Beautiful Chaos-Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
And I thought that things would be okay for Ethan and Lena. Holy moly…was I wrong…
“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.”
When I read Beautiful Creatures, I wasn’t too sure about the story of Ethan and Lena. As I read Beautiful Darkness, I got more drawn into the world that Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s created. This third book, Beautiful Chaos, was by far the best in the series. “Oh really?” you say? Yes. It is the best.
My main issue with the books have always been that I felt that Ethan was a bit of a whiney girl and depended too much on Lena to define him as a person. In this book, we see Ethan, in a clichéd term, turn into a man. I loved the psychological mind games that Ethan is being forced to face. Since he died and resurrected in the first book, little things about him are slipping away because half his soul is in the afterlife while the other half is stuck in the land of the living. The tricks of the mind that Ethan is experiencing adds a great creepy twist that leaves the reader turning the pages, hoping that the next set of words will reveal what is happening to our hero. But, while all this is going on, he is still some how facing the end of the world from when Lena broke the Order to claim herself. Ethan goes through trials and tribulations, searching for truth that is unsavory and acting bravely to those facts. I loved that Ethan finally took control of his own fate, and didn’t depend on anyone but himself.
Oh! And then there’s Ridley and the mystery of her Casting abilities. We get to see Serafina’s past as she struggles being claimed to the Dark. And we see that there is a deeper side of Link. And then, Amma uses bad juju in an attempt to save Ethan. Action, suspense, doomed love…and not just Ethan and Lena.
Best part of this book? The ending left me screaming for more. Like screaming: “Wait?! What?!” To me, that is a sign of a great book. And I totally know there will be one final book in the series. How do I know? Well, I got a Tweet from Kami Garcia herself telling me there will be one more book.
My oh my. What will Ms. Garcia and Ms. Stohl will have in store for Ethan Wake in the fourth book? I don’t know, but whatever it is, I hope it’s something I don’t see coming.
“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.”
When I read Beautiful Creatures, I wasn’t too sure about the story of Ethan and Lena. As I read Beautiful Darkness, I got more drawn into the world that Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s created. This third book, Beautiful Chaos, was by far the best in the series. “Oh really?” you say? Yes. It is the best.
My main issue with the books have always been that I felt that Ethan was a bit of a whiney girl and depended too much on Lena to define him as a person. In this book, we see Ethan, in a clichéd term, turn into a man. I loved the psychological mind games that Ethan is being forced to face. Since he died and resurrected in the first book, little things about him are slipping away because half his soul is in the afterlife while the other half is stuck in the land of the living. The tricks of the mind that Ethan is experiencing adds a great creepy twist that leaves the reader turning the pages, hoping that the next set of words will reveal what is happening to our hero. But, while all this is going on, he is still some how facing the end of the world from when Lena broke the Order to claim herself. Ethan goes through trials and tribulations, searching for truth that is unsavory and acting bravely to those facts. I loved that Ethan finally took control of his own fate, and didn’t depend on anyone but himself.
Oh! And then there’s Ridley and the mystery of her Casting abilities. We get to see Serafina’s past as she struggles being claimed to the Dark. And we see that there is a deeper side of Link. And then, Amma uses bad juju in an attempt to save Ethan. Action, suspense, doomed love…and not just Ethan and Lena.
Best part of this book? The ending left me screaming for more. Like screaming: “Wait?! What?!” To me, that is a sign of a great book. And I totally know there will be one final book in the series. How do I know? Well, I got a Tweet from Kami Garcia herself telling me there will be one more book.
My oh my. What will Ms. Garcia and Ms. Stohl will have in store for Ethan Wake in the fourth book? I don’t know, but whatever it is, I hope it’s something I don’t see coming.
Ouch. A bifurcated soul has gotta hurt.
ReplyDeleteI know! Total suckage!
ReplyDelete