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Beautiful Darkness
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Beautiful Darkness
Unavailable
Beautiful Darkness
Audiobook15 hours

Beautiful Darkness

Written by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia

Narrated by Kevin T. Collins

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they 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.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateOct 12, 2010
ISBN9781607887225
Unavailable
Beautiful Darkness
Author

Margaret Stohl

Margaret Stohl is the bestselling author of twelve books for children and teens, including coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestselling Beautiful Creatures series. She also cowrites Mighty Captain Marvel for Marvel Comics. You can learn more about her at mstohl.com.

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Reviews for Beautiful Darkness

Rating: 4.3522727272727275 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I’m half way through the series and wish they would have made more of the movies!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This one was not quite as good as the first. I'll admit it. The first half of the book dragged on for ages and there were a few points where I wanted to grab Ethan and remind him that he had balls and should get on with it. (Wow, sorry, little venting there!) However, things did pick up nicely when they got into the tunnels, and even though I felt like things were pretty random overall, it was entertaining and the second half kept the pages turning. I loved the role-reversal for one of the characters--I won't get spoilery, but it was entertaining. Overall, this was a fun read and I'll pick up the next one, praying the beginning doesn't succumb to a serious depression :)
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Meh... This book annoyed me and intrigued me at the same time. Beautiful Creatures managed to avoid a lot of teen paranormal romance cliches but Beautiful Darkness managed to hit all of them.

    On one hand, I really want to like and continue reading this series. The authors have a beautiful, honest writing style. All character voices sound genuine and almost everyone is their own unique personality. I adore Link and I really liked meeting Liv in this book.

    On the other hand, Ethan is such a doorknob and Lena is such a whiny emo brat that I just want to punch them both in the face. This series would be awesome if it were about everything except Ethan and Lena. But considering they're the main characters, I'm out of luck.

    So, I regret stopping the series halfway through but the good isn't enough to outweigh the obnoxious.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I liked the first book in this series but this one just left me feeling very meh about it. Lena is somewhere between light and dark and trying to find her place in the caster world and Ethan is still trying to find a place in her world. Even if she keeps pushing him away. He finds out more about his mother and her past and about his place in the world of casters and mortals.I'm left not really caring much after finishing this book, about anybody involved, except maybe Amma, and Link, and no real urge to read the rest of the series, I may return to it some other time but right now, nope. Eventually I may come back to see what happens to Link.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The sequel to "Beautiful Darkness" was not as immediately compelling as the first book. In this one, Lena believes she is responsible for the death of someone she cared for and thus pushes Ethan away. But Ethan's adventure through the Caster tunnels to find and save Lena during most of the book makes up for the slow start. In the end, Lena's Caster fate is decided--more or less, anyway.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lena's 16th moon has passed and the decision was not made. However there are consequences and Macon is dead. Lena is feeling guilty about his death and both the choices she made and did not make. So when Ridley and a newcomer John Breed appear she is easily influenced by promises of a better and less complicated place. Ethan is left behind trying to understand what has happened and feeling both rejected and scared for Lena at the same time. He cannot help but seek her out to try and understand what is going on. And the seventeenth Moon is appearing faster than it should. All of this makes for a compelling sequel to Beautiful Creatures. This sequel was slow to begin with and suddenly contained all the angst that I had been pleased to note was absent in the first book. However I persevered and I'm glad I did. I enjoyed this story. It is well constructed and keeps the reader guessing and searching for the next piece of a very complicated puzzle. The characters continue to gain depth. I particularly enjoyed getting to know Link in this book. I wait impatiently for my copy of book three to arrive.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In many ways this was a better book than the first in the series. The first third is a little slow and dreary — after the way the first book ended that's unsurprising — but then it picked up and never stopped. This was a much FUNNIER book, and I found myself laughing at Ethan's observations about the townspeople.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The second one was better than the first one.The only thing that really bothered me was that Lena was not in it for pretty much the entire book, kind of like an actress in a movie that hasn't returned for its sequel. Almost like she was casted aside so we could worry about Ethan.I would recommend this one more than the first, but it wouldn't make sense without a preface. Needless to say, I'm struggling through it. Not because of the difficulty level (which is non-existent), but because of the slow plot that just seems to drag on.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Once again, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl wrote an amazing book that I had a hard time putting down. Lena, still not making a choice on whether or not she wants to go Light or Dark, starts to withdraw from Ethan after Macon's funeral, running off with a strange new guy, John Breed, and hanging around Ridley a lot, already convinced she's going to go Dark anyhow. The ending to the book completely took me by surprise, can't wait to read the third book in the series. I definitely recommend this book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Another "I just can't put it down" read from Garcia & Stohl. Beautiful Darkness got up & running, so to speak, more quickly than Creatures, but that's a give-in with any sequel as the backstory doesn't need to be explained. Regardless, if you weren't addicted by the first hooking moment, there are countless others that will get you. Lena's behavior will have you agitated and questioning what she's really up to, which of course makes you want to continue reading.The introduction of new characters is refreshing, & the near seamless way in which they are assimilated into the plot deserves props. Not only do we have fresh faces to get to know, but the further development of secondary characters from Creatures is satisfying. There are unexpected... and I truly mean unforeseeable... plot twists that come just when you think it's getting quiet (almost too quiet). Overall this was a major improvement from Beautiful Creatures; which should mean a lot coming from someone who thought B.C. was the greatest book they had read in a long, long time. The plot leaves you begging for more (in a good way) so, as stated many times, you will not want to put this book down.Be forewarned: you will be screaming and gasping so loud you might disturb others, so don't read too late into the night!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautiful Darkness picked up right where Beautiful Creatures left off. Ethan finds Lena pulling away from him and he cannot figure out why. Ethan definitely has a stubborn streak, though, because he does not give up until he finds out what is going on with her. I really love Ethan and Lena, though we do not really get too much of Lena in this book. We do, however, get a whole lot more of Link, who I absolutely adore. Everyone needs a friend like Link. He's just awesome. We also get to know many of the characters we were briefly introduced to in Beautiful Creatures and also have a couple of new people in this book. Once again, I loved the writing style and descriptiveness the author uses. It was detail oriented and beautifully written. I listened to the audio of this one. The narration was done very well. I really liked the voice of Kevin Collins for Ethan. I also really enjoyed that we got music with the songs, though it was a bit creepy. That's something you could not get from reading the book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was amazing! I love the twists & turns it takes you through and leaves me wanting more...can't wait to see what happens next!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a fairly worthy follow-up to Beautiful Darkness, although it had a somewhat darker feel (hence the title, I suppose) and if comparing the two, I'd probably say I liked the first better. I found myself disliking Lena somewhat in this one, as she struggled in "claiming" herself -- light vs. dark. Ethan too, though likeable enough, was mildly annoying in that he seemed almost too wimpy at times and too innocent. I had to remind myself that this was a young adult novel.Like the first, I listened to this on audio & I really liked the extra music & sound effects that you don't typically find on the majority of audiobooks. I think they added to the reading experience and for that reason mostly, I'd recommend earreading this series, if at all possible. I will likely continue reading the series, as I feel I need to see how these characters develop. I just discovered that a movie is in production for Beautiful Darkness. I'll look forward to seeing that in 2013.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Lena is a mess after the death of her Uncle Macon. Feeling only herself to blame for what happened. Ethan is a mess, because well Lena is a mess. He's tried everything to help her. Nothing has helped yet. In this book we find out how connected to the Casters Ethan's family really is. This book was definitely worth it, we learn not everything is what it appears, That dark needs light. And that Lena loves Ethan even if it doesn't seem that way!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I definitely think that this book was a good continuance of the first book. Beautiful Creatures left you on a cliffhanger...both action-wise and emotionally. I was a little irritated with Lena gallivanting off with Mr. Mysterious, but I loved the new addition of a witty character. I really think that this book gives you more history and information about how that world actually works. ..."The Order of Things" if you will.Again, Amma & Lena's quirky Caster relatives really keep things interesting, as usual. The ending is absolutely something that is work the 500 pages before it.This Southern Gothic series is quickly becoming one of my new favorites. The characters, plot, and premise (all very well developed) make this story refreshing if you've grown weary of the usual suspects...fallen angels, werewolves, and vampires. Don't get me wrong, I still love those creepy-crawly beings, but it's always nice to have something extra-extra-ordinary come along once in a while to offer some relief to the barrage of the overused supernatural/paranormal beings.This Casterful [magical] adventure is worth reading...especially if you love a good twist of an ending that will completely blindside you!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    So this is the second book in the "Beautiful etc." series. Lena, upon learning that she lived because her uncle died in her stead, becomes Angsty and Withdraws. She breaks up with Ethan since she's Cursed. She also Runs Away since it's obviously the mature thing to do, having come into her majority at 16 in the supernatural world and almost an adult in the mortal one. Ethan, however, persists in finding her because theirs is True Love. So he and hot Female Foreign Summer Librarian Intern go off traipsing under the mortal world and into the supernatural.Overall, this was a decent book. Villains can be 3D or sometimes 2D, but you often have the latter in real life. However, what I *can't* get over are the numerous times where I've noted in my head, "That's awfully convenient that one of Ethan's three aunts has a map to the supernatural world right when he and Co. needed one. Hmmm, awfully convenient to have Lena's cousin Leah, whom we briefly met at Uncle's funeral and of whom we know nothing about and have seen no interaction with any of the other character, bolster the Forces of Good right when they need it. Ditto on the three voodoo women to bolster he Forces of Good. And my, that battle scene was tied up right neatly." Bought the first two, going to check out the third from the library.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    On par with the first story, this felt flat. The couple keeping secrets as a major plot device is one of my least favourites.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I had a hard time getting into this book, but by 1/3 of the way through I couldn't put it down - literally. I had to cancel my plans for the day to get through the book. Now I need to go get the next book to continue the series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The title of this book is Beautiful Darkness, and never has a title been more fitting for the story it titles! This story was dark, but in a way that made you fall in love with it. All of the characters were miserable, and I was miserable with them, but it's the type of story where you love to be miserable, because it's so well written that their emotions and heartaches jump out of the pages at you. I loved this book and am anxiously waiting for the next one!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I love this series. Beautiful Darkness was a perfect sequel to Beautiful Creatures. There is so much depth in the story. It's fascinating to see how the original & the new characters are developing and how they are intertwined with each other. Also witnessing how the past events correlate with the present has been enjoyable. Garcia and Stohl has absolutely made this series spellbinding. There were a few gripping revelations that were uncovered in this book and new questions that was brought up to keep you engrossed. This is a highly addictive series by far than any series I've read in the past. I can't wait to read book #3.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A good continuation of Beautiful Creatures. Ethan and Lena's adventures continue in the southern town of Gatlin, although this book focuses less on the quirks of small towns and more on the supernatural Caster world. Picking up from the conclusion of Beautiful Creatures, in this book the relationship between Ethan and Lena in thrown into doubt by Lena's unresolved claiming and Ethan embarks on a journey into the Caster world to save his girlfriend from her dark relatives. Ethan is accompanied on his journey by a few friends and I found myself beginning to prefer a few secondary characters over Ethan and Lena. The character development in this book leaves plenty of room for a sequel as well. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA paranormal fiction.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is Ethan's story, through and through. The same Ethan Wate, who in a very George Bailey sort of way, couldn't wait to shake free of Gatlin, SC. The arrival of Lena in the previous novel, Beautiful Creatures, and the mysterious layers of Gatlin that were revealed changed all that. Ethan's such a great character, even as Lena is pulling away from him after her uncle Macon's funeral, he perseveres. The bond created between them by the authors is that strong. I just loved the flow between the ever popular paranormal and Southern gothic lore. The story turns into a grand road trip, with Link once again proving he is the best buddy character in teen lit right now. Even I want to know what hold Amma has over him...just what the heck were they doing in the basement when they were nine?!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really enjoyed Beautiful Darkness a lot better than Book 1 - I think it flowed into the good stuff more quickly, and I definitely got pulled into the suspense of wondering what was going on with Lena! There was definitely more turmoil churning and unexpected changing of hearts among all the characters. I have to admit that bad-news Ridley is probably my favorite out of everyone - I cannot wait to find out what happens next!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Just a quick mini sort of synopsis on this one...lovely heartwrenching and divinely delicious. Everyone knows about this book and these amazing authors...if I have anything to say about this book it is that I am even more in love with it than the first one, I am more invested in the characters and I want another book right away. It was just superb...YA Fantasy in its finest form.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is shaping up to be a trilogy, which makes Beautiful Darkness the middle – with the accompanying “middle child syndrome.” There is a fine line between teen angst and whining, and sadly, this installment crosses it. It’s natural that Lena and Ethan would be upset and changed by the events at the conclusion of book one, in particular the death of Macon. I think the authors were trying for her being tempted by the Dark side as a result of her grief. Instead, Lena just dissolved into moody whining and Ethan followed right down with her. A rift develops between them, but it felt forced. It made the book depressing and plodding for the entire first half.However, the book also had a lot of exciting and unexpected story twists that made it a must-read. (But as in book one, nearly all take place in the second half.) Many questions from book one are answered, such as about Ethan’s mother and what exactly happened in the conclusion of book one, plus some surprises for Ethan and Link. New characters are also introduced to provide a different perspective on the story. The authors also continue their world-building - expanding on the Caster mythology, the tunnels, Marian’s role and the Ravenwood family. Overall, the first half was weak, and I almost put the book aside, but the answered questions and surprising developments redeemed the book. I didn’t enjoy this as much as "Beautiful Creatures," but it did leave me anticipating the next book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not as good as the first, but I still enjoyed it. It started out a bit slow, but then once everything started happening and certain questions were answered it got really good.I won't give anything away, but there are so many people who are more than they seem, and plenty of surprises to change what you thought you already knew. There are some big changes by the end, and the ending is an EXCELLENT CLIFFHANGER! I'm still very interested to see what happens next. Will this set be a set of three or four books?
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Sequel to Beautiful Creatures. Lena still has to choose between light and dark, although Ethan senses she's leaning toward dark. A new girl may complicate things.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The novel picks up where the last left off. Lena is dealing with the death of her Uncle, and Ethan is trying to be there for her. He gets nervous when a new boy comes in and starts to show up wherever Lena is. And then the unbelievable happens, Lena leaves Gatlin behind, leaving Ethan. He realizes there is more to this situation, and himself, and sets out to save her from Sarafine, and her own self-destruction.I absolutely loved reading Beautiful Creatures so when I came to finally read Beautiful Darkness I was really excited. Then I started reading it... and for some reason I just couldn't get into it like I did Beautiful Creatures.When it comes down to it, I think it's because of the characters. Most of them were complaining about one thing or another throughout nearly the whole novel. I love Ethan, but he really seems helpless throughout most of the novel, and he never really changes. Ever. The whole time he's dealing with the fact that Lena left him, and trying to come to terms with the fact that they may really be over. For some reason this just drove me nuts. I think it was the same problem I had with Bella in New Moon where she wouldn't try to make the best of the situation. However, I do have to say he is WAY more tied into the caster world than Bella was really tied into the vampire world. So, I guess I can't really blame him for still finding ways to be involved in everything.And then there's Lena. Normally I'm a fan of the female lead. This time? Not so much. I really didn't like Lena much in this book, at all. She went from this alternative, cool person to a closed off person. And I know people grieve in different ways, but the longer it lasted the longer I was frustrated with her. She was just telling Ethan he wouldn't understand, without even giving him the chance to try - and I'll be honest that's one of my largest pet peeves about people in general. So *spoiler* when she ran away... part of me was grateful (I know, I'm terrible) but that made room for two characters that I came to love develop.Link. I have so much love for this boy. We don't see him much in the first book but he's a pretty integral character in Beautiful Darkness and I'm super glad about it. He's just that fun character that you have to like. He has his own problems that he has to deal with - which sometimes I wished that Ethan had taken the time to maybe talk to him about it a little... but then again, I'm a girl, he's a guy. But it's his humor that wins me over in the end. He's just great.My all time favorite character from this book was a new one. Liv. I absolutely adored her. I don't want to say too much about her because of this. She's just a really great addition to the series, and my only wish was that she could have been around before.Overall I thought the writing was great, and the plot was good. I may have cut some of the stuff in the middle to get to the good, actiony stuff at the end, but it was good. It was the characters that started to drive me nuts. While it took me some time for me to get through the book, and for me it wasn't the best, I will definitely pick up the next in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The Quickie ReviewLena, Ethan, Link (my personal favourite) and Ridley are all back and getting themselves into trouble once again. With even more intrigue and mystery as we learn more secrets about both Lena’s and Ethan’s families as well as the magical world Lena is apart of, Beautiful Darkness will not disappoint fans of Beautiful Creatures, the first book in the Caster Chronicle series.The Full Blown Review*Slight spoilers are mentioned in my review so if you haven’t read the first book in the series, Beautiful Creatures, I wouldn’t suggest reading on, well unless your desperate to read this review that is*Poor old Ethan, Lena his Caster girlfriend is blaming her uncle’s death on herself and is pulling away from everyone apart from her Siren cousin, Ridley. She’s also hanging around a strange guy who’s not what he seems. Suddenly Ethan finds himself having to imagine a future without the love of his life unless he can get through to her which is hard when the darkness is pulling Lena in, what’s a boy to do?First off I’m going to strongly recommend to all of those who cannot remember what happened in Beautiful Creatures all that well, which was me, to re-read it (or even skim it) as it will be very helpful when reading Beautiful Darkness because I found the start to be a tad confusing due to my inability to recall what happened at the end of Beautiful Creatures.Once again I am amazed how both Garcia and Stohl can write with such fluidity, you simply cannot tell that two people wrote the book as it all blends so well. It shows to me that these two really understand each others writing and they are on the same page regarding what they want to convey to the reader which isn’t as easy as it sounds I’m sure. Without this deep understanding I don’t think the book would read as well as it does, nothing is worse (for me anyway) than reading a book written by two authors where the reader can tell which author wrote what.At first I was a tad worried about where this book was going, I was finding it pretty slow going and because of that I took my sweet time reading it which definitely disappointed me because I was chafing at the bit to read this as I loved Beautiful Creatures. However fear not my readers because I continued to read on and then out of the blue the action picked up and didn’t stop until the end, suddenly I couldn’t read the book fast enough. Once the action picked up we were also given information galore on the supernatural world that lives below Gatlin plus more info on both Lena and Ethan’s families’ (one particular bit of info really had me going holy cow I wasn’t expecting that all all!). So I guess what I’m trying to say not very eloquently is that if your finding it a bit slow going keep reading because it will pick up and then all of a sudden you’ll find yourself at the end which will leave you wanting to read the next book in the series and soon as whilst it did answer some questions it left so many more unanswered questions which need answers especially what’s going to happen to my favourite wannabe musician Link?What I loved about the first book was the very gothic southern setting and how Garcia and Stohl described the small town politics, gossiping and thinly veiled politeness (this is the South after all) Ethan and Lena had to endure. Both Garcia and Stohl captured the setting so well I could envision myself sitting on Ethan’s porch or lying down in the Greenbrier garden. Thankfully, once again in Beautiful Darkness we are reintroduced to the beautiful American South setting via Garcia and Stohl’s beautiful descriptive writing.I feel that whilst the first book had a dark tone to it, Beautiful Darkness has an even darker tone to it (duh Romy it is called Beautiful Darkness after all!). Lena’s in a bad place, her Uncle who she loved so dearly has died and she blames herself consequently throughout most of the book Lena’s emotional state is all over the place and she appears to be in a dark state of mind. Lena cuts herself off from her own family and even Ethan, the only people she can talk to are Ridley, her cousin, and John Breed, a very interesting new character we are introduced to. Meanwhile, poor Ethan doesn’t understand why Lena is doing this to herself, he knows it’s not her fault for Macon’s death but what can he do? Throughout most of the book Ethan is examining his relationship with Lena particularly why she pulled away from him. During Lena’s absence from his life Ethan befriends Liv, a feisty new character who works at the local library with Marian. Whilst Ethan spends more time with Liv and it’s clear to both the readers and Ethan that being with Liv definitely would be easier, Ethan never gives up on Lena, it will always be Lena for Ethan, she is the love of his life, which is very sweet.Whilst Beautiful Darkness is a solid sequel that kept me intrigued, I found that I preferred the first book in the series more simply due to the fact that I found the start of Beautiful Darkness to be very slow and frankly a bit boring, that said however once the pace picked up and the revelations started coming I was hooked!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Don't want to spoil things, so I'll just say that if book one, Beautiful Creatures pulled you in, then you're going to love book two. Ethan is still crazy about Lena, but realizes that she is pulling away from him, and he is powerless to do anything about it. You feel his anguish as Lena struggles with figuring out who she is becoming.