Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3)

Best one in the series!

Well, well, well... Beautiful Choas got everything right this time around. I guess the saying, "The third time is a charm" has some merit after all.


There was so much going on in this book that it's hard to narrow down one point worth discussing. The plot is complicated, and takes Beautiful Chaos to a whole new level. So I won't spend time pondering that. Instead, I'm going to discuss what I really liked about this book.


The characters--and I'm not talking about Lena and Ethan either. The minor characters are what make Beautiful Chaos so outstanding. Ridley, Link, Macon, Amma, and even John Breed-- a-maze-ing. I love, love, love how the minor characters stole the show. Amma goes dark (waaaaay dark) and makes a deal that cannot be broken. And who would have thought that Macon--the once dark-turned-light Incubus-- would be a hero? Then there is Link and Ridley. There is so much drama and conflict there, that a cast of some second rate reality series would be jealous. I cannot wait to see what happens with Ridley in the final book. I bet it's going to be HUGE. But what was really surprising, is the role John Breed played. I'm not 100% sold that he's some misunderstood good guy type. I think there is more to it than that. Again though, the final book is going to tell his tale.


I think it's pretty safe to say, that Beautiful Choas is my favorite so far in this series. I have very high hopes for the finale. This series certainly appeals to the paranormal romance fan. There are so many supernatural elements at play that I'm surprised someone hasn't petitioned to have this series "banned." (Which I hope doesn't happen.)

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect out of Beautiful Chaos after I didn’t enjoy Beautiful Darkness as much as I’d hoped, but boy howdy did Stohl and Garcia step up their game for this one.

In the past books it was the setting that did it for me, but this time, it was all about the characters. Let’s start with Ethan. I loved that a lot of the focus was on Ethan this time instead of Lena. You’d think the focus was always on him since he’s the main character, but it almost seemed as if Lena was the main character in the past. Speaking of Lena, I liked that she was back to normal. It was way more enjoyable to read about than crazy, mopey Lena.
“Linkubus” was basically super awesome. We got to see quite the character growth with him which was nice since he’s one of my favorite characters :]
I really like the relationship developments with Liv, Lena, and Ethan.
I never would have expected to find out any more about Sarafine, but it was a rather nice surprise.

I liked that for once, the main focus wasn’t on the town and the happenings within it. Like I said, I liked the setting and the town in the previous books, but having the focus be more character-driven for Beautiful Chaos totally worked.

Final Thoughts: Beautiful Chaos was absolutely fantastic. It’s practically killing me not to have the next book since the ending was so cruel. If you’ve read the rest of The Caster Chronicles, then you definitely need Beautiful Chaos, and if you haven’t read them, you should definitely start. If you’re a fan of character-driven books with intense endings and awesome sidekicks this is definitely something you should get your hands on.

Well...now I understand why people are so annoyed about the cliffhanger. On one hand. I understand why it ended like that, but that doesn't make it annoy me any less.

Anyway, enough about the cliffhanger. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the authors' writing style, the way they use description and dialogue really make the characters and the world come alive. No matter how nonchalantly I start out reading the books by the end I am completely immersed in the story and in the world.

Characters (because they are what really make this book epicful):

Ethan aka SPOILER!!!!! "The One Who Is Two" END SPOILER!!! - He wasn't as annoying as he sometimes is. I found it immensely enjoyable to read about him going slightly crazy. And he and Lena are just so fun to make fun of that I can't help but like him.

Lena aka "Emo Princess" - So I pretty much loved her interactions with Liv. Especially during and after Ridley's Furur(..spelling?)...she became a lot more relatable and enjoyable to read about in this book. I actually found her fun and enjoyable at some parts. And for the parts where she was being "emo princess" well I just smiled and bore through it.

Liv aka "Olivia" - I was disappointed when it seemed like she was going to be forgotten about. She was hardly in the beginning of the book at all. Like she had disappeared off the face of the earth...or just into the Tunnels. But, as is Liv style, she made an epic comeback and forced her way into the story. SPOILER!!!! I absolutely loved her relationship with John! I totally called it! Wooo! END SPOILER!!!!

John Breed aka one of the most epic characters in the book - So yeah...I was annoyed when it took them so long to find him. I was beginning to worry that most of the book would go by without him joining the party. But boyyyy was I wrong! Woooo! As is his style he had one of the most awesome dramatic entries in the history of Gatlin dramatic entries. And ever since has been showing up Ethan...and Lena...and Link...and Macon...and Ridley...and everyone, in the most awesome scenes possible.

Link aka Linkubus - So, I've always loved Link's character. He offsets Ethan's...Ethan-ness beautifully. So needless to say I couldn't wait to see how he was as an Incubus...well quarter Incubus. As was expected, he was even awesomer and funnier and cuter as Linkubus. I have also always been a fan of Link and Ridley. And Beautiful Chaos does not disappoint in that manner, their relationship is so....ARGHHHH! and EEEEEEP! and YOU IDIOT!!! and YOU ARE IN LOOOOOOOVE!

Ridley aka Rid, my favorite character...other than John and Link and Amma and Macon..and ok...one of my most favorite characters - Yeah. I sorta love her character and everything about her. And Link and Ridley and ARGH!!! and EEEEEEEP! and YOU IDIOT!!! and YOU ARE IN LOOOOOOOOOOVE! *senses deja vu* Anyway...I loved how she acted when she was Mortal and kept in character in every single thing she said and did. Despite the fact that I believed many of her actions and choices to be stupid, they made sense with her character, which made me totally love everything about her.

Amma aka Wielder of the One Eyed Menace - D: That's all I have to say.

Aunt Prue aka Mapper of Tunnels - I can't believe she SPOILER!!!!!DIED!!! END SPOILER!!!!! I totally did not expect that going into the book! I think it worked out wonderfully and made sense though. I was sad at her death, but the way that the authors led up to it made it not as sad as it could be, which I think was perfect. Aunt Prue isn't the kind of person to be sad. This is exampled by the fact that despite my misgivings I laughed during her funeral scene. This makes me sound like a horrible person...but if you read it you'll find certain aspects of it are hilarious!

Macon aka Not Macon as in Mac n' Cheese or Makin' some chicken, Macon as in Ma con or May con - Yeah, as usually we was pretty awesome. Got some cool new powers and he reminded me vaguely of Gandalf during certain parts. But maybe that's just me.

Marian aka Marian the Librarian - Totally not fair! She is innocent!!!! That is all.

Mrs. English aka SPOILER!!!!Lilum the Demon Queen END SPOILER!!! - I find the fact that I just read "The Crucible" before reading Beautiful Chaos highly suspicious...just as I found the fact that I had read "To Kill A Mockingbird" a few months before reading Beautiful Creates slightly suspicious. Do these authors know what I read and incorporate it into their novels so I can smile and know what they are talking about? Anyway, I found it annoying that the English teacher's name was "Mrs. English" but the whole thing with the... "I love and hate how major plot points happen when you least expect it. Ethan goes to give his English teacher cookies and suddenly BABOOM! Abraham and Sarafine are there. And suddenly! Major plot point." Makes up for it. She was just pretty awesome.

Ethan's dad aka "Mitchell" - I have nothing to say about him. I don't know why I'm even including him....

Sarafine, Abraham, Silas, Hunting aka the bad guys - They sure were bad. (you can tell that the longer I go the more lazy I get :P) Sarafine's theme song:

Anyway, enough with the characters. I obviously enjoyed the plot. It started off fairly slow but quickly gained speed and epicness. I'm beginning to wonder how everything will tie up nicely. But I suppose I have to wait and read the next(last?) book to find out.

The book's theme song (in my opinion) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdLoTPUNtD0

It's been a month since I finished reading this book.
Beautiful Chaos continues the story of the Mortal Ethan Wate and his love, the Caster Lena Duchannes. After surviving the happenings in the tunnels and claiming herself as both Light and Dark, Lena and the rest of Gatlin experiences near-apocalyptic events and must find a way to stop this while figuring out the Eighteenth Moon.

The series at it's finest! As of now, this is my favorite one in the series. The book isn't that slow anymore, and the story line's just keep getting better and better. The authors did an amazing job on giving more background on supporting characters like Liv and John Breed. There's heartbreaking moments and more action within the book. The cliffhanger was a real shocker for me. It left me wanting, desiring, mad, crazy, insane for more! I couldn't get over with the end. I really hope that the fourth and last book would be more amazing and better than this one.

The characters seemed more attached to me than it ever were. Link's even more cooler with his new Incubus powers. Ridley more evil and seductive in this book. All the Casters have their powers dangerously uncontrolled. The characters bump into a lot more mishap and a lot more chaos. The book also gets an in-depth story on the background of the Caster world, and of course, Lena's history. It's just so wonderful to be back on Gatlin, and feel so much magical? I thought so too. It seems to me that the readers of this book will crave for the fourth one, now that they've read the ending. For me, it just punched a hole into my stomach, leaving me crying and mad.

I couldn't wait for the last book. The authors did an excellent, or may I say, perfect job on creating such a turn of events. I would really recommend this series, not just this book, to all YA fans.

First Impressions: I’ve been obsessed with this series ever since Beautiful Creatures and the massive Beautiful Darkness. After finishing Beautiful Darkness, I was basically freaking out because I knew it would be awhile before this latest installment would be released. Lucky for me, I was able to receive a copy for a review. Not that I wouldn’t have ran out on its release day and bought it, because I totally would have otherwise. This series is one that I like to give away as gifts, and I have purchased three complete sets for my crazy friends who haven’t read them yet. If you haven’t read the first two books in this series, I highly suggest it before picking up Beautiful Chaos.

First 50 Pages: Despite me dying to read this book, I didn’t pick it up for about a week before I received it. Why? Well, the fact that in the book synopsis it states that this time around no happy ending will be in sight. That freaked me out a little bit and it made me really nervous about what was going to happen in the story. I was kind of expecting something major to happen in this book though because of other events that took place in the first two books. Just like the previous books, this one centers around a song called Eighteen Moons. Eighteen Moons doesn’t have a happy ending, and well, you get my point. Not only was I worried about the predicted doom and gloom, I needed enough time to read this massive book. So I waited until a, well gloomy Saturday to be able to sit and read this all in one sitting.

Plot & Characters: From the beginning, I was once again sucked into the world Kami and Margaret have created. I love the characters these authors have created and they just seem to get better and better with each book that comes out. In this book, their emotions are brought to the threshold and everything becomes much more dark and deep then in the previous novels. Beautiful Chaos centers mostly on the character Ethan and Lena. If you are a big fan of Ethan like I am, prepare yourself! Something happens in this book that just about broke my heart (and pulling out all of my hair to get the next book in my hands).

Link and Ridley are also big characters, but I don’t think they are showcased quite as much as they were before. I really don’t mind Link not having a ton of page-time because she really is my least favorite character of the bunch. I hate the way she has this selfish attitude and the way she is always messing with Ridley. Ethan though…sigh..I can’t give too much away!

As for the ending, there is a major, major cliffhanger. It nearly devastated be and I’m pretty sure I felt my heart crack in two pieces. Why Kami and Margaret? WHY!!? I suggest keeping a box of tissues close at hand for this one!

Final Thought: I most definitely recommend reading this book. I loved how it took on a darker, edgy atmosphere and dived a little bit deeper into this world the authors created. Just be prepared for all of the doom and gloom, and if you are, you’re going to fall in love with Beautiful Chaos!