Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released.
The Invisible Hour by Alice Hoffman
Standalone, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism
eBook, Hardcover, Audiobook, 272 pages
August 15, 2023 by Atria Books
Blurb:
From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage of Opposites and the Practical Magic series comes an enchanting novel about love, heartbreak, self-discovery, and the enduring magic of books.
One brilliant June day when Mia Jacob can no longer see a way to survive, the power of words saves her. The Scarlet Letter was written almost two hundred years earlier, but it seems to tell the story of Mia’s mother, Ivy, and their life inside the Community—an oppressive cult in western Massachusetts where contact with the outside world is forbidden, and books are considered evil. But how could this be? How could Nathaniel Hawthorne have so perfectly captured the pain and loss that Mia carries inside her?
Through a journey of heartbreak, love, and time, Mia must abandon the rules she was raised with at the Community. As she does, she realizes that reading can transport you to other worlds or bring them to you, and that readers and writers affect one another in mysterious ways. She learns that time is more fluid than she can imagine, and that love is stronger than any chains that bind you.
As a girl Mia fell in love with a book. Now as a young woman she falls in love with a brilliant writer as she makes her way back in time. But what if Nathaniel Hawthorne never wrote The Scarlet Letter? And what if Mia Jacob never found it on the day she planned to die?
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote: “A single dream is more powerful than a thousand realities.”
This is the story of one woman’s dream. For a little while it came true.
Why I Want to Read The Invisible Hour:
I’ll admit, the cover drew me in first. It reminds me of fall, my favorite season. But then I read the blurb and it sounded, while not what I usually read, really interesting. A book about falling in love with books and how a book can help you escape from the world around you as well as a love story? I’m in.
Will you be checking this one out? Have you read books by this author? I keep meaning to read Practical Magic by her but I love the movie and it’s usually love the movie hate the book or vise versa, rarely love both so I think I should start something wholly different by her first. What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?
Taylor Fenner's Bookish World 
It’s a lovely cover! I couldn’t get on with Practical Magic – I don’t like her style of storytelling, although her ideas are always compelling and original. I very much hope you enjoy it.
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I am not sure, I think this book does sound interesting, not my normal genre. But it still peeks my interest for some reason. Thanks for sharing, Taylor. Have a great day 😊
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I think I will look into this book. I used to be a huge Hawthorne fan when I was in school so I am now intrigued.
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