Book Review: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
(Caster Chronicles, #2)
Release Date: October 12, 2010
Publisher: Little Brown Books; 503 pages

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

If you have NOT read BEAUTIFUL CREATURES please read with caution. There is some spoilers that were unavoidable. Proceed with caution . . .

I found BEAUTIFUL CREATURES to be good but slow. Not the case here. Ethan annoyed me in the beginning. He was just so...needy? He was like the over protective boyfriend all girls try to avoid. Which really disappointed me because I didn't want to see him like that. He makes up for it, he really does.

Lena is beating herself up over Macon's death. Ethan has no idea why she is, it's not like it was her fault, right? Not that he could remember most of what happened that night but how could she possibly blame herself? She does, though, and she's completely losing herself in the process. If that wasn't bad enough, she's pushing Ethan away and running off with this strange guy, John Breed, who appears to be an Incubus but. . . not? Not only is she hanging around with this Harley riding bad boy, but also her dark Caster cousin, Ridley. That sounds like it has trouble written all over it.

We're introduced to a new girl with a beautiful British accent who's come to Gaitlin as a Keeper-in-training. She's beautiful, intelligent and exactly like Marion, which is why Link calls her MJ, which is short for Marion Junior. There is more to her than meets the eye...

Not only do I love the characters in this series but this story was so amazing. There seriously was never a dull moment. Ethan was on a non-stop journey this entire book and we know it's far from over, same goes for Lena. Hell, same goes for basically everyone in Gaitlin! Lena was still trying to figure out if she wanted to be light or dark - which half of her family she wanted to kill. That's not an easy task, especially for a sixteen year old girl. She makes her decision in the end...but don't think I'm going to spoil that for you ;)

Definitely check out this series. I can't wait to read the next book, BEAUTIFUL CHAOS. From what I hear too, filming just started for the film adaptation of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES in New Orleans. Amazing book and even better cast, I really cannot wait to see this book brought to life. So, jump on board this train before this series really takes off come February 2013. :)