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beckyyreadss's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This series was gifted to me for my birthday. I watched the film when I was younger and I loved it and I forgot this was based on a book and I was really interested to see the differences. As always, the book are always better!
This book follows Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape the small town of Gatlin, where he has lived all of his life. He is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena Duchannes moves into the town’s oldest house with her uncle – who is the town’s freak, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone 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. But a secret cannot stay hidden forever and one secret could change everything.
I liked this book. I enjoyed reading it from a boy’s point of view. I think Ethan is also a really good strong character who didn’t freak out when the girl he’s attracted to is a Caster. The storyline was strong and kept you intrigued with the mystery and the build up to her sixteenth birthday. It is a very gothic and teenagery book like when Lena just wants to be a normal fifteen-year-old girl and go to the dances and have friends and overthinking everything and you want to punch the living crap out of the mean girls. I also love the fact they actually gave Lena and Ethan some personality and didn’t make them bland. I didn’t like the insta-love though but it works well with this book as most teenagers believe in love at first sight and things like that.
The book ends with you wanting more but it also wraps up well that it could have been left as a standalone novel. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series and cannot wait to see more of Lena and Ethan.
This book follows Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape the small town of Gatlin, where he has lived all of his life. He is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena Duchannes moves into the town’s oldest house with her uncle – who is the town’s freak, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone 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. But a secret cannot stay hidden forever and one secret could change everything.
I liked this book. I enjoyed reading it from a boy’s point of view. I think Ethan is also a really good strong character who didn’t freak out when the girl he’s attracted to is a Caster. The storyline was strong and kept you intrigued with the mystery and the build up to her sixteenth birthday. It is a very gothic and teenagery book like when Lena just wants to be a normal fifteen-year-old girl and go to the dances and have friends and overthinking everything and you want to punch the living crap out of the mean girls. I also love the fact they actually gave Lena and Ethan some personality and didn’t make them bland. I didn’t like the insta-love though but it works well with this book as most teenagers believe in love at first sight and things like that.
The book ends with you wanting more but it also wraps up well that it could have been left as a standalone novel. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series and cannot wait to see more of Lena and Ethan.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Violence, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Genocide, and Gun violence
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
3 ⭐ CW: Death of a parent, Civil War referred to as "War of Northern Aggression", fatphobia, bullying, burning plantation homes with people inside, violence, death of a pet
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl was part of a series my cousin sent me second hand. I enjoyed the premise of this novel, but it definitely could have been better.
We follow Ethan Wate, a local jock in Gatlin, NC, where nothing ever changes, until the niece of owner of Ravenwood Manor moves to town, things change quickly. So we have a love story between a Caster and Mortal. Lena Duchannes doesn't fit the Gatlin mold, and in turn is bullied and tormented. Even the parents get involved in scheming a way to get her kicked out of school.
The magic in this was interesting. I love the concept of the Kitchen in Ravenwood being an entity on its own. It was cool to learn about the different abilities every Caster has. We learn that on the 16th birthday, Casters are claimed as Light or Dark, only Lena's family doesn't get that choice. Ultimately this is a book about choosing and making your own fate. We also get love as strength in the face of evil.
Even I did for the most part enjoy this book, it did have its problems. For example, in a book based in a Southern town that has old plantation homes, and still says the "war between the states", and not once was slavery mentioned. On top of that we have a token person of color who is used as a the magical and wise plot device, and she is described as looking "exotic" (ick). There is also a ton of fatphobia in this book. I know it came out in 2009, but damn, it was unnecessary.
I will probably try the next book to see if it improves enough for me to want to finish the series. If not, I may dnf it.
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl was part of a series my cousin sent me second hand. I enjoyed the premise of this novel, but it definitely could have been better.
We follow Ethan Wate, a local jock in Gatlin, NC, where nothing ever changes, until the niece of owner of Ravenwood Manor moves to town, things change quickly. So we have a love story between a Caster and Mortal. Lena Duchannes doesn't fit the Gatlin mold, and in turn is bullied and tormented. Even the parents get involved in scheming a way to get her kicked out of school.
The magic in this was interesting. I love the concept of the Kitchen in Ravenwood being an entity on its own. It was cool to learn about the different abilities every Caster has. We learn that on the 16th birthday, Casters are claimed as Light or Dark, only Lena's family doesn't get that choice. Ultimately this is a book about choosing and making your own fate. We also get love as strength in the face of evil.
Even I did for the most part enjoy this book, it did have its problems. For example, in a book based in a Southern town that has old plantation homes, and still says the "war between the states", and not once was slavery mentioned. On top of that we have a token person of color who is used as a the magical and wise plot device, and she is described as looking "exotic" (ick). There is also a ton of fatphobia in this book. I know it came out in 2009, but damn, it was unnecessary.
I will probably try the next book to see if it improves enough for me to want to finish the series. If not, I may dnf it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Death, and Animal death
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