Beautiful Darkness

September 18, 2010

Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles, #2)by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.Sometimes life-ending.Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems. (goodreads.com)

Release date: October 12, 2010I can't express how excited I was when I happened upon the end of an ARC drop at BEA and saw there were a handful of ARC lefts for Beautiful Darkness. See, I didn't think I would get to the publisher booth in time since I was waiting in line for something else at the time. I didn't rush, I didn't run, heck, I didn't even remember where the Little, Brown booth WAS (BEA was crowded and confusing!) so when I happened to be walking down a random aisle and saw this book just sitting there and calling my name? Hell, yeah I picked it up!I wanted to read this book right away but I thought I would wait until closer to the publication date. I don't mind pre-scheduling reviews but then I have nothing to post about during the month that I read the book! I thought this book was due out in December so I jumped up and down when I realized it was actually coming out in October - a little under a month from now, actually!It took me a couple of days to read the book due to various life related things (work, sleep, etc). I do love this series and the writing style of Kami and Margaret. I was once again enchanted just by the flow of the words on the pages before me. Some may wonder why the book was only given 4 stars on my various book-related social media, well I'll tell you why -I found this particular book started off a little slow for me. There was a little too much pining away by Ethan for Lena and her withdrawal from him. Now this is totally my own personal feelings because I can't stand romance in books. Not in this format. I prefer action and murder and mystery and mayhem and that all came a little later in the book. I knew I was going to love what I was reading as soon as I got past the pining! And it's true, I did!All you romance folk out there will appreciate the parts I didn't. ;) What I do appreciate is that this is one romance where I can actually see why the characters fall for each other and can see their connection. It's not a lustmance like in some books where the star-crossed lovers NEED and WANT each other but you can't for the life of you figure out WHY.As for the rest of the novel, I was once again left NEEDING and WANTING more (heh) because I am completely enamoured with the mystical mystery that are Casters and all things paranormal in this series. The world, lore and magic is very different than I am used to in books and I love that about this series.Another aspect that I love are the characters, Link and Ridley especially. I did like the addition of Liv in this story, I thought she rounded out the group pretty well and I hope there is more of her in the next installment.Oddly I find Lena rather dull if you group everyone together and make me chose favourites. She's confused and has a lot on her plate, but I still find her to be one of the less interesting characters in the story. I think Link is my all time favourite and his friendship with Ethan is fantastic. I love when main characters learn to rely on their friends and accept that they can't do everything on their own.I love how conflicted Ridley is as a character. She obviously felt something real for Link and he wasn't just another pawn to her siren ways and you can see humanity in her and her actions. I love that she's so complex.Even though I could personally do without all the mushy-gushy that is Ethan and Lena I know it adds to the story and I do actually think their relationship is sweet and meant to be. I do think Ethan is way more devoted to things than Lena is and I don't know if she really deserves someone as wonderful as him. I mean she gave up on everything awfully easily and he risked a ton to save her. She owes him. Big time. Maybe she should bake him a pie or cookies or something. Or even better - CUPCAKES! Heh.In case anyone is interested, I need to buy the hard cover for this book to match my series, so I will likely give away the ARC at some point in the future. Not yet, I need to resolve some financial issues first (you know, like pay mortgage, buy groceries, etc, etc.) but once things are a little more evened out I will be able to mail this book off to one lucky and wanting reader. ;) I'll have some sort of announcement on my blog when that time comes.My one burning question? Is there a reason most of the character names start with the letters "L" or "A"? Or is this just a coincidence? It's something I noticed while reading and I really need to know! ;)I highly recommend this series if you want a well-written and meaty read. These books offer so much to the reader, beautiful imagery, dialogue and plot. Well worth picking up the books if you see them on the shelf!Caster Chronicles