“Beautiful Creatures” by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl – The Ominous Silence

The town of Gatlin is known by people as being a small and quaint place where anyone can live out his or her life in peace and quiet. The town isn't very technologically advanced, with those living in it preferring to let nature take its course; there are plenty of overgrown gardens, forgotten graveyards and swamps no one has traveled in for ages.

However, things are far too simple and quiet; the peace and silence found in this town almost feel ominous, and not without reason. As it happens, there is a dark and ancient secret hidden somewhere in it, and it is only a matter of time before someone stumbles upon it.

As a matter of fact, the time may come sooner than expected: Ethan Wate, a resident of the town, is being bothered by mystical dreams of a young and beautiful woman he has never met. At the same time, a mysterious lady by the name of Lena Duchannes moves into the town… and Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her. Knowing what little he knows, Ethan decides that he must find out who that woman is and what kind of connection they share.

For starters, I have to admit that even though the premise may not sound like it’s all that at first, as the threads are unveiled, things become increasingly interesting, and even unique in some cases. There is plenty of background information about some of the characters which gets revealed bit by bit, not to mention that the supernatural elements have been fantastically integrated into the story... it almost feels as if this scenario wouldn't be too far-fetched to happen in the real world.

That being said, there are a few drawbacks to this book; for starters, the protagonist and narrator himself, Ethan, isn't exactly as developed as he could be, especially in comparison with some of the other characters. Some people also say they didn't find him to be very believable, but the way I see it, when a character lacks description he or she becomes however the reader imagines them, with the results being purely subjective. 

Another qualm I have with the book, although it isn't exactly a big one, is a lack of suspense. Now, I’m not saying that I expect every book to be a thriller or a suspenseful ride… however, there are certain moments where that is exactly what the authors are trying to do, and unfortunately, it could have been done better. Yes, there were certain moments when my eyes were genuinely glued to the book and I was actually concerned about the characters. 

However, they were few and far in between; in most cases, I just couldn't help but feel as if the danger the characters were in could be handled with relative ease. But maybe that’s just me. All in all, if you like romantic fantasy novels with supernatural elements thrown in there, this will definitely be your cup of tea.

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	Kami Garcia Personal site Kami Garcia is an American writer who grew up in Washington, D.C., holding an MA in education. Along with her friend and co-author, Margaret Stohl, they creating the Caster Chronicles series, which debuted with the very well-received book, Beautiful Creatures.
	Margaret Stohl Personal site Margaret Stohl was born in California, and is best-known as being Kami Garcia’s co-author for the Caster Chronicles series, which holds well-regarded books such as Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness. In 2013 she published what is the start of her own series, Icons.