Book Review of BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

I did something they say never do, watch the movie before I reading the book.  After watching the movie, which I actually liked.  I just had to read the book.  Mainly because of the cliffhanger in the movie.  I am really glad I saw the movie, because if I hadn't I might not have picked up this book!

Originally I expected the movie to be pretty close to the book, and I almost thought about skipping Beautiful Creatures, and jumping straight to Beautiful Darkness.  Thank goodness sense came to me and I decided to read Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl first!  The book and the movie are so different.

I absolutely love the South!  I love the way the people in the South talk, their antebellum or plantation homes and sweet country life. I love learning about the Civil War, and visiting places that have Civil War significance.  So I guess it was a given that I was going to absolutely love this book, because this book is stocked full of both of these fabulosities.

Ethan Wate has lived in Gatlin County his entire life, as did his parents and their parents and so on.  Nothing changes in Gatlin and he hates that.  He can't wait until he turns eighteen and can move away.  The problem is, he still has two more years to go.  The only thing new about Ethan's life, is the fact that he's been having these weird dreams of a beautiful girl that he has never met.

Life seems like it will always be the same, that was until Lena Duchannes moved into town.  Lena moves in with her uncle into one of the oldest plantations in Gatlin.  Which also happens to be the uncle no one in town will speak of, and the towns southern hospitality has never been extended to.
Lena wants a normal life, to be a normal fifteen year old in high school.   She has high hopes of the new move and new possibilities it could bring to her life.  However, the kids in Gatlin decide differently, immediately putting a target on her back.  Weird and creepy is the name of that target.
Then she meets Ethan, and an immediate connection between the two grows.  Especially since he realizes Lena is the girl of his dreams, literally.

Finally things in Gatlin start to change, and Ethan has a connection to a girl who is filled with surprises and deep old family secrets.  Their paths collide and friendships begin, as Lena's countdown to what she assumes will be the end of life as she knows it ticks down.

This is a fast paced book, and I absolutely loved it SOOOO much more than the movie!  In this Gothic story Beautiful Creatures is fast paced as Ethan and Lena try to uncover curses, black and white magic and avoid death at the same time.  I've already got the sequel on hold at the library because I can't wait to read what happens next!  This is a bit longer book at 563 pages, but even at that I still read this in two days.  It was hard to put down, captivating my attention bringing me into the roots of the south with a vivid and highly imaginary story line.
This is a YA, but any age would enjoy this!  I can't wait to read what happens next!!!

Book Review DEAD RIVER By Cyn Balog

I saw this book on one of the Librarian recommended shelves.  I don't normally pick these up, as I have found my opinion is widely different than most Librarians.  (I think I have better taste:)
But since I was heading out of town to go up camping, I wanted a possibly creepy outdoorsy thriller type book, and this was the one I picked up.  Lets just say, for once the Librarian recommendation was correct, Dead River by Cyn Balog was a great paranormal thriller.

I read this book up in the mountains, surrounded by the pines and up against a much smaller river than the one mentioned in the book.  Perfect setting, for a keep me guessing thriller!!!

Kiandra lived on the Delaware river in her youth.  That was until at the age of seven when she watched her mom commit suicide by walking straight into the river to drown.  This would mess most kids up, but she had a loving father who picked up and moved them far away from any body of water, and most importantly kept Kiandra far from any river and river memories.

However, Kiandra has grown up now, with a boyfriend named Justin and a best friend Angela who talk her into taking a weekend trip up to the Dead River to stay at Angela's family cabin.  The only problem Kiandra thinks she has is the fact that she had to lie to her father and tell him she was going hiking in a state park instead.  That is where she went wrong, she has many, many other problems!

Things start going a little weird for Kiandra the first night when her friends talk her into camping outside instead of in the cabin.  Ghost stories for Kiandra become far more vivid than just an imaginary story.  But it isn't until the next day when they hop on the rafts to take a day white water river rafting trip that things get really weird for her.

Flipped out of the raft, Kiandra fights for her life, but is saved by someone lets just say not really of this world.  It's then she starts to realize, her life is not at all as she has been told.  Kiandra is told to leave the Dead River and never come back, if she doesn't she may not survive.
After a miraculous saving that her friends can't even believe after they thought she was lost and possibly even dead, she decides she may have imagined it all and decides to stay.

I hate to say anything more, because that is when things start getting really creepy, and I seriously don't want to accidentally ruin the ending and suspense for anyone who wants to read this.  But lets just say, this is a great little paranormal thriller and I highly recommend this to anyone 14 and up!  Oh, and I highly recommend reading this book at night up in the mountains near a river, adults will love it too!!!

Disclaimer: I was not asked to read or review this book.  All thoughts, opinions and pictures are my own.

Book Review ASHES ON THE WAVES by Mary Lindsey

This was the second book of Mary Lindsey's I have read, and I loved her first Shattered Souls.  Ashes on the Waves was just as great, and possibly I even liked it more than her first novel.  I loved this book and found it to be a refreshingly wonderful writing.  Lindsey brings mythical characters to life and mixes them with modern day time.  This isn't a sequel to her first book, but a book on it's own.

Liam MacGregor has been stuck in the poor village of Dochas his entire life.  Labeled from birth as a demon and never accepted or treated fairly by anyone in town.  Liam's had nothing go right with him his entire life.  That was until Annabel Leighton arrived and threw his sad world into more than he could have ever hoped.

Annabel, a rich socialite who's parents sent her to live at one of their properties on the island to keep her out of trouble.  She dreaded being there, and had no intention of staying any longer than she could talk her father into sending her back to the big city.

However, fate had something else in store for Annabel, and she meets Liam and realizes she is quickly falling in love with him.  She soon discovers she has been sent to an island inhabited by mythical Otherworlders who exist both on land and by sea.  A wager has been made by the Otherworlders to test the couples faith and love they are put through trial after trial.  The only problem is, the wager doesn't just stay with the Otherworlders, it may cost them everything as well as destroy their love

This is a fast paced novel based on Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Annabel Lee"  Ashes on the Waves takes you on a fabulous reading adventure.
If you enjoy a Young Adult read, that is a little dark and a tad Gothic with a twisted love story, then you'll love Ashes on the Waves!  This is one of those reads, that may be YA, but it was clearly written in my opinion with adults in mind.  It's extremely hard to put down.  In fact, I read it cover to cover and couldn't put it down because I had to find out how it ended.  (Yes it made for a very late night!  But it was worth it!!!)

Disclaimer: I was not asked to review this novel, all thoughts, opinions and pictures above are my own.