December 09, 2011

Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1)
Authors: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little Brown
Publication Date: December 1, 2009
Pages: 563
Source: Paperback/Own 

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. 

Review: I honestly wasnt sure if I was going to like this book. I dont know what it was, but something made me feel like I might not like it BUT whatever it was, was wrong. I did like the book! But, its not one that would make my favorites. But overall I did enjoy it. So, I honestly felt like the beginning of the book was kinda slow and boring. I mean, throughout the first couple chapters I felt like I was learning the entire history of Gaitlin. I mean, I love knowing something about where the story is taking place but I'm pretty sure I don't need to know every little detail. Lol. It was more after Lena really came into the picture that I was more interested in the story. I absolutely loved the mystery around her family and what they are. Thats definitely what kept me reading! I really enjoyed getting to learn (even if it was a bit slowly at first) about the casters. The whole idea of being Light or Dark and having your own special talents was cool (though I'm not sure I'm a fan of Dark Casters). Also, the whole things with Lena's family being cursed and light or dark being chose for you was pretty interesting as well (especially as Lena and Ethan began to figure out how her family got cursed in the first place).

Ethan, I definitely like this kid. Now, yes I know, he was originally drawn to Lena because he saw her in his dreams but if he really wanted to he could have ignored that. He chose to be friends with her, to be there for her when everyone else was treating her like she was a freak and a bad person. He didn't give up on her even when his so called "friends" kept telling him to get rid of her. He wouldn't, and that won big points with me. Lol. I also was so interested but confused about how Ethan had power to protect Lena even though he wasn't a caster. I was constantly wondering how he had power! I really loved how Lena eventually gave up on trying to push Ethan away, because they had such strong feelings for each other. Love, such a powerful thing! I found the end bittersweet. I was really happy Ethan was still alive but I was kinda sad to find out Macon had died. But now I definitely wanna read Beautiful Darkness (lucky for me, I have it on my shelf already).

4 Stars!