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

This was a fun book to listen to

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I really enjoyed listening to the book, good sound effects and a good story.

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

Harry Potter

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

i can relate to the small town

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

the events in high school, so true

I love this story

i already loved the story but the audio book was a wonderful experience within itself.

Good read, much different than movie

Loved the movie, hated that it left me hanging. Ejoying the audio books. Interested to see where the story goes.

This book was amazing!!!!!!

I watched the movie first, and the movie did the book no justice! I totally recommended this!!!!!

A must read

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

The voice reading for Ethan is spot on in my eye. The story line is wonderful and keeps you intrigued.

What did you like best about this story?

The way the Author describes the scenes in such detail that you can see the clouds move in your mind.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Lena shows Ethan her thoughts in words on her ceiling.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Love it!!

Any additional comments?

I wish they would turn this into a TV series.

Teenage Agnst Mixed with Majic

I loved the narrators voice so smooth and southern, even when voicing a different character. I could listen to him all day. I loved how the story unfolded just a bit at a time keeping me guessing. I felt like I really was in a small southern town.

Great narration with boring story

I had the idea like several others to read this one after seeing the preview to the movie. The movie looks pretty good, so I figured let me read it/listen to it before it comes out. I'll have to wait and see if the movie or book are better soon, but I'm betting it will be the movie.

It's no surprise to hear that I struggled with this book, if you follow me on FB, Twitter or Goodreads, since I've mentioned it several times.


This book wasn't/isn't bad or horrible it was just BORING! It is a true FEAT that I managed to finished this story. I know I've heard the book is over 500 pages, the audiobook is....wait for it.....almost 18 hours long. If you're an audiobook listener the typical book is about 10-12 hours, long maybe 14 hours! So this one was like listening to 2 books.

Enough about that....whew!! Beautiful Creatures was different from most books because it's told from the male POV, which is rare now a days. It's always the heroines POV or both flipping back and forth. This was all Ethan. I enjoyed Ethan voice. I enjoyed the look into a REAL high school. I thought it was a great, although over the top at times, description of the harsh realities of clicks, bullies and serious judgmental people (parents & teachers) in teen lives.

My favorite secondary character was probably Macon, he's Lena's uncle. Even though he was a bit of a recluse, when he did come around I found my laughing out loud from some of his dry humor. Lync and Ridley's characters I did also enjoy. I totally loved when she called Ethan "short straw". LOL!

There was a lot of history talk about the south and the civil war. That is definitely some of the parts that didn't keep me that intrigued.

I don't normally require a book to have non-stop action but this one just didn't cut it at all. I thought this book could have easily been cut in half. There were a lot of scenes that felt like fillers and just weren't relevant and unfortunately I have NO DESIRE to find out what happens next to the characters of this series.

Narrator/Audiobook Note: This is my first male narrator and I thought he did a pretty good job. There were parts when he did Macon's voice that I thought he sounded like Bill from True Blood. :-)

The audiobook was different from all the audios I've ever listened to. There was music playing for the 16 moons song, like it was actually a song. There was noises in the background for like banging, crashing, gun shots, etc. I thought that was pretty cool, since again it's the only audio I've heard that's gone that EXTRA mile.

Where Reality & Fantasy Collide

Ethan Wate is your typical teenage boy. He goes to high school, plays on the school basketball team, spends time with friends at the town hangout. But with 3 years left to go before graduation, he's already making plans to escape this town. Enter the new girl, the niece of the town recluse Macon Ravenwood. The minute he sees her, he knows that she is the girl that's been haunting his dreams for the past several months. He is drawn to her, & it seems that there are forces other than himself that are pushing him toward her. The two become close, & Ethan discovers that Lena Duchannes is no ordinar girl --- she is a caster (aka witch). Of course there are bound to be obsticles for a relationship between a mortal boy & a caster girl. The two of them are drawn in to finding a solution to keep Lena from going dark, being claimed as a dark caster upon the night of her 16th birthday. No solution is found, but in putting off Lena's claiming, more problems are brought about. Hopefully book 2 will bring some resolution to what seems to this added conflict.

Age recommendation: 14 & up (spiritual elements, murder/death)

On a scale of 1-10 stars, I give it 8.

Creatures Captures Your Attention

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

I enjoyed all of the various characters and how their lives intertwined. There were so many different personality traits. I am from the south and loved hearing about the southern traditions and southern way of life. The sound effects of rain and storms also add to the ambiance of the book.

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

The moment they enter the Castor library is very suspenseful and detailed. It sounded fascinating for the characters to be there and very real to the reader.

Any additional comments?

The scenes when Ethan goes into his "dreams" take too long on audible. I thought there was something wrong with my download at first.

a great read

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

one of the best so far

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lena Duchannes

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

I think she did a good job

Any additional comments?

I think that the book is way cooler then the movie