Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Just Jennifer

Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz (Hyperion Voice, June 2011)


Ingrid, quiet, reserved librarian, her wilder, more outgoing sister Freya and their mother Joanna Beauchamp are living at the tip of Long Island in North Hampton, a Brigadoon sort of place where things aren’t always as they seem. During the Salem witch trials, the three Beauchamps where released from the civil courts but they were ordered not to practice their witchcraft anymore by their council. Now, as Freya is on the verge of getting married, she is finding herself out of sorts and her malaise is spreading to the patrons of the bar she tends. Knowing that with a few simple love potions, Freya can make some of her friends happy, and that’s really not magic, is it? At the same time, Ingrid knows she can help fellow librarian Tabitha and her husband with their infertility issues, and since a lot of it involves positive and more relaxed thinking then that’s not really witchcraft either, is it? Little by little, the sisters begin to weave their magic around the town, all in the name of helping friends and neighbors. When a young woman goes missing after drinking one of Freya’s potions, some people in the town begin to cry “witch” and the Beauchamps find themselves accused of crimes they did not commit, nor cause to be committed. As Freya and Ingrid try to find the cause of all the evil that seems to be surrounding North Hampton, their past is slowly revealed, even secrets they kept from each other and some Joanna kept from them, all of which put together may help free the town from the forces that seem to have the town in its clutch. With an easy, breezy style (and some steamy sex scenes thrown in), Melissa de la Cruz, a popular author for young adults, brings Ingrid, Freya and Joanna to life with a touch of magic. The plot has some complicated twists and turns and a cliffhanger that is sure to have you waiting for the next installment.

1 comment:

saraswati said...

Really enjoyed this book. Thanks for the heads up.