Monday, February 23, 2015

Review: Witches of East End (The Beauchamp Family #1) by Melissa De La Cruz

Title: Witches of East End (The Beauchamp Family #1)
Author: Melissa De La Cruz
Published by: Hyperion/Hachette Book Group
Released: 2011

Summary: The Beauchamp women have a secret, they are immortal witches. Forbidden from practicing magic, they try to live normal lives. The matriarch Joanna loves to bake and redecorate her house, no nonsense Ingrid works at the local library, and wild child Freya works at the North Inn Bar.
When mysterious occurrences start to happen in North Hampton, it's up to the Beauchamp women to figure it out. Disappearances, murders, and bizarre natural disasters are plaguing their home and it might be a sign of something much worse to come.
My Thoughts: While scrolling through the new monthly releases on Netflix, I came across the Lifetime show Witches of East End. It looked like something fairly interesting to watch and I knew it had been based off a book series. I decided to pick up and read the book first before watching the show. I found the book to be an interesting read, interesting and different. While reading, it was like watching the events from afar, there was no real connection to any of the characters. None of the characters were really all that likable. They all felt like a different species from the mortals they were living beside. I felt like the reader was led astray by the title and synopsis of the book in describing them as witches. Yes they could do magic and had wands, but they were something vastly different then the term witch brings to mind. It wasn't a bad different, but it was just very misleading to call them witches. The Beauchamp's had a special history all their own.
Overall, I found it to be an interesting, quick read. The short chapters really accounted for that quick sort of feeling. I won't say I was caught up in the story, but I was definitely interested in seeing how it was going to end. I do think there were some misleading elements to the title and synopsis, because in the end the Beauchamp's were much more than witches. I'm definitely curious to see what the show is like now. If you want to pick up a book that's a little different from the rest, then this might be just the book.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5
Not what I was expecting.

2 comments:

  1. +JMJ+

    After such a nice premise, it's too bad that it didn't live up to its promise for you. =(

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  2. I wouldn't say I hated it though, it was really kind of an interesting read. I just felt that it kind of misled me by saying it was a book about witches. I was intrigued by it though.

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