Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Ethan Wate has been counting down the months until he can escape small town Gatlin and the thinking that goes along with it. He hates that everyone knows everyone else’s business and that the only thing to look forward to each year is a Civil War reenactment. But everything changes when Lena Duchannes moves to town. From the start, Lena doesn’t fit in, and from the first time Ethan sees her, he knows that he shares a connection with this unusual girl. But the closer the two get, the closer Lena’s secret gets to being exposed. Though Ethan doesn’t understand at first, there’s a reason Lena is so different from all the other girls he’s met. Soon, Ethan becomes entangled in an ancient family curse and what could only be called magic. There’s only one thing he knows for sure now: there’s no turning back.

Beautiful Creatures is one monster of a novel, and I mean that in terms of length rather than content, although that wouldn’t be incorrect in describing certain characters in this story. I have many problems with this novel, and length is only just one of them. I don’t ordinarily mind long stories that exceed the 400 page mark—as long as they’re worth reading. Unfortunately, Beautiful Creatures was not original enough to keep this reader satisfied. I feel as if I’ve heard all of this before, and I’m sure even the most reluctant reader has too: the battle between light/good and dark/evil regarding the usage of magic and especially including a generally doomed romance. There weren’t even particularly interesting or vivid characters, surprising plot twists, or other unique elements to make up for the lackluster storyline. In addition, sometimes it became confusing what the real battle was about, good magic versus bad magic or the outsider against small town hate. This only helped draw the story out with the constant shuffling between the magic using world and the mortal world. Should I even be surprised that the ending leaves plenty of room for a sequel? I almost groaned upon seen that; I don’t know how I could stomach another drawn out 600 pages of something that wasn’t all that enthralling to begin with.

Beautiful Creatures may still be enjoyed by fans of Wicked: Witch & Curse by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié, Swoon by Nina Malkin, and The Hollow by Jessica Verday.

Rating: 2.75

Review copy from Amazon Vine