Review of Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

I'll start with the things I liked about Beautiful Darkness, the major thing being the premise. It's incredibly unique and so well thought-out. The world Kami and Margaret built to set the Caster world was vividly described (though some of the southernisms got on my nerves) and its non-paranormal aspects gave the town a realistic vibe.

I also loved the plot - complicated and unpredictable. The characters have destinies that you expect them to fulfill but then they find a loophole in them that you never could have expected.


I liked the writing style. It seemed to drag out, though. I'm not opposed to reading long books, but I don't like reading 503 pages when it could be 400 if you removed a few small subplots. 


I usually enjoy reading from a male perspective, but Ethan felt like a girl just with a guy's name. Though the first half of the book, I completely hated Lena, though I could almost understand where she was coming from. I was really hoping for Ethan and Liv to get together even though she's just the Paris to Ethan and Lena's Romeo and Juliet - she makes a love triangle, but you know there's no way he'd ever choose her.


I remember loving the first book in the series, but that was so long ago and I think my reading interests have changed since. I still enjoyed this book, just not as much, and give it a 3 out of 5.

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P.S. I also reviewed the first book in The Caster Chronicles, Beautiful Creatures, which I'd link you to directly, except that it was the first review I ever posted and therefore sucked. Find it in my review archive if you dare.

Review of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

It's been two months since by introductory blog, and no reviews. Apologies. But I'm about to get right on it, starting with Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.



Read the blurb here at goodreads. In fact, while you're there, add me as a friend!







So I'm not going to lie, I was originally hesitant to pick up Beautiful Creatures, because of a cheesy title and cheesy blurb that just made it sound like every other YA book out there.
But, I did end up picking it up, once a friend suggested it. And then I couldn't put it down.

Things I loved about Beautiful Creatures:

1. The title that I originally thought cheesy became exponetially less cheesy when the phrase came up in the prose: "Humans are such beautiful creatures." (I'm paraphrasing: I read it a while ago, and I haven't the book handy). Especially when it was juxtaposed later when another character said humans were "horrible creatures" (paraphrasing, once again).

2. When you read it, you could just tell that all the words were chosen specifically and carefully. The result of reading co-authored books. While I'm talking about authors, I want to point out that this is the first book Kami and Margaret have written, and that this is a really great debut.

3. I loved the male protagonist's point of view. Most of the books I've read in YA are from the point of view of females, and this was a refreshing change. It's also different to have the boy be the human and the girl supernatural.

4. THE SIXTEEN MOONS SONG! I can't even describe how much I love it when lyrics or poetry by the characters makes its way into the book, not just third party poetry used as a preface. The great thing about the Sixteen Moons song was how the words changed each time it was mentioned, albeit subtly.

5. I liked having their ancestors' and town's history woven in. It just furthered the believable small town setting.

I give this debut an 4 out of 5, and anxiously await the sequel, Beautiful Darkness, which is due for release on the 12th of October.