Review: Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

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Series: The Beauchamp Family 1
Format: Digital
Excerpt here
Release Date: June 21, 2012
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

The three Beauchamp women--Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid--live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret--they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there's Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it's time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

I am a Melissa de la Cruz fan because of  her formidable female characters and though there are certain misgivings about her YA series, Blue Bloods because of it's snobby Upper East Side heroines, I have to say that WITCHES OF EAST END is a lot better in more ways than one.

There was something new and strange in town; something wicked this way had come.

The Beauchamps are a family of witches that can trace their origins to the Norse Gods of Asgard. Yup, that's why I am feeling this book because I'm still having hot flashes over Thor (CHemsworth) and anything Norse perks up my imagination. Flash forward to modern times and it looks like things are beyond resolved between these Gods. Odin might be sleeping but Balder, Loki and the rest of their lot are stirring up trouble here in Midgard.

Joanna, Freya and Ingrid are women that we probably can relate to in some ways: they have vanities, troubled in finding relationships or keeping one, I for one felt like Ingrid's story was mine. Their character flaws make them human and very much like the pagan gods they were based on: impulsive, jealous, sexual and often reckless. At first I thought that the book will be a lot like that movie Practical Magic (Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, 1998) but it turned out to be this clever, sexy mystery/adventure story that kept me glued to the pages. I'm surprised that it did so considering my reader's fatigue, ha! 

She looked, for lack of a better word, ripe. Sex seemed to ooze from every pore, to slither from every inch of her glorious curves.

This is NOT a YA series, Melissa mentioned in her Amazon interview that The Beauchamp Family Series is intended for her Blue Bloods fans who have grown up and are looking for a more mature read. And boy did she deliver it. If you have trepidation about the "snob" factor similar to Blue Bloods, I'm happy to tell you that it's nonexistent here. Joanna is a housewife, Freya a bartender and Ingrid a librarian, so though powerful, they pretty much live a simple life. There is a Blue Blood crossover but it's immaterial to the story but it's more of a cameo appearance, really.

The ending is a cliffhanger and I am glad that the second book, Serpent's Kiss is coming out next week! Freya is in for a big mess and her hand will be forced to choose between her family and her destined mate. Don't you just love forbidden love minus the love triangle! 

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