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

Title: Witches of East End (ARC)

Author: Melissa de la Cruz

Paperback: 288 pages

Publisher: Hyperion (June 21, 2011)

Ratings:

★ ★ ★ ★ 

My thoughts:

Liked it better than the author's Blue Blood Series. 
I've only read the first book of the BBS and I didn't like it but reading this new book makes me want to rush to the bookstore and buy the 2nd book!

I loved the story of these witches! The Beauchamp Family is a spin-off series of the Blue Blood books.  If you are a BBS lover, you'll be glad to know that there are appearances of some BBS characters here. Though I'm not sure if those who have not read the author's first series would understand the history of vampires and witches because it's not fully explained in this book.

While I enjoyed the story, there were a few times in the middle where I did skim over it. There are some parts of the books that were kind of slow. I also didn't like that one of the main characters cheated on her fiancee, that's a total turn-off for me. 

Overall, it's still a great book about witches. If you're looking for a new series to start, you might want to pick up this book.

About the book:

From the author of the highly addictive and bestselling Blue Bloods series, with almost 3 million copies sold, comes a new novel, Melissa de la Cruz's first for adults, featuring a family of formidable and beguiling witches.
 
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. - Amazon

About the author:

Melissa de la Cruz is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling series Blue Bloods, which has three million copies in print. She is a former journalist who has contributed to many publications, including Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Allure, and Marie Claire. She spent many summers on Shelter Island, which served as the inspiration for the fictional town of North Hampton. She lives in Los Angeles and Palm Springs with her family and is hard at work on the second book in the Beauchamp Family series.
 

Note: I received an ARC of this book free from the author's agent, Goldberg McDuffie Communications. The review posted above is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.