Book Review: Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

 

Goodreads Summary: 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.

Goodreads Ratings: 3.52 stars with over 19,000 ratings

Genre Listing: Fantasy, Witches, Paranormal, Fiction, Romance, Magic, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural

Goodreads Challenge: 15/48

2022 Reading Challenge: #44 Read a book that a movie/show you've watched is based on but have yet to read (example: Watched The Hobbit, but never read the Hobbit) ( Find the entire challenge here)

Book Review:

Hello, readers! I hope everyone is doing well. I just finished up a Buffy the Vampire binge with Tress. We finished up season three. I'm excited to start in on Angel's spinoff. Also, fun news. Tress is coming out to visit during our birthday week in July. I'm very excited, and we have a fun thing planned for our respective blogs. Stay tuned!

Okay, so on to Witches of East End. I watched the show a few years ago and loved it. I'm super bummed that there were only two seasons. As usually with adaptations, the book is better, and there was a lot in the show that wasn't in the book and vice versa. I'm curious to read the other two books to see if any of the show stuff was from the rest of the series. 

I was instantly drawn to this book. I think a lot of that was I already felt so familiar with the characters because of the show. The book itself is actually pretty short. I think it's around 270 pages. There was a lot of story crammed into those few pages with a connection to Norse Mythology that I didn't expect. It was interesting but felt a little misplaced. I think it was mainly because the ending, where a lot of it is, was so rushed. There was so much buildup to the weird toxicity that was going on in the town, then the last 60 pages just felt too cleanly wrapped up. It was more tell than show, so it felt like I was just getting a recap.

I really enjoyed the magic aspect of Witches of East End. I liked how Joanna, Freya, and Ingrid had their own magic brand. I thought there was a lot of really good explaining of what they could do. I think their magic and Freya's relationships were the first book's focus. I'm curious to see if their magical talents grow in the rest of the series.

Overall, I really liked this book. The only reason I haven't already dived into book two is that I've bought a lot of books lately and am trying to be good. Plus, I've got a ton of categories on the challenge still. If you like paranormal and witchy books, I'd recommend this one unless you don't want to read sex scenes. It's a quick read, enjoyable, with many details on the actual magic system.