Things are changing in the tiny town of North Hampton -- a town that always, always stays the same. After decades apart, the Beauchamp women have finally reunited. For years, the witches were forced to abandon their magic (after things went horribly, horribly wrong in a village called Salem nearly four centuries ago). Now, however, something dark is preying upon their beloved town, and the women don't see the harm in a little white magic to protect the people they love. But when their spells start to go awry, and the accusations fly, the well-meaning witches discover that not everything is what it appears in North Hampton -- and they may be dealing with forces the mortal realm was never meant to know.
In
Witches of East End,
Melissa de la Cruz builds a world that will envelop readers in its small town charm. Though everyone knows everyone in the tiny, insular community of North Hampton, the population is surprisingly diverse -- from the unfathomably rich but awkward Bran Gardiner, to the mayoral power couple Todd and Corky Hutchinson, to the eccentric, magical Beauchamps: Freya, Ingrid and Joanna. The characterization of the Beauchamp women is spot on, with their dysfunctional family dynamic and individual quirks, charms and flaws. Each of the women couldn't be more different, but they're all appealing in their own way: Freya with her utter lack of inhibition. Ingrid with her bookish wisdom, and Joanna with her Mary Poppins' charm.
Unfortuately, readers are given the sense that they've dropped in on the middle of a story, with only cryptic allusions to a vague past to guide their way. It's unclear exactly what the Beauchamp women are, or why they've been forbidden to use magic, or even by whom. Their family was torn apart centuries ago, with repercussions to this day, and no explanation is given as to the how or why. The first two-thirds of the novel moves slowly, as readers try to get their bearings. When things finally do pick up in the last 50 pages, the revelations are made so quickly and randomly that readers' heads will spin. The resolution seems much too forced and easy to be believable, and even though the Beauchamps' mysterious past is finally explained, anyone unfamiliar with certain mythologies will be more confused than ever. There is definitely a fascinating mythology at work here, and it's a shame that it isn't built coherently enough to support the world de la Cruz creates.
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Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this novel at BEA. This did not affect my review in any way.This novel is available now. Click here to purchase Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz.
Kylie's life is falling apart. Her grandmother died, her parents are divorced, her boyfriend dumped her and now she's got a mysterious stalker that no one else seems to see. As if that weren't enough, after being caught in a drug bust at a party (though she wasn't doing drugs herself), Kylie is shipped off to Shadow Falls by her Ice Queen mother. Shadow Falls, a camp for troubled teens, is even freakier than Kylie expected -- full of Goth girls and leering boys -- and when Kylie discovers that her fellow campers aren't just troubled, but
inhuman, it may be more than she can take.
It was difficult to get into this novel. The writing is clunky and tries too hard to be "teenagery" by overusing expressions like "face it" to the point of repetitiveness, which distracts from the story. Furthermore, it is hard to sympathize with Kylie when her paranoid and judgmental attitude is so off-putting.
Born at Midnight also adopts the ubiquitous good guy/bad boy love triangle. The two boys -- Derek and Lucas -- held a lot of potential to be engaging characters (and Lucas was especially sexy), but the relationships weren't given enough time and development to encourage readers to invest.
This problem carried over to the story as a whole -- it felt rushed, only skimming the surface of the narrative and never delving deeply into the dark and varied world
C.C. Hunter creates. The real plot finally appears late in the novel and the final pages do muster a moving emotional intensity, full of surprises that -- if they'd been hinted at earlier on -- would have really improved the novel's engagement. The ending was sweet and sad and tear-jerking -- almost a completely different story (in a good way). I have hope that, if the writing is tightened, the sequel will improve upon the intriguing premise at the novel's heart.
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Disclosure: I received an advance review copy of this novel from the publisher. This did not influence my review in any way.Click here to purchase Born at Midnight by C. C. Hunter.
Violet's life has been haunted by the disturbing visions of death and disaster that come to her mind unbidden. After her most devastating vision comes to pass, leaving her orphaned to her careless stepmother, Violet decides to start over at Winterhaven. The boarding school seems to call to her, and she can't resist its pull. Winterhaven is full of secrets -- not the least of which is gorgeous,
How sad that this one doesn't work. I love a setting in a small town and enjoy most books about witches. Thinks I will pass on this one though.
Hmm, it does sound like a promising book. But seems like it might be a weak start. I wonder if the second book will pull it together a little better. Thank you for the review.
This sounds like it would be a good book - sorry the pacing didn't work.
Ann
Aw, that's a bummer! Perhaps we're supposed to read the Blue Bloods series to gain more information about the Beauchamp women? (I'm just guessing; I haven't read far enough into the series to know)
Either way, I'm sorry this book wasn't all it could have been. Darn!
aww, that's disappointing!! too bad :(
Too bad. I had heard some negative things about this book before, so I had already scratched it off my TBR. The mythology that's revealed at the end didn't really seem to work with the rest of the book (at least from what I know of the book).