Book Review... Caster Chronicles No. 2

Beautiful Darkness

By Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Hardcover 512 Pages
Cove Art:  Simple.  I understand the steps but I think I liked the prototype better with the Gothic gate across the front.
Tags: Dark Fantasy Paranormal, Southern Gothic, Cover Love, Young Adult

First Line: I used to think our town, buried in the South Carolina backwoods, stuck in the muddy bottom of the Santee River Valley, was the middle of nowhere.

Caster Chronicles Feature Week!!

Concoction of  a Review:

Caster Lena Duchannes and Ethan Wate survived Lena's sixteen birthday together in Beautiful Creatures, the decision of choosing to go light or dark now draws near.  However, Ethan has a serious problem, his girlfriend is pulling away from him.  What is even worse, he does not have the faintest idea how to keep Lena from leaving.   She draws away from Ethan while she struggle with her internal self and fights to decide who she really is, is she going dark?   While he is chasing after Lena, trying to save her, he finds himself delving farther into the Caster world even farther then he even imagined.

In Beautiful Darkness there is an array of new character arrivals to keep this book interesting. Olivia AKA Liv, is a brilliant girl who loves books and science finds herself not making things easier for our dear Ethan.  Our lovely Caster Lena retreats farther into a world where Ethan does not belong.  However, armed with the obsession of saving Lena he races head first deep into the hidden Caster tunnels beneath Gatlin and other southern cities with Link and Liv.  This human trio is runs into scary magical creatures that can tear them apart, secrets of Ethan's mother and of other family members he has known for his whole life.  I loved how Liv really stepped up throughout this adventure.  It was refreshing to see the science girl out on an adventure instead of locked up in a laboratory playing with beakers all day.

Much of the plight of this books seems to stem from a newly occurring theme in YA books. Where one of the people in "love" completely abandons the other to save or protect the other.  To me it makes no sense to leave the person you love with all your heart without talking and cutting them out of your life to to be a good thing to do.  How does that solve the problem?  Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl jumped into this new wave using the theme to drive the plot.  This does put Ethan in a stupor and sends him after her in a non healthy obsessive rage to follower save her.  Because of this I did not connect with Lena which made the presence of Liv all that more interesting.  *grin*

I do have to mention our musically inclined or not so inclined Link was amazing with his I'm so buff and wont back down gutsy macho mantra.  It made me laugh and feel sorry for him altogether.  I also felt for him when they met up with Ridley throughout Beautiful Darkness.  This siren seriously had a effect on him.  I love reading and watching how these dynamic characters fight through tension, dislike, and attraction.

Saving Lena will not be a simple challenge for her champion.  She is punishing herself due her feeling responsible for uncles death, Macon.  Will our southern born lad be able to save the girl from his dreams?

4.00 Blasts

Beautifully Dark writing!!

Plus there is a Scientist!!

What's not to like!?! 

Mad Scientist recommends these few Reviews of Beautiful Darkness by other Bloggers:
The Bibliophilic Book Blog
Alison's Book Marks 
Bewitched Bookworms  (right now they are doing a book discussion for Beautiful Darkness)
In the Closet with a Bibliophile

Website to visit:
Caster Chronicles Link
Margaret Stohl Blog Link
Kami Garcia Blog Link