Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Jan 21, 2013 Vanessa Gayle ⚔️ Fangirl Faction rated it really liked it

Shelves: setting-us, there-is-no-sex-in-this-book, bookish-character, urban-fantasy-read, fantasy, feeeeels, young-adult-read, curse, psychic-abilities, quirky-eccentric-amusing-elders

10/18/2022: Reread on audiobook!
I first read this book almost ten years ago and I never posted a review. I wanted to finish the series so I decided that a reread was in order.

This is the only book that I have read by this author duo. I really like their combined writing style. It is smooth and relatable. It's not hard to put yourself in the shoes of the characters. I also really like the plot. It is compelling and interesting and keeps the reader hooked. The world-building is very atmospheric. 10/18/2022: Reread on audiobook!
I first read this book almost ten years ago and I never posted a review. I wanted to finish the series so I decided that a reread was in order.

This is the only book that I have read by this author duo. I really like their combined writing style. It is smooth and relatable. It's not hard to put yourself in the shoes of the characters. I also really like the plot. It is compelling and interesting and keeps the reader hooked. The world-building is very atmospheric. The book takes place in South Carolina and the book captures many southern attitudes very well. I thought that the representation of southern culture was handled with grace.

I really liked that the book it told from a male perspective. Most young adult fantasy and paranormal books circa the 2000s have female POVs. It was refreshing to have a male perspective. Even if the book is very much about Lena, the story is told by Ethan. I felt myself relating to the characters so easily. I thought that both main characters had some really great backgrounds and development. Each character experiences quite a bit of character growth throughout the book. All of the secondary characters were delightful as well. There is such a wide array of characters that take part in this story. They are so entertaining.

The romance in the book was very sweet. I loved how Ethan gravitated toward Lena. Ethan was a more open-minded person in his small town and he didn't judge Lena the way that everyone else did. He was compassionate and caring. I loved how he slowly won Lena over. They started spending time together and just got lost in each other. There were some paranormal circumstances at play as well but the romance was mostly two teens connecting and falling in love.

Overall, this book is a breath of fresh air. I loved the whole concept of the story and how the authors orchestrated everything. I am so eager to pick up the next book and see how things progress in this fascinating world.

BLOG FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM GOODREADS TIKTOK TWITTER BOOKBUB AMAZON PINTEREST ...more

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Jan 30, 2010 A book away from an episode of hoarders rated it liked it

Shelves: pnr-uf-fantasy, first-in-series, judged-by-its-cover, read-in-2012, and-i-m-done, dropped-series, adapted-to-screen

*** 1/2 really

This poor book has been sitting on my TBR shelves, gathering dust for about three years. I bought it because of the dust jacket without knowing anything about it except the blurb on the back about cursed love.

Positives: This was a decent read. The whole magic system, while not ground-breakingly original, was pretty clever. I really enjoyed the characterization of the supporting cast... the entire Caster family (and Ridley, who I quite enjoyed disliking), the Sisters were fun to rea *** 1/2 really

This poor book has been sitting on my TBR shelves, gathering dust for about three years. I bought it because of the dust jacket without knowing anything about it except the blurb on the back about cursed love.

Positives: This was a decent read. The whole magic system, while not ground-breakingly original, was pretty clever. I really enjoyed the characterization of the supporting cast... the entire Caster family (and Ridley, who I quite enjoyed disliking), the Sisters were fun to read about and I really dug Amma and Macon Ravencroft (and Boo Radley). One of my favorite scenes in the book was during the "disciplinary hearing" after Macon showed up. The story, overall, flowed pretty smoothly. Even being nearly 600 pages in length, when I was reading, the story went really quickly and I was interested enough to keep reading to see what happened next. When I was reading, I could feel the anticipation and was counting down the days with Lena and Ethan. I also liked reading this cursed love story from the male POV. Nice change of pace from the majority of young adult books I've read. It didn't end with a cliffhanger, which a big plus. It just ended with a little tease that implied there will be a sequel.

Negatives: Every time I put the book down, I didn't feel the need to pick it back up. Seriously, 551 pages in... a major character may or may not have been dead... I put it down, and later had to practically force myself to pick it back up because there was no way I wasn't going to finish the last 12 pages at that point. There were quite a few things that I figured out WAY earlier than our main characters. The authors were dropping what I felt were incredibly obvious clues everywhere. I had to fight the urge to skim every time they started writing in length about the Civil War. I was born and raised in the South, it reminded me of History class in high school and I read those parts with about as much enthusiasm as the back of a shampoo bottle. And bless her heart, Lena really did have that whole ‘special snowflake' thing going on all the way through the story. I also didn't really feel any chemistry between Lena and Ethan, other than being apparently fated to be together.

In my head, it was interesting enough when I was reading it but I just don't care about it. When I wasn't reading it, I wasn't even remotely interested in it.

It is always possible that I might read the next in the series but more than likely, I won't. ...more

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Feb 08, 2010 Steph rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: series-book1, age-group-ya-na, year-read-2010, author-웃, series-ended, audiobook-listened-to, audiobook-great-narration

I had a great time listening to this book. The reader was fantastic! He has the perfect southern accent (reminding me of home - VA), did a great job with the many voices - male, female, old and young. There were even some sound effects, which I've not had in previous audiobooks, initially it seemed odd, but ended up being a great addition and brought you even more into the story.

I loved that this story was told from the boy's POV. With books like "Twilight" and such typically being from the girl ...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Mafi rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: pt, 2012, adaptado-tv-movie

ou 3 estrelas estou indecisa!

Já há muito tempo que não me sentia tão indecisa quanto a um livro. Realmente não sei se gostei ou não. Eu acho que gostei mas por outro lado, o livro tem muita falhas que me aborreceram, pois tinha todos os ingredientes para ser um bom livro.

O livro não me conseguiu agarrar, não consegui sentir empatia com nenhuma personagem, os protagonistas são fofinhos mas irreais, ok que isto é ficção, mas mesmo assim gosto de sentir alguma realidade nos livros. Por amor de Deu ...more

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Mar 03, 2010 Kristen rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult

Well, this was interesting. It was fairly unique in that we get this story from his point of view versus hers. I read some reviews (before reading the book) where folks were pretty harsh about the fact that it is told from the guys perspective. So, I was prepared for it. I agree - to an extent. I have never been in side the head of a teenage boy to know if this is really the way they think. If mother's and father's everywhere are to be believed, it is not, since we really don't get the sense tha Well, this was interesting. It was fairly unique in that we get this story from his point of view versus hers. I read some reviews (before reading the book) where folks were pretty harsh about the fact that it is told from the guys perspective. So, I was prepared for it. I agree - to an extent. I have never been in side the head of a teenage boy to know if this is really the way they think. If mother's and father's everywhere are to be believed, it is not, since we really don't get the sense that he wants her for sex (which is all teenage boys think about, right?). So, I sort of ignored the fact that our main character/narrator might be a little different from other teenage boys and went with it. By doing that, the perspective didn't disappoint.

The story was different. It was nice to read something supernatural but so different. Lena and Ethan are well written and I absolutely adore creepy old Uncle Macon when we meet him. the story line was complex enough to keep me reading, yet not so complex so as to leave me thinking "What the...?" The additional peripheral characters were well enough developed that it wasn't a total shock to see how they came into play later (except Marian - I am still wondering about her and how she ended up involved. I feel like I am missing something here) and most of them felt like they had a purpose - they weren't just fillers. And let's not forget Amma. I think there's more to be learned about her - and I hope I am right. She is a wonderful character - I would love to read the book detailing her story and how she and Uncle Mason came to know each other. The supernatural potential there is huge.

The setting was well done. I could close my eyes and picture the parts of South Carolina or Georgia I have visited. As a former history major in college, I appreciated the tie in to the Civil War and thought it was a hoot to read about a re-enactment (since they gone on here in PA a lot too, and I never really understood them) and how important that was to the town. And it was a great little tie in to have it be so important to the plot too.

I was on the edge of my seat - couldn't put the book down - because I so badly wanted to understand what the big secret was when it came to Lena's birthday and how that would be resolved. I did feel a little cheated about the way that was in fact resolved. Without giving too much away, I guess I just need to say that how else could it be set up for the sequel(s)? But, it was still a little disappointing to see Lena get to escape from really having to make the choice. To me, that would have made the sequel(s) much more interesting. But I say that without having read the sequel(s), so we'll see.

Overall, I was glad I picked this up. It was a relatively quick read for something so hefty. And I will definitely pick up the next one in the "Caster Chronicles".

p.s. I craved lollipops for about a month after reading this! What an interesting side effect from reading that character (can't remember her name at the moment... sorry!) ...more

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Nov 16, 2013 Monica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013-in-2013, 2013-yearly-challenge, witches

Wow!! I borrowed the audio version from my library on Overdrive and I loved this book!! I am glad that I listened to this book. I enjoyed hearing the music for the songs that were written in the book. I really loved that part of the book.

This book also has an interview with the authors. I love being able to hear the authors talk about how they decide to choose an idea.

It is not very often that you have a story written from a boys point of view. Ethan is delightful to listen to. He is from a smal ...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Nairabell rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star, teen-ya-paranormal, read-in-2011, borrowed-from-library

Ethan Wate lives in Gatlin, South Carolina and is counting the days until he can leave town. Gatlin is like most small towns - boring, predictable and totally lacking in surprises - that is until Lena Duchannes arrives in town. From the moment she moves in with her uncle (the town shut-in) in his massive supposedly haunted mansion Lena stands out. Ethan is inexplicably drawn to Lena, but he is about to discover she is hiding things from him - not just secrets, but mysterious powers and inescapab Ethan Wate lives in Gatlin, South Carolina and is counting the days until he can leave town. Gatlin is like most small towns - boring, predictable and totally lacking in surprises - that is until Lena Duchannes arrives in town. From the moment she moves in with her uncle (the town shut-in) in his massive supposedly haunted mansion Lena stands out. Ethan is inexplicably drawn to Lena, but he is about to discover she is hiding things from him - not just secrets, but mysterious powers and inescapable curses as well.

I'd seen this book everywhere, hyped to the point of excess so I decided to get it from the library as the last couple of overly hyped books I've read failed to meet my expectations. The first thing I must say about the book is that it has the worst beginning of any book I've read recently. I knew the book was written in first person present tense and from the perspective of the guy, but nothing prepared me for the yawn fest the book begins with. It got to the stage two chapters in that I stopped and checked in with friends who loved the book, and they encouraged me to continue. I'm really grateful they did because as soon as our two lead characters cross paths things begin to get interesting, and the plot picks up pace.

The prose is lyrical and descriptive, and the plot well thoughtout with lots of twists and turns. I ended up really enjoying the male narrator as it's unusual and added a new dimension. I really like both Ethan and Lena, and found their romance to be well developed and beautifully written. The plot develops gradually, and once the leads have met the pace picks up with revelations and plot developments coming quickly.

The supporting characters are also really well developed - especially Ethan's housekeeper/adoptive grandmother Amma who helps Ethan stay grounded despite the revelations caused by his relationship with Lena. I also really liked Ethan's best friend Link whose attempts at rock megastardom always seem just a little outside of his grasp. Lena's relatives are also great and once introduced really help to show Lena's world in a whole new light.

At well over 500 pages, this is not a light read but I encourage anyone put off by the length to give it a try. The authors have managed to create an incredibly detailed and fleshed out world, and Gatlin really seems to come to life on the page. The ending is clever and unexpected, and I can't wait to see where the series goes next.

All in all, I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to reading Beautiful Darkness.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 47/50 ...more

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May 07, 2011 Valerie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

Oh, Beautiful Creatures, we could have had it all.

I heard plenty of mixed reactions to this book; a quick scan of ratings from my Goodreads friends shows a range of 1 to 5 stars. It popped up on my radar because I was intrigued by its Southern small-town setting, and when I saw it labeled as a bargain at Books-A-Million a few weeks ago, I was on the fence about buying it until I read the first few pages. When I read the prologue:

There were only two kinds of people in our town. "The stupid and th

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Sep 13, 2010 Angi rated it liked it

This one was easy for me to put down. I really liked the southern mystery of it and the authors did a fantastic job of creating the setting. I also really liked the fantasy elements. However, it was too centered around the relationship and the romance of the main characters for my taste. I wasn't as interested as I could have been. I'll eventually read the next one because I want to find out what becomes of "Lena". ...more

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