Serpent's Kiss

April 16, 2012
This minimally engaging sequel suffers from middle-child syndrome. The cast and all their problems carry on from the bestselling first installment, Witches of East End. At the center are two sisters and Joanna, their mother—three witches who live in the charmed town of North Hampton at the end of Long Island. All three are romantically beset: Joanna is torn between her ex-husband and a new beau; librarian Ingrid, the older, is nervous about her first real relationship; and wild child Freya is forced to doubt the man she madly loves. It doesn’t help that an errant band of pixies and a trouble-prone brother with a missing trident are stirring up more supernatural strife. Dependent for its tension on the first installment, this chapter merely drifts along on leftover steam. The characters are stylized but lively, and moments like a trip in time to the witch-hunting 17th century are tantalizing. Not helping matters is the fact that these characters are immortal Norse gods, an original conceit that lends an air of unimportance to the proceedings; to an immortal, what’s a 50-year marriage, or even a 5,000-year stint in limbo, in the grand scheme of things? Agent: Richard Abate, 3 Arts Entertainment.

July 1, 2012
Second in de la Cruz's increasingly convoluted melange of witchcraft and Norse mythology, set in fictional North Hampton, Long Island. When we last saw Joanna Beauchamp and her witchly brood, the sacred bridge, Bofrir, had been destroyed, and the sun god, Fryr, aka Joanna's son Freddie, was blamed, because his signature trident (now missing) was found at the scene. Although it was clear then that the trickster god, Loki, was the real culprit (isn't he always?), the Valkyries consigned Freddie to Limbo, from which he has recently escaped. He's now holed up in North Hampton's no-tell motel (dubbed the Ucky Star for its missing neon letter). His twin sister, Freya, love goddess and mixologist extraordinaire at the local watering hole, is bringing Freddie food and trying to clear his name. Her boyfriend, Killian (the god Balder who is Loki's nemesis from way back), bears a trident-shaped mark--could he have framed Freddie? Joanna's oldest, Ingrid, aka hearth-deity Erda, has her own challenges: Her nascent romance with aptly named policeman Matt Noble is about to founder on her intractable virginity. Not only that, thieving pixies have invaded North Hampton, and Ingrid is hiding them in her mother's attic until she can discern how to cure their amnesia and return them to their home in another dimension. In a forest near the Beauchamp house, Joanna happens upon a burial mound and some runes. Could this be the final resting spot of a kindred spirit, hanged during the colonial witch hunts, and if so, why hasn't she been reborn, like Freya and Ingrid, who died in Salem? Only a trip back in time can solve these enigmas. In contrast to the first installment, there is very little entertaining interaction between the immortal Beauchamps and their human neighbors, and the Norse arcana is about as exciting as a romp through Tolkien's Silmarillion. Readers can, nevertheless, look forward to Book III, which promises to place the Beauchamps back in the 17th century where all their troubles began.

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June 1, 2012

An ancient restriction has been lifted and Joanna, Freya, and Ingrid are free to practice magic in the sleepy town of North Hampton. Freya transforms the local tavern with pop-up drinks and special effects, while her sister Ingrid offers special "counseling services" on her lunch hour at the public library. Joanna, like most mothers, worries after her daughters and spends her spare time baking--and decoding cryptic messages from the dead. Freya's twin brother Fryr has escaped Limbo and is hiding in a local hotel. He's now claiming to be innocent of a long-ago crime. Freya will keep his location secret, but his accusations make her doubt the man closest to her heart. Ingrid wrestles with her feelings for police detective Matt Noble, and Joanna juggles a new romantic interest even as her affection for her estranged husband is rekindled. As the romance heats up, so does the mystery--and the danger. VERDICT Fans of the New York Times best-selling 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 Univ. Lib., Corpus Christi

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2012
The Beauchamp women of fictional North Hampton, New York, introduced in Witches of East End (2011), are backfree-spirited bartender Freya; her tightly wound librarian older sister, Ingrid; and their mother, Joannacenturies-old witches who only recently recommenced use of their powers after their utilization was forbidden, postSalem witch trials. This time, Freya's twin brother, Fryr, long (and wrongly) held responsible for the destruction of the Bofrir Bridge, which connected the mortal world to the home of the gods, has secretly returnedand he's hell-bent on finding out who framed him. De la Cruz introduces in this entry a band of wily, trouble-making amnesiac pixies who double as brooding teenager-types, a ghost trying desperately to get Joanna's attention, and time travel to Salem-era North Hampton. There's no shortage of love interests for the Beauchamp clan, but the hard part is figuring out who among these potential mates are exactly as they seem. A speedy and compelling urban-fantasy/romance for series fans and newcomersde la Cruz's character web is vast and sometimes multinamed, but she makes quick work of filling in the blanks.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)