Review: Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Title: Beautiful Chaos (Beautiful Creatures, Book 3)
Author(s): Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Reading Level: Young adult
Hardcover: 528 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; (October 18, 2011)

Book Synopsis: 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.

About the Authors:

Kami Garcia: Kami Garcia is The New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly & international bestselling author of Ubreakable, the first book in THE LEGION series (Little, Brown 2013), which is being developed as a major motion picture by producer Mark Morgan (THE TWILIGHT SAGA & PERCY JACKSON AND THE LIGHTNING THIEF).

She is also the co-author of THE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES NOVELS (Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness & Beautiful Chaos). Beautiful Creatures has been published in 39 countries and translated in 28 languages, and it is currently in development as a major motion picture by Warner Brothers, with Academy Award nominated writer Richard LaGravenese adapting the screenplay and directing.

Margaret Stohl: Margaret Stohl is the New York Times, PW, USA Today, LA Times and Internationally bestselling co-author of the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES NOVELS (Fall 2009-2012) and author of THE ICONS SERIES (Spring, 2013.)

First Impressions: I’ve been obsessed with this series ever since Beautiful Creatures and the massive Beautiful Darkness. After finishing Beautiful Darkness, I was basically freaking out because I knew it would be awhile before this latest installment would be released. Lucky for me, I was able to receive a copy for a review. Not that I wouldn’t have ran out on its release day and bought it, because I totally would have otherwise. This series is one that I like to give away as gifts, and I have purchased three complete sets for my crazy friends who haven’t read them yet. If you haven’t read the first two books in this series, I highly suggest it before picking up Beautiful Chaos.

First 50 Pages: Despite me dying to read this book, I didn’t pick it up for about a week before I received it. Why? Well, the fact that in the book synopsis it states that this time around no happy ending will be in sight. That freaked me out a little bit and it made me really nervous about what was going to happen in the story. I was kind of expecting something major to happen in this book though because of other events that took place in the first two books. Just like the previous books, this one centers around a song called Eighteen Moons. Eighteen Moons doesn’t have a happy ending, and well, you get my point. Not only was I worried about the predicted doom and gloom, I needed enough time to read this massive book. So I waited until a, well gloomy Saturday to be able to sit and read this all in one sitting.

Plot & Characters: From the beginning, I was once again sucked into the world Kami and Margaret have created. I love the characters these authors have created and they just seem to get better and better with each book that comes out. In this book, their emotions are brought to the threshold and everything becomes much more dark and deep then in the previous novels. Beautiful Chaos centers mostly on the character Ethan and Lena. If you are a big fan of Ethan like I am, prepare yourself! Something happens in this book that just about broke my heart (and pulling out all of my hair to get the next book in my hands).

Link and Ridley are also big characters, but I don’t think they are showcased quite as much as they were before. I really don’t mind Link not having a ton of page-time because she really is my least favorite character of the bunch. I hate the way she has this selfish attitude and the way she is always messing with Ridley. Ethan though…sigh..I can’t give too much away!

As for the ending, there is a major, major cliffhanger. It nearly devastated be and I’m pretty sure I felt my heart crack in two pieces. Why Kami and Margaret? WHY!!? I suggest keeping a box of tissues close at hand for this one!

Final Thought: I most definitely recommend reading this book. I loved how it took on a darker, edgy atmosphere and dived a little bit deeper into this world the authors created. Just be prepared for all of the doom and gloom, and if you are, you’re going to fall in love with Beautiful Chaos!

Purchase Links

Amazon | The Book Depository