Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. [via GoodReads]

Beautiful Creatures was a very addictive read. I truly enjoyed reading through Ethan's point-of-view. I found it very refreshing considering that most YA is written through a females perspective.

I was taken in by the star-crossed lover-esque feel of the story... girl is a Caster - boy is just a mere human. What will they do? I enjoyed the Southern feel of the story - as you read it you can hear that southern drawl. The setting was well-defined and very fitting to the story. We also get a mini history lesson on the Civil War, which I found to be a plus. I think the authors did a phenomenal job in character development. There were plenty of characters and each one was defined and stood out creating their own set of feelings in you. Ethan and Lena were both likeable and relateable - sans the magic, of course. Their love story was sweet, realistic and definitely brings forth those feelings that we all felt at that age.

I have to say that my favorite characters were Uncle Mason and Amma. Uncle Mason because he reminded me of Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind" and Amma because she was fiery and had this attitude about her that brought a smile to my face. I also can't forget to mention librarian extraordinaire, Marian. Gosh, would I love her job!

There were a few things that I didn't like ... for starters this book is a tome. And, although I found the storyline intriguing and I was entertained throughout, I felt that there was a lot of jibberish scattered throughout that was unnecessary. I also felt that Ethan acted much older than his sixteen years and I found him overly emotional for a male (at times). There were some areas that dragged for me - maybe it was too detailed, I really can't explain it, but I would have preferred it to be a little shorter. Don't take me wrong, it all resolves nicely and everything comes into place, but it was still way too long for me.

In the end, the pro's definitely outweigh the con's so this is one that I believe did live up to the hype. Being the first in the series, I can't wait to see where Ms. Garcia and Ms. Stohl will take Ethan, Lena and us to next. Although geared towards the YA crowd, this one can be read and enjoyed by adults as well.

On a side note, I wanted to mention that I think it is very cool that two authors wrote this book. I don't know who wrote what or where one ends and the other begins, but Kudos for that. Also, for the phenomenal cover art - one of my faves.