Beautiful Creatures (Beautiful Creatures, 1)
The first book in the instant NYT bestselling gothic fantasy series--a modern paranormal romance set against the gothic backdrop of an isolated southern town.
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.
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.
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Community Reviews
This is the first in a series of young adult books about Lena and Ethan and their unexplainable bond between each other. Like with the "Twilight" series, you are never really quite sure what the attraction is between the 2 main characters. It makes things a bit predictable. But there are many other unique qualities in the story that keep a person reading...
There seems to be a lot of really strong opinions on this one. There are many venomous one-star reviews claiming this is the worst book in the history of books and that dousing it in gasoline and lighting it on fire would be too kind. There are also many gushing five-star reviews claiming this is the best book to ever grace the earth and that it actually glows with a heavenly light when opened.
So who is the loser giving this one three neutral stars?
Oh, yeah. Me.
I do not think this is the worst writing I have ever read. In fact, there weren't too many "huh?" sentences that had me annoyed. I feel like comparing the writing skill (or lack of) to that of Twilight's Stephenie Meyer is unfair as well. That truly made me want to gouge out my eyes thirty pages in. This did not. The only annoyance was that it was a bit too long and that it dragged quite a bit. I kept checking my Kindle to see if I had made any progress at all. I think there could have been plenty of "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND,DUMBASS ETHAN?! I'M GOING TO BE CLAIMED AND TURN INTO A CRAZY ASS BAD WITCH CASTER!" outbursts cut out. There could have been less of Ethan oogling Lena's goodies (in a really pansy way that describes her beautiful hair and complexion rather than her boobs and rear).
I thought the characters were pretty interesting and liked learning their secrets and powers as the book progressed. I like books that keep me waiting instead of throwing everything in my face right out of the gate. I do not, however, like them to keep me waiting for a billion pages just to find out a couple small things and then telling me I have to read the other gajillion pages of the other books to learn something else. Frustrating.
This was a fun, fluffy read. I will probably pick up others in the series at some point, but they are not a priority at all. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. I just liked it well enough.
And now I can watch the movie if it happens to be on TV.
3 Stars
So who is the loser giving this one three neutral stars?
Oh, yeah. Me.
I do not think this is the worst writing I have ever read. In fact, there weren't too many "huh?" sentences that had me annoyed. I feel like comparing the writing skill (or lack of) to that of Twilight's Stephenie Meyer is unfair as well. That truly made me want to gouge out my eyes thirty pages in. This did not. The only annoyance was that it was a bit too long and that it dragged quite a bit. I kept checking my Kindle to see if I had made any progress at all. I think there could have been plenty of "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND,
I thought the characters were pretty interesting and liked learning their secrets and powers as the book progressed. I like books that keep me waiting instead of throwing everything in my face right out of the gate. I do not, however, like them to keep me waiting for a billion pages just to find out a couple small things and then telling me I have to read the other gajillion pages of the other books to learn something else. Frustrating.
This was a fun, fluffy read. I will probably pick up others in the series at some point, but they are not a priority at all. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. I just liked it well enough.
And now I can watch the movie if it happens to be on TV.
3 Stars
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