Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

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.

Good morning, everyone! Today I have a buddy review with Amy from My Friend Amy. It was a work-in-progress for a while, but we are happy to finally have done another buddy review. I have the first part of the review and then you head over to Amy's to read the second part. Enjoy!

Amy: Thanks so much for doing another buddy read with me, Kelly! This was one was a chunkster but even so it was still a fairly quick read. What did you think overall of Beautiful Creatures? Like? Dislike? Meh?

Kelly: I don't know. On the one hand I really liked it, but on the other hand things about it really bothered me to the point where I had to put it down and get some distance from it. I liked the story, but the characters drove me crazy. I think I am hitting a period where teenagers in novels are annoying me again. Too much angst and the obsessed love story reminded me a bit too much of another popular book series. I don't understand this trend in books, but it could just be me.

What about you? What did you think?

Amy: I struggled to get into at first because the writing seemed really...plain. Not very descriptive or something. But I did really like the setting and the world. I found the story interesting enough to keep reading, even though the writing got on my nerves sometimes. Once I realized you had finished the book, I read the last 500 pages in one day to catch up. ;) I agree about the angsty love stories. I actually really like love stories where there are high stakes and impossible odds but not as a formula. And the more I think about it, the more similarities I see with this book and that other series you mentioned. Did you enjoy the setting?

Kelly: The setting was what I liked about it. Like you I wasn't crazy about the writing and obviously I had my character issues, but things like the setting redeemed things for me. They could write that well and I felt like I was actually down there with all the descriptions and the use of the dialect. I love those old houses and things. It was all rather Gone with the Wind. It was the perfect setting for the story. I liked some of the secondary characters, though. I also like the aspects of the story that were set in the past. I actually got a bit more interested when I saw the change in text coming and knew they were going to be transported back. What did you think?

Amy: Yes! I loved the use of the past and the fact that it had a bearing on the present. I like that kind of interconnected story. What did you think of the weird sort of vampires? (can't remember what they're called, sorry) Feeding on bad dreams reminded (spoiler!) reminded me of the BFG! :) Did you think Beautiful Creatures was a fitting title for the book?

Kelly: They were creepy! The vampires, I mean. I don't know what they were called either! We are so good at this reviewing thing, huh? I sort of wasn't surprised about them. Even when we weren't told everything about them it was sort of obvious. I was just worried it would be too much, but it worked out in the end, I think. As to the title... I like the title, but I am not sure if it is what I would think of as a fitting title to the book. Mainly because it is a bit of a dark read and that is an almost happy, but not quite, title. Actually, when you think of it like that maybe it does work. What do you think?

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Don't forget to head to Amy's blog to read the second-half!!