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A review by delaneybull
Dangerous Creatures by Kami Garcia
3.0
I liked getting Ridley's perspective, as she was one of the more intriguing and complex characters in the Beautiful Creatures series. However, her constant self-deprecating tone and constant reitterance of how worthless and Dark she is got old. I also think Link got shunted in this novel. Although it was clear that Ridley was the main narrative, I think the misguided assumption that Link is all brawn, no brains came back in full force in this novel. I think it was a little less carefully written as the Beautiful Creatures series was, but I looved the addition of Nox and the chapters from his perspective. While I'm a little disappointed at the main villain in this novel (been there, done that), I think it will be interesting to see how these authors keep it fresh with the same world and characters as the wildly successful and popular Beautiful Creatures series.
The bandmates were alright, but could have been much more developed for the length of the novel, and I felt the idea of the villain and his story was a little underdeveloped as well. There's a line of keeping and air of mystery while still making the story easy to follow for the reader, and this plot jumped around a little too much and leaned more into the side of mystery, so I was confused as to what the point of a lot of the actions were. I mean, yeah, boy drama and whatever and markers but the deeper meaning was lost, whereas Lena and Ethan always kept the story easy to follow but not boring, and had a lot more insights into individuals' character, which I hope to see in the following Dangerous Creatures novels.
I've read a few other people's reviews, and I agree with what a lot of people are saying about Ridley. She wasn't the strong, badass, sexy and sensual character that I LOVED in the Beautiful Creatures series. She wasn't the antithesis of Lena (one of my LEAST favorite characters in a novel EVER). She became much the same as Lena after she got her half Dark prognosis or whatever. Whiny, crying, UNBELIEVABLY self-pitying, and I was so disappointed! I mean, yes you need to have some depth to a character like Ridley or else she gets stale, but I think it was taken in the wrong direction. What happened to the confident woman who KNEW she could get Link back and enjoyed the play between them? Instead we get a winy, wimpy girl who will let herself get pulled between boys and doesn't defend herself or what she wants because she's so Dark so everything haaas to suck for her. Sure. I really hope the authors figure out that women don't have to be one or the other, there's a mix of vulnerability that still defends a woman's choice and preserves her agency, which was really missing in the novel. Especially in the ending. I mean, So I sincerely hope that she FIGURES SHIT OUT. Because if she gets made into a Lena clone in this series I will be very, very unhappy.
The bandmates were alright, but could have been much more developed for the length of the novel, and I felt the idea of the villain and his story was a little underdeveloped as well. There's a line of keeping and air of mystery while still making the story easy to follow for the reader, and this plot jumped around a little too much and leaned more into the side of mystery, so I was confused as to what the point of a lot of the actions were. I mean, yeah, boy drama and whatever and markers but the deeper meaning was lost, whereas Lena and Ethan always kept the story easy to follow but not boring, and had a lot more insights into individuals' character, which I hope to see in the following Dangerous Creatures novels.
I've read a few other people's reviews, and I agree with what a lot of people are saying about Ridley. She wasn't the strong, badass, sexy and sensual character that I LOVED in the Beautiful Creatures series. She wasn't the antithesis of Lena (one of my LEAST favorite characters in a novel EVER). She became much the same as Lena after she got her half Dark prognosis or whatever. Whiny, crying, UNBELIEVABLY self-pitying, and I was so disappointed! I mean, yes you need to have some depth to a character like Ridley or else she gets stale, but I think it was taken in the wrong direction. What happened to the confident woman who KNEW she could get Link back and enjoyed the play between them? Instead we get a winy, wimpy girl who will let herself get pulled between boys and doesn't defend herself or what she wants because she's so Dark so everything haaas to suck for her. Sure. I really hope the authors figure out that women don't have to be one or the other, there's a mix of vulnerability that still defends a woman's choice and preserves her agency, which was really missing in the novel. Especially in the ending. I mean,