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In a small southern town with a secret world hidden in plain sight, sixteen-year-old Lena, who possesses supernatural powers and faces a life-altering decision, draws away from her true love, Ethan, a mortal with frightening visions.Tags
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* Spoilers for Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1) below - that review is here *
Small-town Gatlin, South Carolina was the town that never changed. It was the town Ethan Wate grew up in and where he thought he knew what to expect - from the Civil War reenactments to the mean girls at school to the DAR women. But then Lena Duchannes came along and changed everything.
Now Ethan knows about supernatural beings and that Amma's little charms aren't just things that humor her - they actually serve a purpose.
But, after the events of Beautiful Creatures -suffering a great loss, Lena has changed and is withdrawing from Ethan. Magical things are still happening in Ethan and Lena's lives - and relationship - but now some, if not most, of show more those things are darker and Ethan's forced to figure them out without Lena.
With visions only he can see and more danger at every turn - plus the chance of losing Lena - Ethan will have to turn to new friends - and old friends in new ways.
I wouldn't have thought it possible but I do believe I loved Beautiful Darkness more than I loved Beautiful Creatures. While the first book set up who the characters were, what the supernatural elements were and how the characters, the supernatural, and the town all worked together, this sequel more than builds on that.
Beautiful Darkness is definitely an epic second novel. It goes way beyond the story of Lena and Ethan - while still focusing on them just the right amount. We learn a lot about each of the different characters in this second novel - not just the main characters, but also the secondary other characters and the parts they play in this Caster (and Mortal) world.
The World also really expands in Darkness. It's a big novel, both page wise and story wise. The characters do a lot and I found myself marveling at how the authors were able to come up with such a plot and keep it all straight. At times it's hard to completely follow just every single thing that's going on if you're not careful, but it all comes together so well that it's okay.
All of the developments in this were fantastic and the writing was marvelous (I loved having it as an ebook because I could highlight so much!). The Southern feeling of these novels is likely my favorite of any Southern Gothic/Southern Whatever novels I have ever read, I just loved the atmosphere these writers have created in this series.
(Look for a review of Dream Dark and Beautiful Chaos soon!)
Rating: 10/10 show less
Small-town Gatlin, South Carolina was the town that never changed. It was the town Ethan Wate grew up in and where he thought he knew what to expect - from the Civil War reenactments to the mean girls at school to the DAR women. But then Lena Duchannes came along and changed everything.
Now Ethan knows about supernatural beings and that Amma's little charms aren't just things that humor her - they actually serve a purpose.
But, after the events of Beautiful Creatures -suffering a great loss, Lena has changed and is withdrawing from Ethan. Magical things are still happening in Ethan and Lena's lives - and relationship - but now some, if not most, of show more those things are darker and Ethan's forced to figure them out without Lena.
With visions only he can see and more danger at every turn - plus the chance of losing Lena - Ethan will have to turn to new friends - and old friends in new ways.
I wouldn't have thought it possible but I do believe I loved Beautiful Darkness more than I loved Beautiful Creatures. While the first book set up who the characters were, what the supernatural elements were and how the characters, the supernatural, and the town all worked together, this sequel more than builds on that.
Beautiful Darkness is definitely an epic second novel. It goes way beyond the story of Lena and Ethan - while still focusing on them just the right amount. We learn a lot about each of the different characters in this second novel - not just the main characters, but also the secondary other characters and the parts they play in this Caster (and Mortal) world.
The World also really expands in Darkness. It's a big novel, both page wise and story wise. The characters do a lot and I found myself marveling at how the authors were able to come up with such a plot and keep it all straight. At times it's hard to completely follow just every single thing that's going on if you're not careful, but it all comes together so well that it's okay.
All of the developments in this were fantastic and the writing was marvelous (I loved having it as an ebook because I could highlight so much!). The Southern feeling of these novels is likely my favorite of any Southern Gothic/Southern Whatever novels I have ever read, I just loved the atmosphere these writers have created in this series.
(Look for a review of Dream Dark and Beautiful Chaos soon!)
Rating: 10/10 show less
The title of this book is Beautiful Darkness, and never has a title been more fitting for the story it titles! This story was dark, but in a way that made you fall in love with it. All of the characters were miserable, and I was miserable with them, but it's the type of story where you love to be miserable, because it's so well written that their emotions and heartaches jump out of the pages at you. I loved this book and am anxiously waiting for the next one!
Meh... This book annoyed me and intrigued me at the same time. Beautiful Creatures managed to avoid a lot of teen paranormal romance cliches but Beautiful Darkness managed to hit all of them.
On one hand, I really want to like and continue reading this series. The authors have a beautiful, honest writing style. All character voices sound genuine and almost everyone is their own unique personality. I adore Link and I really liked meeting Liv in this book.
On the other hand, Ethan is such a doorknob and Lena is such a whiny emo brat that I just want to punch them both in the face. This series would be awesome if it were about everything except Ethan and Lena. But considering they're the main characters, I'm out of luck.
So, I regret show more stopping the series halfway through but the good isn't enough to outweigh the obnoxious. show less
On one hand, I really want to like and continue reading this series. The authors have a beautiful, honest writing style. All character voices sound genuine and almost everyone is their own unique personality. I adore Link and I really liked meeting Liv in this book.
On the other hand, Ethan is such a doorknob and Lena is such a whiny emo brat that I just want to punch them both in the face. This series would be awesome if it were about everything except Ethan and Lena. But considering they're the main characters, I'm out of luck.
So, I regret show more stopping the series halfway through but the good isn't enough to outweigh the obnoxious. show less
Still, and even more, falling deeper and deeper in love with series. I'm going to end up devouring the whole thing likely before the movie for book one. (At least I'm hoping to be able to accomplish that.)
I love how much of this series is Ethan, and Ethan's point of view, and how he is an unreliable narrator, and we know that because teenagers are unreliable and they don't know everything, and so watching Lena fall apart knowing things both she knew and Ethan didn't, and not knowing what was going on with her, for a goo 90% of the book was so powerful and I was so impressed.
I'm in love with getting more Gatlin, and all it's Down South-isms, another famous event. I loved out brand new character, and the unexpected twists and turns both show more she, and a good half-dozen of our very well worn in characters took. I love how the hinted histories in book one were examined jut a little more in this book, drawing even more out (and making me dizzy with longing to figure out what can fill two more books).
I love how the ending is not an ending, but a whole other beginning. I love how the climax comes between 90%-95% of the book, again, and we still deal with all manner of fall out and trying to collect what just happened before the story comes to a close, as much ended as it is rebegun. I love when people find their own patterns for how to handle layout like that, without copying everyone before them.
Most of the formatting issues i had in book one were totally gone here, so I'm going to bolster this one up to five. Hopefully somewhere around the middle of this week I'll be able to dash myself head long into book three and four. show less
I love how much of this series is Ethan, and Ethan's point of view, and how he is an unreliable narrator, and we know that because teenagers are unreliable and they don't know everything, and so watching Lena fall apart knowing things both she knew and Ethan didn't, and not knowing what was going on with her, for a goo 90% of the book was so powerful and I was so impressed.
I'm in love with getting more Gatlin, and all it's Down South-isms, another famous event. I loved out brand new character, and the unexpected twists and turns both show more she, and a good half-dozen of our very well worn in characters took. I love how the hinted histories in book one were examined jut a little more in this book, drawing even more out (and making me dizzy with longing to figure out what can fill two more books).
I love how the ending is not an ending, but a whole other beginning. I love how the climax comes between 90%-95% of the book, again, and we still deal with all manner of fall out and trying to collect what just happened before the story comes to a close, as much ended as it is rebegun. I love when people find their own patterns for how to handle layout like that, without copying everyone before them.
Most of the formatting issues i had in book one were totally gone here, so I'm going to bolster this one up to five. Hopefully somewhere around the middle of this week I'll be able to dash myself head long into book three and four. show less
Beautiful Creatures was (and remains as) one of my favorite books since I read it. I loved the writing style, the dialogs, the plot, the scenes... I fell in love with if. If you take my copy out of my bookshelf, you'll see all the post-its as a proof.
But this? This *thing* -because I refuse to call this a book- killed all that. I'm trying to think maybe I read it in a bad moment. I hope that's it. But, gosh! I didn't like this a bit. It dragged on and on. I read this in seven freaking months.
I'll try to reread it. I hope I'm wrong. I hope I missed something.
But this? This *thing* -because I refuse to call this a book- killed all that. I'm trying to think maybe I read it in a bad moment. I hope that's it. But, gosh! I didn't like this a bit. It dragged on and on. I read this in seven freaking months.
I'll try to reread it. I hope I'm wrong. I hope I missed something.
Beautiful Darkness is one of those rare sequels which manages to live up to its compelling and mind-blowing debut. Star-crossed lovers Ethan and Lena are back and they won my heart the second time around as completely as they did the first. It was great to get back to Gatlin, the quaint and yet charmingly backwards Southern town where the novels are set. Gatlin is a sort of literary sister-city to the small town outside of Charlotte, North Carolina where I live, and I always find myself laughing and nodding (hopefully not aloud in public) as I read Los Angeles- based author team Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's descriptions of age-old Southern traditions and social protocol that I know only too well. (I swear Ethan's aunts the Sisters show more are exact carbon-copies of my grandmother.)
Several new characters are introduced in Beautiful Darkness, though I don't intend to give away any major spoilers: Liv, a teenage Caster librarian from England who may just create a little competition for Lena in the possession of Ethan's heart; and John Breed, a mysterious Caster boy on a Harley who Lena seems to be spending a lot of time with... But it was getting to know the characters from the first book that I enjoyed the most. Ethan, Lena, and Ethan's housekeeper/ mystic Seer and tarot card reader were back, of course, though we didn't see quite as much of Lena as I would've liked. And Ridley-- well, nobody seriously thought we were getting rid of Lollipop Girl anytime soon, did they? Ridley's my favorite character by far-- I LOVE her bad-girl-ness, her seductive, sexy Siren powers, and her nicknames for Ethan and Link (Short Straw and Shirky-Dirk :) ) We got to see a lot more of Link, another one of my favorites, in Beautiful Darkness-- he sort of gets sucked into Ethan's mission by his desire to save Ridley from her own predestined destiny as a Dark Caster.
More of Macon's past is revealed in this second installment-- we discover several eerie secrets about him and his Incubus brethren. There is a huge revelation about three-fourths of the way through the story that I DID NOT see coming and which will have readers turning through the pages all the more quickly. Beautiful Darkness is an elegantly written, beautifully crafted sequel which very nearly surpasses the series' debut (and that's quite a feat!) If you haven't yet read Beautiful Creatures, you can now purchase it in paperback, and you will more likely than not find yourself running back to the bookstore to grab Beautiful Darkness a few glorious hours later.
Read more YA reviews: at http://www.amyriadofbooks.blogspot.com show less
Several new characters are introduced in Beautiful Darkness, though I don't intend to give away any major spoilers: Liv, a teenage Caster librarian from England who may just create a little competition for Lena in the possession of Ethan's heart; and John Breed, a mysterious Caster boy on a Harley who Lena seems to be spending a lot of time with... But it was getting to know the characters from the first book that I enjoyed the most. Ethan, Lena, and Ethan's housekeeper/ mystic Seer and tarot card reader were back, of course, though we didn't see quite as much of Lena as I would've liked. And Ridley-- well, nobody seriously thought we were getting rid of Lollipop Girl anytime soon, did they? Ridley's my favorite character by far-- I LOVE her bad-girl-ness, her seductive, sexy Siren powers, and her nicknames for Ethan and Link (Short Straw and Shirky-Dirk :) ) We got to see a lot more of Link, another one of my favorites, in Beautiful Darkness-- he sort of gets sucked into Ethan's mission by his desire to save Ridley from her own predestined destiny as a Dark Caster.
More of Macon's past is revealed in this second installment-- we discover several eerie secrets about him and his Incubus brethren. There is a huge revelation about three-fourths of the way through the story that I DID NOT see coming and which will have readers turning through the pages all the more quickly. Beautiful Darkness is an elegantly written, beautifully crafted sequel which very nearly surpasses the series' debut (and that's quite a feat!) If you haven't yet read Beautiful Creatures, you can now purchase it in paperback, and you will more likely than not find yourself running back to the bookstore to grab Beautiful Darkness a few glorious hours later.
Read more YA reviews: at http://www.amyriadofbooks.blogspot.com show less
I think I loved Beautiful Darkness even more than the first. The action and mystery were pumped up. And in this one, we get lots of angsty goodness. I have to admit, I love my angst. I was worried in the beginning. I didn't get pulled in as quickly as I did the first. Mainly because I was searching for the same "vibe" as the first book. Beautiful Darkness has a different feel to it than Beautiful Creatures. It's much darker, which I came to enjoy. This book is so perfectly named.
Lena and Ethan do a lot of growing in this book. Nothing is picture perfect for our starcrossed lovers. Lena's trials are nowhere near over. She feels darkness stirring inside her, and this causes her to pull away from Ethan. To make matters even more show more difficult, some interesting characters are thrown into the mix. It's easy to see from the beginning that these new characters will create a love triangle. Or would it be love square? We don't see Lena and Ethan as united in this one, but I think this was entirely necessary for the growth of their relationship. But Ethan and Lena aren't the only characters that go through hard times. Some of the secondary characters I came to love get some big surprises of their own. That's all I'll say on that though. It would be a shame to ruin any of the many *gasp* moments you find in this book.
Garcia and Stohl continue bringing us characters that truly come to life as you are reading. Their character's voices are so spot on. I could hear Ethan's three crazy aunt's thick, southern accents as if I was right in the scene myself. The authors also continue to throw in twists and turns that the reader never saw coming. Especially during the second half, I found myself shouting, "Holy crap!" quite a few times. I love plots that can surprise me, and this one did a fabulous job at that. I think what made me love this one even more than the first was the incredible settings. We get to see much more of the caster world in the tunnels. This brings with it an adventurous feel to the story that made it impossible to put this book down. Most books as long as this one are bound to have a few lagging parts. But not in Beautiful Darkness. Every chapter is just as exciting as the one before it.
One minor complaint, it seemed that any time the characters were in trouble, somehow there was always someone else there ready to sweep in and save the day. I would have liked to see Ethan figure out a way to get himself out of trouble more often.
Simply put, Beautiful Darkness is just as unforgettable as the first. Another win for Garcia and Stohl. I am enthralled by this story filled with caster magic and southern accents. show less
Lena and Ethan do a lot of growing in this book. Nothing is picture perfect for our starcrossed lovers. Lena's trials are nowhere near over. She feels darkness stirring inside her, and this causes her to pull away from Ethan. To make matters even more show more difficult, some interesting characters are thrown into the mix. It's easy to see from the beginning that these new characters will create a love triangle. Or would it be love square? We don't see Lena and Ethan as united in this one, but I think this was entirely necessary for the growth of their relationship. But Ethan and Lena aren't the only characters that go through hard times. Some of the secondary characters I came to love get some big surprises of their own. That's all I'll say on that though. It would be a shame to ruin any of the many *gasp* moments you find in this book.
Garcia and Stohl continue bringing us characters that truly come to life as you are reading. Their character's voices are so spot on. I could hear Ethan's three crazy aunt's thick, southern accents as if I was right in the scene myself. The authors also continue to throw in twists and turns that the reader never saw coming. Especially during the second half, I found myself shouting, "Holy crap!" quite a few times. I love plots that can surprise me, and this one did a fabulous job at that. I think what made me love this one even more than the first was the incredible settings. We get to see much more of the caster world in the tunnels. This brings with it an adventurous feel to the story that made it impossible to put this book down. Most books as long as this one are bound to have a few lagging parts. But not in Beautiful Darkness. Every chapter is just as exciting as the one before it.
One minor complaint, it seemed that any time the characters were in trouble, somehow there was always someone else there ready to sweep in and save the day. I would have liked to see Ethan figure out a way to get himself out of trouble more often.
Simply put, Beautiful Darkness is just as unforgettable as the first. Another win for Garcia and Stohl. I am enthralled by this story filled with caster magic and southern accents. show less
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Kami Garcia received a MA in education, and taught in the Washington DC area before moving to Los Angeles, where she was a teacher and reading specialist. In addition to teaching, she was a professional artist and led fantasy book groups for children and teens. She is the co-author of the Beautiful Creatures series with Margaret Stohl. She also show more wrote Unbreakable, which is the first book in The Legion series. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Margaret Stohl is a graduate of Amherst College, where she won the Knox Prize for English Literature. She also received a master's degree in English from Stanford University, completed coursework for a doctorate in American studies at Yale University, was a teaching assistant in Romantic Poetry at Stanford and in Film Studies at Yale, and attended show more the Creative Writing program of the University of East Anglia. She is a veteran of the video-game industry, and after working with Activision and Westwood, she cofounded 7 Studios with her husband. Stohl is the co-author of the Beautiful Creatures series with Kami Garcia. She is also the author of Icons, which is the first book in the Icons series. Her title, Black Widow:Forever Red, made the New York Times bestseller list in 2016. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Awards
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Beautiful Darkness
- Original title
- Beautiful Darkness
- Original publication date
- 2010-10-26
- People/Characters
- Sherman Lee; Lena Duchannes (not yet a Light or Dark Caster); Ethan Wate (mortal who loves Lena); Macon Ravenwood (Middle name Melchizedek, Lena's uncle, the only father she's ever known); Amma (mortal, seer, the only mother Ethan has since his mom died last year); Gramma (Lena's) (show all 21); Aunt Del (Lena's); Uncle Barclay (Lena's); Reece (Lena's cousin); Ryan (Lena's youngest cousin); Arelia (Macon's mother); The Gravecaster (Incubus); Savannah Snow (queen of Jackson High); Emily Asher (Savannah's second-in-command); Link (Ethan's best friend since 2nd grade, his band is called the Holy Rollers); Aunt Caroline (Ethan's); Mitchell wate (Ethan's Dad, a guest lecturer in English at the University of Charleston); Aunt Mercy (Ethan's); Ethan Carter Wate (Conferderate soldier, walked away from the war and died saving the Caster girl he loved); Marian (Gaitlin County head librarian, a Keeper); Abraham Ravenwood (Civil War-era Caster, the Book of Moons was entrusted to him)
- Important places
- South Carolina, USA; Santee River, South Carolina, USA; Gatlin, South Carolina, USA (small town in the Santee River valley); His Garden of Perpetual Peace, Gatlin, South Carolina, USA (cemetery); Jackson High School, Gatlin; Ravenwood Manor
- Important events
- American Civil War
- Epigraph
- We can easily forgive a child
who is afraid of the dark;
the real tragedy of life is when
men are afraid of the light.
--PLATO - Dedication
- For
Sarah Burnes, Julie Scheina,
and Jennifer Bailey Hunt
because for some silly reason
they wouldn't let us put their names on the cover. - First words
- I used to think our town, buried in the South Carolina backwoods, stuck in the muddy bottom of the Santee River Valley, was the middle of nowhere.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It was decided.
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- Fiction and Literature, Teen, Fantasy, Young Adult
- DDC/MDS
- 813.6 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 2000-
- LCC
- PZ7 .G155627 .B — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
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