Witches of East End

By: Melissa de la Cruz

Narrated by: Katie Schorr

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of the highly addictive and best-selling Blue Bloods series, with almost three 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 pause-resistant, deliciously fun, magical summer listen, fraught with love affairs, witchcraft, and an unforgettable battle between good and evil.

©2011 Melissa de la Cruz (P)2011 Hyperion

It was not expected

It is definitely not the tv series I fell in love with, but that isn't a bad thing. It was a beautiful book and new story that easily wraps itself around the reader. However, in the end it was quickly resolved and too soft. Not quite fullfilling in any way. It's a if some painted a beautiful portait and signed it in crayon. It was rushed and sloppily done. Not that the plot line were not well tied, but that the climax was lackluster at best. But I still give it a positive review because her writing held such potential. Perhaps this book was always meant to introduce us into a world of possibility and magic that has yet to fully develop and unfold. I NEED about book to decide fully if this was the first glimpse into a another world or a short story done as an English assignment. It's either a 10 or a 2 based on what or if anything comes next.

Really love it!

even though it's nothing much like the tv series, I really enjoyed the book... I really loved it. A little sad now that the audiobook is over already. I listened to the whole book in about 3 days! really good!

Beautiful and magical!

Absolutely loved the show, now I'm devouring the book series! Exciting! I love the characters, especially Joanna. So well written and worth it read.

Absolutely love this audiobook.

Tells a great story without being too long or too short. It was absolutely perfect for listening to when I'm stuck in traffic

I love it so much!

As a super fan of the TV series, I had to buy the books--all of them! I was not disappointed. I bought the audiobook as well, and I've listened to it twice. I adore this book and the series! Even the differences, which make it all the more intriguing. While I know the characters from the TV series, reading/listening to the book is like getting to know them again in a different way.
I've bought audiobooks for two and three as well. I can't wait for the ending we didn't get from the TV series. I'm finding that I enjoy the books just as well, if not more.
I highly recommend them all! 5 stars!

Love this book!

I enjoyed the book and the person reading! Kept my interest the entire time! I’m a fan of the Lifetime show and was sad it ended but so glad there is books!

Easy listen

This is the perfect summer book. I enjoyed listening to it. Definitely different than the TV series.

perfect balance of mythology and witchcraft

I enjoyed every moment and shared it! amazing book, now onto the sequel! so excited!

love

loved it so much can't wait to continue the series and hear the rest of the story.

Actually a nice, light listen

I had this book in my library for a while now but had not listened to it. I had started to listen to it but then between school/work I just couldn't find the time to finish it. I finally finished though and I must confess it was pretty cool.

Katie Schorr seemed made to narrate this genre of books and is able to voice all three characters quite well. She does somewhat slow down the pace of the book a bit too much at times but that could be blamed on the story itself really rather than the narrator I believe. It wasn't a 'brilliant' performance but it wasn't a bad or simply adequate performance either.

This is my first Melissa de la Cruz and I was pleasantly surprised. I am not too much of a romance novel kinda guy but it had a strong enough storyline for me to forgive the romanticism that I saw involved. The story was fun to listen to especially when everything started to tie in together. It was slow at times however. I do think the characters could be developed better but seeing that these are all grown characters there wasn't much character development to be done (I blame the fact that I have come accustomed to really long and detailed titles rather than this relatively short title). There are some pretty nice twists in the book as well, I was surprised how the book tied everything together in the end.

Overall not a stellar title, but a pretty good one. I found it kinda light but also fun and cool to listen to. I would hope that there is another book because the book ends with an epilogue that left me with a whole bunch of questions.