While reading The Witches of East End, I felt a little like I was starting a new TV show (a soap if we’re being honest) halfway through the first season. I could understand everything, but I kept feeling like I was missing some vital pieces of information.The concept was interesting and the characters are likeable enough. There are a few plot lines that don’t seem to go anywhere (perhaps those were the cameos from the Blue Bloods books?). I found the pacing inconsistent. The book moves along at a good pace, but at the end everything feels rushed. Most of the conflict happens in the third section and everything is resolved in the last 20 pages or so. There don’t seem to be any real stakes either. The characters have to live through a little bit of hardship, lose nothing and gain everything. Although the Epilogue does have me intrigued for the rest of the series (and saved/raised my opinion of the book).The mythology is different from anything I’ve read before, but easy enough to understand. I was completely surprised at the inclusion of all the Norse mythology at the end though. If I hadn’t seen Thor, I would have been incredibly lost at that point. There is also a mystery aspect to the story, but I didn’t think it was very well done. de la Cruz would hint at things or leave bits purposefully vague, but I never found myself bothered about the information she was leaving out and none of the twists (if they were supposed to be twists) surprised me other than the Norse god thing (which was more confusing than surprising).de la Cruz occasionally has the characters telling each other things they already know (aka exposition through dialogue aka one of my pet peeves). There were a few SAT vocabulary words thrown in that didn’t seem to fit the characters using them, and I cringed at some of the descriptions in the sex scenes. But overall the writing is very readable. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for something light to read on the beach this summer.
 - Melissa de la Cruz)
