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

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.

26 of 26 people found this review helpful

Loved it!

What did you love best about Witches of East End?

I loved the magic captured in the book. Some characters were detestable and others captivating. Excellent book for those interested in the supernatural, fantasy, or just witches.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Looking Forward to More

Slow start but ending leaves you wanting more. Don't expect it to be like the tv series if you saw it first. Matter of fact...the tv series will make you kind of mad. Books are always better.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Disappointed!

Any additional comments?

I wanted to love these books - I really did...but I watched the t.v. show first. I am normally steadfast in my belief that a movie (or t.v. show) cannot live up to the book, but this series changed my mind. First, the narration is terrible - it was very disjointed and just didn't flow. People don't talk like that! Granted, she does better in the second book, but since I couldn't get through it, I can't speak for the third. The story was just boring to me. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen and it just didn't. Maybe it was because I watched the show on Lifetime first, I don't know. Overall, the first book and half of the second were very disappointing. I'll stick to the t.v. show. The writers changed so much and I'm glad they did - it's so much better than the book!

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Can't Stand Romanticisizing Rapey Guys

Any additional comments?

This books makes a dreamboat out of a rapey creep who refuses to hear no. Trigger warning.

10 of 13 people found this review helpful

Wanted more supernatural elements

The story was interesting and unique - even unpredictable. Although I enjoyed it, I found myself wanting (expecting) more supernatural elements in the story.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Save your credit

The reader is pretty good, which lures you into thinking there might be something actually here. The writing, though, is extremely poor. (I kept editing sentences in my head, which is bad.) You never really care about the characters. And the plot!!! What can I say? She gives it a twist at the end which was totally unjustified by anything that came before -- I guess in a desperate attempt to make ti seem like there had been a plot to begin with. (When I realized, with ten minutes to go, that this was "it," I had to make myself listen to the end simply because it felt silly to not finish it when I had gone that far. In the last two minutes, there IS a new twist -- out of nowhere again, just to set the scene for the sequel. No thank you!!!) I am surprised this wasn't produced by Brilliance Audio.

9 of 14 people found this review helpful

Save your credit

The reader is pretty good, which lures you into thinking there might be something actually here. The writing, though, is extremely poor. (I kept editing sentences in my head, which is bad.) You never really care about the characters. And the plot!!! What can I say? She gives it a twist at the end which was totally unjustified by anything that came before -- I guess in a desperate attempt to make ti seem like there had been a plot to begin with. (When I realized, with ten minutes to go, that this was "it," I had to make myself listen to the end simply because it felt silly to not finish it when I had gone that far. In the last two minutes, there IS a new twist -- out of nowhere again, just to set the scene for the sequel. No thank you!!!) I am surprised this wasn't produced by Brilliance Audio.

7 of 12 people found this review helpful

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.

A wonderful read.

I love that the Blue Bloods (and Oliver) made an appearance. I was a bit surprised about the adult content, but it was refreshing.