Beautiful Darkeness, Beautiful Chaos

One of the more "fun" activities for this reader is reading a book and then watching the movie.  Did exactly that a couple of weeks ago...Beautiful Creatures, a young adult novel by good friends Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, was just released in theaters last month and I had the privilege to attend a matinee with my "book friend forever", LT.  Loved the book.  Not so crazy about the movie, of course.  I am never satisfied.  Why can't they make a 14 hour movie, complete with all the dialogue and details from the book?  I don't understand!  I'd buy that ticket!  haha

Although I have a HUGE stack of books I need/want to read, I decided to work in the rest of the books in the series.  So I started Beautiful Darkness and finished it in two days.  No small feat considering I work full time and am a mother.  Plus, I'm busy with the KBA panel this time of year and it's basketball season.  Whew!  But it was totally worth it.  The authors emerged me back into the southern city of Gatlin and I was hooked once again.  Lena and Ethan are separated...very reminiscent of Stephenie Meyer's second book, New Moon, but that's where the similarities end.  The book opens with Macon's funeral.  Lena tries throughout the book to deal with the guilt and grief she feels concerning her uncle's death.  Ethan and Lena are torn apart and he is left to discover not only more about himself and the southern city's history, but he meets a new girl, Liv... a keeper-in-training.  John Breed, a mysterious new character, is introduced in this second installment and provides much-needed mystery to the plot.  He appears to lure Lena away towards the darkness... this is not something Ethan will take lightly.

 Had to immediately pick up the third book, Beautiful Chaos.  It was also a quick read...considering I couldn't put it down and read it for hours at a time.  I appreciated the plot twists and turns.  In this book, Lena and Ethan must endure the "end of days" as plagues and drought settle over their city.  Lena's choice in the second book obviously has upset the Order and now someone must pay.  That's about all I can say without spoiler alerts!  Ha!  Perhaps I can add that I truly enjoyed Link's new "character" and missed Ridley for most of the book.  She just up and disappears at one point!  So Ridley!  Amma turns "dark" according to the authors, but I didn't get it.  I would have done the same thing...she is the only mother Ethan has.  Her maternal instinct is strong.  To me, that doesn't make her a dark character.  Stubborn?  Sure.  Dark?  No way.  I love Macon's character in this next to last book in the series.  And I would love to see both the second and third book made into movies, although I'm not sure with the ending of the first movie and the changes made by the director, if it will even be possible.  And, I'd like them released as soon as possible.  Now.  Ha!

Contemplating ordering the next book digitally because I can't wait...Beautiful Redemption.
Happy Reading!
*And I highly recommend this for girls.  They'll love it!
RC