Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Saturday, May 1, 2010
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.

I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. I think I was amping it up and I'm a bit disappointed that it fell short of my expectations. The story plot was good and the characters were relate-able, though I did find Lena a bit obnoxious at times. I thought the writing was excellent, but I don't think the ending fit the rest of the story. I saw a lot of open holes in the story that the authors didn't fully close in my opinion. As I said I liked the writing and the idea of a small Southern town and its secrets is always grounds for a great novel.

I really liked Ethan's character, I think he's the type of guy every girl reader would want to fall in love with. He's kind and sensitive, but will fiercely protect Lena whenever he thought he could. Ethan is flawed, but not so much that its detrimental to the story. I liked the other characters in the story as well and even though they aren't in the story all the time, they make their impression on the reader.

Overall, I thought the book was really good and I don't regret reading it, I just think I was hyping it up to be something it wasn't. If you get over the fact that 'OMG I'm holding Beautiful Creatures and reading it!!!' it is a good book and has great potential :) I am looking forward to the next book, Beautiful Darkness, which is due to release on October 26th, 2010!

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2 comments:

Midnight Thief said...

Interesing how the actual book covers don't look as good and as detailed as the internet pictures always portray them as. :(

But you might think better of Beautiful Creatures once you read Beautiful Darkness. The holes might fill up and such. :)

Corey said...

Totally late comment, but...

I 100% agree about Beautiful Creatures. It was good, but I think was expecting too much of it, so I was a little let down. I think I was wanting a little more Southern Gothic creepiness maybe?

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