Book Review: Beautiful Darkness

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl is the second of the Caster Chronicles about Ethan Wate, an average sixteen-year-old boy from the small Southern town, Gatlin, S.C., who falls in love with a supernatural Caster girl, Lena.

According to the book's blurb:

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.

I really enjoyed Beautiful Creatures and this book held up to the standards its predecessor set. Actually, it went deeper, darker. With many twists and turns. The world that Ms. Garcia and Ms. Stohl builds is truly amazing and three-dimensional. Characters were constantly surprising me, and in ways that stayed away from feeling contrived (which is always a bonus). Though Ethan's dilemma got me thinking (spoiler alert). If he were a girl and thought the way he was thinking about Lena (if Lena were a boy), as in: I'll give up everything up for her. My dreams are no longer important, yadda yadda. I would have thrown the book down in disgust. It disturbed me a little bit. I hate the "ideal love" where complete sacrifice is necessary (reminds me a bit too much of Twilight and Romeo & Juliet). And it got to the point where I was literally asking WHY he even wanted to be with Lena when she's treating him like dirt. But he starts asking himself that, too. He even is tempted by/interested in another girl. So, redeemed. But, still, it's an interesting question. And since it's a love story, we know that Ethan and Lena are going to live up happily ever after (I hope I didn't spoil that for you) but my irritations were allayed a little bit by how difficult and imperfect that happily ever after is achieved. So, kudos to the authors.

The ending was a cliffhanger of the best sort, making me just want to pull my hair out and scream, "OMG, what happens next?!"

And Ridley? The most awesome minor character I've read in a while. She's almost more interesting than the MCs. Almost.

Recommended? Yes. For those who would like a more realistic view of teenage love and dark, deep magic places.

Rating (out of five stars): 4.25

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures

I put off reading Beautiful Creatures because I thought it was just another teen vampire novel. I'm happy to say there wasn't a vampire in sight (though one character did come close).

Set in the small, backward town of Gatlin, S.C., the story is told from first person POV. And, here's another nice twist, the POV character isn't female. The male MC, Ethan, tells the story from his POV. Even though this story was written by two female writers--Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl--the MC felt genuinely masculine (if not overly so) and had the same thoughts, hopes and dreams that I imagined any sixteen-year-old boy would have. (Except that he's maybe a little more in touch with his feelings; or at least more honest about them.)


Enter the new girl. (Didn't see that coming, did you?) Lena Duchannes is an odd one. Dark-haired, pale, but (of course) gorgeous, she wears a lot of black and writes on everything. Everyone immediately dislikes her because she's "not like them" and the name-calling and nastiness ensues. Ethan, of course, is drawn to Lena in a way he can't explain and becomes her champion...becoming an outcast in the process. A bit predictable, yes, but the setting and MC's take on things make it a worthwhile read.


But if you were thinking Lena might be a vampire, you're wrong. She's a witch. (Completely redeems the book in my eyes.) And she's also cursed. (Of course.) When she turns sixteen, she will either become a Dark or Light witch. The choice isn't hers, and the countdown begins. Ethan and Lena try to discover a way to prevent her from becoming a Dark witch as they explore their feelings for each other (and the nightmares they share). It turns out that the small town of Gatlin has more secrets (and more magic) than anyone could have ever guessed or suspected hidden under its southern pride and confederate sympathies. 


This was a fairly fast-paced book. (I read it in two days.) The characters were interesting and there were enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. The thing I loved most about this book, however, was that the title referred not to the witches (or Casters, as they preferred to be called), but to humans. As Macon Ravenwood (Lena's uncle and the closest thing to a vampire in the book) says, "Humans are such beautiful creatures." (Roughly. I don't have the book on me at this time, but that's the gist of what he says.)


A pretty good YA book (and the Civil War history was really interesting). Out of five stars, I give it four.


The sequel, Beautiful Darkness, is now out in hardcover. I'll put it on my to-read list.