Winds of Salem
Authors: Melissa de La Cruz
PRAISE FOR THE
Witches of East End
series
“Move over, zombies, vampires, and werewolves, and make way for witches. Melissa de la Cruz, author of the bestselling Blue Bloods series, ably sets the stage for a juicy new franchise with
Witches of East End
… De la Cruz balances the supernatural high-jinksery with unpredictable twists and a conclusion that nicely sets up book 2.”
—
Entertainment Weekly
“Centuries after the practice of magic was forbidden, Freya, Ingrid, and their mom struggle to restrain their witchy ways as chaos builds in their Long Island town. A bubbling cauldron of mystery and romance, the novel shares the fanciful plotting of Blue Bloods, the author’s teen vampire series… [B]reezy fun.”
—
People
“A magical and romantic page-turner…
Witches of East End
is certain to attract new adult readers… The pacing is masterful, and while the witchcraft is entertaining, it’s ultimately a love triangle that makes the story compelling. De la Cruz has created a family of empathetic women who are both magically gifted and humanly flawed.”
—
Washington Post
“For anyone who was frustrated watching Samantha suppress her magic on
Bewitched
, Ms. de la Cruz brings some satisfaction. In her first novel for adults, the author… lets her repressed sorceresses rip.”
—
New York Times
“What happens when a family of Long Island witches is forbidden to practice magic? This tale of powerful women, from the author of the addictive Blue Bloods series, mixes mystery, a battle of good versus evil and a dash of Norse mythology into a page-turning parable of inner strength.”
—
Self
“
Witches of East End
has all the ingredients you’d expect from one of Melissa’s bestselling YA novels—intrigue, mystery and plenty of romance. But with the novel falling under the ‘adult’ categorization, Melissa’s able to make her love scenes even more… magical.”
—MTV.com
“De la Cruz has, with
Witches
, once again managed to enliven and embellish upon history and mythology with a clever interweaving of past and present, both real and imagined… [It] casts a spell.”
—
Los Angeles Times
“De la Cruz is a formidable storyteller with a narrative voice strong enough to handle the fruits of her imagination. Even readers who generally avoid witches and whatnot stand to be won over by the time the cliffhanger-with-a-twist-ending hits.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“Fantasy for well-read adults.”
—Kirkus
“A sexy, magical romp, sure to bring de la Cruz a legion of new fans.”
—Kelley Armstrong,
New York Times
bestselling author of the Otherworld series
“Fans will be delighted with the next entry in her new adult series. A compelling tale of powerful magic, romance, betrayal and suspense.”
—Library Journal
For Mike and Mattie
Contents
Praise for The Witches of East End series
Once upon a time in North Hampton…
Chapter Five: Mr. Brooks and Miss Beauchamp
North Hampton: The Present: New Year’s Eve
Chapter Seven: What Dreams May Come
Chapter Ten: The Most Important Girl in His Life
Chapter Eleven: Of Gods and Men
Chapter Twelve: The Salon des Refusés
Chapter Thirteen: Detective Noble
Chapter Fourteen: Cavern in the Woods
Chapter Fifteen: Fighting Fire with Fire
Chapter Sixteen: The Perfect Family
Chapter Seventeen: From the Mouths of Babes
Chapter Eighteen: Gone Baby Gone
Chapter Nineteen: Miracle Worker
Chapter Twenty: Raise the Roof
Chapter Twenty-One: Thank Heaven for Little Girls?
Chapter Twenty-Two: Whish Witch
Chapter Twenty-Three: Loose Lips
Chapter Twenty-Four: Love and Marriage
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Immortals
North Hampton: The Present Valentine’s Day
Chapter Twenty-six: The Hammer Strikes
Chapter Twenty-seven: The Family Three
Chapter Twenty-eight: The Manny Diaries
Chapter Twenty-nine: My Boyfriend’s Back
Chapter Thirty: The Price of Admission
Chapter Thirty-One: Tequila Sunset
Chapter Thirty-Two: Shower the People
Chapter Thirty-Three: The Price of Admission, Part Two
Chapter Thirty-Four: Where Things Come Back
Chapter Thirty-Five: Put a Ring On It
Chapter Thirty-Six: The Price of Admission, Part Three
Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Monster at the End of the World
Chapter Thirty-Eight: Sliding Dates
Chapter Thirty-Nine: Trickster’s Son
Time in a Bottle: Salem, North Hampton: Past, Present
Chapter Forty-One: Friend of the Family
Chapter Forty-Two: Black Widow
Chapter Forty-Three: Fork in the Road
Chapter Forty-Five: The Man in White
Chapter Forty-Six: Down the Rabbit Hole
Chapter Forty-Seven: Appointment with Death
Chapter Forty-Eight: Alpha Girls
Chapter Fifty-One: In the Land of the Blind… the One-Eyed Man Is King
Chapter Fifty-Two: Goose Chasing
Chapter Fifty-Three: The Death of Spring
Chapter Fifty-Four: The Love of a Lifetime
North Hampton: The Present: Easter
Chapter Fifty-Five: Left Behind
Chapter Fifty-Six: One Wedding among the Funerals
Chapter Fifty-Seven: The Longest Journeys Begin with a Single Step
Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Loves of Her Life
The Nine Worlds of the Known Universe
Jealousy is always born with love,
but does not always die with it.
—François, Duc de la Rochefoucauld,
Maxims
Once upon a time in North Hampton…
In a rambling colonial house in a little elusive town by the sea on Long Island’s northern and easternmost tip, a silver-haired witch named Joanna Beauchamp lived with her two daughters, Ingrid and Freya. Blond and brainy, thirty-something Ingrid was the local librarian, while barely-out-of-her-teens Freya was the wildest bartender who had ever mixed drinks at the North Inn’s bar. The women lived quiet, solitary lives, suppressing their natural talents in adherence to the Restriction of Magical Powers. The law was handed down from the White Council after the Salem witch trials effectively ended the practice of magic in mid-world after Freya and Ingrid were hanged in 1692.
Immortals, the girls returned to life, scarred by the experience and wary of the mortal world, and small-town life continued apace for centuries until the day Freya won the heart of the very handsome and very wealthy philanthropist Bran Gardiner, whose family owned the Fair Haven estate on eponymous Gardiners Island. Helpless against the force of her desire, Freya celebrated her engagement by having a torrid affair with Bran’s younger brother, Killian, he of the dark, smoldering good looks and devil-may-care attitude.
Following Freya’s lead of throwing caution to the wind, the witches soon unleashed their full powers—Joanna, whose
specialty was recovery and renewal, brought the dead to life. Ingrid, a healer who could tap into people’s lifelines and see the future, began to dole out her spells and charms to any patron with a trying domestic problem, and even gave the mayor’s wife a powerful fidelity knot. Freya, who specialized in matters of the heart, served up heady potions, and every night at the North Inn became a wild, hedonistic romp. It was all a bit of harmless, innocent, enchanted fun until a girl went missing, several residents began to suffer from a rash of inexplicable illnesses, and a dark menace was found growing in the waters off the Atlantic, poisoning the wildlife. When the mayor turned up dead, the finger-pointing began, and for a moment it felt like the Salem witch trials all over again.