Caragh Reviews - Beautiful Creatures by Garcia & Stohl

Published - 1st December 2009
Publisher - Little Brown
Format - Paperback
Synopsis - 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 first heard about Beautiful Creatures when I came across a vlog talking about covers. I can't remember who it was, sorry! By this time the only cover I could find anywhere was the film version and I really don't like those. So I had forgotten about it until I went book shopping early this week and found it! I'm only slightly ashamed that I bought it without having a single clue what it was about but sometimes judging a book by its cover pays off.

From the first page of the book, I was totally hooked. I tried to explain my compulsion to Brianna but I just couldn't. The writing, the POV, everything just pulled me in. Ethan is an interesting character, a misfit in the town that he and his entire family have lived in since before the Civil War. 

Ethan isn't the only character who grabbed my attention though. Everyone has a story that needs telling and everyone has a secret that needs hiding. Though the entirety of the book is told from Ethan's perspective, it's surprising just how much you get to know about the other characters, even minor ones. Ethan is a character, written by two women, who tells the story of an extraordinary girl. That in itself lends something to the complexity of the book but in a simplistic and unique way. You may have noticed that i'm having some difficulty really putting my thoughts into words. 

Beautiful Creatures does have some elements that usually put me off a series but for some reason I felt they were believable and really worked within the story, such as multiple supernaturals whose powers seem somewhat beyond imaginable. I'm slightly concerned that as the series progresses they might take it too far which is a shame because I have high hopes for the rest of the series! The whole book was seriously intense. With every page came more intrigue, mystery and secrecy that I just couldn't wait to work out. I was also surprised by how easily I became attached to the characters and how emotionally involved I was with not just them but the town itself and its history. 

Beautiful Creatures ended big and dramatically and I cannot WAIT to start Beautiful Darkness, the second book in the series! 



* I have now finished book 2 and it just gets BETTER.