Beautiful Darkness [Review]

*3.5 stars*

Stats:
#2 in Caster Chronicles
508 Pages [Kindle]
Published 12 October 2010
ASIN: B003UBTX6S
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Synopsis:
Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. 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.


My Thoughts:
Highlight for spoilers.
[spoiler] The Sixteenth Moon has come and gone, Lena wasn't claimed for the dark or the light. Now Ethan is hearing a new tune: Seventeen Moons. Lena is struggling with herself as she tries to cope with Macon's death and finding out Seraphine is her mother. Lena is pushing away Ethan and hanging out with Ridley and an Incubus that can walk in the sunlight. Ethan is convinced she's going to become Dark and is trying everything in his power to stop it.

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I didn't like this installment as much as the first. It was a very slow start. I almost put it down. About midway through it finally picked up and that's where it gained a half a star. Ethan was very much a Bella in this book and it got old fast. Lena drove me absolutely bonkers. I loved her in the first book...but she was much too angsty in this one.

Beautiful Darkness did, however, focus more on Link and added in a few new faces: Liv, Marian's British teen Keeper intern, and Lucille, the sisters' cat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about these 3. I also loved Ridley being more in the forefront. I just adore her character. I connect with her.

[spoiler] I'm glad Macon is back and I really loved the forbidden love story between Macon & "Jane" - it was sweet. Also totally loved how Aunt Prue was a total bad ass in this book and involved in the Caster world. Macon's sister was also an awesome new character.


Previous Review:
Stung by Bethany Wiggins [here]

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