Love is the only thing that matters.
An instant New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick from beloved author Alice Hoffman—the spellbinding prequel to Practical Magic. Find your magic. For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk. From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever gone wrong, they uncover family secrets and begin to understand the truth of who they are. Yet, the children cannot escape love even if they try, just as they cannot escape the pains of the human heart. The two beautiful sisters will grow up to be the memorable aunts in Practical Magic, while Vincent, their beloved brother, will leave an unexpected legacy. Alice Hoffman delivers “fairy-tale promise with real-life struggle” (The New York Times Book Review) in a story how the only remedy for being human is to be true to yourself. Thrilling and exquisite, real and fantastical, The Rules of Magic is “irresistible…the kind of book you race through, then pause at the last forty pages, savoring your final moments with the characters” (USA TODAY, 4/4 stars).
Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an allying pirate clan: she wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to her handsome yet clueless fiance. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns the scorned clan has sent an assassin after her. And when the assassin, Naji, finally catches up with her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse — with a life-altering result. Now Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work together to break the curse and return their lives back to normal. Or at least as normal as the lives of a pirate and an assassin can be. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Master storyteller Alice Hoffman brings us the conclusion of the Practical Magic series in a spellbinding and enchanting final Owens novel brimming with lyric beauty and vivid characters. The Owens family has been cursed in matters of love for over three-hundred years but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured, when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has only seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger—the curse is already at work. A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women, and one long-lost brother, to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from them in matters of both magic and love by Sally, their fiercely protective mother. As Kylie Owens uncovers the truth about who she is and what her own dark powers are, her aunt Franny comes to understand that she is ready to sacrifice everything for her family, and Sally Owens realizes that she is willing to give up everything for love. The Book of Magic is a breathtaking conclusion that celebrates mothers and daughters, sisters and brothers, and anyone who has ever been in love.
Based on Portuguese legend, this #OwnVoices historical fantasy is an epic tale of mystery, magic, and making the impossible choice between love and duty... With just one touch, bread turns into roses. With just one bite, cheese turns into lilies. There’s a famine plaguing the land, and Princess Yzabel is wasting food simply by trying to eat. Before she can even swallow, her magic—her curse—has turned her meal into a bouquet. She’s on the verge of starving, which only reminds her that the people of Portugal have been enduring the same pain for years. If only it were possible to reverse her magic. Then she could turn flowers into food. Fatyan, a beautiful Enchanted Moura, is the only one who can help. But she is trapped by magical binds. She can teach Yzabel how to control her curse—if Yzabel sets her free with a kiss. As the King of Portugal’s betrothed, Yzabel would be committing treason, but what good is a king if his country has starved to death? With just one kiss, Fatyan is set free. And with just one kiss, Yzabel is yearning for more. She’d sought out Fatyan to help her save the people. Now, loving her could mean Yzabel’s destruction. A Curse of Roses includes themes, imagery, and content that might be triggering for some readers. Discussions of religious-based self harm, religious-based eating disorders, and religious-based internalized homophobia appear throughout the novel.
A book by Spain's greatest living writer weaves fiction and fact into a completely original and unforgettable hybrid. Called by its author a "false novel," Dark Back of Time begins with the tale of the odd effects of publishing All Souls, his witty and sardonic 1989 Oxford novel. All Souls is a book Marías swears to be fiction, but which its "characters"--the real-life dons and professors and bookshop owners who have "recognized themselves"--fiercely maintain to be a roman à clef. With the sleepy world of Oxford set into fretful motion by a world that never "existed," Dark Back of Time begins an odyssey into the nature of identity and of time. Marías weaves together autobiography, a legendary kingdom, strange ghostly literary figures, halls of mirrors, a one-eyed pilot, a curse in Havana, and a bullet lost in Mexico.
Stolen from Earth...only to learn she's not entirely human. Mina, a wife and mother, is snatched from her family and forced to serve the ruthless Lostai on a distant science station. The DNA of an evolved race known as Sotkari Ta lies dormant in her genes. The Lostai, determined to harness her latent telekinetic and telepathic abilities, push Mina through a brutal boot camp. Despite the hardships and abuse, Mina completes her training and is assigned her first mission, one that goes against her most basic principles. A mission she will not accept. If Mina is to escape the Lostai, she must trust an arrogant and unpleasant soldier whose morals seem questionable, at best. The strong attraction between them both annoys and unnerves her. Even if she gets away, she will need to survive in this alien environment while evading the Lostai. Will she ever make it back to Earth, or have her actions already changed her destiny and the fate of those who assist her?
Escaping New York after a client's untimely death, medium Adrianna Sinclair flees to her family property in Italy. All she wants is to avoid ghosts, but an attractive one tempts her in ways she never knew possible. Luca Fausto has been trapped on the Romani property for over a century for a crime he didn't commit. Adrianna may be the answer to breaking the curse that keeps him bound. Standing in their way is a demonic spirit's plan for revenge. Will they prevail or will Luca be cursed to the shadows forever?
"The author does an excellent job of bringing the Regency period to life in exquisite detail."--ParaYourNormal of A Devilish Slumber "This historical mystery/romance entertained and delighted me." -- bestselling author C.J. Anaya of A Devilish Slumber "A Beastly Scandal is full of mystery, murder, ghosts, love and happily eventually ever afters."-- Keeperbookshelf.com Who needs a prince, when you've got a huntsman? Nevara Wood is desperate to change her life. Plagued by shifting sight, which skews her normal vision and shows her disturbing visions, she's always felt odd and unlovable. And she greatly wants to be loved--especially by Mark Dimas, the man she has hero-worshiped since the day he saved her life. Her only chance at happiness lies in breaking the curse that afflicts her--and all clues to the source of her torment point to a town in Southern Spain. Unfortunately, her every attempt to travel to that war-ravaged continent is impeded by the very man whose love she wants to win . . . Mark Dimas Alvaro is the last in a line of wizards charged by his ancestor, a magical huntsman, to secretly protect Nevara's family. But Mark chafes at his role because it has cost him everyone he loves, most recently his beloved brother. He is certain that if Nevara would simply stay in England and not create any unnecessary magical waves, they could both survive for another generation. Instead, his stubborn charge's persistent investigation into her past lands Nevara in imminent danger. Mark instantly prepares to wage a magical war to protect the woman he has sworn to protect . . . and has come to deeply love. But Nevara's innocent probing has awoken an ancient evil that has held a grudge against her charmed family for three centuries. And it will do everything in its power to ensure that this princess never gets to live happily ever after . . . Once upon a time, Shereen read fantasy and romance novels to entertain herself. Now she writes heartwarming tales braided with threads of magic and love, and mystery elements woven in for good measure. She's a fan of resourceful women, intriguing men, and happily ever after endings. If her stories whisk you away to a different realm for a few hours, then Shereen will have achieved one of her life goals.
