Friday, April 29, 2011

Witches of East End-Melissa de la Cruz

Witches of East End
Melissa de la Cruz
Hyperion, Jun 21 2011, $23.99
ISBN 9781401323905

North Hampton is almost as difficult to find as Brigadoon as maps fail to locate the hamlet. Across from the town is abandoned Gardiners Island where Fair Haven has not been occupied for decades until now.

Nineteen year old Freya Beauchamp works as a bartender thanks to her license which dates her as twenty-two. She met Bran Gardiner due to a dress strap snapping and now they are engaged. However, though she loves Bran, she is in love with his brother Killian. Like her older sister Ingrid the librarian; and their mother Joanna, Freya is a witch. Due to the messy Massachusetts massacre from a few centuries ago, The White Council has placed strict limitations on magic usage, but the immortal Beauchamp females are recently leaking magic. The townsfolk feel fortunate as things seem to go their way until incidents turn ugly and supernatural beasts arrive from beyond while humans starting with a girl drinking a Freya’ special cocktail vanished.

Filled with delightful twists and the strong establishment that witchcraft and other paranormal beings exist, this is a superb bewitching thriller. The story line is fast-paced and filled with action, but it is the three Witches of East End who make this a wonderful supernatural tale.

Harriet Klausner

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