Releasing Tomorrow: The Invisible Hour

I previously reviewed this book in July exclusively for our Patreon community. The Invisible Hour releases tomorrow and I’m sharing my full review with our readers here, too!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Mia has lived in a world without books her entire life.  The leader of the commune has rules against outside influences like literature, art, and music, but Mia tends to push the boundaries of those rules.  While in town running the farm stand one day, Mia sneaks into the library to see what it’s really like.  That act of disobedience would change Mia’s world.  She would find herself running from the commune leader for years and finding her way to a world filled with magic.

Best-selling author Alice Hoffman is back with a new novel showcasing her unique take on female relationships and the underlying magic that surrounds each of our lives.  The Invisible Hour is an ode to the power of well written literature and how one book can open the world to a reader.  This novel is a love story to female strength and independence.  Hoffman’s skills with magic are showcased in the later chapters of the novel as Mia time travels to be with her true love – author Nathaniel Hawthorne.

I give The Invisible Hour 4 out of 5 stars.  Hoffman has woven threads of magic throughout Mia’s life, pulling together each encounter and event so they feel intentionally placed and far from random.  It is a reminder about the sacrifices women make both from their own choices, and that of the men who influence their lives.  Hoffman includes many well researched details of Hawthorne’s life and folds them into Mia’s story seamlessly.  However, the book at times felt like a political statement.  Book burning and bans are central to the control aspect in the commune, and there are several conversations around women’s reproductive rights and ability to control their own futures.

If you love Alice Hoffman’s other works like Practical Magic and The Marriage of Opposites, you will enjoy this book!  Her writing style is unique and shines in this new release.  I would recommend this book as a book club read, or a book for girls’ weekend getaway.  This would also make a great choice for readers who enjoy historical fiction with the sections on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s life.  Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a supporting character throughout the novel and readers who enjoyed his work will like this book, too.

This is another book I requested to review solely based on the author.  Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic series has been a favorite of mine for many years.  The concept of this book struck me as very interesting – a girl falls in love with an author because his best-known book mirrors her mother’s life.  I was not disappointed!  Hoffman also leaves us on a bit of a cliffhanger with this book…could there be a sequel in the works?

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What I’m Reading

• Current print book: The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise, Colleen Oakley
• Current audio book: Vincent and Theo, Deborah Heiligman
• Book I’m most looking forward to: Bright Lights, Big Christmas, Mary Kay Andrews