Okay, before I actually start the post, I have a confession to make: I haven't finished this series yet! I'm only halfway through, but I had to put it on hold to read my (*squeal*) ARC of Joy Preble's THE SWEET DEAD LIFE. I've been waiting for that book since last April. A whole year. That's hard. Very hard. And with the upcoming blog tour, I'm going to need some time to plot my review -- which at the moment is looking like it will be very good... ;)
On to Beautiful Creatures. Now, when I first saw that this was a collaborated book, with two authors, I was like "what? How is that going to work?" but I was intrigued by the blurb and wanted to read it before seeing the movie, so curiosity got the better of me and I bought it.
I'm really glad I did.
And don't get me wrong, there were annoying times when it felt like Garcia & Stohl had sat down and written down every possible way to up the ante and make things infinitely worse for poor star-crossed lovers Ethan and Lena. But I'm going to look past that, because despite my rage, it made for a better story. Trust me on this.
16-year-old Ethan Wate wants nothing more than to get the hell out of Gatlin, his typical Southern home town filled with the same old people doing the same old things and still obsessing about the Civil War. Mourning the death of his mother last year, he, his father and their housekeeper -- the superstitious Amma -- are just getting on with life as usual.
Cue Lena Duchannes -- mysterious, cryptic, beautiful, and exactly what Ethan is looking for. There's only one problem (so far): Lena is the niece of Macon Ravenwood, town shut-in and Gatlin's very own Boo Radley. An outisider, all Lena wants -- all she's ever wanted -- is to be normal. But that's pretty hard when your whole family has magic powers and is locked in a Civil War of its own -- a supernatural one.
On her sixteenth birthday, Lena will be claimed either to the Light or to the Dark. There's no going back after the Claiming. Ethan knows this, but still he can't help himself. The two fall into a deep, powerful love.
On to Beautiful Creatures. Now, when I first saw that this was a collaborated book, with two authors, I was like "what? How is that going to work?" but I was intrigued by the blurb and wanted to read it before seeing the movie, so curiosity got the better of me and I bought it.
I'm really glad I did.
And don't get me wrong, there were annoying times when it felt like Garcia & Stohl had sat down and written down every possible way to up the ante and make things infinitely worse for poor star-crossed lovers Ethan and Lena. But I'm going to look past that, because despite my rage, it made for a better story. Trust me on this.
Is falling in love the beginning... or the end?
16-year-old Ethan Wate wants nothing more than to get the hell out of Gatlin, his typical Southern home town filled with the same old people doing the same old things and still obsessing about the Civil War. Mourning the death of his mother last year, he, his father and their housekeeper -- the superstitious Amma -- are just getting on with life as usual.
Cue Lena Duchannes -- mysterious, cryptic, beautiful, and exactly what Ethan is looking for. There's only one problem (so far): Lena is the niece of Macon Ravenwood, town shut-in and Gatlin's very own Boo Radley. An outisider, all Lena wants -- all she's ever wanted -- is to be normal. But that's pretty hard when your whole family has magic powers and is locked in a Civil War of its own -- a supernatural one.
On her sixteenth birthday, Lena will be claimed either to the Light or to the Dark. There's no going back after the Claiming. Ethan knows this, but still he can't help himself. The two fall into a deep, powerful love.
There are no coincidences.
Here are the books in the series:
Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Darkness
Beautiful Chaos
Beautiful Redemption
And you can find them on Amazon here:
Star rating: 4/5 -- but keep in mind that I'm only halfway through the series. So that's based on just Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness. The difference between a four star and a five star rating, for me, is how sad I am to leave the characters behind. I was practically sobbing with afore-blogged-about five starrers. I'd be sad to leave Ethan and Lena now, but I think I'd get over it.
I think my favourite character in this series just has to be Wesley Jefferson Lincoln -- or just Link, to most people. He's exactly what a best friend should be -- caring, patient, funny, and most importantly, loyal to a fault. If I had to liken him to another book character, I'd say he's the male equivalent of Tess Edwards from Joy Preble's Dreaming Anastasia series. He's also pretty similar to Thomas, if you remember him from Anna Dressed in Blood. But yeah. I love Link.
Okay guys, I'll have to leave you now. To make up for the lack of myself next week, I'll post some music for you now:
Brother Bear is my absolute favourite Disney movie of ALL TIME! I made my Dad take me to see it three times when it came out in cinemas. Lol. He's a saint. He also let me dress him up as the Dreaming Anastasia villain for Halloween, but that's another story...
I'll miss you, guys! Next book talk I think I'll tell you guys about Dreaming Anastasia. I've waited long enough. Time to bring out the street team bandwagon ;)
Ciao!
p.s. Did I mention my parents used to live a street away from Phil Collins himself? I am uber-jealous! Love you, Phil!
p.s. Did I mention my parents used to live a street away from Phil Collins himself? I am uber-jealous! Love you, Phil!
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