Friday 15 February 2013

Book Review - Beautiful Redemption

Title: Beautiful Redemption
Author: Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Series: The Caster Chornicles (book 4)
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date: 25 Oct 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0141335278

Synopsis
Is death the end . . . or only the beginning?

Ethan Wate always dreamed of leaving the stifling Southern town of Gatlin.
But he never dreamt that finding love with Lena Duchannes would drive him away. Lena is a Caster girl whose supernatural powers unveiled a secretive and cursed side of Gatlin, so powerful it forced him to make a terrible sacrifice.
Now Ethan must find a way to return to Lena - and Gatlin - as she vows to do whatever it takes to get him back. Even if it means trusting old enemies or risking their loved ones' lives.
Can Ethan and Lena rewrite their fate and their spellbinding love story in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series?


My Review
I have been attached to this series for at least the last week, it may have been 2 weeks, I'm not sure, it's kind of passed in a bit of a blur. There was just me and my book, and waiting for the next chance to read my book.
This is of course book 4 in the series and probably the one I read the quickest. I on;ly started this on Wednesday Evening in the spare 20 minutes I had, then I had a rare night in yesterday and managed to read 320 pages in about 3 hours. I then just had about 100 pages left to read today. 
I wouldn't say this was my favourite of the series, in fact I think that is probably either Book 1 or Book 3, but it did come close. I liked the difference in style. All of the other books have been told from Ethan's perspective, but this one had a whole 'part' of the book told from Lena's POV and it was very refreshing. I also quite liked them apart, don't get me wrong, they make a great couple and belong together, but having them apart gave them the chance to grow and become better characters, and us a chance to know more about them.
I really liked the new character Xavier, I found him very refreshing and mysterious and just something about him drew me in. I was quite sad when he left. 
I really wasn't sure I would like this book, being a sort of 'after-life' book, these things can sometimes be creepy or just overdone, but Garcia & Stohl avoided all the cliches and made it a gripping read. 
The thing I loved the most about this book was that it had a definite ending. All too often we seem to be getting those washy endings that leave things open - allowing the reader to 'imagine what happens next', but I find these frustrating, I like to have the loose ends tied up, the questions answered and a sense of peace over the book and this one did it brilliantly. It leaves you with the feeling that the characters and town will continue living and adapting, but you know how and why and that it all makes sense. It's the sort of book you can close with a contented sigh, feeling satisfied after finishing and knowing it all came to a conclusion.
This is one kick-ass series and I am so glad I finally got round to them, so if they've been on you TBR list for a while and you're not sure about starting them, I highly recommend you pick them up and give them a go. You won't be disappointed. 

My Rating

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