At the very least, he fights to protect her from the other kids in school who have labelled Lena a witch simply because her uncle is the town recluse.īeautiful Creatures has romance, but more than that, it has curses, ghosts, mystery, and, well, very real emotions. Ethan is an ordinary boy, but he’s determined to protect Lena from the Dark as much as he can.

As a powerful Natural Caster, Lena is a prize to both the Light and the Dark, and a prophecy later in the book reveals exactly how significant she is. They are Casters (they can cast spells), and while other Casters can choose their destiny, each Duchannes is Claimed at the age of 16 by either Light or Dark. When Lena Duchannes moves into the mysterious Ravenwood house in the small Southern town of Gatlin, Ethan Wate recognizes her from his dreams and is immediately drawn to her. It’s also really scary - I can definitely imagine it playing out well on screen, and I can just picture myself covering my eyes in the theatre. The book did strike me as long, but the story is fascinating. From the first chapter, I felt myself drawn into this world, and I wanted to find out more. I especially love that, while the focus of the story is the romance, there is an entire world beyond the love story, and the characters’ actions have significance far beyond their relationship. I love that Garcia and Stohl tell the story from the guy’s perspective, and that there is no love triangle. And I am so glad I did.īeautiful Creatures is a brilliant Southern gothic - atmospheric, romantic, and haunting. Still, I figured I might as well give it a try. Beyond my YA fatigue, there’s also a movie version coming out, so I was expecting to soon be overwhelmed by online buzz. So when my sister brought home Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s Beautiful Creatures, finished it (all 563 pages!) in a single day, and suggested I read it, I was hesitant. Full respect to the writers who create these stories and to the readers who love them, but I, at least, need a break. After a while, even the well-written ones start to sound the same to me - yet another dystopian world, yet another kick-ass heroine, yet love triangle, and so on. That being said, it feels like wherever I turn, there’s the Next Big YA Series coming out, the one perfect for fans of Hunger Games. I’m a huge fan of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games, I have read quite a few really good YA books, and to be honest, I wish we had this much variety available when I was younger.

To be honest, I’ve been feeling a bit of YA fatigue lately.

Kami garcia and margaret stohl books