Beautiful Darkness

Authors: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Summary From Website: 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.

Important Terms (As they appear in the book):

Incubuses - Demons that feed off memories and dreams of mortals as they sleep. They also can choose to feed on blood, but are then stuck on blood forever. They cannot be in the sun and can infect others by biting them. Male

Ex- Macon Ravenwood,  Abraham Ravenwood

Succubus - The female version of an incubus. They are the more powerful gender. Carry a succubine staff.

Ex - Leah Ravenwood

Caster - A person with magical abilities. There are many variations of casters. Such as:

         Cataclyst - Extremely powerful. Has a special connection with fire. 

         Ex - Sarafine (Lena's Mom)

         Empath - Has the ability to absorb other caster's powers and use them themselves. 

         Ex - Gramma

         Evo - Caster who can become any other creature for a short period of time, including a mortal.

         Natural - The ultimate elemental power of a caster. Extremely powerful. Has weather tethered powers

         Ex - Lena

       

         Necromancer - Can communicate with the dead and raise the dead.

         Ex - Twyla

         Palimpsest - Sees all layers of time at once. Everything that has or will happen in a certain spot. Can make them very disoriented.

         Ex - Aunt Del

         Siren - Woman who has the power of persuasion to the extreme. 

         Ex - Ridley - uses suckers for her powers

         Sybil - Can read all thoughts, emotions, and secrets on a person's face

         Ex - Reece

         Thaumaturge - Has healing powers. 

         Ex - Ryan

Mortals - Have no superhuman abilities. However, some are interconnected with the caster world, Such as:

        Keeper - They have the responsibility of guarding and keeping the caster's library. They are also required to keep track of all they have ever seen so as to put it in the library. They are not allowed to help anyone so that they don't interfere with the Order of Things.

        Ex - Marion

       Seer - They are the true fortune tellers, they can read tarot cards and communicate with spirits.

       Ex - Amma

       Wayward - Have the task of guiding an important Caster through their life's journey. 

       Ex - Ethan

Kelting - Unspoken communication between minds of casters. 

Ex- Lena and Ethan can Kelt, for an unknown reason

Sheers - They are not ghosts, just souls who have not moved on because of unfinished business. Can move or touch anything they please.

Vex - A demon that must be called up from the Otherworld by a powerful Dark Caster that requires it for a Dark task. It is a shroud of black smoke that has no body unless it possesses a human. It is said to be the closest to pure evil. 

My Favorite Quotes :

"We can easily forgive a child that is afraid of the dark;

the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." -Plato

"The twisting roads run straight between us."

"He who chooses the beginning of the road, chooses the place it leads to." - Fosdick

"The right thing and the easy thing are never the same"

"Everythin' means somethin'" 

Recommended? 

OH YES! I have been out of whack reading lately but this book drew me in ! If you haven't started this series yet... RUN and buy them!!! 

Sequel?

Yes!! I can't wait! October 18th 2011 is too far away! Look out for Beautiful Chaos!