Review: Beautiful Darkness

Beautiful Darkness

By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Publication date: October 12, 2010

My review:

In this sequel to Beautiful Creatures, Ethan realizes that the danger isn't over for Lena. He continues to have unsettling visions and he keeps hearing a new song, Seventeen Moons, which suggests that Lena still has a choice to make. Lena is struggling with guilt which leads her to pull away from Ethan and question where she belongs. More than Ethan's love for Lena is on the line when a deadly enemy returns to Gatlin.

Things are definitely much darker in this book and there are many twists and turns throughout the novel. Although the plot centers around a decision Lena must make, this book feels more like Ethan's story because the focus is on him. We learn more about Ethan, his mom's research, and Macon Ravenwood. Some interesting new characters are also introduced.

I enjoyed Beautiful Darkness but I liked Beautiful Creatures a little bit more. There were some parts in this book where I was confused and wished I had a copy of Beautiful Creatures on hand to refer back to. I was also annoyed with Lena at times but by the end of the book I understood why she behaved the way she did. Overall, this is another great installment in The Caster Chronicles. The setting is fantastic, including a side trip to Savannah, Georgia, and the characters are memorable. It is a long book but I was drawn into the story from the beginning. I think more questions were asked than answered during the course of the novel so I am really looking forward to reading book three to find out what happens next.

Readalikes: Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough, The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink, Shadow Hills by Anastasia Hopcus, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Thanks to Star Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.