Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures, Book 1

By: Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

The first book in the instant New York Times best-selling gothic fantasy series; a modern paranormal romance set against the gothic backdrop of an isolated southern town.

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.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2009 Kami Garcia (P)2009 Hachette

One of my favorites!

Where does Beautiful Creatures rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 5 for sure.

What other book might you compare Beautiful Creatures to and why?

I don't know. Definitely not Twilight. I saw people saying that in the earlier comments and it almost made me not buy it. I 'm so glad I did! I couldn't get through the first chapter of Twilight, but I couldn't put this one down!!

Which character – as performed by Kevin T. Collins – was your favorite?

They are all so amazing. He does an amazing job. If I had to pick though, I would say Link or Ama.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

ABSOLUTELY!!!

Any additional comments?

Read this. The attention to the setting and all the characters are amazing. I listened to the entire series and plan to listen again soon. Kevin T. Collins did such an awesome job too!!

If you keep in mind it's a YA book, you'll love it

What made the experience of listening to Beautiful Creatures the most enjoyable?

Being from a small town in Georgia where hardly anyone ever leaves and traditions are sacred, I could competely relate to the setting of the book. Ethan at one point (I can't remember if it's in this book or the next), says that Savannah always wins the pageant and her mother had always won before her. It's the same way in the town I grew up. I always called my town the "Who's your dad?" town because your "status" was based on who your parents were. I found myself giggling many times when the novel came so close to describing my own high school experience. For those of you not from the South, the things said in this novel are really done. We like our Civil War reinactments. We love our pies. We pile casseroles on the kitchen tables of people who've recently had a death in the family. Also...YES, people DO still call it the "War of Northern Aggression."

What was one of the most memorable moments of Beautiful Creatures?

There were many memorable moments. I don't think I could pick just one, and if I told them, I think I'd give away too much. Nobody likes a spoiler.

Have you listened to any of Kevin T. Collins’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not listened to any of Kevin T. Collin's other performances, but I enjoyed this one. He does a fair job with the voices to let you know which character is speaking. I wish his southern accent had been a little better. I understand that Ethan wasn't supposed to have a Southern accent, but the older characters needed a bit more draaawl.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I hate giving away things in the story line. I don't understand why you ask these questions. Again, there were many, but I think the most moving moment was when Ethan finally went into his father's study and found that his "great American novel" was nothing but stacks and stacks of papers with nothing but doodles on them.

Any additional comments?

Aside from the normal things people are looking for when you read (or listen to a book like this), i.e. paranormal romance, you're going to find a whole other story behind the story. You'll find rich character description going hand in hand with a wonderful setting.

Hooked right away!

Would you consider the audio edition of Beautiful Creatures to be better than the print version?

I think so. I melted into the story because Kevin T. Collins did such a great job.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Beautiful Creatures?

I honestly can not pick just one.

What does Kevin T. Collins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His emotion and accents are amazing. Every character has a different voice it is truly amazing. I can't believe he did the book by himself.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and then wanted another one to listen to all in one setting and another.

Any additional comments?

Do not get this book if you are expecting it to be like the movie. Because, this book is 800 million times BETTER than the movie. If you do get this book you will not regret any moment of it.

Great listening

The narration was great, sounds, music - nicely done...Can't wait to start the next book, I definitely checked to make sure it was the same narrator for all the books..

Not bad, but not wonderful

Would you try another book from Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl and/or Kevin T. Collins?

Maybe. As long as it's not part of this series.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I would have made it much shorter. I didn't mind this book, but I felt that too many things were unnecessarily beaten into our heads, and I was really getting sick of Lena's whining after awhile. I enjoyed the story and liked the ending, but I just don't think I can stomach another two novels of this.

What does Kevin T. Collins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I have no complaints about the performance at all. I probably wouldn't have imagined the southern accent while reading, even though it makes perfect sense that Ethan would have one.

Was Beautiful Creatures worth the listening time?

Yes and no. Certainly it was worth some of my time, but not really 17 hours worth.

Any additional comments?

Dear Kami Garcia: We get the point. Lena's eyes are GREEN. Seriously, I think this is mentioned almost 100 times, or at least it feels like it's that much.

If you're over 16 years old, skip this one.

While I really liked the music, sound effects and poetry worked into this audio performance, the book itself has so many huge fails that it flops.

The storyline is creative and pretty effectively creates a realistically teenage first-love obsessive romance. The setting in the the post civil war south is very good, one of the best elements of the story. The narrator does a passable job with a southern accent. Unfortunately, this is only part of a novel; I guess we are now so well conditioned to expect a sequel that authors not longer feel compelled to tell a complete story.

Aside from the general high school histrionics that the authors so expertly capture, the book fails because of their inability to create a story with any depth or value. All of the characters, whether evil or good, behave reprehensibly throughout the story (with the exception of the two main characters who are witless, lovesick teenagers).

There are two examples of side story-lines that the authors could have exploited to create a more engaging and valuable tale: in the first, the witch-hunting townsfolk have dragged our heroine into a administrative meeting to (gasp) kick her out of school. Of course, in reality, treating a 16 year old as they do in this story would get them all fired and the school district sued. Rather than calling for her guardian, our hapless and not-to-bright heroine submits to the juvenile abuse of the townspeople. When her guardian does show up, unexpectedly, I had high hopes that he would slap these people down. However, instead of responding logically to their accusations that he had no right to be there, he lowers himself to their level and "resolves" the situation by blackmailing all of them into letting Lena continue at school. This is after the authors have established that he owns most of the town, is incredibly wealthy and educated, and is a member of the oldest founding family. All of which, in addition to his legal guardianship of the 16 year old heroine, gave the authors numerous opportunities to create a mature resolution to the situation. They didn't.

The second major storyline fail occurs when they finally reveal that the hero's father is suffering from graphomania I thought, oh good they can develop that into an interesting life lesson for the boy. But no. Instead, the father goes undiagnosed, receives no psychiatric help from his caretaker, his son, or the community and the moment is lost. This led me to believe that the authors were not actually aware that they were describing a serious mental illness.

In any case, if you are looking for a book with substance, this is not it.

Weird musical additions to the narration

What did you like best about Beautiful Creatures? What did you like least?

Good story. Cute YA read.

Would you be willing to try another one of Kevin T. Collins’s performances?

Probably not

Do you think Beautiful Creatures needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No. But i know it has one so oh well.

More than I had expected

Where does Beautiful Creatures rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I haven't listened to an audiobook in years, but the music and sound effects were amazing, and added depth to the story!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lena. She is an outcast, but find friendship anyway. She is special, and different, and just so relatable, even though I don't have special powers.

Which character – as performed by Kevin T. Collins – was your favorite?

Macon. He did an excellent job of helping me picture the character. I loved when he would come into the story.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The whole thing. I was drawn in the whole time. But when he realized his mom was helping him, that was awesome!

A childhood favorite

I recently bought the books and reread them and I love it! I admit it can be cheesy and such but this series does hold a special place in my heart

Great!! Trust me.

Ok, at first I was really considering if I should buy it or not because of all the negative reviews I read, also it's 17 hours long. But since some of my favorite authors recommend this book I decided to give it a try. It turns out to be very good. I thought it was going to be slow, but actually it's fast paced and exciting from the beginning. If you like mystery, this is the best choice. Very additive and kept me from doing my homework. Just couldn't stop listening.