Book Review: Beautiful Chaos

Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl is book 3 in the Caster Chronicles. I liked Beautiful Creatures, and I liked Beautiful Darkness even more, so I had high hopes for Beautiful Chaos. It didn't disappoint. I feel like I've been saying that in a lot of my reviews lately: it didn't disappoint. But it's true. I guess I've been on a roll with excellent books lately.

Ethan is back as our wonderful narrator. He is one of my favorite YA boys. He's smart, charming, charismatic, and protective without being overbearing. And his caster girl, Lena, is going through even tougher stuff after coming face-to-face with her evil mother in the last installment. And don't forget sidekick Wesley Lincoln, aka Link, aka Linkubus. I must admit I was never a fan of his til now. I mean, I liked him okay, but his character was so much more fun here, that I really like him.

One thing I love about these books are the characters: Amma, Macon, Ridley, the aunts, Marian... The list keeps going. It's impossible not to love than all. Except the baddies, of course. And the setting is amazing. I'm not from the south, but I'm close enough that I've been to the area where the fictional Gatlin would be if it existed. It's a beautiful area. But the gothic twist with secrets and interesting history weaves everything together so beautifully.

I'm seriously in love with Ethan Wate and these books. I can't wait to see what happens after the way Beautiful Chaos ends.

Short Story Review: Dream Dark

When Link joined his best friend, Ethan Wate, on a quest through a mysterious network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, he knew the journey would be dangerous. But returning home to Gatlin, South Carolina was just the beginning...

Wounded during a climactic battle, Link discovers that tending his injuries won't be as simple as visiting a doctor and that healing his arm should be the least of his worries. For being bitten by a Supernatural does more than break the skin -- it changes a person, inside and out, turning Link into someone more and more like the dark creature who injured him.

In this never-before-seen short story by New York Times bestselling authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, readers witness Link's heart-racing transformation. Dream Dark is set before the much-anticipated third Beautiful Creatures novel, Beautiful Chaos, and as a special bonus includes an exclusive sneak peek at the first five chapters.

I loved Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, so when I found out about a short story that sits between book two and three, I preordered it instantly. “Dream Dark” was short, but lots of fun. It’s the story of Link, or should I say Linkubus, after the events in Beautiful Darkness.

It was told through Ethan’s voice, and since he isn’t in it much, it was told much different than a regular first person story. Ethan told Link’s story, as Link told it to him. To be honest, I never really paid much attention to Link. I love Ethan. He’s one of my favorite males in all of YA. And because of him, Link was invisible. Poor Link. But in this story, Link is the main character. There’s no way for him to be invisible. And it made me really like him. Now I want to go back and re-read this series. I want Beautiful Chaos even more now.

Whether you’ve read this series or not, “Dream Dark” is a fun short story.

Book Giveaway: Beautiful Darkness

Contest closed!

I hit 250 followers!!! So to celebrate I'm giving away BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS.

To enter:

1. You must follow my blog

2. You must be 13 or older.

3. You must fill out this form. Contest closed!

Giveaway ends on October 12, the BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS release date. Open to US or anywhere The Book Depository ships.

ARC Review: Beautiful Darkness

Book two in the Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl is BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS. It is available from Little, Brown on October 12, 2010. I was able to score a copy at ALA.

I really enjoyed this one. As usual, I'm not sure which book in the series I like better. The writing was fantastic. The story was interesting. I love when you can read a book and have no idea what's going to happen next. There's a lot of mystery in this gothic romance, and it keeps the reader guessing. Predictability is not something I enjoy in a book. It's a really long book for a YA. And I think because of that it takes a while for things to really get going. The second half of the novel moved a lot faster than the first.

I love Ethan. He is swoon-worthy. Where I can find one of him? Well, an older version of him. I love so many characters in this series... which is rare. Most of the time there are characters I don't like. In this series, it's just the baddies I don't like. The world was expanded. Characters were added. But Amma remains one of my favorites, as well as Ethan's great aunts. I didn't like Lena as much in this one, but I like that we got to know Ridley more.

I loved the Star Trek Prime Directive reference. I'm a Star Trek geek, so I loved this. There was one line that made me laugh so hard I had to put the book down. For those who have the ARC, page 152... the line with "nekkid" in it.

I'm excited for the next installment. Curious about the Epilogue. Definitely pick this one up when it hits the shelves.

Synopsis:

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.

And below is the cover that the ARCs have. It was the original cover. It's hard to tell in the pic, and even when you have the ARC in your hand, but I saw a poster and the white spots are snowflakes. I originally thought they were stars, but they definitely look like snowflakes. Which makes no since as the book takes place during the summer.

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures

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 new favorite book! Beautiful Creatures by debut authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, book one in the Caster Chronicles, is a paranormal romance that takes place in the south. It is filled with mysterious characters, some evil and others charming. It is written through Ethan's POV. Which is different because I haven't read a lot of books from a first person, male POV. And I love Ethan. He is such a sweet guy. Perfect, yet believable. And his love interest, Lena. You root for them right from the start. Link, Amma, and Macon help make the ensemble one of my favorites.

I highly recommend this amazing southern gothic YA. I didn't know there was going to be more until I was in the middle of the book and recently found out there will be five books. I can't wait for the next one: Beautiful Darkness.

And something I wanted to share: this book was started and finished on a dare from the authors' teenagers. Thanks to those teens as well as Kami and Margaret.