Book: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Release date: December 1, 2009

Publisher: Little, Brown

From: Publisher

Summary:
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.

img:is([sizes=”auto” i], [sizes^=”auto,” i]) { contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px }

img.wp-smiley, img.emoji {
display: inline !important;
border: none !important;
box-shadow: none !important;
height: 1em !important;
width: 1em !important;
margin: 0 0.07em !important;
vertical-align: -0.1em !important;
background: none !important;
padding: 0 !important;
}

/*! This file is auto-generated */
.wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none}

:root{–wp–preset–aspect-ratio–square: 1;–wp–preset–aspect-ratio–4-3: 4/3;–wp–preset–aspect-ratio–3-4: 3/4;–wp–preset–aspect-ratio–3-2: 3/2;–wp–preset–aspect-ratio–2-3: 2/3;–wp–preset–aspect-ratio–16-9: 16/9;–wp–preset–aspect-ratio–9-16: 9/16;–wp–preset–color–black: #000000;–wp–preset–color–cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;–wp–preset–color–white: #ffffff;–wp–preset–color–pale-pink: #f78da7;–wp–preset–color–vivid-red: #cf2e2e;–wp–preset–color–luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;–wp–preset–color–luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;–wp–preset–color–light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;–wp–preset–color–vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;–wp–preset–color–pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;–wp–preset–color–vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;–wp–preset–color–vivid-purple: #9b51e0;–wp–preset–gradient–vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);–wp–preset–gradient–midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);–wp–preset–font-size–small: 13px;–wp–preset–font-size–medium: 20px;–wp–preset–font-size–large: 36px;–wp–preset–font-size–x-large: 42px;–wp–preset–spacing–20: 0.44rem;–wp–preset–spacing–30: 0.67rem;–wp–preset–spacing–40: 1rem;–wp–preset–spacing–50: 1.5rem;–wp–preset–spacing–60: 2.25rem;–wp–preset–spacing–70: 3.38rem;–wp–preset–spacing–80: 5.06rem;–wp–preset–shadow–natural: 6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);–wp–preset–shadow–deep: 12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);–wp–preset–shadow–sharp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);–wp–preset–shadow–outlined: 6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);–wp–preset–shadow–crisp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap: 0.5em;}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}.is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}.is-layout-flex > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}body .is-layout-grid{display: grid;}.is-layout-grid > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}.has-black-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(–wp–preset–color–vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(–wp–preset–gradient–midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(–wp–preset–font-size–small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(–wp–preset–font-size–medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(–wp–preset–font-size–large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(–wp–preset–font-size–x-large) !important;}
:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}
:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}
:root :where(.wp-block-pullquote){font-size: 1.5em;line-height: 1.6;}

.ubb-content-warning {
background: #E61C20;
color: #ffffff;
}

.ubb-about-author {
background: #ffffff;
border: 0px none #000000;
color: #000000;
}

.ubb-tabs ul li a {
color: #787878;
}

.ubb-tabs li.ubb-active-link, .ubb-tabs-content {
background: #ffffff;
border: 1px solid #e6e6e6;
}

.ubb-tabs li.ubb-active-link {
border-bottom-color: #ffffff;
}

.ubb-tabs li.ubb-active-link a {
color: #000000;
}

.ubb-related-post:hover {
background: #F1F1F1;
}

.ubb-spoiler .ubb-thespoil {
background: #ffff99;
}

a { color: #85a2bf }a:hover { color: #ffc0ba }.button, button, input[type=”submit”], .expanding-archives-title, .naked-social-share ul .nss-site-count, .naked-social-share ul a:hover, .widget.highlight, .naked-social-widget-sites a { background: #000000 }.expanding-archives-collapse-section, .naked-social-share ul a { border-color: #000000 }.naked-social-share ul a { color: #000000 }.widget.highlight .widget-title span { background: #000000 !important }.button:hover, button:hover, input[type=”submit”]:hover, .expanding-archives-title:hover, .naked-social-widget-sites a:hover { background: #898282 }.widget.highlight .button, .widget.highlight button, .widget.highlight input[type=”submit”] { background: #000000; color: white; }body{ font-family: “Lora”;font-weight: 400;font-size: 15px;line-height: 1.6;color: #333333; }.site-title{ font-family: “Lora”;font-weight: 400;font-size: 40px;line-height: 1.2;text-transform: lowercase; }h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6{ font-family: “Lora”;font-weight: 400;line-height: 1.4;color: #6b6b6b;text-transform: none; }.widget-title{ font-family: “Playfair Display”;font-weight: 400;font-style: italic;font-size: 15px;line-height: inherit;color: #323232;text-transform: none; }@media (min-width: 768px) { .site-branding { margin: 48px auto; } }

.sfsi_plus_subscribe_Popinner {
width: 100% !important;
height: auto !important;
border: 1px solid #b5b5b5 !important;
padding: 18px 0px !important;
background-color: #ffffff !important;
}

.sfsi_plus_subscribe_Popinner form {
margin: 0 20px !important;
}

.sfsi_plus_subscribe_Popinner h5 {
font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif !important;

font-weight: bold !important;
color: #000000 !important;
font-size: 16px !important;
text-align: center !important;
margin: 0 0 10px !important;
padding: 0 !important;
}

.sfsi_plus_subscription_form_field {
margin: 5px 0 !important;
width: 100% !important;
display: inline-flex;
display: -webkit-inline-flex;
}

.sfsi_plus_subscription_form_field input {
width: 100% !important;
padding: 10px 0px !important;
}

.sfsi_plus_subscribe_Popinner input[type=email] {
font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif !important;

font-style: normal !important;
color: !important;
font-size: 14px !important;
text-align: center !important;
}

.sfsi_plus_subscribe_Popinner input[type=email]::-webkit-input-placeholder {
font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif !important;

font-style: normal !important;
color: !important;
font-size: 14px !important;
text-align: center !important;
}

.sfsi_plus_subscribe_Popinner input[type=email]:-moz-placeholder {
/* Firefox 18- */
font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif !important;

font-style: normal !important;
color: !important;
font-size: 14px !important;
text-align: center !important;
}

.sfsi_plus_subscribe_Popinner input[type=email]::-moz-placeholder {
/* Firefox 19+ */
font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif !important;

font-style: normal !important;
color: !important;
font-size: 14px !important;
text-align: center !important;
}

.sfsi_plus_subscribe_Popinner input[type=email]:-ms-input-placeholder {
font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif !important;

font-style: normal !important;
color: !important;
font-size: 14px !important;
text-align: center !important;
}

.sfsi_plus_subscribe_Popinner input[type=submit] {
font-family: Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif !important;

font-weight: bold !important;
color: #000000 !important;
font-size: 16px !important;
text-align: center !important;
background-color: #dedede !important;
}

/*! Flickity v2.0.2
http://flickity.metafizzy.co
———————————————- */.flickity-enabled{position:relative}.flickity-enabled:focus{outline:0}.flickity-viewport{overflow:hidden;position:relative;height:100%}.flickity-slider{position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%}.flickity-enabled.is-draggable{-webkit-tap-highlight-color:transparent;tap-highlight-color:transparent;-webkit-user-select:none;-moz-user-select:none;-ms-user-select:none;user-select:none}.flickity-enabled.is-draggable .flickity-viewport{cursor:move;cursor:-webkit-grab;cursor:grab}.flickity-enabled.is-draggable .flickity-viewport.is-pointer-down{cursor:-webkit-grabbing;cursor:grabbing}.flickity-prev-next-button{position:absolute;top:50%;width:44px;height:44px;border:none;border-radius:50%;background:#fff;background:hsla(0,0%,100%,.75);cursor:pointer;-webkit-transform:translateY(-50%);transform:translateY(-50%)}.flickity-prev-next-button:hover{background:#fff}.flickity-prev-next-button:focus{outline:0;box-shadow:0 0 0 5px #09f}.flickity-prev-next-button:active{opacity:.6}.flickity-prev-next-button.previous{left:10px}.flickity-prev-next-button.next{right:10px}.flickity-rtl .flickity-prev-next-button.previous{left:auto;right:10px}.flickity-rtl .flickity-prev-next-button.next{right:auto;left:10px}.flickity-prev-next-button:disabled{opacity:.3;cursor:auto}.flickity-prev-next-button svg{position:absolute;left:20%;top:20%;width:60%;height:60%}.flickity-prev-next-button .arrow{fill:#333}.flickity-page-dots{position:absolute;width:100%;bottom:-25px;padding:0;margin:0;list-style:none;text-align:center;line-height:1}.flickity-rtl .flickity-page-dots{direction:rtl}.flickity-page-dots .dot{display:inline-block;width:10px;height:10px;margin:0 8px;background:#333;border-radius:50%;opacity:.25;cursor:pointer}.flickity-page-dots .dot.is-selected{opacity:1}.slideout-menu{position:fixed;left:0;top:0;bottom:0;right:auto;z-index:0;width:256px;overflow-y:auto;-webkit-overflow-scrolling:touch;display:none}.slideout-menu.pushit-right{left:auto;right:0}.slideout-panel{position:relative;z-index:1;will-change:transform}.slideout-open,.slideout-open .slideout-panel,.slideout-open body{overflow:hidden}.slideout-open .slideout-menu{display:block}.pushit{display:none}

.ios7.web-app-mode.has-fixed header{ background-color: rgba(3,122,221,.88);}

Skip to content

Kait Rose

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

December 18, 2009 • 5 stars, debut, favorite, paranormal, review • 5 Comments

Book: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Release date: December 1, 2009

Publisher: Little, Brown

From: Publisher

Summary:
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.

*****

I am going to state from the very beginning that this will probably be one of the highest rated books on my blog, especially with the new rating system. And if it’s possible, this review might be a little too positive. I already that it’s going to be all positive. There wasn’t a single thing that I didn’t like about Beautiful Creatures!

For starters, the writing si beautiful. Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl are two debut authors that I now love. I can’t wait for more from them. They are both amazingly talented writers that created this whole other world inside a tiny town named Gatlin. I was just blown away.

Gatlin was a town unlike any other. It was full of mysteries, secrets, legends, and more than a few prejudiced people. It was unbelievable how these people could be so against someone that was even a little different than them. It didn’t help that Lena was more than a little different. And Gatlin was a true southern town, down home cooking included. Boy was I hungry while reading this. =]

Beautiful Creatures was full of spectacular characters that were amazingly well-developed. I don’t even have a clue where to start. Ethan, Lena, Macon, Amma, Link, Ridley, Larkin, Aunt Del, Marian, and oh so many more. I loved both Lena’s and Ethan’s families. They were buried in problems that seemed impossible to fix but they remained strong and they remained together and that is what truly makes a family. They were there for each other when they were needed but sadly not all of them were as they seemed. That wasn’t revealed til much later, though.

One of the most unique things about Beautiful Creatures is that it’s a wonderful love story that’s not told from the girl’s point-of-view. Instead of going the traditional route and writing the book from Lena’s POV, Kami and Margaret wrote the whole thing from Ethan’s POV. It’s not often that you get a book like this one that is actually good, yet honest. It’s clear that these two women know how to get inside their characters’ heads and portray everything they are feeling so clearly and realistically.

I guess with this book there wasn’t going to be a satisfying ending. It’s the first in a five book series but I still wasn’t disappointed when it ended. Well, not disappointed with the book itself, but with the fact that it ended after such a mind-blowing climax. I wanted more and I really want it now!

Overall, Beautiful Creatures is on my top five list of 2009, maybe even ever. It was hauntingly beautiful and it will leave you breathless and wanting so much more. Don’t let the size of the book scare you away because each and every page is captvating!

Writing: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Plot: 10/10

Ending: 10/10

Originality: 10/10

Overall: 50/50=A++

Cover: 10/10=A++

#sfsi_plus_floater .sfsi_plus_twt_tool_bdr .sfsi_plus_inside{margin-top: -18px;}