Serpent's Kiss: A Witches of East End Novel [Hardcover]

Melissa de la Cruz (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 12, 2012 | Series: Witches of East End

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 fiancÉ 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?

Melissa de la Cruz weaves all this and more in a blockbuster sequel that is not to be missed by her fans, and one that is sure to enchant new readers of the series.

Praise for the Witches of East End series:

"Move over, zombies, vampires, and werewolves, and make way for witches � a juicy new franchise."--Entertainment Weekly

"A bubbling cauldron of mystery and romance."--People

"A magical and romantic page-turner."--Washington Post

"[De la Cruz] lets her repressed sorceresses rip."--New York Times

"This tale of powerful women � mixes mystery, a battle of good versus evil and a dash of Norse mythology into a page-turning parable of inner strength."--Self

"[I]ntrigue, mystery, and plenty of romance."--MTV.com

"Casts a spell."--Los Angeles Times

"Fans of the New York Times bestselling YA author (Blue Bloods series) will be delighted with the next entry in her new adult series (after Witches of East End). A compelling tale of powerful magic, romance, betrayal, and suspense." --Jennifer Anderson, Texas A&M University Library

Editorial Reviews

Review

What could be more fun than a summer on Long Island? A summer on Long Island with witches, of course. Smart, stylish, and just a bit wicked, the witches in Melissa de la Cruz's Witches of the East series manage to be both thoroughly modern and delightfully mythic. -- Deborah Harkness, New York Times Bestselling Author Of A Discovery Of Witches And Shadow Of Night --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Melissa de la Cruz is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling series Blue Bloods, which has three million copies in print. She is a former journalist who has contributed to many publications, including Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar, Allure and Marie Claire. She spent many summers on Shelter Island, which served as the inspiration for the fictional town of North Hampton. She lives in Los Angeles and Palm Springs with her family.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (June 12, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781401323967
• ISBN-13: 978-1401323967
• ASIN: 1401323960
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #216,018 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, Angels on Sunset Boulevard, Girl Stays in the Picture, and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.

Her books for adults include the novel Cat's Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas, and the Witches of East End series.

She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney's, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.

Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).

She lives in Los Angeles and Palm Springs with her husband and daughter.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars More of a transition than anything... September 17, 2012

By Courtney @ Fuzzy.Coffee.Books

Format:Hardcover

What I Liked: 1) I still like the setting of this one. The tiny hamlet of North Hampton makes me think of Stars Hollow (Gilmore Girls fans, anyone?) and I like the intimacy of it all. The small library where Ingrid works, and the local watering hole that Freya has made her own. It was comforting to go back to this setting. 2) Freddie was a neat addition to the mix. Because he's been in Limbo for a while he doesn't really know how to handle himself in their world anymore. There is a huge different between his maturity level and Freya's even though they are twins. But he brings some more chaos to their lives, and made the story interesting. 3) New humor. There was a lot of humor injected into this book with the addition of the pixies. They brought some much needed warmth to the rest of the story.

What I Didn't Like: Unfortunately, this book fell into the Book 2 trappings that I've warned against before. It seemed like the whole book was just to get us from book one to book three, without much substance. I'm afraid had it not been for watching Freddie's character develop, and the pixies, there wouldn't have been much of anything. The other characters didn't really pull me in very much, and the plot was a little stagnated.

Overall Thoughts: Serpent's Kiss struck me as more of a transition than anything. The plot was a little stale, and character development came to a near halt, other than the new character of Freddie. There was a lot of redeeming bits of humor though, and I absolutely love this setting, so I'm not giving up on this series. I'll be hoping for more from the next book, The Winds of Salem, set to release in June 2013.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars The adventure continues... June 13, 2012

By Debra L. Martin

Format:Hardcover

Joanna Beauchamp along with her daughters Ingrid and Freya are happily practicing magic once again. The Restriction Against Magic has been lifted after a centuries-long ban, but practicing magic does not solve all the problems they encounter in SERPENT'S KISS. A long-dead spirit from the 1600s is haunting Joanna, desperate for her help to right a terrible wrong. Ingrid is in love for the first time, but her inexperience causes problems with her boyfriend, Matt Noble, and Freya is dealing with the secret that her twin, Freddie, has escaped Limbo and now accuses her love, Killian, of being the one who set him up for a terrible crime in the first place.

I was looking forward to reading this book. I had thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series, WITCHES OF EAST END and was eagerly awaiting what the tiny town of North Hampton would do with three practicing witches casting spells and mixing potions. While this book was entertaining in spots, I was disappointed with it especially how the author portrayed Ingrid and her actions with her cop boyfriend. Granted, Ingrid is a virgin, but her reactions in some of the romantic scenes was way over the top and unbelievable. I also didn't understand the proposed connection between Joanna and her would-be suitor, Harold Atkins. While Harold did come into play later in the storyline involving Freddie, he did not know that Freddie was back from Limbo when he began calling on Joanna. It seemed like he was thrown in with Joanna as an easy way to create tension between Joanna and her long-lost husband. The addition of the pixies though added quite a comical twist to things.

SERPENT'S KISS is a quick and easy read, but it mostly seems like this book was used as the set-up for the next book in the series, THE WINDS OF SALEM. There are two major cliff-hangers to solve, both of them essential to the well-being of Beauchamp family and I'm looking forward to see what happens next.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Follow up August 16, 2012

By Fancy

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Melissa did it again. It took me a couple chapters to get back into the setting from the 1st book but once I did it was a blast to read this book, I am looking forward to her next one in the series