The first half felt slow and I got bored, and there were little things that bugged me throughout the book, but I mostly enjoyed the second half. ( )

I just....could not get over the initial stalking. He was so weird in the beginning.

And then it just didn't make sense to me with all the mind sharing (kind of only one way?) and the waking up wet or muddy. They just seem to roll right with it. Most people would have lost their mind!

But, once I ignored the things in the beginning and just went a long for the story, it was interesting how casters and natural and all that worked, although they didn't give us too much story on that.

all in all, the story was interesting but there seemed to be holes in the ideas that I just got hung up on. I know others will love this one! ( )

Really powerful start. I liked the fact that the narrator of this romance was a 16 year old small town boy. Got a little sleepy in the middle but the ending almost made up for that. I wished Lena had been as intriguing as her cousin. And for a book set in the South, I found it really interesting that it hardly ever described the characters' race. It used Mortal vs. Caster to discuss prejudice. ( )

I was very surprised to find out that this book was from a male P.O.V. If I had known I probably would have read it sooner, but thought it was going to be an emotional rollercoaster and I didn't want to deal with that female angst; sometimes you just need a break from the doubt that comes from the female brain. It was a pleasure hearing from Ethan, he didn't drive me crazy with the constant doubts or the expected teenage boy snarky-jerk attitude. Here's hoping the entire series has Ethan as it's voice.

Ethan Wate lives in Gatlin, South Carolina, where he accepts and lives with the status quo of being different as not accepted. His life in Gatlin is a predictable one, he craves the day he gets to escape his dull life in Gatlin, until the day "she" shows up at his school. She, Lena Duchannes, is unlike all Gatliners in every way possible. Lena is the girl of Ethan's dreams, literally. Ethan has been having terrifying dreams about Lena for months and was surprised to find that the girl from his dreams is real and had hoped she was. Lena changes his views on his life as a Gatlin citizen and opens his eyes to his accepting of the way things are in his small town.

Through Ethan's eyes Lena comes across as a dark soul with a lot of pain but someone not caught up in the typical teenage drama. Lena is someone wistful of the past, disenchanted to the present and bewildered by the future because of fears of what's to come. Lena dreads the coming of her sixteenth birthday, it's the day she will be claimed by the powers that be to an unknown destiny, good or bad she has no idea or choice in the matter as she's been told all her life. With Ethan's help Lena hopes to fix a mistake that happened over a hundred years earlier in hopes that she can make her own choice of who she want's to become.

Ethan's and Lena's relationship was so sweet, I liked the fact that even with their strong connection they didn't just jump into a "I'll die without you" kinda love fest. They were both a little hesitant, Lena because she knows her life was not conducive to a relationship with a mortal, and boy does she not realize how right she was. And Ethan, I think was just a little hesitant to rush into to it too quickly and was afraid to rush Lena too.

Lena and Ethan found a cameo, right after their first vision from the cameo and after they saw the initials inscripted on it I knew that their encounter and relationship was going to be a little bit of history repeating itself. I quickly figured out that they were both going to be tasked with the impossible job of breaking a hundred year old curse, created by Lena's ancestor which involved an ancestor of Ethan as well.

Ethan's and Lena's quest to break her family's curse was very long but engaging and somewhat amusing at times. While this book was not fast paced or action packed I still really enjoyed their journey and the people who were a part of it. I loved Ethan's relationship with his family's houskeeper and somewhat surrogate mother, Amma. She has a no nonsense kind of approach to parenting and it was very sweet that Ethan respected her and also funny that he feared her too. Lena's relationship with her Uncle Macon was also very endearing, he was pretty scary himself and the most shunned man in Gatlin, being associated with him is not good for your social status.

The characters in this book ran the gamut, from quirky to down right appalling. Link, Ethan's best bud was one of the more lighthearted ones, he was the funny clueless always got ya back friend. Link's mother, Mrs. Lincoln was on another spectrum, she was a pretty horrible character. Oh yeah, the sisters, they're so funny. As for Boo, I'm a bit on the fence about him, he was very protective of Lena but sounds kinda terrifying, and a little creepy, but I guess a protector can't look wimpy and needs to scare the crap outta people to get the job done.

Beautiful Creatures is about humanity, magic, love, relationships, differences, and not giving up. In Lena's world things are just the way they are and there is no changing it, so many times she just wanted to accept her fate and remove Ethan from her life for his own safety. Lena wanted to give up many times but Ethan not being a part of her magical world and his human spirit of not accepting things that seems unchangeable and "we'll find a way" attitude, always bring Lena back on board, as much as he could, to keep trying. I was definitely frustrated with her constant negative look at her situation, yes it seems impossible but what could it hurt to just fight and think of the future generations who will be dealing with this curse.

I haven't read a book this long in a while and wasn't sure what part of the story would come from my fingertips reviewing it without giving away too much. There is so much going on in this story but it was written well, the pace was great and the world and story building were very clever and new. It took me a while to read this book, had it sitting on my to-read bookshelf a while, really did want to get to it but was a little apprehensive because of the mixed reviews and possible angst ridden drama. So glad I finally got to it and was pleasantly surprised, I really did enjoy it and hope the rest of the series continues to get better and doesn't stray too far from the original. ( )

“The right thing and the easy thing are never the same.” ( )

Ugh, just not getting into it. Cutting my losses. ( )

Okay so this book was REALLY long. I do agree with other reviewers on that. 500 pages for what probably could have passed as like 300 or less. I did like the story and idea, as well as the authors' version of magic through their eyes. I enjoyed the different types of "Casters," the mythology, etc. But like I said, it was really long and way too drawn out. There were some parts where I was literally thinking, "Okay so, when's something going to happen?? Where's the climax?" The writers are excellent at foreshadowing for one hundred or so pages before actually having the action happen. Hell, it takes nearly seventy pages for Ethan to even start talking to Lena. And also, for some reason, the romance just seemed really... I don't know... "hollow," to me. I felt more excited reading about freakin' Bella and Edward's romantic tension when I read Twilight, which, as you all know was pretty lukewarm at best. But Ethan and Lena, I just wasn't into it. I wasn't cheering them on to get together. But, the book isn't *totally* a flop. Like I said before, the ideas of magic they wrote about were pretty interesting, and somewhat original. (At least to me, someone who hasn't read a lot of Young Adult novels such as this.) I also think that a lot of the side characters were very interesting as well, such as Macon, Amma and Ridley. Their sass pretty much kept me going through the novel.
Anyways, I think if you're looking for a good, simple, young adult read, with some creative magic, then do it! Just expect to kinda start tapping your fingers and yawning at certain points. ( )

Ethan Wate has lived in Gatlin his whole life...and nothing ever happens in Gatlin. But all that is about to change as Lena Duchannes "storms" into town. Literally. Ethan immediately feels drawn to Lena - and I still say all this YA cliché insta-love, electricity flowing, melting-into-one-another almost immediately is extremely annoying. And ridiculous. However, this novel redeems itself by explaining all that in the end. And the main story itself is truly a page turner. Lena is the niece of the town recluse and has powers she is trying to hide. Trying, but not always succeeding. She and Ethan have a connection that allows them to communicate without speaking - often without even being near each other. Lena has a secret having to do with something that will take place on her 16th birthday, which is only a few months away at the beginning of the novel. In addition, there is another mystery that the pair are trying to unravel throughout the course of the novel having to do with an old locket, a family curse, and some extremely vivid visions - visions Ethan and Lena share. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll stop at that. I do want to add, though, that I really liked the story and have already purchased the next two books in the series :) ( )

Although this book was almost 600 pages long, it somehow felt hollow and I didn't feel the length at all. This was a cheeky southern-gothic-fantasy novel laced with teenage romance. Overall it wasn't an amazing read but it wasn't bad at all; an easy and fun read that doesn't pack as much depth as I expected. ( )

I didn't love the characters and the writing was mediocre, mostly I skimmed this book, especially the angsty teenage parts which were fairly painful. on the other hand, it was spooky and mysterious in a was a southern magic novel should be. ( )

My friend just finished reading the third book in this series and told me I HAD TO READ IT. Because of the movie coming out, I couldn't get it from the library, so I bought it for my Kindle and began with high hopes. By the time I was halfway through, I was disappointed with it. But let's start with the positive.

Things I liked about this book:

-It's told from the guy's perspective. This is a nice break from the norm, but I don't know if it will attract many male readers. The cover, the title, and the summary all scream typical teen paranormal romance novel. In fact, all through the prologue of the book I assumed I was reading from Lena's perspective. It was only at the beginning of the first chapter I realized it was actually Ethan's.

-Overall, the plot was exciting enough to keep me turning the pages. I did start to skim in the middle and again towards the end, though, which brings me to...

Things I did not like about this book:

-The ending. What a flipping cop out! I suppose that's a spoiler, but I like to be warned when a book lacks a satisfying ending.

-The main characters, Lena and Ethan, were so whiny. I guess you could say the authors did a great job creating authentic teens because they captured many annoying aspects of adolescence. Lena is sooooo convinced she'll be claimed for the Dark, despite the fact that it seems like there's a 50/50 chance she'll be claimed for Light. It's like she's a total drama queen. I kept thinking, Katniss would not whine like this. She would suck it up and face it with dignity. And Ethan is soooo convinced he knows better than Macon and Amma, even though they obviously know way more than he does. Here's a tip, homeboy. Listen to your elders. They are trying to protect you. Jeez. Obviously, I did not find this couple super endearing. Even the character written for me to love, Marian the librarian, annoyed me. Wouldn't you be annoyed by someone who spoke mostly in famous quotes?

-The book was much longer than it needed to be. Much, much longer. There were a ton of threads going that the authors didn't tie to together well in the end. For example, So Ethan's mom's a ghost? So they never found anything helpful in The Book of Moons? So Saraphine just gets to throw this huge rule change at Lena at the last minute? And how did Saraphine marry a nice guy and have a baby if she was claimed for the Dark when she was 16? Do Casters breed at a young age or what? So Lena learned nothing from history and just repeated Genevieve's mistake exactly? Obviously, some questions may be answered in later books, but it still made it seem like the authors weren't in full control of the world they created.

My friend assures me that the second book in the series is way, way better than the first, so there's a chance I'll read it if I can get it from the library. No way I'm sinking any more money into this mediocre franchise. ( )

It wasn’t the best, but then again I did read it when I was 11 so maybe it just didn’t hit me like it should’ve, but I won’t be reading it again. ( )

where to start with this book....well first off we watched the movie and we loved it. If you even remotely found the movie interesting the book will blow you away. I can see why certain things were not in the movie...but they added so much more content....and their should be a warning on the book because I couldn't put it down. It took 3 days...with a few very very late nights reading.

Thank god I'm done because now I need to get some sleep. it's that good. ( )

Couldn't get into this one at all. At first I thought it was just because I am too old but I've talked to several teen and young women who were equally disappointed. ( )

By page 102, I didn't care about any of the characters or the story so gave up. I'm sure it's a good book but doesn't seem to be for me. ( )

3.5 stars for the book, 3 stars for this audiobook edition.

This is basically a retelling of Romeo and Juliet with a young adult paranormal twist. The South Carolina setting was well done and reminded me of my years living in the South; the "mortal" teenage world of school & cliques rings true. The tradition of southern literature includes eccentric characters & these people allowed the possibility of the paranormal existing in the community unnoticed to be more understandable.

As all teens do, Ethan and Lena struggle with questions of identity but in their case there is an added urgency. Lena is a "Caster" whose fate as either good or evil will be decided on her 16th birthday. Ethan is a mortal -- will their love be strong enough to bridge the gap between their two worlds? In keeping with the Romeo & Juliet story, not only do the two sides disapprove of the relationship but there is even a tragic death near the end. However, this is where the twist comes in -- as this is a young adult paranormal story, it doesn't have Shakespeare's tragic ending of both lovers dying. In this case, Lena casts a spell to revive Ethan so they can have the happy-ever-after ending. And, of course, a sequel...

I found the main narrator, Kevin T. Collins, very good & his accent was perfect. However, I did not care for the added sound effects, especially the music which sometimes overwhelmed the lyrics so much that I could barely hear them.
( )

Awesome!! I couldn't put it down. The movie was terrible though! ( )

Oh, this book. This book and I are still talking. I watched the preview before I read this book, but after I'd picked up my copy after listening to Casey J Tuck and Laura talk about it. And the POV of this book best stay the same for the movie as it is for the book, but it means so much and I agree with Laura in that you never expected it to be the boy. But it's so perfect.

The slow revelation, and the dip in. The hints for historical things we haven't even gotten into yet, that will be coming. The completely different sides in every era of fate. The high school stuff and the way it almost doesn't matter. My applause for handling the awkward parts of people hearing all your thoughts and feelings, and how people are not always glorious in their reactions.

I'm in love with so many characters, so many powers, the whole library/both libraries/Marian the Librarian. I want to know so much and I can't wait to delve into the next books in this series either. (Which is going to wait for next week, as there were only two books this week due to being sick on two and half of those days and booked entirely this weekend. But more soon, my dears!) ( )

Usually, the movie adaptation of a book isn't as good as the book, but in this case, for me, the movie was better.

I read this in its entirety by listening to the audiobook in between reading the ebook. If it weren't for the book loan expiring in 14 days, I think it would have taken me longer to finish this book.

Although I appreciated the reading and listening to the how the love/relationship evolved from a male prospective, that factor alone wasn't enough to hold my attention for too long. I also became annoyed at the "16 moons" song that was continuously references throughout the book. If you listen to the audiobook, there is legit music accompanying the lyrics to the songs.

The repetition of the "16 moons" song coupled with the Latin (without translation) and the behavior of some of the characters was a big turn off for me and made the last 200 pages a struggle for me to get through.

It's a shame that I couldn't build an attachment to the characters in this book. I was really looking forward to purchasing the full series after reading the library book, but I'm afraid I would be just adding extra books to my TBR pile that I will be slow to finish.

I recommend this book to anyone that has seen the movie and would to like to do a compare and contrast analysis of the two.

2.4/5 stars for now…not all of the book was a struggle, however, a significant amount of it was and that is why I am rating it as such. Maybe if I re-read Beautiful Creatures without listening to the audiobook, my rating will change. ( )

Female YA authors trying unsuccessfully to write from a male character's perspective. Completely unconvincing and a slow, plodding story on top of that. ( )

A much better book than any in the Twilight series and written in much the same genre.

I loved the character development (which was totally lacking in the Twilight series) as well as the much more positive lesson of listening to yourself and trusting your instincts.

( )

It was refreshing to read this type of novel from the male's point of view. ( )

It was a pretty mediocre start with a meh middle.
I honestly had to force myself to finish this book and the writing didn't seem to suit the main character, Ethan. The romance wasn't written very well either. ( )

Slow to start but, by the end I was forcing myself to set it down so I could make it last. Good set up for next book. Hope the movie is as good in the end. ( )

Qué libro para más extraño!!! Hubo momentos en los que simplemente no quería parar de leer pero luego hubo muchas partes dónde decía "por favor qué acabe ya!!!". Creo que tiene que ver con el inicio, que es un tanto absurdo, me parece que si se hubieran tomado un capítulo más para describir la desesperación de Ethan, hubiera estado muy feliz, no llegué a sentir eso de lo que habla Ethan, la desesperación por los sueños, la agonía y la sorpresa al conocer a Lena, no lo sentí, pero creo que al igual que en The Host, sólo lo terminas porque uno es terco al leer, no es un libro malo, pero si un tanto aburrido, me quede dormida varias veces al leer (cosa que nunca me pasa) quiero echarle la culpa al cansancio y no al libro pero bueno... ( )