Review by Lauren - Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

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.


First Impression: The amount of hype this book has gotten was really astounding - Amazon Top Teen Pick of 2009, CEO of Chapter's & Indigo Book Stores Pick etc. - and it was actually the only book I asked for for Christmas. It seemed amazing.

Beautiful Creatures is a haunting supernatural mystery filled with magic, love and plenty of other stuff, but I would not say it was amazing. The insane amount of praise lead me to have high expectations and it really ruined my enjoyment of the book - I kept waiting for that moment where I just couldn't put it down and thought "Jeez this book is so insanely good, I just want to read it over and over again." With amazing books, I often spend multiple days just skimming through it, rereading parts, but with this one, I just don't feel the need to.

That's not to say Beautiful Creatures was a bad book - the plot is amazing. I loved the story, loved the characters - all the crazy family members - and the mystery. I enjoyed it, but I did not love it. I would definitely recommend it, I just feel that there was a little too much hype surrounding it, so don't get your hopes up. If you love it, great - but I'm just saying that it didn't blow me away.

Favorite Character(s): Oh by far Lena's Uncle Macon. Great character.

Final Impression: As I said before, a good book with a little too much hype. Liked but not loved.

5/6 shelves.

Hopefully you see a little more of Alex & myself in the New Year! Happy 2010 everyone! And we are continuing our 100 Books in a Year Challenge :)