Margaret Stohl

Kami Garcia

Beautiful Darkness

In a small southern town with a secret world hidden in plain sight, sixteen-year-old Lena, who possesses supernatural powers and faces a life-altering decision, draws away from her true love, Ethan, a mortal with frightening visions.

Beautiful darkness

I can't read to finish off this series. I'm going to revisit Book 1, Beautiful Creatures, now that I've finished this book and want to connect the dots and gloss over some details I may have looked over or discarded seeing as how it all unfolds with Lena and Ethan. Especially because I'm waiting to get paid from my job right now so I can buy an e-reader and pick up on book 2.5 before I pick up book 3.

Yunuen Lopez

Lacy W

As much as I loved this series in general, this was my least favorite book. Lena drove me crazy! She basically pushed Ethan away and all Ethan wanted to do was help. That just pissed me off. She has a boy who is so crazy about her and she just leaves him for some idiot that is just using her. Ugh! All because she thought Ethan wouldn't understand. I mean obviously the guy is so madly in love with her that he physically hurts himself voluntarily every time he kisses you.

Lena still has yet to Claim what side she wants to be: Light or Dark. She has discovered that she can chose....but it comes at a price. A very heavy price. (view spoiler)[ if she chooses Light, all her Dark family members will die. If she choses Dark, all her Light family members will die.  (hide spoiler)] Hell of a choice, right? 

But like I mentioned, Lena takes off with Ridley and John. So Ethan, being the loving boyfriend that he is, goes and gets her. He figured out what they are doing and where they are going. Both which are not good. He gets Olivia, Link and even (view spoiler)[ Ridley  (hide spoiler)] to help him. There are also a few secrets that Ethan's own family was hiding to help him along the way. 

I loved this book but I spent most of the time mad at Lena for being stupid. I admired Ethan and that he was willing to go and chase down his girl, even though she told him not too. That is some love right there.

Talia Dominguez 

it was awesome! well on this book Lena is feeling so bad about the death of her uncle that she decides to get away from Ethan to not hurt him too! she starts hanging out with a guy (John) that Ridley introduced to her.
Meanwhile, her mother is trying to bring on the 17th moon so Lena can claim herself Dark(sarafine's benefit) and is up to Ethan(his power) to save her!
As for Ethan, he also meets a new girl ,Liv a to-be-keeper.
From the help of some few family members , Ethan, Liv, and Link were able to save the day leaving damages and bad consequenses for their actions in the future.

Stefanie  Uwah

I was so excited to read this book and when I started it, I was severely let down. The first half of the book is very boring and I felt like puting it down. Lena was just SOOO annoying! I hated her! But then I got to the second half and that was amazing! Could have been 5 stars had the beginning not sucked :(

Gisela Ayala 

I know this book is not everyone's cup of tea, but I definitely love it. The plot continues to get better and I'm finding out which characters I like the best. I'm happy with the way things turned out and I finished the books as quickly as possible just to find out what happens! I'm ready to move on to the next one!

Natasha Musa

Beautiful Darkness continues where Beautiful Creatures left off. Like the first book, I wasn't to keen on the romance aspect between Lena and Ethan but the paranormal aspect of the book is as good as the first book. Definitely worth the read, can't wait for the third book to be out.

Meg (megschapters)

Still has magical as the first day I read it ✨️

Sarah Vaughan

I definitely didn't love this one as much as the first. But at least it ended well.

Ella Zegarra

Decepción!!!! uno de esos libro que fue mejor no leer, siempre he dicho que mi curiosidad me ocasionarían problemas, en este caso, bastante aburrimiento.
Todo el libro es inestable, comienzo aburrido, el transcurso de la historia se pone interesante para volver a caer en lo aburrido. No me gusto, pero le pongo dos estrellas, porque tuvo buenos momentos.
Puntos buenos, creo que son Link y Liv, Macon también, pero muy poco.
Cómo siempre el punto malo, con la emo de Lena, o sea: un par de cachetadones no le vendrían mal a esta muchacha!!! Ethan tan patético como siempre, parecía que se iba a redimir pero... en fin. 
Me parece que el libro pudo dar más, es mi opinión.

Jessica Williamson

Much like the first one it took me a little while to get into it (50 pages or so) but I really liked it!

There wasn't enough Ethan/Lena action for me, but that was kind of the point for the whole book, so I'm okay with it.

I think what amazes me the most about the series so far is how in depth the authors go with the whole Caster world. Everything is so incredibly involved and imaginative that it is an absolute delight to read. I love, love, love, getting lost in the story and trying to navigate my way through the world.

There was a large amount of my reading time spent trying to decipher what was going to happen next. The thing about most modern novels is that I can pretty much guess everything within the first few chapters, this series has been completely different so far. There are a couple of small things I'm able to guess but only a couple of paragraphs before it's actually stated. So that's another thing I love, the surprise.

The characters were spot on, they are all growing and developing, even some of the bad guys, and that's pretty amazing. I really love Link and Ridley with their non-relationship they started in the first book. They make me laugh and I like that capability in a story that is actually pretty dark deep down.

The new characters that are introduced are intriguing and I'm kind of interested to see how things will progress from where we are. 

Also with so many of the characters changing their basic species I'm really looking forward to see how they all adapt to everything that will be coming in the next book.

I am excited to continue to read on and see how Lena's choice changes the world.

Jade Flynn

Barbara Rosas

Danielle H.

One night in the rain, Ethan Wate opened his eyes and fell in love with Lena Duchannes. His life would never be the same. Lena is a Caster and her family is locked in a supernatural civil war: full of darkness and demons. On her sixteenth birthday Lena made a terrifying choice, which now haunts her day and night. And as her seventeenth birthday approaches Lena and Ethan face even greater danger. A Caster and a Mortal can never truly be together. Every kiss is a curse. Ethan�s next heartbeat could be his last. It is their curse now . . .

Siobhán

4.5stars

I had been waiting on this book all year since I first finished Beautiful Creatures, having been sucked into the world of the Casters I couldn't wait. Beautiful Darkness is a worthy sequel and takes the readers on a deeper journey through the world of the Casters.

Beautiful Darkness is a bit slow to start about at about 150 pages into the book I couldnt put it down. I was gripped and turning the pages with excitement to find out what was going to happen next. In this installement I felt like is was really Ethans story. We don't really see alot of Lena (which for me is a good thing I don't really like her) Ethan has grown from the last book and matured alot throughout this installement. We also get introduced to new characters like Liv (Olivia) the "Marian Junior" according to Link. Aswell as new we see the return of some of our favourite characters from Beautiful Creatures like for me Ridley I just love her lol.

The Caster Chronicles really is refreshing, not a vampire or werewolf or angel in sight. There isn't enough books out there like these books. They are unique and exciting, full of twists and turns you don't see coming. So if you haven't read these yet get right on it you will not be disappointment.

Well done Kami and Margaret from producing another great read and I look forward to the next one.

Cortnie

Unfortunately for me, I don't find these books very action packed or gripping. Like with the first book it was difficult for me to get into. It's bland and boring and just... not that captivating. Nevertheless, I finished it- I hate not finishing books (it makes me physically cringe when I finally decide I've had enough). Anyway. Despite my dislike of the books, I'm invested. Not because of Lena or Ethan and their undying, but oh so forbidden love (overplayed cliche), but because of Amma and Marian and Link and Macon. Those are the ones I'm attached to.

Lena is downright annoying. The more I read, the more I can't stand her and cringe every time Ethan reiterates that he loves her and blah blah blah. But, -deep breath-. This is more me venting my frustration with the books.

Okay well. This is the second one I've struggled through. The story tends to drag on and the books are really very thick. I find, not even halfway through, that I'm craving for the book to pick up speed and not take forever to finish. Frankly, it takes too much time to tell the story and it just seems silly that it's broken up into four books.

Two out of five stars, because of the characters that I am attached to.

Sara 

I liked this book a lot. I was recommended the series by my English teacher, because I liked Twilight and The Hunger Games (two of my favorite books!) I read the first book, and just fell in love with it, so I started reading the whole series. NOTE: do NOT read this next part of review if you don't want to spoil the book! I liked how Ethan finds out that Macon and his mother were in love. I was kind of upset when the authors killed Macon at the end of Beautiful Creatures, so I was very happy when he came back at the end of the story. 
 
 I was also depressed when Lean left Ethan to run away with John Breed. (I can't stand him!!) I didn't really go for the love triangle thing between Lena, Ethan, and Liv either. Don't get me wrong, I love Liv, just not how she's in the story to give Lena a little competition. I liked her as Ethan's friend, nothing more. I also wish all the "bad" casters had to get killed off when Lena made her choice. I really liked Twyla. Anyway, this book was awesome, but of course, the first book in the series is always better.

Flavia

Secondo episodio della saga:”The Caster Chronicles”, se ho pensato che il primo libro della saga fosse scontato e forse anche banale, devo ricredermi: questo secondo romanzo ci porta a conoscere meglio e nel profondo il mondo in cui Lena vive, e noi, come Ethan, impariamo a conoscerlo e comprenderlo nel profondo. Più o meno. Conosciamo meglio alcuni personaggi, ne incontriamo di nuovi. Ma soprattutto, ci rendiamo conto che la fitta trama di misteri presenti a Gatlin è ancora ben lontana nell’essere risolta. In questo secondo volume assistiamo ad una crescita, fisica e psicologica dei nostri protagonisti. Lena, che nel primo libro, appare un po’ come una ragazzina, tipica adolescente, che è testarda, vuol fare di testa sua e soprattutto in po’ immatura, ora cresce, diventando sempre più conscia di quello che è, preparandosi a quello che pensa sia la chiave di volta della sua vita: Reclamare se stessa. Ethan, dal canto suo, si trova fra due fuochi: combattere per riprendersi la ragazza che ama o lasciarla libera e lasciare che i sentimenti per Liv, apprendista Custode, diventino qualcosa di più? Nonostante le incertezze, i dubbi e i misteri sul suo passato e sulla sua famiglia che vengono a galla, Ethan saprà ritrovare la strada per trovare anche lui se stesso e capire nel profondo i suoi sentimenti. La trama si sta rivelando nettamente fuori dal comune, mi son ritrovata a pensare, che i personaggi son più curati di quello che il primo libro poteva mostrare, sicuramente questo secondo volume mi è piaciuto più del primo ed ho già cominciato a leggere con avidità il terzo. Sicuramente è un Urban Fantasy decisamente fuori dal comune. Mi è piaciuto molto il fatto che sia affrontato di più il tema “superstizione” dei paesi del Sud, come le pratiche Hoodoo, io sono un’amante della cultura e di queste pratiche, ritrovare tradizioni e gesti realmente esistenti mi ha fatto pensare che sicuramente una delle due autrici consce molto bene la superstizione del Sud degli Stati Uniti. Detto ciò mi aspetto molto dal seguito: La Diciottesima Luna.

Hannah Adamson

Jessica 

There’s something about sitting alone in the dark that reminds you how big the world really is, and how far apart we all are. The stars look like they’re so close, you could reach out and touch them. But you can’t. Sometimes things look a lot closer than they are.


After a bit of procrastination on my part (and over a year of hassling from my other half) I finally picked up Beautiful Darkness, the first sequel to Beautiful Creatures and the second overall release in the Caster Chronicles. It took me long enough, right?

We’re welcomed back to Gatlin, a seemingly normal southern town that is layered between a world of dark and light magic, of Casters, Incubus, Keepers and Seers. Back are the familiar rules, plots and characters (and some new ones!)–but ever since the death of Macon Ravenwood, things haven’t been exactly improving for our leading lady and her guilt.

It’s summer time in Gatlin and something is lurking in the shadows.

As someone with a weakness for witches and angst and a dash of romance, I have to say that this second installment is far more superior compared to its predecessor. And I enjoyed the first book immensely so that is saying something. The fact of the matter is, once I picked back up this novel and began to read, I lost myself in it.

Continued: BOOKEDJ.

Beautiful Darkness

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