Book Review: Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Releases: December 1, 2009

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Pages: 563

Series: Caster Chronicles #1

Rating: 5 stars

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 Reaction: WOW!!

I finished this book over the weekend and I am still in awe. There doesn’t seem to be the perfect words to describe how unbelievably amazing this story is. Beautiful Creatures had everything – plus some – that I love to see in a story. I can definitely say that I got more that I was expecting. Beautiful Creatures was just flat out AMAZING!!!

Garcia and Stohl’s writing just seemed to flow right off the page. There was never a dull moment because there was plenty of details and surprises in all the right spots. I know this book is almost 600 pages, but it honestly doesn’t feel like it. The pages just kept turning and before I knew it, I was at the end. I just couldn’t put the book down.

The characters had so much depth and detail to them too; it felt like I actually knew them. I loved Ethan, he was so determined to help Lena no matter what it took or what the consequences were. And I loved how he didn’t care what others thought. Lena was an outcast and basically anyone that talked to her was an outcast too. Ethan didn’t care, he still talked to her and sat with her at lunch. I enjoyed reading about all the characters, each had something unique about them, especially Amma and Ethan’s aunt’s personalities. They were hilarious.

I absolutely LOVED Beautiful Creatures and I must say that it is practically the best book I’ve read all year, and now my favorite book!! I can’t wait to read more. This was such an amazing debut. I know I’ve said that so many times throughout this review, but I don’t think I could say it enough. This is one phenomenal, jaw-dropping story not to be missed!! So, my advice to you all is to go out and get yourself a copy NOW! You won’t be disappointed.