Book Review: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Written by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Pages: 528
Published: September 2011
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

Goodreads Synopsis...
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.

My Review...
Beautiful darkness is that much better than the first book in the Castor Chronicles series. It is more original, and much more complex. However it still has many annoying qualities, that books today seem to be plagued by. Firstly, all of the problems that happen between Lena and Ethan. The main romance of the book, could be solved if the just COMMUNICATE! I mean come on! Use your mouth, and stop sulking in the fact that you are in a difficult situation.

This leads on to the second problem, the romance. The love between Lena and Ethan, that built up in the second book is left in tatters in this one. The bond that they shared is an empty shadow of what it supposedly used to be.

The third, and final thing I will write about, that was a grievance with this book, was the lack of information. All of these amazing and fantastical things were happening. But there were so many holes in this material, it would have left lady gaga a little self conscious.  If your gonna tell me something, I need you to explain it to me, and prove it. I don't just accept whatever you dish out.

Ok well theres my little rant about this book, and if your thinking I must really not like it. You would be wrong. I really like this series, and this book was an improvement on the first. But I just expect more, from a world I am starting to love. I mean there are two authors. Two! Isnt the saying that two heads are better than one. My challenge to Garcia and Stohl would be to prove it.

Fix these things that take away from what was a well paced, exciting and fun book to read.

Make my 4 out of 5, a 5 out of 5.



Check out my video review and discussion of this book above, and on my Youtube channel: bookswithdylan 

Watch my review of the first book in the castor chronicles series, Beautiful Creatures Below.

 

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Pages: 563
Published: December 2009
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal Romance, Fantasy

Goodreads Synopsis...
There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

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

My Review...
Lets be simple about this. This book is so entertaining, its fun to read, and I finished it really quickly. However thats just because I love paranormal romance. I would suggest that if you dont love that genre, that you could skip this book if it pleases you. There is going to be a movie adaptation though, so that might sway you to read it.

First off, the things I didnt like: Ethan, the main male character, and narrator of the book. Was not really a male narrator. There was nothing about him, and his thoughts that distinguished him from other female narrators. He was too nice, too politically correct, too perfect. Plus he sometimes thought like a lil old granny.

Another thing I didnt like was that the story line was not really original. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy and girl face challenge that could brake them up, but we all know it never will. I was expecting something different,  or at least something with a new twist on the same story, and I didnt get it.

Those were the things I didnt like, the romance was a bit over the top at times, but I expected it because it is paranormal romance people.

The things I liked was the way the book just sucked me in, it was entertaining and captivating. I just really love me some paranormal romance!

So for that reason, Im giving this book a 4 out of 5. If you dont love the genre I would say take a point off my rating, and see it as 3 out of 5.

This book was fun, and interesting, but it lacked something new and different. I enjoyed reading it, but I doubt Ill pick it up again. However, I will be reading the next books in the series, maybe once this whole familiar plotline is done in teh first book, the authors will do something different in the next ones. I will be sure to let you know!

Watch my video review of this book!