Beautiful Darkness

By: Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

Length: 15 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Fall under the spell of the Beautiful Darkness, the sequel to the instant New York Times best-selling gothic fantasy, Beautiful Creatures!

There were no surprises in Gatlin County. At least, that's what I thought. Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin as a place where nothing ever changed. Then mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes revealed a secret world of curses and Supernaturals with terrifying abilities. Lena showed him a Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen. Sometimes life-ending.

And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2010 Kami Garcia (P)2010 Hachette Audio

perfect audio composition

the story itself wraps you, but the sounds and music make the audio book an exceptional experience in listening.

Kept me interested

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

yes. Liked the story with today's high school kids and the narration was entertaining.

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

didn't have one.

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

Link

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

no.

Any additional comments?

just an easy read and listen. Got me back to thinking of my high school days and I'm a 52 year old man.

Pretty good

Not as great as the first, but it definitely picks up and keeps me going.

Another Great Book

Watched movie before I read 1st book, but after hearing the 1st book, I knew I wanted to hear the whole series and know what happened to Ethan and Lena. I enjoyed this one as much as the 1st and liked some of the twists that this book presented. Definitely worth a listen.

A Captivating Journey to the "Great Barrier"

Would you listen to Beautiful Darkness again? Why?

Yes, probably a few years from now. I do not like to listen to books over and over because it takes away the magic of them for me.

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

The relationship between Lena and Ethan is somewhat of a resemblance to Diana Bishop & Matthew Clairmont of "Discovery of Witches." The plot as well had the same detail-oriented quality of sucking me into a roller coaster ride of "WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT???" Plus, the Castor World/ Incubus World resembled the vampire and demon world in "Discovery of Witches." There was a lot of archaic knowledge between both of them. Similar qualities but two totally different stories!

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

Kevin T. Collins was amazing at bringing this book to life! He definitely used inflections and accents to his advantage. You could tell that he wanted to make sure every person in the book had a presence. He made the characters relatable where you could not help but fall in love with them and laugh when they did things that were characteristic of their nature. The way he narrated the story...it just flowed so well and his southern accent was pretty good. His English accent always made me smile. I really liked Liv in the book!

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

YES! There is no Earthly way that I could have... seeing that it is almost 16 hours long, but I could not wait to find out what was going to happen next. I was like "Hurry, hurry!! I have to know!"

Any additional comments?

Make sure you read "Beautiful Creatures" before, but this series will not disappoint! Kami Garcia & Margaret did an amazing job crafting this gorgeous story together. I could understand why seeing that they are a reading specialist or specialized in creative writing. I will say that the book is very different from the movie in many ways. Many "Beautiful Creatures" fans were so disappointed that the director did not stick to the story or decided to cut important characters from the story line. I think the casting director did a phenomenal job casting who they did for the roles! I integrated those people into my visualization of the characters and it just made sense!

Can’t wait to read the next one!

What will happen next? I love this series and can’t wait to see what happens next!

Not as good as the first one

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend this series for a young woman in her teens.

Would you be willing to try another book from Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl ? Why or why not?

Yes I would. While the dialogue and overall tone of the series is juvenile, the writing itself is well developed and descriptive.

very very good

very very good, even better than the first one and a pleasure to listen because is so well read.

Edit it

I could have liked this book more if 1/3rd of it was cut out .... Good over all story.... Jus dragged in places

Hope there's another book coming

What did you love best about Beautiful Darkness?

The continued love story between Lena and Ethan.

What did you like best about this story?

The commitment of friendships and love.

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

Yes. This one is awesome.

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

Yes.

Any additional comments?

I loved the story and how the narrator made it come to life.