Review: Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

Book Blurb: 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. With a brand-new cast of characters, a fascinating and fresh world to discover, and a few surprise appearances from some of the Blue Blood fan favorites, this is a page-turning, deliciously fun, magical summer read fraught with love affairs, witchcraft, and an unforgettable battle between good and evil. My Review: 3 Out Of 5 Stars

Genre: Witches, Supernatural-- The Beauchamp women, Joanna, Ingrid and Freya, live normal lives in the small town of North Hampton. But they are anything but normal. They are part of the mythical Asgardians, Gods to some, but known as witches to most. They have been banned from practicing magic of any kind, but when mysterious and deadly occurrences start to take place in their town, the three throw rules aside and get involved to stop the evil. I will admit to having watched the television show first and really enjoyed it. When the show got cancelled after a cliffhanger at the end of the second season I was super bummed and thought I could read the books to find out what happened next in the show. Well, let me tell you that was a totally hopeless endeavor since the book and the television show have absolutely nothing in common except the name of the three characters and that they can do magic. They looked absolutely nothing like the women in the show, which is such a small thing but completely threw me. There are a few little things here and there, like names and relationships, but not enough to make it the same, especially the plot. I am not sure where the show’s plot came from because it most certainly was not from the book. I will admit to being a little disappointed with the book because I had certain expectations that were not necessarily fulfilled. Maybe I would have enjoyed the book more if I had started with it, but that ship has sailed. I found that the book had a very slow start to it. The story alternates point of view between the three women, showing their personalities and life in the town. I was a little bored with the book until about disk 5 (I listened to the audiobook, and there were 7 disks total) so that was about two thirds of the book. The plot picked up and things got anxious and exciting and I was finally drawn into the story, where I found myself finding reasons to run errands so I could spend more quality time listening to the book. It could be my fault that the book was slow since I have a harder time getting into audiobooks than I do an actual book. I will give the narrator props since she did a good job of reading the story without over the top character voices or strange pronunciations which drive me insane. I was a little surprised with how nicely the story wrapped up, having a quick solution and everything coming together for all the characters. After all the buildup, I guess I was expecting a final battle or at least something a tad more complicated. There was quite a bomb dropped at the epilogue, enough to peak my interest and want to see how it plays out in the next book. I think I will read the next book in the series, but it is not at the top of my list.