Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures, Book 1

By: Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

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.©2009 Kami Garcia; (P)2009 Hachette

Adequate for Adults

This book has all of the key components to a good YA novel. There's outcast girl & boy who find they're soul mates; an overly protective African-American caregiver; humorous secretive uncle and a paranormal twist. I didn't love this story and found some of the characters to be irritating stereotypes (the mean girls at school). Overall, it was a decent attempt, but could have been better. While I enjoyed the story, I won't listen to the next in the series.

Paranormal teen romance from the boy's P-O-V

This story is told from the young man's point of view, which I found very refreshing!

Things start off very slowly, so it took me a while to get into it. I wasn't completely sold on the multiple playings of the "16 Moons" song early on, but everything came together by the end. That's not the only audio effect -- during storms, you'll hear the rain, flashbacks have an echo, and fire crackles. They did a good job with the sound effects! There's a strong sense of place and descriptive detail throughout, but I'll agree with an another reviewer that the repeated digs against the things that were "always true" about small towns got a little pedantic. But then, don't most kids talk about getting away from the places they grew up, regardless of where that was?

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book. I think my favorite part was getting to know all the excellent characters. Ethan and Lena were fine, but it was the supporting cast who really made the book for me! Everyone has a past, and everyone has a secret -- including the town itself, really. While the "boy meets girl and one of them has magical powers" story has been told before, this one has it's own flavor.

Parents, the language stays pretty clean, and the romantic situations never become too adult. There are bad guys with bad intentions, but the violence isn't gory or graphic.

Good story, great narrator!

Any additional comments?

Kevin T. Collins was the perfect narrator for this book. I ended up purchasing every audiobook in the series and they're all really good. Cant wait to see the movie!

Casters, incubus, and keepers equal drama

What made the experience of listening to Beautiful Creatures the most enjoyable?

The sound effects mixed with the suspense o the story was great

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the ever evolving story plot. It kept me intrigued

What about Kevin T. Collins’s performance did you like?

His inflection in his voice, in conjunction with the different accents was great. He brought the characters to like.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Young Adult

I enjoyed Beautiful Creatures. It was definitely a teen romance book. But nevertheless very enjoyable.