Serpent's Kiss
Number 2 in series
-
-
4.4 • 7 Ratings
-
-
- £1.99
Publisher Description
*The second book in the series that inspired the major Netflix TV drama Witches of East End*
'Smart, stylish and just a bit wicked' Deborah Harkness, bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches
Everything ought to be perfect in the magical Long Island town of North Hampton now that Freya Beauchamp's twin brother, Freddie, is back. But their mother, Joanna, has always favoured son Freddie, and his assertion-that Freya's fiancé Killian Gardiner (Baldur) was the one who set up his downfall-threatens to fracture the delicate family dynamics as the Beauchamps are forced to take sides against each other.
Freddie spends his days either on the couch sleeping, or sleeping around. When their father Norman helps him find a job on a fishing vessel, Freddie's uncontrollable magic causes mayhem aboard the ship and lands him in even more hot water.
Level-headed sister Ingrid attempts to maintain the peace between the warring twins, but she has problems of her own: her human boyfriend, detective Matt Noble, becomes entangled in a complicated investigation, and when the magical creatures at the heart of it come to Ingrid for help, she has to choose between helping her kind and staying loyal to her love.
Freya and Killian plan their wedding only to discover an ancient rivalry that could keep them apart for ever. Things come to a head when the culprit behind Freddie's imprisonment is finally revealed, but it may be too late to staunch the poison that's been released in the family and the town.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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?
