Name: Dina's review of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
Item: Beautiful Creatures
Rating: 4
Author: Dina

Kami Garcia

Beautiful Creatures

Dina

In a small South Carolina town, where it seems little has changed since the Civil War, sixteen-year-old Ethan is powerfully drawn to Lena, a new classmate with whom he shares a psychic connection and whose family hides a dark secret that may be revealed on her sixteenth birthday.

Liyah 🤎

I loved it. The small town dynamic was played exceptionally well. The romance was there but not over bearing. Interesting and fast paced. Loveable characters. I highly recommend

Monicap

Oh, oh, oh!

So, the farther I got in this book, the more it sucked me in.
THIS BOOK WAS NOT THE CAUSE OF MY READING SLUMP. 
It can’t be. I Love Beautiful Creatures. And even it was he cause, the last fifty or so pages were the cure.
Got… sucked…in…
Stick to the plan, Monica, stick to the pan!
The plan is to wait and read the rest of the series AFTER seeing the movie.
But it’s just so hard to WAIT. Especially since I just got sucked in!
The reasoning behind my plan is that, if I read to soon before seeing the movie adaptation, I always get really bitter. Even reading latter books in said series too close t seeing the movie causes this. 
But, as I said, I’ve been waiting for the end of his series for sooo long. I really just want to know what Lena’s real name is.
(My current guess is Genevieve, since Ethan is Ethan, it kinda makes sense, in a really cheesy sorta way.)

Anyways, lets review this:

Plot: 5/5
One of the reasons this book has always been one of my favorites is the intriguing plot. They are witches (you can say Caster all you want, but in layman’s term, you are witches) and this particular family of witches has been cursed, and this curse basically takes away free will. 
The flashback scenes are some of my favorite parts of this book. Also, the twisted and complicated family lines.
Basically, I love the plot of this book.

Characters: 4/5
Ethan: I absolutely LOVE Ethan. As out MC, he is not only believable, but strong and unique and amazing. Not to mention, he is the PERFECT BOYFRIEND.
Lena: I will allow that she is whiny. But that’s actually not my problem with her, my problem with her is that I don’t think that any point in the book (or the entire series for hat matter) she realizes hat she has THE PERFECT BOYFRIEND.
Ridley: Ridley is actually one of my favorite characters I he series. I just like her.
Link: Link is amazing! I love him. He’s funny and cute and the guy they got to play him in the movie looks PERFECT! I just can’t wait.
Macon and Amma: I love the depth that these two characters give Ethan and Lena. I especially love all interactions between Ethan and Macon.

The romance: 4/5
I love the romance and I find it believable because one of the things that happens is every five pages, Ethan spends a paragraph or two thinking of how much he wants to kiss her. that makes it believable. Also, besides that, he is THE PERFECT BOYFRIEND. But then we have Lena and at one she breaks up with him than gets back together with him five hours later, and in future books, she complicates it even more.

+2 points extra credit for the believable southern dialogue. I never once while reading this book forgot that it was n the south, because of the dialogue.

Overall grade: 15/15

Kudos to Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl! You just got an A!

the witchy and romance elements of Beautiful Creatures was very alluring to me as it's been a long time since i have read a fantasy novel with these topics so i had a good feeling going into this. but it was ultimately a hard read due to the first person narration of a character i did not like, the slow paced plot in the first half, and the lack of magic and world building overall. i do think my dislike stems from it being very much a YA book with YA language and perhaps i am too old to understand and appreciate it now. however i am happy to have finished it and perhaps it gets better with the next books in the series. it has a lot of potential to expound on important topics like race, destiny, and building on the magic world.

bri (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡

sash.

At one point, I thought this book was going to be exceptional. In the end, it's really a good book with some exceptionally great elements like the references to Ethan's mom and their relationship, how she taught him to love books and the relationship he and Lena shared (for the most part). I wouldn't compare it to 'Twilight' at all in terms of paranormal romance.

The writing was simple, but I liked it and I nearly shot a foot in the air out of glee that the quote from 'Julius Caesar' was reference here: 'Men at some time are masters of their fates: the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves that we are underlings....The thing about fate is, are you the master of your fate, or are the stars?' 

That was pretty sweet.

Apart from a few exceptional elements here and there, it really ended up being predictable, which wasn't bad at all. Ethan is exceptionally endearing and I grew to like him a lot. There were a few cringe moments when he was talking about his feelings for Lena because it reminded me a bit of what I didn't like about a long lineage of YA novels where two people are just inexplicably attracted to each other, have this amazing tour de force magnetic attraction to each other blah blah blah...you know the drill.

This is not to say that it is necessarily deserving of its label as 'another overhyped paranormal YA novel'. I really enjoyed it and I'd recommend it to anyone who was interested in YA Fantasy because simply put, the story was good. Sometimes predictable isn't always bad and sometimes cliches work even after all this time. Perhaps it was enjoyable because I didn't go in with high expectations. 

Someone told me it's the next Harry Potter. Frankly, I highly doubt that; nevertheless it was a good read and I'll definitely be reading the whole trilogy. Three stars.

★★★★ // love the book, loved the movie. but i find that i like the movie a bit more.

julia

This book was really weird. The combination of supernatural powers and southern history/stereotypes did not mix well. The romance didn't really make that much sense, and was also creepy. Not good. I will not be reading the rest of the books.

Romance YA from the perspective of the guy is less common so this book had an interesting take on the genre. I thought it was funny that it showed interactions that were more realistic to high school students. I enjoyed the story but really wanted a bit more action for the finale. The main character also had some problematic views like calling girls fat and sluts. I know that's also more typical of the age, he's supposed to be influenced by the "small town mentality." But it still took away from the character. 

Maria Tapia

Katherine Yang

So gripping! :) great plot twist at the end too :D can't wait to read the next one.

Cat Josephson

I just started this book last night, but I honestly don't think I can even attempt to finish it. DNF at page 104.

Lacy W

Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia
Genre: Paranormal Young Adult
Format: library book. Unsure of format.
Series: Beautiful Creatures 
Star Rating: 5 Stars

First read: 3/14/2016 to 3/15/2016
Second read: 5/19/2016 to 5/29/2016

Please note that this is a review from 2016. At that time, I did not keep track of trigger warnings so apologies. Young Lacy did not know what she was doing back then. 

 this is an updated review. i am going back and editing these reviews as part of my throwback thursday posts on my blog. 

This book was even better the second time around. I have no idea how I managed to confuse Beastly with this book. Like no idea at all. I was looking for the book Beastly and I couldn’t remember what it was called. I knew the cover was black but that was about it. So I grabbed this book, thinking it was it, but it wasn’t. But I’m glad I grabbed this book anyway. It was incredible! 

I really like this book because it introduced me to such a cool magical system. Ever since Harry Potter, I've been looking for another book with magic to take me away and this book does it. The entire magic system is really cool, even though it's not fleshed out being the first book and all. But if memory serves me well (which it often doesn't), the system gets more and more fleshed out.

The magic system is called being a Caster. Each Caster can be Light or Dark. Light Casters have magic that helps, like healing or seeing if someone is lying. Dark Casters have not so nice Dark powers like being a Siren or a Shapeshifter. In all honesty, those two types of powers can be considered good as well. But in Lena’s family, they are considered Dark. Which I think is a little biased to be honest but that’s just me.

Lena is one of my favorite characters in this book. Her power is the power of being a Naturalist. She can control the weather and the elements. She is on the verge of turning 16, which means in her family, that she will either be Light or Dark. She doesn't get a choice for reasons explained in the book. It's not like that in all Caster families, just this one. She is terrified of becoming Dark because when you go Dark, you basically turn into a shell of your former self.

Ethan was such a cool guy character. It really isn't often you find books where the male MC is all about reading. The cool thing about Ethan is that yes, he is highly intelligent and loves to read but he also is into sports and "typical guy things". Too often, there are books where characters have to sacrifice. Like yes, you can love to read but heaven forbid you to like to watch football as well.

Even the multitude of side characters was good. Even though there were a lot, because of how well they were written, I remembered each of them and what they were all about. Link is Ethan's best friend and he is basically there for comedy relief but he is also a really good friend. Ridley is Lena's cousin and she went Dark. There is Reece, Ryan, Aunt Del, Uncle Macon, Amma and so much more. Each had their own personality and contributed to the story in some way.

I'm excited to continue this series even though I know what is going to happen. Vaguely. I'm not looking forward to the third (?) book because of reasons. But regardless, this is an incredible series and I'm so grateful I found the entire series. On to the next one!

Emmalie Stearns

i love this book, that is it. I love everything about it ♥

Talia Dominguez 

wow! this book is awesome!! how can two persons meet in a dream before they actually meet in person?? interesting huh? well this book talks about a girl named Lena and a guy named Ethan. This book is very similar to twilight, except no one is a vampire.
Lena is a caster, she is the supernatural person in the story!
As usual, they fall in love and the normal person, Ethan, tries to assimilate Lena's powers!
so you see, it is similar to twilight!
it is a great book though!

This book pretty much exceeded my expectations to the highest level, seriously. I expected it be another shallow paranormal young adult read. Much to my surprise, I found depth and substance in it along with the beautiful writing style of Kami Garcia. 

First of all, the vine really really really appealed to me! Like really. The dark mysterious air combined with their inexplicable, amazing romance gave off a strong goth vibe (forgive my amateur analytical skills) that totally drew me in. 

The elements really blended well for my taste (like an awesome cup of chocolate!) although I'm not too familiar with it. I love the fact that the new mysterious kid was a girl, because usually it's guys that come into small towns in stories like these. The plot, the casters thing was also a unique and original storyline. 

The touch of history mixed things up a bit. As you all know, I am a HUGE historical fiction, and Kami Garcia blending paranormal fiction with history gives an edge of reason or truthfulness to the whole book which I appreciated a lot. PLus Gatlin and its citizens infuriated me to no end which only adds more color and depth to the book. 

The only catch for me is the pairing. I don't think I like Ethan and Lena together, because for one, their relationship progressed to fast for me. They barely even knew each other, and I don't think they appreciate each other well enough to call it "love". The fact that their relationship was explained through supernatural reason, just like how they could magically hear each other's thoughts killed my buzz a bit.

Emily Orlando

Gisela Ayala 

I honestly didn't think I would enjoy this book as much as I did, but wow it was intense and raw and beautiful. The intermingling of Southern culture with the paranormal was phenomenal and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book and find out what happens to Lena and the rest of the Casters. It has been a while since a book completely involved me with the plot, setting, AND the characters. (Not since Harry Potter... cough cough). Every element in the story worked harmoniously, it just worked.

Natasha Musa

I like the action but thought the romance was a bit Twilight-ish with the main character coming across like a male version of Bella. Other than that I quite enjoyed the premise and am looking forward to read the continuation.

Elisa Bieg

This book was simultaneously better and worse than I expected. That makes no sense, so let me elaborate:

The beginning and original setup for the story was more hum-drum and unoriginal than I expected: boy from small town, dreams (or rather, nightmares) of fated love, blah blah blah.

BUT the setting was so good.
I love when the South is properly utilized as a setting, because there is so much history, culture and architecture that can play into a story! I loved the way history was woven into the plot, and I loved even more the way old plantations were used as settings, with old colonial houses having a mind of their own, old historical cemeteries and crypts making appearances... aaahhh that made my witchy bookworm heart so happy. 

I also found the world building and mythology within the story to be quite well executed. The scene settings always came alive for me quite vividly, and that’s not something that can be said of very many books. And I quite liked the whole 
  caster
 genealogy and the way it unfolded within the story. 

Unfortunately the romance at the center of it all left me a little lukewarm. Too much about it was trite and unoriginal, and while I don’t hate tropes per se, too many of them in one romance can make it fall flat like a pancake.
Here, that resulted in my not being as invested in Ethan and Lena as I could have been, which is a pity. It also affects the general enjoyment of the novel quite a bit, because this may be a paranormal romance, but it’s a romance first and foremost, so not feeling a strong connection to the characters and not being fully invested in their relationship... I mean, I don’t want to use the word pointless, but... it’s not ideal.

Overall, however, I found this to be quite enjoyable, and even bordering on addictive in the last 1/4 of the book. I loved the atmospheric touches and I’m glad I gave it a shot despite the poor impression left by the somewhat mediocre film adaptation.
I’m giving it 3 1/2 STARS and while it isn’t one of my top priorities, I do plan on keeping reading the series.

mevi

Let's start this off and say I have not seen the movie and I bought this book at Walmart because I needed something and there was no Barnes and Nobles nearby.

In my opinion, it's a normal YA book with the stereotypical, "green emerald eyes with long black hair that was soft as feathers." Yada, yada, yada.

But, I do have to say, it had its good moments and well as its bad. I liked the thought of Dark and Light with a Natural thrown between. Near the ending, I actually didn't expect any of that and I like that. I can usually expect what was going to happen.

They need to stop with the groping and kissing. She was fucking fifteen. Ew.

3 out of 5 stars.
I'm going to get the next book.

Krystal 

I'm so happy I read this book before seeing the movie. The movies gives this book no justice! The book contains soooo much more information and details in everything. I can not wait to read the next.

Leah Patton

I liked it a lot but it was really long and jumped from place to place a lot, like one moment the characters are here, and another moment they are at someplace totally different. I mean books are supposed to move but it was kinda choppy.

Katelyn Broad

I found this book to be an enjoyable and interesting read. I found myself way more interested in the last 100 pages than the rest of the book though. I think that might be because the author had to introduce the characters and this world which drags a bit. There are a few twists at the end that kept me on the edge of my seat and I am definitely going to have to get my hands on the next book soon. 
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA paranormal romance novels.

Lyra Perez

The movie ending is far superior and there are a lot of plot holes in general in this book, a lot of parts just don't make sense or add up and are very unnecessary to the story and super unrealistic in terms of human behaviour when being placed in obvious danger, like some parts were just completely silly to me.

Sophie Hutchings

I wasn't to sure what to rate and write about this book... I've been wanting to read it for a while after watching the film and hearing good things... 

I loved how it was written from the point of view of Ethan rather then Lena. It gave it a different point of view rather then always being from a loved up teenage girl. I enjoyed the general plot and all the characters... The reason I gave this a 3* is because I struggled to get through it.. I didn't mind putting it down but I was determined to finish it and find out what happened. However I don't feel like I will read the rest but this might changed in the future.

Maggie El Lethy

Loved the book but they screwed the movie they combined marium and ama into one person!

I actually enjoyed it. My friend kind of scared me for a bit, because she didn't really like it and didn't even finish it. Maybe the fact that I got into this with very low expectations helped as well.

Dina &
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

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