Review: Witches of East End - Melissa de la Cruz

Where I got it: ARC from Amazon Vine

Rating: 4 stars  

Cover Rating: 4 stars (This is a photograph from the lovely Marta Bevacqua, who did my old header photograph.)  

Genre: Adult

Publication Date: June 21, 2011

Publisher: Hyperion

Page Count: 272 p.

Buy it: Book Depository / Amazon

Three witches, left to live out their immortal lives without use of their powers settle down in North Hampton. There's something a little different about this town, so they can easily fit in. Things start getting really weird though when people start turning up missing or dead. There's also a weird substance in the water that scientists can't identify. The three women know that their powers might be of some use, but they have struggles of their own to deal with too. They have a wedding to plan and a library to save. There might be some other people that mean to do harm to this town, or maybe even the world.

What a fantastic read, I loved all the mythology. There is even an appearance of Blue Bloods, which I love when author's share characters throughout their books. This book would be great for older YAs, as there are some fairly graphic sex scenes, but the story was easily something that teens would love. There aren't that many fantastic witch stories that I've seen, but this one is definitely up there. I really did love all the folklore and mythology that went into this story. Everything was nicely connected and just played out well. The ending seemed a bit too tidy, but then the epilogue blew it apart. So mostly I'm torn on the ending, because everything was finished but then all of a sudden now there's a new piece of the puzzle. It makes me really want to read the next book, but now it feels like I have to. I really enjoyed the characters and how different the sisters seemed at first. There is Ingrid the quiet librarian and Freya the wild bartender. They were both fabulous in their own ways. It was interesting to see multiple sides of the characters too, it made them less one dimensional, and also kept me on my toes throughout. You never knew who would stab someone in the back and could never tell who was really innocent. The mystery bits were lovely and the whole story just flowed along at a great pace. I would definitely recommend you check this out, even if you weren't a fan of the Blue Bloods series (I could never get past the first couple chapters of those). I very much look forward to the next book.

First Line:

"North Hampton did not exist on any map, which made locating the small insular community on the very edge of the Atlantic coast something of a conundrum to outsiders, who were known to wander in by chance only to find it impossible to return; so that place, with its remarkably empty silver-sand beaches, rolling green fields, and imposing, rambling farmhouses, became more of a half-remembered dream than a memory."

Favorite Lines:

"But a library was not a bedroom, or a motel room, it was a place to read, to study , to be quiet. While the kids did try to comply with the last rule, heavy breathing was sometimes the loudest noise of all."

"Freya returned his kisses eagerly, and fell headfirst into the abyss."