Book Review: Serpent's Kiss by Melissa de la Cruz

Serpent's Kiss
Book Two of Witches of East End Series

Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Hyperion (June 12, 2012)
Amazon Link


Note: I received a review copy of this book free from Goldberg McDuffie Communications. The review posted below is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.

Ratings: ★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

Fryr or Freddie, Freya's twin brother is back. He was locked up in Limbo by the Valkyries because they thought he was responsible for the destruction of the Bofrir bridge but it isn't Freddie who destroyed the bridge. Freddie believes Killian did it and he wants Freya to help him get his revenge. Problem is, Killian is Freya's fiancé. Freya loves her twin brother as much as she loves Killian. Who will she choose? Her brother or her lover?

Serpent's Kiss is the second book to the Witches of East End novel. With Freddie, the story of the Beauchamp family is getting more interesting. I also liked the fact that Joanna's sort-of :) husband, Norman is back. After thousands of years, he's still in love with Joanna! I loved it when they were together. The book has some funny moments and my favorite part is when they were celebrating the Thanksgiving Day. 

The story has a lot of interesting twists to make me read this until the wee hours of the morning, finished it in three days and during weekdays! I loved Killian and Freya's love story but not much when it comes to Ingrid and Matt's. I found their relationship dull and it wasn't like how I felt when they were just friends. 

The book did not disappoint. I loved it and if you're into witches, I'm sure your money is well-spent on this one.

About the book:

The powerful Beauchamp family, introduced in the New York Times bestselling Witches of East End, returns in The Serpent's Kiss, with dizzying plot twists and the spell-binding magic that have made both Witches of East End and Melissa's Blue Bloods series such enormous successes.

Just as things have settled down in the off-the-map Long Island town of North Hampton for the magical Beauchamp family, everything gets turned upside down once more when Freya's twin brother Fryr, or "Freddie" as he's called now, returns from Limbo with shocking news - that it was none other than Freya's fiancé, Killian Gardiner, who set up his downfall.

He begs Freya to keep his presence a secret, even from their own family, but somehow the irascible Freddie is still able to conduct many affairs with the town's young lovelies from his self-imposed exile. Until he falls for the wrong girl.

While Freya tries to keep her brother from exacting revenge on the man she loves, Ingrid has her own problems. Her human boyfriend, Matt Noble, becomes entangled in a complicated investigation, and when the magical creatures at the center of it come to Ingrid for help, she has a difficult choice to make.

To top it off, a dead spirit is trying to make contact with Joanna - but does it mean to harm or warn the witches? All hell breaks loose at the family reunion over Thanksgiving, and much mayhem ensues, but when the culprit behind Freddie's imprisonment is finally revealed, it may already be too late to staunch the poison that's been released by the serpent's kiss. The spells cast by the bestselling Witches of East End continue in this bewitching follow-up that Melissa de la Cruz's many fans won't want to miss.

About the author:

Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.

Her books for adults include the novel Cat's Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.

She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney's, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.

Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).

She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.

Witches of East End Release Day

Bookingly Yours reviewed Witches of East End, read here.

Expected publication: June 21st 2011 by Disney-Hyperion 

 

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.

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.

Book Review : Blue Bloods by Melissa dela Cruz

Title: Blue Bloods (Book 1 of Blue Bloods Series)
Author: Melissa dela Cruz
Paperback: 336 Pages 
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (March 27, 2007)

Ratings:

★ ★

My thoughts:

My first book for the September challenge. I picked up this book since the cover looks good and also I've read a number of good reviews about this series.

Ohwwwkay. Where to start?
 Names and characters. I didn't like the names, especially the main character Schuyler, too weird for me and there were also a lot of characters in this book. I understand that the story needs it but there were a lot, like more than 15 people mentioned in this book that I was having a hard time remembering all of them.

Well the story, at first it was great. The author tried to give a whole new history on how the vampires existed. There were twist and turns however it was presented in a way too complicated and too confusing for the readers.

 The storyline was like reading Gossip Girl with B and S turned vampires. The descriptions of the things like designer clothes, bags, fame and money were unnecessary and can be distracting.

 The author told the story using almost everyone's POV which made it harder to understand. It keeps on jumping to another POV that made it impossible to get to know the characters one by one. I found myself skimming all over the book so I could be done reading it. It didn't have the "peak" which I keep on hoping to read because I've read good reviews on this book. Well, it ended with nothing to think about. I guess I will be okay without reading the sequel.

I didn't like the story but here are some of the positive reviews for this book: read HERE

About the book:

Within New York City’s most elite families, there lurks a secret society of celebrated Americans whose ancestors sailed on the Mayflower. They are the powerful and the wealthy—and in fact, they are not human. They are the Blue Bloods, an ancient group of vampires.

Schuyler Van Alen has never fit in at Duchesne, her prestigious New York City private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapidated mansion. Schuyler is a loner—and happy that way.

But when she turns fifteen, Schuyler’s life changes dramatically. She has a mosaic of blue veins on her arms, and craves raw meat. The death of a popular girl from Duchesne is surrounded by a mystery that haunts her. And strangest off all, Jack Force, the most popular boy in school, is showing a sudden interest in her.

She wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?

About the author:

Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.

Her books for adults include the novel Cat's Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.

She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney's, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.
Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).

She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter. - Amazon

Author's website: http://melissa-delacruz.com/