Book Club Friday: Witches of East and and Serpent's Kiss

It has been so long since I've linked up with Book Club Friday!  That doesn't mean I haven't been reading a ton though!

This week I am reviewing the first 2 books in the Beauchamp Family series by Melissa de la Cruz - The Witches of East End and Serpent's Kiss.  Since it had been so long I figured I'd do two!  

Book #1, Witches of East End synopsis (from Barnes and Noble):

The three Beauchamp women—Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid—live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret—they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there’s Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it’s time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

FYI - Book 2 descriptions contains SPOILERS from Book 1 - READ AT OWN RISK!!!

Book 2, Serpent's Kiss synopsis (from Barnes and Noble):

The intriguing Beauchamp family, introduced in the New York Times bestselling Witches of East End, returns in Serpent's Kiss, with dizzying plot twists and spellbinding magic.

Joanna and her daughters, bookish Ingrid and wild-child Freya, are just settling into the newfound peace that has been cast over their small, off-the map town of North Hampton. With the centuries-old restriction against practicing magic lifted, casting spells, mixing potions, and curing troubled souls has never felt so good for the three witches. That is, until everything gets turned upside down—from Joanna's organized kitchen to Ingrid's previously nonexistent love life to Freya's once unshakeable faith in her sexy soul mate, Killian Gardiner.

When Freya's twin brother, Freddie, suddenly returns, escaped from Limbo and professing innocence on a long-ago crime, Freya should be ecstatic. The golden boy can do no wrong. Or can he? Freddie blames no other than her fiancee Killian for his downfall, and enlists Freya's help to prove it. Now Freya doesn't know who to believe or trust.

And for the first time in—well, forever, really—Ingrid is also busy in love. Matt Noble, the handsome and charming police detective, has won her heart. But can romance work between a virgin witch and a mortal who doesn't believe in magic? Things get even more complicated when it appears Ingrid is harboring the prime suspects in Matt's police investigation.

To add to the chaos, a dead spirit is attempting to make contact with Joanna—but does it mean to bring harm or help? Joanna asks her sort-of ex-husband Norman to help figure it out, only to accidentally invite him to a Thanksgiving dinner with a dapper gentleman she's recently begun dating.

As the witches pull together to discover the serpent within their midst and the culprit behind Freddie's imprisonment, everything is thrown into peril. Will the discovery come too late to save those they love most?

My review

I really enjoyed both of these books.  They were light easy reads that I got through pretty quickly.  It's a pretty intriguing storyline weaving not only witchcraft but basically all the different stories of the gods together (if anyone has seen the movie Thor you'd see overlaps).  Personally, I really enjoy those types of stories, but not everyone does.  I like that there are a couple of different plot lines going on the background which roll-up to the main one, but there are not too many to make it confusing or annoying.  Book 3 is scheduled to come out this summer and I can't wait to read it.

Has anyone read either book?  What did you think?

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