After Reading: WITCHES OF EAST END by Melissa de la Cruz

By: Meradeth Houston on 3:30 AM

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. (Goodreads)

It's not very often that I come across a film or show before a book, but I found the Lifetime seasons of Witches of East End and only later found out that they were based on novels. This excited me to no end! I really quite enjoyed the show (it reminded me of the Charmed I loved when I was younger), and since I generally love the books more, I was eager to see how it worked out. Well, this was a bit of an odd case: I honestly liked the show better. In some odd way, it made more sense to me. Now, I have no idea if this is because I came to the book after the show or not, but some elements of the book felt rushed, poorly explained, and not tied together well. Namely, the ending. But, I still enjoyed the book, even if I spent most of it comparing it to the show and analyzing why they made the changes they did :) It is an interesting series, and while I never much enjoyed the Blue Blood books De La Cruz is known for, this was an interesting romp on the adult side of the reading world with the same general paranormal themes I enjoy.

Has anyone read this one? Or seen the show? Which did you prefer?