Book Review of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

Hi folks,

I thought I'd do another book review. I think I might write one a week or so, and I'll usually only write about books I really enjoyed. This is for a couple of reasons: first, I can tell you about a book you actually might want to read. Second, I won't have snarky comments sitting in the archives waiting to bite me in the posterior if and when I ever need a blurb from one of these writers.

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

I used to live in the South. True, it was Virginia, so it was Diet South, not Deep South. But I have to say, the sense of setting in this book, the overwhelmingly oppressive-but-it's-mine sense of small town, was spot-on. I viscerally felt the disapproving looks from the good folks of Gatlin.

True to my "no spoilers" credo, I won't give much away about the plot. The MC, Ethan, dreams repeatedly of a girl in danger. Then he meets her.

And there's a whole lot more to her than most people think.

A male, first-person narrative in a paranormal romance is a first for me. But the authors make it work wonderfully as they develop the best YA romance since TWILIGHT.

Yeah, I did it. I used the "T" word. And I'd do it again, too.

I love the idea of and the word "casters." It's a great term that avoids the pejorative connotations of some of its synonyms. It takes a while to sink into this plot, this world, but the heart of the story moved me from very early on.

And as soon as I finished reading it I turned to the beginning and read it again. There's some wonderful second-level stuff that I needed to fit together in my head.

The authors left enough loose ends for a sequel or two. I hope they won't keep me waiting long.

Bottom Line: I loved this book.