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.
What we thought (with a little about the movie too):
Jess B. - I hated the movie... loved the book. How dare you remove key points and characters and think that it will still work? The book, on the other hand, was passionately tragic... the character flow was just lovely! I have a weakness for witchcraft novels, but this was one of my favorites! I can't wait to read the next one!
Rebecca T - The first time I read this book I was about 3 pages in before I realized it was a male narrator, which was very unsettling. Rereading it was better for me and I appreciate the way the story is told from Ethan's perspective rather than Lena's. I liked the southern atmosphere, though I wish the main characters had been less anti-south. I liked the flashback feature with the locket and some of the interweaving of story elements. However, I found the ending so dramatically anti-climactic that I have less desire to read the second book than might be hoped for. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I am curious and plan on seeing it at some point. A rather mixed review from me :)
Jenn N - I didn't know whether to give my review since I didn't finish the book, but, alas... I picked up Beautiful Creatures expecting it to be told from Lena's point of view as the book's description and movie trailer implied. So, I was thoroughly confused when the book was told from the perspective of Ethan, a young man smitten with Lena. I don't really care for books from a male's point of view and I couldn't get into it. I tried to persevere on this one, but the grim descriptions of the small town were too over the top hick and small town for me to accept as realistic and turned me off to reading further.
So, as you can see, we had very mixed feelings on this book. What did you think? Have you read the books? Did you think the movie did a good job adapting the overall story line? Do tell!
This month we've been reading Sever the third book in The Chemical Gardens Series by Lauren DeStefano. Wither was one of our first books, so this series kind of holds a special place in our bookclub hearts.
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