Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Release Date:
October 12, 2010

Amazon Says:

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.


I say:
Guess what?
Ethan isn't a vampire.
He isn't a fairy/faerie/faery/weird thing with wings.
And guess what?
I still like him. In fact, I like him even more because he doesn't sparkle. It's so much more manly not to be all glittery.
I thought Beautiful Darkness was oodles and bunches more than Beautiful Creatures, and I was fond of Beautiful Creatures. (My only complaints? It was a tad long and a tad girly.) But in this book, Ethan really came across more 'guy' to me. I'm not quite how to explain how it, but it really seemed as if his character flourished. BD does occasionally seem to slow, but I don't think it's because the plot is lacking -- the books are just really long. (I never thought I would say that about a book. I feel like a failure.)
I LOVE the setting. Gatlin is like, the best town ever. I so want to live in it. There is magic and tradition and pie and more pie and biscuits and awesome people and southern boys and girls who follow strict rules and guidelines.
Lena annoyed me to no end, but in a heart breaking way that made me still want to hug her. (After, you know, slapping her. Or poking her. Or something.) Link was hilarious. Even Ridley ends up with some great surprises. All in all, I was very fond of this book. It was crafted beautifully and oozed with talented writing.
-eyes Saint Louis library- Ms. Garcia and Ms. Stohl will be there soon.
-blinks-
-eyes school- Who really needs that anyway?