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Sunday, November 3, 2013

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia

Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date: December 2009
Pages: 563
Source: Gift
For: Dusty Bookshelf Challenge
Series: Beautiful Creatures, Book 1

Summary from goodreads:
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.

Things I Liked:
It took me long enough to read this!  It's been on my shelf for ages.  I loved the atmosphere!  I loved the Southern feel and the accents.  The small town Southern gossip and prejudices were pitch perfect (if, perhaps, a bit annoying).  I especially liked the Casters and the mythology (or whatever you want to call it) of their magic system.  I loved how intricately things worked together.  Oh, and Marian has to be my favorite of all the characters - the rockin' librarian.  It was pretty unique and interesting.

Things I Didn't Like:
I think my biggest complaint was that it was just too long.  I guess my attention span is getting shorter, because I kept waiting for stuff to happen and waiting and waiting.  It took too long to get there and I got bored a number of times during the story.  Also, I never particularly cared for Ethan.  He didn't feel quite complete to me and thus I never connected to him.  Lena a little more so, but still not enough for me to feel really invested in their future.  I'll likely listen to the next books on audio, but I feel no burning desire to know more.

Read-alikes:
Felt a bit like Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@
here and there, not too many

mrg-factor: X
mostly some sensuality

v-factor: ->
a little bit, nothing too gory

Overall rating: ***

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage

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