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.

*Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

Listening Length

17 hours and 33 minutes
Author

Kami Garcia, see all
Narrator

Kevin T. Collins
Audible release date

June 12, 2018
Language

English
Publisher

Hachette Audio
ASIN

B07D5HJ8D7
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	17 hours and 33 minutes
Author	Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl
Narrator	Kevin T. Collins
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	June 12, 2018
Publisher	Hachette Audio
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B07D5HJ8D7
Best Sellers Rank	#51,776 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #108 in Paranormal Romance for Teens #123 in Paranormal Fantasy for Teens #147 in Paranormal Mystery, Thriller & Suspense for Teens

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Leah / @LeahsLittlePleasures

The Perfect Read For Spooky Season

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 5, 2022

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This story has been on my radar since I first watched the movie adaptation several years ago. And it's been the perfect YA urban fantasy to kick off spooky season with. It's dark, cozy and atmospheric with casters, supernatural creatures, elemental magic, cursed & reincarnated love, the mysterious new girl, and an intricate, layered back story all set in a small town in South Carolina. There are themes of light and dark, good and bad, being yourself and breaking away from norms, and first love.

Listening to the audiobook along side reading the phsyical copy was the perfect decision. It really helped focus my attention and the story and its details just came to life! I was definitely impressed with this audiobook. And I can't wait to continue the series!

One person found this helpful

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Shafiya Naher

Dark Supernatural Story with Interesting Characters & Decent Pacing

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 24, 2016

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Beautiful Creatures was quite the little curiosity for me. I went into it with a bit of skepticism, assuming that it would be an immature and semi-poorly written piece of young adult fiction. As I began reading the first page of the novel, I was ready and awaiting the lackluster characters and a clichéd predictable plot, but it never came. Instead I was given fantastic writing, a unique exhibition of characters, and a seemingly original plot that kept me wholeheartedly enchanted from beginning to end!

Let’s begin with the writing, which tends to be my biggest issue with the young adult genre. Most of the titles from this particular section are pieced together with such terrible word usage that I can physically feel my IQ starting to take a dip. It really makes me sad because the premise underneath the slaughtered sentences are really quite fascinating concepts. So when I saw that this book (the series in its entirety actually) was composed by TWO beings instead of one, naturally the fear of disappointment was eminent, however. Not once during my experience with this novel did I ever reach a point where I could distinguish that there were two people behind its creation. The writing is just that impeccable. When I began my Beautiful Creatures adventure, I ended up reading over one-hundred pages without a single ounce of hesitation. One moment I’m on the very first page and the next I’m about one-fifth of the way finished. Each sentence, whether it was laced with descriptions of atmosphere, personality, appearances, etc., was so properly constructed that it lulled me in and kept me attached until the grumblings of a hungry stomach could stand to be ignored no longer.

The second aspect to completely waylay my expectations are the characters themselves. Again, most of the YA books under my Read belt tend to have such hollow and irritatingly immature personalities that it makes for an excruciating effort to finish the books. The people introduced in Beautiful Creatures were a lot more relatable thus making them more believable as actual adolescents in the modern time period. Yes, you do have those characters that you just want to smack upside the head with the darn book, but it’s not every character, especially not the main ones, which makes a huge difference to whether the reading experience will be pleasant or repellent.

You usually see two characters that are complete opposites coming together for a common interest—whether love, revenge, greed, or whatever else comes to mind. But in Beautiful Creatures you have two unique people wanting very certain experiences out of life coming together to realize that what they want is nothing compared to what they already have. This makes for a very enrapturing notion of acceptance, which is a huge underlying theme within the novel. This theme spills over onto the rest of the cast and really rounds off portions of the plot.

Now, for the plot itself—really, bloody decent. I tend to stray from romances because, well let’s just say that personal experience has made lovey, mushy things my eternal nemesis. Be that as it may, I actually found myself giving into the warm, fuzzy feelings that invaded my heart whenever the twosome was on stage together. I’m sure that it has a lot to do with that whole relatable bit I was talking about earlier. Their attraction and their feelings for why something should, or shouldn’t happen can be viewed as occurring in real life rather easily. Even though this is a supernatural story, I really like it when an author (or authors in this case) can connect the fantasy with reality. It adds a whole new level of depth to the story that truly connects the reader to the book (at least in my crazy way of thinking it does).

Relatability aside, I just really enjoyed how dark Beautiful Creatures is. It’s very gothic and mesmerizing. It’s eerie yet elegant, despairing yet delightful. The story unfolds, one chapter at a time, with such a fluid pace that you get swept away in the beauty and emotions without completely realizing that you’re reading a book. At times, I felt I was watching a film in my mind, one that I had no freaking clue as to how it would end (or if I really wanted it to end). Nothing is choppy, or brusque. There are no surprises in the plot that genuinely don’t belong. Everything fits together so neatly like a large puzzle and the finished product leaves you feeling immensely satisfied, albeit slightly bittersweet.

I’m picking up the second installment within the day and am keen on finishing the series before the month ends. Four and a half thunderstorms outta five for sure!

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L.K.Hill

An Awesome, Worthwhile Read!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 20, 2013

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So, as many of you know, I'm someone who always likes to read the book before seeing the film. I picked up Beautiful Creatures the book about a week ago because I wanted to read it before I saw the film. To my surprise, it was...let's call it unconventional. First of all, the book is 563 pages long. No way my publishing company would have been cool with that! Not that I'm complaining. It was 563 pages of awesomeness, but I was kind of surprised at the length. Secondly, the narrator is a guy. Now, I keep hearing people talk about how most readers are women and therefore most readers (at least in YA) prefer a female narrator. Now, I don't necessarily share that sentiment, but I do sort of understand it. That said, some of the best YA books I've read in the past year have included male narrators. Just sayin'.

Moving on.

This book was great! Despite the length, it was a quick read because the writing flowed so well. Ethan Wate is a typical teenage boy who is bored with small town life and can't wait to get out of his home town and go off to see the world through college. He's smart, reads a lot (so I tend to like him) and has a typical teenage boy attitude about things. In short, he's hilarious. The one wrinkle in his life is that his mother passed away roughly a year before and since then his father has sunk into a deep depression. Luckily, he still has a housekeeper/guardian/butt kicker at home to both love and keep him in line. One of the things I loved about this story was his relationship to Amma. She's helped raise him and always been there, so he's unfailingly loyal to her. It was refreshing to read about.

Lena is a pretty good heroine as well. I think some people might find her less than a strong heroine. Nothing near as bad as a certain teenaged, vampire-loving heroine, but not the strongest female lead either. But, just as Bela never bothered me because--let's face it--she's a teenager, and having been an insecure teen myself, I have a hard time judging others for it, Lena didn't bother me. She was frightened by what was happening to her, just as any human being would be, and the way her emotions lashed out with breaking glass and tornadoes more than compensated for her vulnerability.

I especially loved the supporting characters in the story. They gave it so much spice! I've already mentioned Amma, but Marion the Librarian was an immediate favorite of mine (she likes awesome quotes too) and Uncle Macon was an enigma wrapped in an educated European gentleman. I wish we'd have been able to see more of him.

And then there was Ethan's best friend, Link. He was hysterical! He always had something awesome to say, while still exercising best friend loyalties. I found myself smiling whenever he showed up because I knew the scene was about to get more colorful. Loved him!

So Ethan meets and is drawn to Lena, who is a Caster (pretty much a witch) but there's a whole complicated bit about whether her powers will be claimed for good or evil, who her family really is, and whether or not she has a choice in her own future. Add in tons of drama, an eccentric family, a gossipy small town, and plenty of teenaged angst, and you have a pretty great story.

If I had any complaints, it would be that the ending was so fast-paced, had so much action (if you can complain about that) that I wish that maybe at some point it could have slowed down and had just a little more explanation. But it was a minor thing. At no point did I feel confused. I just wanted some things clarified. Maybe I'm slow on the uptake. It left me wanting just enough to be excited to read book 2.

Anyway, overall this is a fantastic read! It's full of fun characters, intense plots, and pretty sweet good-vs.-evil show downs. Want to do me a favor? Go out and read this book! Then email so we can discuss! 'Cause, you know, it was awesome! :D

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Top reviews from other countries

Whispering Stories

Gripping from start to finish

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 19, 2015

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Lena Duschannes is a Caster who is living with her Uncle Macon Ravenwood in Gatlin, South Carolina, in the run up to her 16th birthday, the day she will be claimed either Light or Dark.
Ethan Wate is just an normal teenager living in Gatlin with his author dad who has been hiding away in his office since his wife, Ethan's mum, died. They are both looked after by Amma the house keeper who is also a Seer.

At the start of the book we find out that Ethan keeps on having a recurring dream in which there is a girl he has never met. Then Lena starts at the school Ethan attends and he is quickly drawn to her and realises that she is the girl from his dreams. Ethan wants to get to know Lena but Lena doesn't want to make any friends and pushes him away. Over the course of the first few chapters we feel Ethan's pain as he desperately tries to get Lena to trust him, as for him it was love at first sight and he wants Lena to feel the same. Lena however is convinced that on her 16th birthday she will turn to the dark side and tries to block Ethan from her life, along with Macon and Amma's approval as they want to keep the two apart as the two of them are old enemies.

Ethan tries to convince Lena that she can choose what she will become and that it is her choice whether she is turns light or dark and that she is a good person. Two dark casters show up to try to push Lena to the dark side and cause as much trouble as they can. Ridley, a Siren and Lena's cousin who was banished from their home when she was chosen for the dark side and Sarafina, Lena's mum and Macon's Sister, who Lena was told had died years ago after she killed Lena's Father. The two of them will go to any lengths to make sure that Lena will be chosen for the dark side, even if it means interfering in both Lena and Ethan's lives.

Lena is a mixed up young girl who pushes everyone away as she doesn't want anyone to get hurt by her as she is convinced she is going dark. She has a strong personality that shines off the pages but we also get to see a softer side to her and feel her pain. Ethan comes across as a bit of a love sick puppy who would follow Lena to the ends of the earth, but you find yourself rooting for the the two of them and enjoy the feeling that young love has to offer.

Ridley, although a dark caster who can make anyone do anything with the lick of her lollipop, has a witty, fun personality that even though she is causing trouble you can't help liking her. There are a lot of strong characters in the book but they don't over power each other. They all have their own traits and are distinguished from one another with each playing a vital role in the story.

Review

The book is about self discovery for both Lena and Ethan and about learning to face your fears head on and to trust people especially those that love you.

From Chapter One right to the end of the book, it was explosive and kept me gripped and absorbed in the life of Lena and a world where humans and casters live side by side. The story is captivating and immerses the reader into a world where magic is real. The plot takes hold quickly and the story is fast paced. It will take you away from reality and place you in a world where anything can happen.

Although this is deemed more of a YA novel I was fully engrossed in it. The story does something most books aimed at adults don't do. It plays with your imagination and creates a world we know isn't real but can visualise it just as vividly. I was kept on my toes throughout the whole book and the ending, which I didn't see coming, had me downloading book two straight away as I needed to know what happened next.

8 people found this helpful

Summer Fluff - Great fun

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 17, 2013

Verified Purchase

Ok. I'm late to the party. I've seen the series kicking around for a while, it often came up in my recommendations, but the reviews were mixed and magic/witches/destiny stories don't often appeal to me, I find they've been over done. But the movie came out and it looked good, and being the geek I am, I CANNOT watch a movie based on a book until I've read the book. I know. I'll seek some help with that.

Things I want from a YA paranormal:

Non-stop speedy action - check
NO endless scene setting - check
A female lead who is relatable and has some gumption and balls - check
A non-edward-eqse male lead - check
An engaging, original (or if not original, a new take on the same old, same old) story - check.
A book that doesn't want to be put down - check
Twists and turns, both obvious and shocking- check
Brave writers willing to sacrifices leads for the sake of the story - check

Things I HATE in a YA paranormal

Insta-Love in any way shape or form - such a bad example to the youth of today - Meh there was some in there.....
Cliches of any kind - yup some in there too
`Love will conquer all' - no it bloody wont. - no comment.
Cheap, easy writing tactics that patronize YA readers - none to be seen here.

There are plenty more, but in general Beautiful Creatures had everything I like, but plenty I hate, yet I still found that I cared about the story, I WANTED to know how it was going to end.

Whats it about?

Written mostly from Ethan's POV, the story follows his life as it changes when a strange, yet beautiful (of course) girl arrives in his small town. Lena is socially doomed from the start, being the niece of the strange recluse, Macon Ravenwood, yet Ethan is drawn to her (sorry instalove here... but its explained well, so can be forgiven to an extent), and soon discovers that there is more to Lena that meets the eye. Lena is a Caster (a witch) and Ethan a mortal, but they have a linked ancestry which pulls them together, no matter how hard they fight it. Lena is doomed to be claimed on her 16th birthday, but it is not known if she will turn light (good) or dark (bad). Of course Lena is super powerful a `natural' and the powers that be fight for her (on both sides) in the hope to claim her for their bidding. The book works up to an epic, and unexpected, conclusion, yet leaves plenty of questions for future books.

I didn't know if I should give the book 3.5 or 4 stars. It was not a book that I'd of thought I'd enjoy, there is nothing special about it, lets face it, its twilight with witches not vampires, no love triangle as yet - but there' more books to go..... BUT I can't tell you what was wrong with it either. Beautiful Creatures provides everything it promises, a fun, easy read with a good story that keeps you interested without being too heavy or thought provoking.

I'd recommend the book, and possibly the series (thats yet to be read) to anyone that likes YA fluff, its a summer read that will keep you on that deck chair, and lets face it, sometimes thats all we want.

So I'm going for 4 stars, just because the sun is shining and I WANT to read book 2, as for the bad reviews? Pfft. Lighten up, enjoy the story for what it is. :)

2 people found this helpful

Daphne (Illumicrate)

Great idea, disappointing characters

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 8, 2013

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Broadly, I enjoyed it. For anyone who hasn't yet read it, the story is told from the point of view of Ethan Wade, who has lived in Gatlin, a small town in Southern USA (where everybody knows your name), his entire life. His life gets a shake-up, however, when new girl Lena Duchannes moves into town. She is instantly a pariah because she lives with her uncle Macon Ravenwood, the town recluse, in the creepy Ravenwood manor.

It comes to light after some bizarre dreams, strange telepathy and a shattered classroom window that Lena isn't a normal girl from a normal family. She's a Caster, a member of a family who have varying supernatural abilities. Unfortunately in her family, when a Caster turns 16 they get allocated to either the `Light' or the `Dark'. So she and Ethan spend the months leading up to her 16th birthday trying to uncover the reasons behind this and what can be done to prevent Lena going to the `Dark' side (insert obvious Star Wars joke here).

I actually liked the way the authors classified the different Casters and found the powers varied and interesting. My favourite part of the book though, was the underlying historical mystery. An enigmatic locket with initials, flashbacks and a sordid American Civil war romance doomed to repeat itself centuries later--I was officially hooked.

As far as the characters go, while I enjoyed Ethan's point of view as a narrator (a refreshing twist on the standard paranormal formula), I wasn't wholly invested in Ethan and Lena individually and in their relationship. I felt sympathetic towards them, but at the same time I didn't really care too much if they managed to stay together or not. I found a lot of the other characters, particularly Ridley's blend of evil nature and good intentions and Amma's fierce authority more interesting.

I was also somewhat disappointed by the ending. It was very big in scale, but lost a lot of the heart of the book, the individual struggles each character has as they get caught between the Light and Dark. It also felt a bit like a cop-out, a way to prolong the story of Lena being in between for another year (and another book). In short, it was interesting an enjoyable first book, but I'm not racing to read the next instalment. I will probably go see the film though.

One person found this helpful

Roman Clodia

Good in parts

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 25, 2011

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This is much better written in technical terms than many teen supernatural romances out there but it somehow lacks the passion and pure story-telling grip of the best of them ( Twilight , Vampire Academy , Hush, Hush ).

The authors take the time to build up the background of Gatlin, a little Southern town that bears more than a passing resemblance to that in the Sookie Stackhouse books (e.g. Dead Until Dark ), and there are some nice gothic touches: the Ravenswood house, the presence of the Civil War.

On the negative side, however, too much of the story is based on overly-familiar elements: the new girl in school, the mean-girls pack, the instant love-bond, the deep and deadly secret, the final climactic struggle between good and evil...

While the idea of telling the story from a male viewpoint is refreshing, I never felt that Ethan sounded like a sixteen year old boy. This becomes especially problematic in that the authors have clearly decided that this needs to be a sexually-moral book so there's no sexual tension - between a couple of older teens who are supposedly bonded in love?

The end is also a complete anti-climax as the baddies simply disappear for no good reason - other than for the authors to be able to continue the story.

So this is a good enough read with parts that I really enjoyed - but I'm afraid it hasn't hooked me into reading the sequels.

C. Manning

Beautiful and haunting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 10, 2011

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Ethan Wate lives in Gatlin, South Carolina and is counting the days until he can leave town. Gatlin is like most small towns - boring, predictable and totally lacking in surprises - that is until Lena Duchannes arrives in town. From the moment she moves in with her uncle (the town shut-in) in his massive supposedly haunted mansion Lena stands out. Ethan is inexplicably drawn to Lena, but he is about to discover she is hiding things from him - not just secrets, but mysterious powers and inescapable curses as well.

I'd seen this book everywhere, hyped to the point of excess so I decided to get it from the library as the last couple of overly hyped books I've read failed to meet my expectations. The first thing I must say about the book is that it has the worst beginning of any book I've read recently. I knew the book was written in first person present tense and from the perspective of the guy, but nothing prepared me for the yawn fest the book begins with. It got to the stage two chapters in that I stopped and checked in with friends who loved the book, and they encouraged me to continue. I'm really grateful they did because as soon as our two lead characters cross paths things begin to get interesting, and the plot picks up pace.

The prose is lyrical and descriptive, and the plot well thoughtout with lots of twists and turns. I ended up really enjoying the male narrator as it's unusual and added a new dimension. I really like both Ethan and Lena, and found their romance to be well developed and beautifully written. The plot develops gradually, and once the leads have met the pace picks up with revelations and plot developments coming quickly.

The supporting characters are also really well developed - especially Ethan's housekeeper/adoptive grandmother Amma who helps Ethan stay grounded despite the revelations caused by his relationship with Lena. I also really liked Ethan's best friend Link whose attempts at rock megastardom always seem just a little outside of his grasp. Lena's relatives are also great and once introduced really help to show Lena's world in a whole new light.

At well over 500 pages, this is not a light read but I encourage anyone put off by the length to give it a try. The authors have managed to create an incredibly detailed and fleshed out world, and Gatlin really seems to come to life on the page. The ending is clever and unexpected, and I can't wait to see where the series goes next.

All in all, I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to reading Beautiful Darkness .

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Cover: 10/10

Overall: 47/50

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