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

I enjoyed listening to this book.

Narrator transitions well, love the extra ambient noises. I purchased this because I enjoyed the movie and wanted to read the entire series. I am not disappointed at all, I loved to listen.

Wonderful Story, Wonderful Performance

What did you love best about Beautiful Creatures?

Beautiful Creatures is a slow build romance more about the characters than about getting the main characters together. I love the world behind it. It teeters between light, teen romance and dark undercurrent themes about being who you want to be despite your nature. The characters are fun, and Ethan is a character I'm definitely able to get behind.

I loved the theatrics put behind the narration. The way you could hear the Castor spells as thunder and lightening filled your senses was probably the greatest surprise that, at least in part, made me so addicted to the novel. I literally can't take my headphones off because I'm so eager to get to the next part.

What did you like best about this story?

The slow build romance was my favorite aspect. I usually hate romance, and only gave this book a chance because the trailer for the movie looked interesting. I wish I'd gotten to it sooner. This book makes a romance hater like romance again.

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

Kevin T. Collins brings the story to life in a way I haven't heard other narrators attempt. His voice changes between males and females is incredible - it's like there are individual people reading for each person dialoguing. It will be hard to pick up the books to read without his voice and it will make watching the movie even harder.

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

Not a moment, but I love the relationship between Macon and Lena. Also, Amma was just hilarious and amazing in her love for Ethan. I love how well she stepped in as his pseudo mom.

Very nicely readed

Would you listen to Beautiful Creatures again? Why?

Maybe

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

The grave where the ghost sat on the tomb stone

What about Kevin T. Collins’s performance did you like?

Great job on narrating

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

Yes

Any additional comments?

Two thumbs up

Great story annoying sound effects

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

Beautiful Creatures was a different and engaging story of love won and lost. I however, struggled to engage in the reading because they used these terrible sound effects. As an avid reader my imagination makes all the sounds I need to enjoy a story. If you are like me and have all the imagination needed to bring the story to life, read this book for yourself.

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

Loved the discoveries of a new world, new ideas about casters.

What didn’t you like about Kevin T. Collins’s performance?

He reads with excitement and passion but someone added to much to him amazing performance.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes

Any additional comments?

Take out the sound effects and offer this as a seperated purchase... Just saying.

Good listen

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

I enjoyed this story and the development of the characters. I would put this book in the teen catagory though based on the theme of the story.

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

I enjoyed the connection between the characters.

good

Great. I loved it. I enjoyed the movie too. I was sad to see the other movie not be on ed one

Beautifully Done

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

It was right in the top 5, well done

Who was your favorite character and why?

no favorites, all the characters were great in their own way.

What about Kevin T. Collins’s performance did you like?

Yes, he was very colorful and I enjoyed it.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I read the book and a few months later I see it is a move. I was very surprised,
As for a tag line, well I don't know. I just know I am the light.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed.this book, Started out a.bit slow.for me but it caught my attention
by the time the watch was found. I loved all the characters in the book.most of
them were to say the least very colorful. once it caught my attention it kept me
there. In the end it let me thirsty for more.
I enjoyed this book very much!
.

Fun for adults as well!

I'm 29 years old and still enjoyed this book. I do enjoy supernatural stories, so I found that aspect really interesting. Two adult women wrote it from a teenage boy's perspective and they did it well. The narration is good - Kevin (Ethan) draws you into the story & the brief section where Lena speaks is a nice switch up. Some of the story gets a little lost when listening, only because you can get a little distracted and might miss an important detail. But I enjoyed it overall and will be continuing on with the series!

Loved It

loved it. can't wait to listen to the next book. so much better than the movie

I am surprised at how much I loved it!

What did you love best about Beautiful Creatures?

Kevin Collins was great. I usually don't enjoy audiobooks with male narrators but he was fantastic! I definitely recommend it and cannot wait to start on the next one in the series.

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

He didn't get in the way of my own perception of the characters the way a lot of narrators do. He drew me into the personality of Ethan and.. oh yes... Amma...What a character!