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.
-From Goodreads
I’d heard some really amazing things about this book. It was popping up all over Twitter and in the end I knew I had to buy it. So I clicked the ‘buy’ button on my Kindle, hoping that I wouldn’t regret the purchase. After all, I’d only quickly scanned the blurb and didn’t really know what I was about to read.
After reading the first few pages I was in love. I was hooked, right from the start.
| 11/03 | page 292 |
|
51.0% | “AHHHHH” |
| 11/03 | page 124 |
|
22.0% | “BRING ON THE MOVIE! Seriously, how can someone write such an amazing book?!” |
| 11/02 | page 64 |
|
11.0% | “Have to force myself to put it down” |
| 11/02 | page 38 |
|
6.0% | “THIS BOOK IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!” |
-My Goodreads progress
I loved how it was written in Ethan’s point of view. I haven’t read many books solely written in a boy’s perspective so I was a little wary, but it was refreshing and a nice change. If it were written in Lena’s POV then we wouldn’t have been left guessing and it would have been quite boring. Ethan was totally clueless and didn’t know anything about Lena, which made it even better.
It’s a very bone-chilling, creepy book and it sent shivers down my spine at many different points in the book. It was nice not to have to read about vampires, werewolves and other popular mythical creatures and I loved reading about the Caster world, which I knew nothing about.
Lena was very mysterious and I really liked her because she wasn’t your typical YA main female character. This girl is no Katniss Everdeen, no Kat Bishop, no Bella Swan. No, she is a completely new type of YA character. She’s unique and I really love her (in a sisterly way, of course)!
Now let’s move on to Ethan Lawson Wate (the name! eep!). It says it all in the name. I loved how much he loved Lena, even before they met. And he never gave up on her, either. I am practically crying just thinking about the fact that he is a fictional character. Why can’t he be real?!
I really love the cover! The trees are so spooky and title instantly jumps out at you. I was wondering throughout the book why the book was actually called Beautiful Creatures. I found a quote on Goodreads but if I hadn’t seen the quote I would still be clueless. I love the title but it was a little confusing to me.
Overall, I really loved this book and I’ve added it to my favourites shelf on Goodreads. I loved it so much and can’t wait to read the next one in the series, Beautiful Darkness. Bring on the movie!
RATING: 5/5
Favourites Shelf
I really loved this video with the authors talking about their writing process and their inspiration behind Beautiful Creatures! Check it out!
4 Comments
Clover
5 November, 2012 at 10:19 am…Oh. I’m really on the fence about reading this book before the movie comes out. I think reading this review has possibly tipped me over to YES.
Ruby Ham :)
5 November, 2012 at 5:42 pmLove your use of Goodreads status updates! Love, love, love it! You’ve totally made me want to read the book as well 😛
~ Ruby at http://feedmebooksnow.blogspot.co.uk
Bookaholic 007
5 November, 2012 at 7:12 pmBrilliant review! I’ve been waiting for your review since all your fangirling on Twitter :p I’m definitely going to read this soon! 🙂 You do know Beautiful Creatures is a whole series? Yep, I know that you thinking, go hurry and buy it! :p
Kristerrn!
12 November, 2012 at 11:02 pmI actually started this book at the beginning of the year but had to put it down a couple of pages in. I’ve been meaning to pick it up again but keep forgetting, thanks for reminding me and for the great review.
New Follower via GFC.
Kristerrn @ BetweenTheLines