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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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I am sorry to say it was a disappointment. The first book had moments of pacing difficulties but here they seemed to spiral out of control. There was no real beginning, middle or end to the story; it all just dragged out and felt like it was pushed together out of scraps of story and scenes. This book is over 500 pages long and you feel each of those 500 pages, especially since the plot seems to have wandered off somewhere. Everything wandered from one scene to another with no real order or point. A strict editor could easily have taken a hundred or so pages from this story. It wouldn’t have been perfect but it would have flowed much easier.
I really liked ‘Beautiful Creatures’ for a number of reasons as I mentioned above, but show more none of these things were present in this sequel – the mythos remains interesting and well crafted but it’s so clumsily put into the story with giant chunks of show-don’t-tell that it adds yet more speed-bumps to a story that desperately needs an energy boost. Ethan’s narration remains likeable enough but there are more points in this story where he doesn’t feel authentically male than in the previous story. Love stories may not be my favourite element in paranormal YA these days but it’s still important to make me care about the romantic leads and I just didn’t care about Lena in this story. Forget the fact that she’s barely in half of it; when she is there her actions didn’t do much to make me sympathise with her. In the previous book I understood her emotions and while I empathise to an extent here, her moments of ignorance, cruelty and just plain old stupidity drove me nuts. Stupidity should not drive the plot. This also left me wondering why the hell Ethan was so obsessively in love with Lena, especially since there were so many more interesting things about Ethan I wanted to know about, such as the return of his dad into his life after the events of the previous story. There were some small moments between Ethan and his dad where I really wanted to read more instead of that dreaded yet inevitable trope of the YA genre – the love triangle. Or rather a love square if I must be precise.
With the added possible love interests in the story, I just didn’t care if Ethan or Lena ended up with someone different, although I admit to liking Ethan’s possible future English girlfriend Olivia more than I liked Lena. The moping and wondering just added more padding to a story that really doesn’t need it. But what disappointed me most about ‘Beautiful Darkness’ was something missing from the first book – the atmosphere. Garcia and Stohl did a great job in capturing the claustrophobic feeling of being stuck in a small town where everybody knew everything and gossip could ruin your life. It was like a lighter Southern Gothic but every bit just as effective and it was completely missing in this book. There was no tension, no atmosphere, no foreboding sense of something suspicious in the foreground and the book seriously suffers for it. That’s why this book was such a disappointment. I expected so much more and it just fell flat and didn’t deliver.
‘Beautiful Darkness’ was such a letdown and I’m so disappointed that it didn’t live up to its predecessor. While the prose is still serviceable, the majority of the characters likeable and the mythos unique and interesting, the lack of plot, terrible pacing and lack of anything actually happening vastly outweigh the positives. If I’m completely honest, a lot of the time it felt like Garcia and Stohl were making it up as they went along, and with news that the series will go onto book 4 with more possibly on the horizon, I can’t see that as a good thing. The novel ends on a sort of (lazy contrived) cliff-hanger for book 3 which feels like the story is being dragged out like it’s part of the Saw franchise, and beyond it being uninteresting and thrown together solely for sequel bait, the story can only suffer as a result. I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of the ‘Beautiful Creatures’ series, I just don’t care enough. show less
I really liked ‘Beautiful Creatures’ for a number of reasons as I mentioned above, but show more none of these things were present in this sequel – the mythos remains interesting and well crafted but it’s so clumsily put into the story with giant chunks of show-don’t-tell that it adds yet more speed-bumps to a story that desperately needs an energy boost. Ethan’s narration remains likeable enough but there are more points in this story where he doesn’t feel authentically male than in the previous story. Love stories may not be my favourite element in paranormal YA these days but it’s still important to make me care about the romantic leads and I just didn’t care about Lena in this story. Forget the fact that she’s barely in half of it; when she is there her actions didn’t do much to make me sympathise with her. In the previous book I understood her emotions and while I empathise to an extent here, her moments of ignorance, cruelty and just plain old stupidity drove me nuts. Stupidity should not drive the plot. This also left me wondering why the hell Ethan was so obsessively in love with Lena, especially since there were so many more interesting things about Ethan I wanted to know about, such as the return of his dad into his life after the events of the previous story. There were some small moments between Ethan and his dad where I really wanted to read more instead of that dreaded yet inevitable trope of the YA genre – the love triangle. Or rather a love square if I must be precise.
With the added possible love interests in the story, I just didn’t care if Ethan or Lena ended up with someone different, although I admit to liking Ethan’s possible future English girlfriend Olivia more than I liked Lena. The moping and wondering just added more padding to a story that really doesn’t need it. But what disappointed me most about ‘Beautiful Darkness’ was something missing from the first book – the atmosphere. Garcia and Stohl did a great job in capturing the claustrophobic feeling of being stuck in a small town where everybody knew everything and gossip could ruin your life. It was like a lighter Southern Gothic but every bit just as effective and it was completely missing in this book. There was no tension, no atmosphere, no foreboding sense of something suspicious in the foreground and the book seriously suffers for it. That’s why this book was such a disappointment. I expected so much more and it just fell flat and didn’t deliver.
‘Beautiful Darkness’ was such a letdown and I’m so disappointed that it didn’t live up to its predecessor. While the prose is still serviceable, the majority of the characters likeable and the mythos unique and interesting, the lack of plot, terrible pacing and lack of anything actually happening vastly outweigh the positives. If I’m completely honest, a lot of the time it felt like Garcia and Stohl were making it up as they went along, and with news that the series will go onto book 4 with more possibly on the horizon, I can’t see that as a good thing. The novel ends on a sort of (lazy contrived) cliff-hanger for book 3 which feels like the story is being dragged out like it’s part of the Saw franchise, and beyond it being uninteresting and thrown together solely for sequel bait, the story can only suffer as a result. I don’t think I’ll be reading the rest of the ‘Beautiful Creatures’ series, I just don’t care enough. show less
I love this series. Beautiful Darkness was a perfect sequel to Beautiful Creatures. There is so much depth in the story. It's fascinating to see how the original & the new characters are developing and how they are intertwined with each other. Also witnessing how the past events correlate with the present has been enjoyable. Garcia and Stohl has absolutely made this series spellbinding. There were a few gripping revelations that were uncovered in this book and new questions that was brought up to keep you engrossed. This is a highly addictive series by far than any series I've read in the past. I can't wait to read book #3.
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
* 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
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
I loved Beautiful Creatures, the first book in the Caster Chronicles, so I've been dying to read this since way before it was released. Sometimes in cases like that, the sequel can't possibly live up to your expectations, but I think Beautiful Darkness did.
I will confess that I had a hard time getting into it at first - it started off a little slowly. But once it got going, it really got going. After getting through about fifty pages throughout the week in my few free minutes at school, I sat down this morning to read a bit more over breakfast. I decided that I would read while I ate, then go work on college essays and NaNoWriMo. Around 3 pm, with only a brief interruption to get lunch, I finished the novel and hadn't written a word. I show more simply could not put it down.
Ethan is still crazy in love with Lena, but Lena is struggling with a dark secret and even darker emotions that are pulling her away from Ethan. Suddenly, she's hanging out with her evil cousin Ridley and a mysterious new Incubus, leaving Ethan feeling pushed aside and desperate to save her before she turns Dark. Her Seventeenth Moon is coming up, and Lena will have to be Claimed soon. And Liv, Marian's new assistant at the library, is only convincing Lena that Ethan has moved on. But, of course, in Gatlin, SC, nothing is what it appears to be.
I loved so many things about this book. The characters - Link and Liv especially, and Ethan's great-great-aunts, and Ridley, and of course Ethan most of all - just came to life in my mind. I wish we had gotten to see more of Lena, although I'm confident that she'll be more important in book three. I would read pages and pages of just small talk between these characters, because I love them that much.
And the plot. Oh my goodness. I really want book three NOW, because I just have to know what happens next. Beautiful Darkness keeps working at solving the mysteries introduced in book one, answering a few questions and raising plenty more, and there's always something new happening. I feel like that description is really cheesy and doesn't do the book justice at all, but I'm not sure (1) how much I can say without accidentally spoiling something and (2) how else to say it. It just takes hold of you and refuses to let go until you've read every last word, and then leaves you hungry for more of it.
Long story short: I adored this book, every bit as much as the first one if not more, and I can't wait for book three! Absolutely read the Caster Chronicles.
(**Originally posted on my blog, bookwormboulevard.blogspot.com**) show less
I will confess that I had a hard time getting into it at first - it started off a little slowly. But once it got going, it really got going. After getting through about fifty pages throughout the week in my few free minutes at school, I sat down this morning to read a bit more over breakfast. I decided that I would read while I ate, then go work on college essays and NaNoWriMo. Around 3 pm, with only a brief interruption to get lunch, I finished the novel and hadn't written a word. I show more simply could not put it down.
Ethan is still crazy in love with Lena, but Lena is struggling with a dark secret and even darker emotions that are pulling her away from Ethan. Suddenly, she's hanging out with her evil cousin Ridley and a mysterious new Incubus, leaving Ethan feeling pushed aside and desperate to save her before she turns Dark. Her Seventeenth Moon is coming up, and Lena will have to be Claimed soon. And Liv, Marian's new assistant at the library, is only convincing Lena that Ethan has moved on. But, of course, in Gatlin, SC, nothing is what it appears to be.
I loved so many things about this book. The characters - Link and Liv especially, and Ethan's great-great-aunts, and Ridley, and of course Ethan most of all - just came to life in my mind. I wish we had gotten to see more of Lena, although I'm confident that she'll be more important in book three. I would read pages and pages of just small talk between these characters, because I love them that much.
And the plot. Oh my goodness. I really want book three NOW, because I just have to know what happens next. Beautiful Darkness keeps working at solving the mysteries introduced in book one, answering a few questions and raising plenty more, and there's always something new happening. I feel like that description is really cheesy and doesn't do the book justice at all, but I'm not sure (1) how much I can say without accidentally spoiling something and (2) how else to say it. It just takes hold of you and refuses to let go until you've read every last word, and then leaves you hungry for more of it.
Long story short: I adored this book, every bit as much as the first one if not more, and I can't wait for book three! Absolutely read the Caster Chronicles.
(**Originally posted on my blog, bookwormboulevard.blogspot.com**) 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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