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Beautiful Darkness: Booktrack Edition Audiobook
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(3.00) - 41,891 listener ratings
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Plot Summary
At one time, Ethan Wate thought of his southern hometown Gatlin as a place that always stayed the same. That is, until he met a mysterious stranger named Lena Duchannes. Her arrival to Gatlin brought with it the revelation of the secrets this town has been keeping all along. In fact, for generations, the Duchannes family has been cursed in Gatlin, where seemingly impossible, supernatural events really come to pass.
Though Lena and Ethan long to stand side by side, throughout all changes, there is a tragic loss that threatens their bond. Once this happens, Lena hides secrets and Ethan finds that he can no longer pretend he does not see the darker side of Gatlin. These dark visions draw him further down into the mire of the Gatlins history, where he finds himself circling in the vast underground labyrinth in the South.
The film Beautiful Creatures was released in America in February 2013, and introduced us to the world of the Caster Chronicles. One of the highest rated young adult fantasy series, the story of Ethan Wate and Lana Duchannes is masterfully crafted by two American authors.
Kami Garcia was raised near Washington D. C.. Yet she has ties to the south, where these tales are set, and she has always been fascinated by the supernatural. Margaret Stohl has a background in the video gaming industry, where she applied her creative writing first. Though they created the Beautiful Creature series together, both women now live in California and work separately.
"This book really gave me a new appreciation for love triangles. Usually, when I'm reading a book, the main character/speaker is the one choosing between two people. And, as the reader, I LOVE to have an opinion on who the character should end up with. Reading from the perspective of someone who is one of the options is so much more frustrating. I found myself angry at Lena because she was giving Ethan the cold shoulder. (I suddenly feel bad for all those characters in other books...). On another note, I thought Beautiful Creatures was crazy, but I didn't know crazy until Beautiful Darkness. My mind was seriously blown with every advance in this book. (view spoiler)[Ethan is a Wayward? Ethan's mom was in love with Macon? John Breed is some sort of hybrid? Abraham is alive? Ridley lost her powers? Lucille is a Caster animal? Macon is alive? LINK IS AN INCUBUS?! Mind. Blown. My mind was so blown by this book that I refuse to even try to speculate what's going to happen in the next book because if I think something is going to happen, I'm just going to be more surprised by what happens. (Not that this is a bad thing. It's totally great. I love not being able to predict what's going to happen (Unlike Ethan when he watches movies... Ha, I think I'm fully)). I can't wait to see what happens in Beautiful Chaos. Hopefully there is some more Ridley/Link action and more information about the mysterious John Breed! (hide spoiler)]"
— Kiersten (5 out of 5 stars)
Publisher Summary
Fall under the spell of the Beautiful Darkness, the sequel to the instant NYT bestselling gothic fantasy, Beautiful Creatures!
There were no surprises in Gatlin County. At least, that's what I thought. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin as a place where nothing ever changed. Then mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes revealed a secret world of curses and Supernaturals with terrifying abilities. Lena showed him a Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen. Sometimes life-ending.
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.
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Awards
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A New York Times bestseller
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A USA Today bestseller
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A Wall Street Journal bestseller
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A 2010 GoodReads Readers’ Choice Nominee for Young Adult Fantasy
Beautiful Darkness Listener Reviews
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" Love this series so much. Couldnt put it down! Off to Dream Dark "
— Uriana, 2/11/2014 -
" EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST! I couldn't stop reading this book. Great character development, and plot as well. I enjoy that this is not written from Lena's point of view, although that would be interesting. Very well written which amazed me seeings as it has two authors. You cannot tell where one started and the other began. I enjoy the parallel story lines that take place in the novel as well. The story line that is so old, but so relevant in the current setting. Great great great book. Cannot wait for the second. "
— Morgan, 1/14/2014 -
" Another good story, focuses on developing Ethan's character. "
— Lyn, 1/7/2014 -
" This book is like so many other young adult fantasy novels, simply insert name here. Despite this, it is entertaining and engaging. The major difference between this and so many of the fantasy series of the past, is that it is told from a male (rather than female) narrator, giving the typical love triangle a twist: Ethan (Wayward), Lena (Caster), Liv (Keeper). Although there initially appears to be a great divide between the Caster and Mortal worlds, it turns out every character plays their part in both. The juxtaposition of the war torn Caster world with that of the Civil War nostalgic South (Gatlin) was also a new and exciting setting. Although I am excited to continue the series, deep down I also feel like I already know the ending. "
— Ms, 1/6/2014 -
" The middle of this book really dragged, but the ending made up for it. Very well done plotting and suspense at the end. "
— Kara, 1/2/2014 -
" Absolutly amazing series... the movie will not own up ever "
— Nikki, 12/27/2013 -
" Good for a young adult sequel "
— Christine, 12/25/2013 -
" My heart broke for Ethan! I could feel his pain as if it was mine! "
— Marlene, 12/22/2013 -
" Better than book 1. Delving more into the "other" world... but there were some times when I felt the foreshadowing was a bit too obvious (or maybe I kinda knew where things were going). All in all, I enjoyed it. "
— Liz, 12/18/2013 -
" By far better than the first one. I read this one very quickly and couldn't put it down. Great book. "
— Lisa, 11/27/2013 -
" This story was good and it was my first adventure with a MP3. The only thing I am sorry about was that it was the first story in the series. Now I have to find the first one. "
— Ann, 11/13/2013 -
" Liked it better than the first book! Much more action and excitement. "
— Kara, 11/8/2013 -
" ethan annoyed me so much in this, he was incredibly pathetic! "
— Bethyboo, 10/20/2013 -
" I like the setting of the books and the way it's playing along but it is little too slow paced. "
— Andleeb, 10/8/2013 -
" Good second book. Lena chooses finally. "
— Christina, 9/6/2013 -
" I read this series when the movie came out- didn't have time to get to the movies. Quick twilight like read. Nothing earth shattering but the characters engage you. "
— Meg, 3/30/2013 -
" Didn't like this as much as one, have to complete series though, we will see about book three. "
— Kristie, 10/31/2012 -
" So. So. Good! I love how the storyline didn't go in the typical direction I expected. It left me guessing what would be the outcome. Twists and turns everywhere! Eek! ;) "
— Jaime, 10/17/2012 -
" As good as the first. "
— Rachel, 9/26/2012 -
" Liked it better than the first! "
— Janine, 8/14/2012 -
" I thought this was way better than the first book, beautiful creatures. It was definitely a page turner and I had a hard time putting it down! "
— Brooke, 7/15/2012 -
" not as good as the first one..but... it's not Terrible. can't wait to dive into the next one "
— Samantha, 12/7/2011 -
" 2.5 stars. I liked it more than the first, but it still bored me. "
— Paige, 9/14/2011 -
" OK just started, at the moment kind of depressing and just a little to much about Lena. "
— Olivia, 5/18/2011 -
" BEST EVER!!!!!!!!!! LOVE IT !!!! STARTED CRYING SOMETIMES BUT I GOT THROUGH.. *WEEP WEEP* "
— Cookie, 5/17/2011 -
" Not quite as good as the first book...a little slow at the start but still good. Obviously, a third book will be on the way b/c of the ending. "
— Sally, 5/17/2011 -
" An excellent follow up to Beautiful Creatures! I can't wait to read the third later this year :D "
— Tatiana, 5/17/2011 -
" Loved this book. The first 100 pages or so were a little slow, but the end made up for. Loved it. Also, if I can finish a 500+ book in less than 24 hours, that's a pretty good sign that it was an amazing read. :) "
— Brad, 5/15/2011 -
" Well it all came out so so in the end but up until then I sometimes wondered why Ethan loves Lena. She spent most of her time in this book in self denial and self punishment. Why? Probably so we could prolong the series. "
— Apzmarshl, 5/14/2011 -
" Its a very slow read. Took me a whole month to finish this.. but I liked it. "
— Bharti, 5/13/2011 -
" this book is really good. read it. i love ethan "
— Brianna, 5/9/2011 -
" I am addicted to this series. I cant help it. :P It's not quite as good as Harry Potter (which is hard to beat anyway). But still, the authors wrote this book so well! "
— Katelyn, 5/6/2011 -
" This book definitely did not disappoint me. Can't wait to read the next one. "
— Jessica, 5/4/2011 -
" I enjoyed the sequel as much as I did the original. I think the small town played less of a part in this book which I missed but it made up for it in kicking up the supernatural setting. There were a couple of twists and the plot managed to hold my interest and stay enjoyable. "
— Kristi, 5/3/2011 -
" This also was a great book to read! When reading this sequel I always felt as if I myself was a character. "
— Zoe, 5/2/2011
About the Authors
Kami Garcia is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of the Legion series, which is being developed as a major motion picture. She is also the coauthor of the Dangerous Creatures and the Beautiful Creatures novels, of which the first book was made into a major motion picture by Warner Brothers, directed and adapted by Academy Award–nominated writer Richard LaGravenese.
Margaret Stohl is a lifelong science fiction fan, former video-game designer, and coauthor of the New York Times bestselling Beautiful Creatures series, which is now a major motion picture.
About Kevin T. Collins
Kevin T. Collins, an Audie Award–winning audiobook narrator, is an actor, singer, recording artist, and director who can be seen off Broadway, on television, and in films.