Review Detail

I picked up Beautiful Creatures not really knowing
anything about it; I didn't really know what it was about or even what sort of
book it was. All I remembered when I saw the cover was that I had heard good
things. So I grabbed it off the shelf, cracked it open, and started reading.



It was excellent from the first page.



Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and shes 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 towns 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 the
Beautiful Creatures website



Since I knew so little about the book and the back cover blurb (smartly)
doesn't say anything about paranormal element comes into play. I love that the
authors allowed the reader to discover that fact on her own (for those readers
who have yet to read the book I will not spoil this by revealing it here).
Slowly throughout the entire book we learn about Lena,
her abilities, and her family. This doesn't just happen in the first few
chapters; it continues to happen throughout the book.



I must say that the world- and character-building is wonderful. From the first
few pages I could picture Gatlin and the entire cast of characters. There are
quite a few different characters in the book, but it wasn't an issue to keep
them all straight, even the jocks and cheerleaders, because they were so well
written. Every character has his or her own little quirky things about them.



The plot twists and mini climaxes are excellently written and inserted at just
the perfect moments building and moving the story long quite nicely. Even
though the book is quite long -- well over 500 pages -- it doesn't lag in the
middle or feel overly long. Take note authors, this is how you really build up
a climax. This was an intense book with a potential horrible event always
looming on the horizon.



Beautiful Creatures is absolutely wonderful and I don't think I can say
enough good things about it. I can not wait until Beautiful Darkness is
released on October 12, 2010.



Add to the top of you to-read pile