Title: Beautiful Darkness
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Genre: Young Adult: Paranormal, Paranormal
Format: Paperback
Buy: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
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.
Frankly speaking, I found the first book (Beautiful Creatures, now, a big movie franchise) too much of a drag to read mainly because of how prolonging it was. I wasn't planning on reading or listening to the rest of the series anytime soon. But thanks to my eldest sister's audiobook, I managed to finish it within 3 days. Best thing about this is that I get to listen to it while I worked. I call it 'double productivity' and with that double productivity, I actually grew to love the series!
When the book started, I groaned and I did it because the author(s) reuses the same plot from the first book and renames it 17th Moon instead of 16th Moon. Then they begin to write circles and differences around it. But you've got to hand it to them, they did write a damn good book!
Ethan (the main character) is a sweetheart and in this installment, the poor guy goes through heaven and hell for Lena (his female counter part). Man, I hate Lena. She's such a victim I can't stand. Even worse are the decisions that she makes, and the fact that she completely doesn't confide in Ethan, like they used to, makes me groan some more! I even rolled my eyes at her a couple of times. I am so happy I don't have to deal with her as the main character. I wouldn't want to get stuck in that head of hers.
In the end, my favorite character is Link (Ethan's lame best friend) instead of Ethan. He's one of those dorky characters that will make you cry and laugh at the same time. He can even be considered as the "Ron Weasley" of the whole series. He is very much linked to the end of this installment that will literally blow your mind with it's awesomeness!
Likewise, we've got the adversaries of Ethan and his gang. The mastermind of the whole evilness reminds me too much of the bad guy in The Hunger Games. But then again, nothing is really new out there.
Now, for the beautiful yet gothic land of Gaitlin, South Carolina. So dark, so mystical. I just want to move into this fictional town and spend the rest of my life doing the things I love with the people I love. Of course, I'll only live there if the fictional characters of Gaitlin weren't. If you dislike the characters, you sure won't dislike the town they live in (minus the people). Gaitlin isn't just a home for humans but also Witches or Casters as they like to be called. The world Stohl and Garcia creates for the Casters is so dark and haunting, you can't help but call it beautiful.
Undoubtedly, I adored the book. The writing style is flat out written for not only the teens but for mothers, fathers, older brothers, etc. Some characters will surely keep you glued to the book while the storyline remains with the same foundation but still has the ability to keep the reader going, and most importantly, the book encompasses the Beautiful Darkness that continues to draw me even closer to the characters and overall, to the entire series.
And with that, I quickly moved to the 3rd book and I'm half way done with the book!
Oh now I'm worried about reading this book. It sounds like the plot was very similar and that the characters were not impressive. I'm a very character driven reader so if the characters are not interesting then I most likely won't be interested. I liked Beautiful Creatures but I wanted more in terms of the characters and instead it sounds like we get less of that but more of the gothic town. Idk I guess I shall just have to try this one for myself.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great review!
Character wise, Ethan, Link and Ridley are the only ones that grow the most in this book. This installment is WAAAY better than Beautiful Creatures. But hey! read the books in your own time. :) You never know how the book will make you feel. :)
DeleteThanks for the comment Alexa!