Review: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

ISBN: 9780141326092
Release Date: October 12, 2010
Publisher: Little, Brown
Series: The Caster Chronicles, #2
Page Count: 503 Pages

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

"Together Ethan and Lena 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."

    
     REVIEW:

WHAT I LIKED:

• Ethan is a strong character. He is definitely my favorite in the series and I actually love a teenage male narrator after reading half of this series. The emotions he feels throughout the book are true for many teenagers (usually girls who are distraught over a boy, but still), and he is someone you can relate to.
• Team Liv! I know Ethan won't ever end up with anyone else, but at least Liv came and spiced things up a bit. She made the book better, she was hysterical and smart, and I just loved her!
• MACON! That's all I will say. But I loved Macon in the first book and when he died I was a very unhappy camper.
• Lena is barely in this book. I do not like Lena. She is whiny, broody, a brat and selfish and I was so glad that this book was filled with Ethan, Link and Liv - even Ridley was entertaining!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• This book is super depressing. Though I do love how Garcia and Stohl portray Ethan's emotions, I still think he was a little angsty and it made the book feel dark and unhappy. I dont like dark an unhappy books.
• Lena. I know I said she wasnt in this book much, which was great, but I just need everyone to know how much I dont like her. I am so glad she is not the narrator of this book.
• I am so confused by this series. I have to be honest in saying that I dont quite get it. A lot of the epic revelations and happenings are sort of lost on me. I dont think the authors do a good job of explaining it all and they are kind of all over the place. I just dont understand what actually happened in this book with the Claiming. I mean I know what happened, but I have no idea why or what it means. I felt the same way with the last book, too - I know who died and who lived but it was sort of all a jumble for me, and I like to think of myself as more astute than just not having paid attention. Sorry, on this one I have to blame the authors. It wasnt only the big things I was confused about, anyway, but basically... everything.

     RATING: ★★★

This series has serious potential but I am just not finding it in these first two books. I liked the first one but I basically felt the same as I do about this one. There is just something missing and I'm generally confused with the intricate happenings of Gatlin and its residents. I'll read the next one, because I like Ethan and definitely want to see what happens with Link and Ridley.

Have any of you read this book yet? Did you love it, or did it leave you wanting something more? Love hearing from you guys!

A.