By Melissa De La Cruz, Hyperion Voice, $23.99, 275 pages
Strange things are happening in North Hampton – people are going missing, getting suddenly sick and having reckless flings. The Beauchamp family – sisters; Ingrid and Freya and their mother Joanna – are witches who have been living as normal humans but take up their magic again to aid the people of their town. The more they help, though, the more they realize that the troubles are just beginning and may be beyond their powers.
Witches of East End is the first novel in the second series from the author. This novel had the potential to be a great book but doesn’t quite hit the mark. The characters and the world are well-written and vibrant. However, particularly with the character Freya, is it puzzling that a centuries-old person would be so impulsive and have so little insight into their own choices. The appearance of some characters from the author’s other series was also an odd choice and made little sense to the rest of the plot (other than to highlight Freya’s appearance in a previous novella for cross-promotional purposes). Despite these issues, the book was a fun read and likely to be enjoyed by fans of the previous books.
Reviewed by Barbara Cothern