Witches of East End - Melissa de la Cruz

Rating: 4/5

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. 
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Melissa de la Cruz is better known for her bestselling series, Blue Bloods, which I love. This was her first adult novel. It was nice that the main focus wasn't on vampires because as much as I love to read about them, I'm getting rather tired of them as well. Blood Blues fans will also like to know that certain characters from the series make appearances in this book. If you haven't read the series, then it's alright; you don't need to know who they are to understand what's going on. I just thought it was pretty cool how she did that. 

I'm going to admit, I was going to give this book a slightly lower rating (possibly a 3) because for the first hundred or so pages, I felt like not much was going on. Of course, there was the small things that would lead up to the bigger events, but I didn't know that at the time. All I saw was a girl having an affair with her fiance's brother and lots of sex (sometimes very graphic). So I thought, "Okay, now I know why it's an adult novel. But where's the story? Is this ALL it is?" Luckily, it wasn't. It got really good, the last 100 or so pages. So good, in fact, I couldn't put it down until I finished it. So I did, and loved it! 

The Beauchamp family consists of Joanna, and her two daughters Freya and Ingrid. They all live in quiet New Hampton, New York. Centuries ago, they got into some trouble in Salem, so they're not allowed to use their powers, orders from the Council. Ingrid is the quiet, book type. Always in her library. She can see the future and heal people with her knots. Freya works in the bar and is the complete opposite of Ingrid. She's able to solve any love quarrel with a love potion. Joanna can resurrect the dead...but it doesn't always work out the way she wants it to. And, she can't bring back the people she loves. For the most part, they've been able to avoid using their magic, but soon things go bad. People are getting sick, disappearing, or being found dead. No one knows why. Now, the witches decide to test the restriction and do what they can to help. 

I liked how each chapter was told by a different witch. You get a better understanding of who the characters really are, and get inside of their heads. All the characters were interesting and unique; fun. There's magic, steamy romance, mystery, secrecy, mythology, zombies, vampires and even a love affair. There's a bit of everything for everyone to enjoy. Just beware of the graphic sex scenes. Remember, this is an adult novel. You've been warned ;) 

The ending was the best part. It's where all the little bits and pieces mentioned along the way get put together, like a puzzle, and start making sense. There were a lot of surprises, some I saw coming, and others I did not. It also ends on a cliffhanger. 

So if someone were to ask if I recommend this book, I would say yes. There really wasn't anything I didn't like. I found the beginning slow, but others might not. I'm also looking forward to the next book in the series. Can't wait to find out what happens next!