Review: Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
3 Stars
Read January 16-20, 2013; 503 pages
Another solid showing from Garcia and Stohl. Actually, I think I enjoyed Beautiful Darkness more than Beautiful Creatures, which is saying something since most second books in a series have a tendency to let down readers. Surprising. I applaud you, authors.
But getting down to business, let’s talk about the good and the bad in this book. Here we go:
The good – Beautiful Darkness was better written in my opinion. There weren’t any confusing scenes and I never had to reread in order to clarify what was happening. Where Beautiful Creatures read like the authors were writing on emotions, Beautiful Darkness read like they knew what they were doing (and had a better editor). I guess experience helps, huh? This book also did a good job of continuing the series by answering questions raised in book 1 and setting up things to come in book 3. Better story telling.
The bad – I was still frustrated with Lena. I spent about the first 300 pages reading in segments since I would reach a point where I just wanted to throw the book across the room. (I never did though) I was still grateful that the series continued to be narrated by Ethan and that this book focused on his character development, but was frustrated and annoyed by Lena’s actions. I kept thinking to myself that she’s a great example of how I never want to handle a situation. It detracted from my initial enjoyment.
Overall, another good book that I enjoyed. It dealt with more relatable issues like the importance of communication, trust, honesty, guilt, and being true to oneself especially in the context of a relationship. It was a better written book, although continued many of the frustrating characteristics I found in book 1. At least it’s got me talking about it and wanting to read the next book!
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