Book Review: Witches of East End (The Beauchamp Family #1) by Melissa de la Cruz

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.

 

Release Date:  June 21, 2011

Age Group: Adult

Publisher:  Disney--Hyperion

Source:  Library

Review:
I was really excited to read this book because I love Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods series.  I enjoyed reading about Freya and Oliver's brief relationship in Bloody Valentine and was intrigued by the premise of the story. 

But, something fell flat for me.  It was most likely the fact that it took me a month to finish this book. It was my nighttime read, and by the time I settle down to read at night I can usually only get through a few pages before I fall fast asleep.  So, I never got the chance to really dive into the story, since I read it in bits and pieces.  I found myself forgetting things that I'd already read and had a hard time following some of the plot points.  I need to stop trying to read at night, because I'm just treating books unfairly, reading them a page or two at at time.  Maybe my nighttime read should be a re-read?  That way I won't forget too much and I can always follow the story.

Anyway, back to Witches of East End.  I felt like the story didn't really take off until the very end.  And I was downright confused by the last few pages describing who Bran and Killian really were.  I felt like that element of the story came from left field.  My main motivator to keep reading was the fact that I was very interested in Ingrid and Freya's respective love stories.  I especially liked Ingrid and really rooted for her to find happiness.  Freya I had a harder time identifying with---I've never been a 'center of attention' type so I usually can't relate to those types of characters.

Witches of East End felt more character-driven than action-packed to me.  Being the first in a series, it had a lot of world-building.  We got to know the characters really well, which makes me want to keep reading because now I care about what happens to Ingrid, Freya and Joanna.  I think that the next book will be really good, and look forward to seeing where de la Cruz takes the series.