Cover Reveal: Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

YA'LL!  LOOK!  It's the cover of the 4th book in The Caster Chronicles series, Beautiful Redemption!!

Can you say, "OOOOOOOH"?

Publisher:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date:  October 23rd, 2012

WWW (7) and Waiting on Wednesday (June 15th, 2011) Double Feature

W. W. W. Wednesday is hosted by Should Be Reading a great YA blog that I subscribe to. Here's how it works... Each Wednesday I will answer the following questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

I've been a little slack on my weekly memes, but I'm trying. I actually wrote a WWW/WoW last week, but it was Saturday by the time I finished it, so i just scrapped it.... Going to see Phish tonight, so this one will be short and sweet.

What are you currently reading?

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter~ I just started this morning and I can already tell that it's going to be amazing. Don't you love it when a book grabs you from page one?

Entwined by Heather Dixon~ I'm having a hard time getting into this one. It's gotten great reviews on Goodreads, so I'm sticking with it, but I'm on page 96 and not liking it at all...

What did you recently finish reading?

Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky~ SOOOOO good! A total must read. One of my favorites of 2011. Read my review HERE.

The Black (Morpheus Road, #2) by D.J. MacHale~ Even better than the first book (The Light). From Cooper's point of view this time. If you like creepy stories, this series is a great one. Review coming soon.

Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl~ Both were fabulous. Read my reviews HERE.



Wake by Lisa McMann~ I liked it, didn't love it. I thought Cryer's Cross was better. Review coming soon.

Stay by Deb Caletti~ Great book. Scary premise. Review to come.






What do you think you'll read next?

Bumped by Megan McCafferty~ This has been on my TBR for ages. It's finally out and I have it on my nightstand...

Never Eighteen by Megan Bostic~ This is an ARC that looks pretty good. Look for my review soon...

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray~ One of my most anticipated titles of 2011. So excited!

"Waiting On" Wednesday is another fun blog event. Hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, this event gives us a chance to talk about the books we anxiously await the release of. Since there is ALWAYS a looooooong list of books I'm waiting on (I actually keep a spreadsheet), I figured this is one that I MUST do.

Having just fallen in love with the Caster Chronicles, I have to put the next book on my WoW because I am antsy for it!

Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What - or who - will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin? 

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself - forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask. 

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

If you read my review of the first two books, you know that I think the writing and plotline of this series are flawless. I am so invested now that I can't help but be anxious to know what happens next! Come on October and get here...

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: October 18th, 2011

My Expected Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: The Caster Chronicles (so far) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

I would just like to go on the record to say that I was an idiot to have put off reading these books as long as I have. Seriously. I have had Beautiful Creatures on my nightstand since May of last year, and have been putting it off because I really thought it was just going to be another Twilight re-telling. How wrong I was! After I finished it, I had to move right on to the second book, Beautiful Darkness. Now I have to sit and anxiously await the third book, Beautiful Chaos, until October... With that off my chest, I can now tell you why I loved these books.
 

Beautiful Creatures
By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: December 1st, 2009

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.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

Wow. This book was so much better than I expected it to be. I have absolutely no complaints about it whatsoever. That NEVER happens. I was hooked from the beginning, and did not want to stop reading. The writing was great, the characters well-developed, and the story flawless. What else is there to say? If you like a good paranormal romance, but are sick of seeing Bella Swan in every one you read, then this is the book for you. Bonus? It's told from Ethan's point-of-view.

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Grade Level Recommendation: The content is pretty clean. I would say wholly appropriate for 5th grade+ (ages 10+).


Beautiful Darkness
By Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 12th, 2010 

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.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

Everything I said about Beautiful Creatures applies here, but more so. I was a little reluctant to read Beautiful Darkness (despite the compelling need to know what happened next) because I didn't think it could top the first book. I am happy to report that it did, and then some. The story got a bit darker (in case you weren't clued in by the title), but it was fitting. I anxiously await book three, Beautiful Chaos. There is so much more story to be told and I just know it's going to be amazing!

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Grade Level Recommendation: Same as Beautiful Creatures. Ages 10+ (5th grade+).