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

Loved the story...effects weren't the best.

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

I love to read but I have little time to do so. This is why I really enjoy audio books. This audio book was different but good. It added effects to help with the imagery that some may have difficulty with when it comes to print versions.

What did you like best about this story?

I like the different perspective. Most of these supernatural love stories are from the girl's perspective. I like that it was in the POV of the guy.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed the special effects because it really helps you imagine what is going on. I did have a problem with certain parts of the effects. All I heard was the music. I couldn't hear or make out what the narrator was saying.

Awesome

this is an AMAZING read. it's a thrilling page turner. you wont be disappointed!

Overall a pretty great story

the reader is great but they need to fire whoever did the "song" because her voice is terrible and annoying. I wanted a refund almost every time I heard it, I had to skip over it. yuck.

The sound effects were too much

I like the story and I've read it before. I found myself rolling my eyes at the performance being broken up by sound effects and music. It was done well, I just don't like it in my audiobooks.

Good book, good narration

This is a love story, a Southern gothic involving a young boy named Ethan (who is desperately looking for meaning and a way out of his mundane life in the rural town where his ancestors are rooted), and a girl named Lena (who has been different for her entire life, and has supernatural powers). I really did like the story, and I thought it captured many facets of the south really well. The authors tapped into the south's potential for a lovely gothic setting.

There were only two gripes I had with the book/audiobook, and they are minor. I will explain them.
I live in Georgia, and grew up in a rural southern town, and so there were some times where I felt that this book overemphasized the "same-old sameness" of small rural towns. Let's just say that there were many examples of things that people "never" do, like spend time in the town library or something, and examples of things that certain people always do. These notions were a bit cut and dry for me for several reasons, the main reason being that it's not very realistic (there are always exceptions to the rule, besides the protagonists); I found that a wee bit distracting. That is my only gripe about the story. The audiobook did the southern accents fairly well, but there were a few times that grated my nerves a bit, but there are variations of southern accents, so maybe I am just being picky (non-southern people may not even notice, I don't know). On the whole, though, definitely worth purchase or credit!

Loved this book!

I absolutely loved this book! I was leery about reading another teen supernatural book - I thought the Twilight books were awful (Vampires that glow in sunlight and play baseball? You've got to be kidding!) But I'm so glad I listened to Beautiful Creatures. The relationship between Lena and Ethan is developed as they get to know each other and reveal themselves to each other as opposed to the Twilight series where the attraction is all about how Bella smells. The authors really know how to portray the age old teenage question - how do I choose who I want to be? I highly recommend this book to teens and adults alike.

Not bad- not good

Is there anything you would change about this book?

More in depth characters and more clarification, somehow the story gets a bit "muddled". Overall this book is a good idea, but it's like a fantastic dish that misses salt and pepper.

Would you recommend Beautiful Creatures to your friends? Why or why not?

No, I don' t think so

Could you see Beautiful Creatures being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

It has been made into a movie, and the movie wasn't that great. Even the movie did not capture the characters really well.

Any additional comments?

Get it when it's on sale, and you like young Adult fiction. Writing is ok, nothing superb.

Great story - great narration - ANNOYING sound !

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

I enjoyed both, actually.

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

I enjoyed the story, and the narration was absolutely top notch, but seriously, the amateurish and mistimed sound effects were ANNOYING! The music portion was okay, I guess, but when the narrator says "...the window broke..." and a full 2 seconds later you hear an amateur sound effect that is neither convincing, nor adds to the story, it just gets to be frustrating. The narrator is so good in this, the sound effects actually take away from his ability to tell the story. I hated the sound effects.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I LOVED THE NARRATOR ! I just hated the producers decision to use sound effects. Even the wind and thunder and whatever was just plain stupid.

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

I would leave that to the professionals.

Any additional comments?

I really did enjoy the story and the narration, but hesitant to listen to the others in this series if there are continued sound effects.

Nice little mystery

What did you love best about Beautiful Creatures?

It had a differnt spin than some of the other young adult books I have read over the last year.

What did you like best about this story?

I wasn't full of a whole lot of romance, just enough to keep things interesting.

Which scene was your favorite?

I can't say, don't want to give any part of the book away.

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

No, not really. Unless we talk about what her uncle did for her.

Any additional comments?

A very good young adult read.

Decent but slow

I kept waiting for the plot to move forward and it just never really did. The storyline was good, but it was frustrating to wait for the excitement to pick up. I also wasn’t a fan of the music, and it gets stuck in your head.