Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1)

Reader reviewed by Adrienne (Addicted Book Reader)

Wow, I loved this book so much! It is so unlike any other Fantasy
book I've read, and it's probably my new favorite. Beautiful
Creatures is definitely one of the best books I've read in 2009. The
characters are so well described and likeable which will make you fall
in love with the story. By the end, you will be rooting for Lena and
Ethan to be together...forever.

The plot and story line
are very unique, and it put a new twist on the whole idea of
witchcraft. I couldn't put down Beautiful Creatures for a second,
even though it's really long. All throughout, I never knew what was
going to happen. By the end, you will be sitting on the edge of your
seat ready to finally find out what will happen at the end of Lena's
birthday. The ending is perfect and leaves it open for a sequel. I
really hope there will be a sequel, and recent news says that is going
to be made into a movie. As debut authors, Kami and Margret did an
amazing job! I'm really looking forward to reading more from these
amazing new authors.

Reader reviewed by Jessica

Beautiful Creatures is a southern gothic story with a paranormal twist. The book is presented from the view of a teenage boy, which is something different when it comes to many of the young adult paranormal books that have been published lately. Ethan has lost his mother, is losing his father, and being raised by a woman that practices voodoo. He is part of the "in" crowd at a school in a town that is set in its ways and he is struggling to become his own person.

The story twists around when a new girl comes to town and strange things happen around her. Things that cant be explained by anything other than her being a witch. Ethan gravitates towards her and realizes that shes the one hes been dreaming of. Literally dreaming of. He knows that something big is going to happen with her and he wants to protect her from it.

Its a story of a first love, one that can overcome all of the ridicule of a small town. Teenagers find their own way without giving in to the pressure of their friends and doing whats deemed normal. Ethan and Lena find out about their family trees in ways that make me want to start researching my lineage to find out where I come from. They realize that where they came from plays the most important part in where they are going.

Wonderful characters fill up this novel even straying from people to include a wolf masquerading as a dog and a house that is ever changing depending on the mood of its inhabitants. A lollipop addicted girl is just as bad as she looks, but having visions of death and destruction can actually be a good thing.

Reader reviewed by Penultimate Page

My Thoughts:

Im not sure there are words to describe Beautiful Creatures. My jaw aches from how many times it hit the floor, my belly hurts from how many times I laughed, and my eyes sting from how many times I cried. There was nothing about this book that I did not love. 
Kami and Margie are the perfect team. The writing was flawless. There was no evidence of the fact that two writers had to weave each of their talents together, except for the fact that it was double the awesome! 
The characters, oh my, the characters. There were no weak spots in the character building of this story. Even minor characters, like Aunt Del, were so fully developed, you just knew that they had to be real. Ethan was completely swoon-worthy, though not in the cliche way that is common lately. I usually cannot get into a story when it is told through a guys point of view, but I had no problem with Beautiful Creatures (more evidence of the flawless writing). Lena was&wow. Talk about a dynamic character. It was refreshing to see the heroine not fall head-over-heels in love and lose her way. Though Lena was in love, she kept her own identity and did not let it get in the way. Amma and Macon, the authority figures. In a lot of YA books it is easy to lose the authority figure so that the characters do not have to justify their actions. That was not the case in this book. Amma and Macon were lovable and tough as nails, both of them. They were also present throughout the entire story, another refreshing element. The relationships that connected every character made the story jump off the page. Fully and completely enrapturing. 
The setting descriptions were so visual, I swear I heard the storm outside my window. Anytime Ethan described Gatlin, I felt like I was walking through town with him as he pointed everything out. Though I could always picture whatever Ethan was talking about, there was never just a huge info dump. The pertinent information is weaved seamlessly into the fabulous storytelling. 
The plot, I believe, was one-hundred percent original. You will find no mention of previous YA Paranormal Romances here. No siree. If the characters made the story POP, the plot was the driving force. I was constantly looking up any reference made by the characters. Ooh, a palimpsest? Whats that? Instant Wikipedia search. (Note, if you dont want minor spoilers, dont look up palimpsest on Wikipedia.) 
To sum up my squee-fest: Beautiful Creatures is flawless. I will be knocking down doors to get the next book.

The Verdict: Every element of this story jumps off the page. It demands to be read.

Reader reviewed by Melyssa

Nothing changes in the south, at least not in Gatlin, South Carolina, at least not for Ethan.  His family has lived in that same small town, many generations, on back to the civil war.  In fact the most interesting thing that has happened to him as of late is a repetitive nightmare, involving a girl he has never seen beyond his dreams.  But all of that is about to change, when that same girl shows up at Ethans high school.  Lena is different from any girl that Ethan has ever met, but she has a dangerous secret, a curse that becomes the focus of both of their lives.

 

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl was quite a ride, with an end that you just dont see coming.  One of my favorite aspects of the story was the psychic connection between Lena and Ethan.  How cool would it be to always have a link with someone you loved?  I also really liked the Lenas Uncle and Amma.  They added to the richness of and vividness of the story.  My only complaint is that the story is a little long.  While interesting, it could have be a teensy bit shorter and still achieved the same affect.  Lover of gothic, vampire, werewolf, angel, and/or mystical tales, will especially adore this book!

Reader reviewed by Maura (Monster Of Books)

The
characters, the story/plot, the idea, everything. I loved everything.
The only complaints are, you'll see later. If you read The Story Siren's review site, then you'll know that once she wrote that she doesn't exactly know why she likes something, she just does.
This is the same thing, I can't pinpoint why I exactly like this book.
But I can tell you that my top two, absolute favorites, books of 2009
are Hush Hush and Beautiful Creatures.
I also really related to both Ethan & Lena in the story. Maybe more
Lena than Ethan, but still it was nice. It was nice to relate to a
character whose going through a problem that similar to yours *not
identical of course* and by the end of the book, the reader doesn't
feel not alone. The ending will definitely leave people wanting more,
and people will be happy to know that there is a sequel on it's way :) Do I recommend this book?
Absolutely!!! It's fast paste and you'll never have the feeling of not
continuing to read it because it keeps you guessing and wanting more.
Also the plot twist was, in my opinion, brilliant/wonderful. I never saw
it coming. Teen Vogue was comparing this to having Twilight-like buzz,
but for anyone who hates Twilight don't let that scare you off. This
book is NOTHING like Twilight, and in my opinion it's the most original
book I've ever read. But I still recommend this book to everyone,even
Twilight-likers or Twilight Haters.
**SPOILER**:
At the end of the book, Kami & Margaret do something that is quite
interesting. The whole book is in Ethan's POV, but at the end when
Ethan is unconscious instead of going into a new chapter they turn to
Lena's POV. That's right we get a few pages of Lena's POV. And in my
opinion, I really liked that and thought it was sort of cool idea. I
would really like if Kami & Margaret would rewrite Beautiful
Creatures and put it in Lena's POV. I mean, you know how Stephanie
Meyer was going to write that book of Twilight in Edward's POV? I would
really like to see that done with Lena's POV. Because half way through
Beautiful Creatures, while Ethan was narrating, I was wondering what
Lena was doing.

What I didn't like about, Beautiful Creatures, was
at times it felt a bit to rushed in describing things. Like one thing
would happen, and then the next and you would have to reread that part
to get your mind processing it. Another thing was at times, stuff would
randomly pop up that was never mentioned before and your like: What?
Like a good example of this is in the first chapter *I believe*. Ethan
wakes up and he finds out that his window is open and he has mud/dirt
in his bed and his I-pod is playing a song he doesn't recognize. I would
of enjoyed it more, if there had been mention of this before, because
you kind of loose the emotion that it's trying to portray. In my honest
opinion, the only chapter I felt was really rushed was the first
chapter. There was a few others, but not as bad as the first. I think I
would of enjoy it more if it slowed down a bit.

A
really good book and a amazing start at, what looks like, a wonderful
series. The whole Ethan/Lena relationship reminded me a lot of
Romeo/Juliet, which was nice because my favorite Shakespeare play was Romeo And Juliet.