Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Title: Beautiful Creatures
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Series: Caster Chronicles #1 
Source: Pam @ Bookalico.us
Format: Hardback
Genre: Speculative Fiction

Synopsis (from B&N):

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

It all begins with a chain of dream. Not really the normal kind, but ones that are so real that when you wake up, you can find mud and dirt from the dream staining your bed, sticking on your body. These are the strange dreams that haunt and connect two people – Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes – even before they set eyes on each other. When Lena moves to the small, monotonous town of Gatlin, controversies stir instantly, connecting her to numbers of strange occurrences that happen ever since she steps her feet on this Southern land.

Knowing that Lena is the girl from his dream, Ethan quickly comes to her rescue, only to cause the flame to burst in this closed, tight knitted society. However, nothing seems able to sever the connection that has been established between these two. Nothing - other than this huge secret that Lena tries hard to keep away from Ethan’s knowledge. When one day, a flashback brings the two of them back to the Civil War era, witnessing the fate that befallen lovers like them, Lena knows by heart that she cannot let the same thing happen to them. Will Lena let Ethan goes as she knows that she is cursed? Can Ethan accept the fate that they cannot stay together? If not – what are they willing to do in the name of love?

Huge round of applause goes to Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl as they successfully create this interesting, intricate story that weave paranormal element with delicious romance, sprinkles of humour and heart pounding action. Despite being written by two authors, the writing flow seamlessly, the ideas connect perfectly and the prose is written beautifully. Set in a town called Gatlin, Beautiful Creatures introduces readers to the Southern cultures that are substantially rich in nature and unique. There are lots of details in every page, which helps readers to enhance their imagination and truly feels how it is like to be in the world created by these authors. The intense and comprehensive passages bring forth the Southern feels and atmosphere to life. Another thing that I love most in Beautiful Creatures is some of the historical information provided throughout the book. As someone who does not come from the States, I really appreciate this part and find it intriguing.

While I enjoyed the whole complicated details in this book, I find it rather surprising that I did not fall head over heels with its main characters. I like that Ethan is such a sweet, cute, athletic and all that, but after awhile, I begin to question his authenticity as a male character. Lena, on the other hand, feels rather flat and I don’t think I really know a lot about her in this book. Perhaps this is done on purpose as to add some more mysterious feel on her character, which will be better evolved in the next chapter in the series, who knows? Characters that I like most in Beautiful Creatures are Link, who is Ethan’s sidekick and Lena’s uncle, Macon. I feel that Link’s hilarity and Macon’s eccentric behaviour add more colours to the whole story.

Overall, Beautiful Creatures is indeed an impressive debut and serves as an excellent beginning of the series. I truly love the setting and the atmosphere that the authors successfully created throughout the book, it is really impressive. The size of the book might be intimidating but it serves my literary appetite just right and make me craves for more. Definitely worth it!

Favourite Quote: She looked up at me, and the whole world disappeared. Like there was just us, like there would always be just us, and we didn't need magic for that. It was sort of happy and sad, all at the same time. I couldn't be around her without feeling things, without feeling everything - Ethan Wate

Beautiful Creatures is a well-crafted, beautifully written book that is full with forbidden, intricate love, paranormal aspects and fast-paced action that surely manage to indulge the appetite of multiple group of readers. A page-turner that shouldn't be missed!