#castor chronicles

[unholyhelbig]

I need to stop mentally casting Tom Holland and Hailee Steinfeld as Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes.

[faithreads]

Book Review: Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Spoiler-y Review

★★☆☆☆

"I'll love you until the day after forever."

Warning: Spoilers below the cut!

For a book with the name Beautiful Chaos, you would think it would at least be insane and thrilling, right?

Nope. Somehow, this book is more boring and forgettable than the second book.

There are still some lingering bits of last book's attempted love triangles, but these are thankfully wrapped up. However, that's not before the ridiculous, unnecessary jealousy continues. Seriously, Ethan and Lena are still so obsessed with each other that I'm not sure why this was even a problem. Unfortunately, this also means less Liv in the book, which is a definite downgrade from last book - she's such an interesting character, and she really got the short end here! I feel like we've not gotten to know John Breed at all still, despite having him for two books. He's more a placeholder for "bad boy with sad backstory" than anything else. It felt a little rushed cramming Liv and John together, and I wish we could have explored that more because they honestly seem like a more interesting couple than Ethan and Lena.

I feel like the Sarafine plot could have been more interesting. It was interesting looking at her descent into the Dark and how long she tried to resist it, but it's also hard to feel too bad when you know just how awful she is now. I also feel like she got killed off unnecessarily fast and easily. After being built up as such a key force and villain, I was expecting greater things, such as her actually being a threat as a villain instead of riding on Abraham's coattails the entire book.

I liked the whole "half of Ethan's soul being stuck in the realm of the dead and literally haunting him" plot. It did get a bit repetitive and obvious, but honestly it was not the worst idea in the book. I just wished it could have been more subtle. I mean, the "one who is two"? We all know who it is!

I loved Link as usual, and him being the "Linkubus" made it even better! His humour and goofy plotlines made the entire book! His hot and cold relationship with Ridley was good too until she dropped off near the end. Honestly, I really feel like she was wasted when she disappeared because she had so much interesting involvement before that.

Overall, the ending just didn't feel climatic. I saw it coming from the beginning, and Ethan got to take so long in saying goodbye to everyone that there was no rush. Really it's a bad thing when your reader is just hoping that the main character will hurry up and die soon... I also didn't feel worried or sad about it either because it just seems so inevitable it won't stick. I mean, he's already come back once, right? We all know that Lena's powers are mainly plot convenient and so "special" that there's no threat.

I just feel like so much of this is excess, and I'm already forgetting a good portion of what happened. At least Beautiful Darkness had enough ridiculous things happening that I remember them but here it's just a lot of boring nothing with low stakes (despite the alleged world ending).

All I have left now is to reread the last book... which might have been my least favourite if my memory is correct, so that should be an interesting experience!

[faithreads]

Book Review: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

★★☆☆☆

There’s something about sitting alone in the dark that reminds you how big the world really is, and how far apart we all are. The stars look like they’re so close, you could reach out and touch them. But you can’t. Sometimes things look a lot closer than they are.

I hereby diagnose Beautiful Darkness with second book syndrome.

Beautiful Creatures is by no means the greatest book in the world, but its sequel takes a massive quality dip. Ridiculously slow-paced, excessively stuffed, and drowning in angsty relationship drama, this book needs a massive culling.

In this book, Lena and Ethan becomes worse versions of themselves. Lena is selfish and lacking any basic communication skills. It's painful to read any scenes with her. It's okay to have a character who is grieving, but if she's going to be so erratically mopey and distanced, they should have at least given Lena her own POV so her actions could be understood. Ethan is still way too obsessed with her, which becomes less realistic because of how much Lena treats him like crap in this book. Seriously, he just needs to step back and let her figure herself out. Even for a guy who barely has a personality outside of loving Lena, he really deserves better than what he was given in this book.

There are a few parts that kept me going through this reread and spared this book from a one star. As always, I love the Sisters and their ridiculous antics, but my main motivators were easily Link, Ridley, and Liv! Link and Ridley are continual delights for their ridiculously banter and (in Ridley's case) moral greyness. Liv is a lovely addition to the cast. I just wish she didn't get shoehorned into a hopeless love triangle since she's such an interesting character on her own, if a little too stereotypically British. Then again, apparently this book needs to keep up with its themes of slut-shaming, jealousy, and being not like other girls, so poor Liv unfairly bears the brunt of some of this.

I have to say, even compared last book, too many things coincidentally work out in our characters' favours or just exist because of course they do. (See Spoiler Commentary below)

Overall, definitely a downward slip from the first book, and I'm even a little scared to see what the next two books bring upon reread. Considering I barely remember them (aka blocked it out), I'm not sure how that bodes...

Spoiler Commentary below the cut!

Lena getting to claim herself as both Light and Dark seems like such an annoying cop out to the problem. It's not even like there was a clever way it happened - she just decided that she was both and therefore changed the order of things. Grr. Likewise, Macon being in love with Ethan's mom just seemed so weird and unnecessary. Could she has been just his friend? Why does YA not allow for any platonic relationships for characters?

[faithreads]

Book Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

★★☆☆☆

"Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures."

Ah, Beautiful Creatures. So much potential, so many good tidbits, so much potential squandered.

Here we have the story of "normal guy" Ethan Waite. He's average, but we know he's different because he reads and has feelings. Despite being a teenage boy, he seems to think an awful lot about the outfits of girls and in particular emphasize how slutty they are and why that tell us something about the girl. (Seriously, the amount of girl-hate for any girl that is not Lena is ridiculous) Likewise, he even acts like he's better than the other boys who only lust for said slutty girls as if people can't have multiple complex thinking skills. He's even apparently better than the whole town and their hick way, so... congrats on being an arrogant and still mainly boring guy?

Lena is new to town. An outsider, related to the local recluse, who dresses in unfashionable unique clothes and is so different than other girls. She's sensitive, quiet... and all Ethan can think about now. They have some sort of connection through a shared dream before they met, a strange song, and a mysterious locket, but Lena has a secret that could ruin everything...

This book is just filled to the brim with tropes and excess. Seriously, we have a judgmental town, forbidden romance, stock characters... It really could be so good if well done, but the depictions are too on the nose than it just ruins the appeal. Ethan and Lena can be cute, but cute usually trickles into unbearably cheesy faster than it should.

Likewise, the book overstays its welcome. Instead of focusing on one main plotline, the book meanders and tries to fill us with a dozen meandering plots that seems like they could have been cut down to make this more impactful. We have the flashbacks, the on-and-off relationship drama, a homecoming scene, library trips, etc., but very little seems to add to the collective story.

It really is too bad because there are some genuinely funny moments and insights into good writing. However, it seems like an editor didn't take enough of a knife to it to make it more manageable and really highlight the good bits.

Beautiful Creatures definitely did not hold up as well on reread (though it does admittedly have some good moments). I'm planning on rereading the rest of the series at some point, which I remember not even enjoying as much as the first book back then, so... wish me luck haha! 

[chardwic]

ya lit meme: [9/30] favorite book or series •Castor Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl• "Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures."

[thestagthatlovedthewolf]

I'm now reading Beautiful Chaos, but I read the previous two books such a long time ago, that I've forgotten certain things. Thank you wiki for helping my confused mind (like Aunt Del’s)

[notquitethere]

So I finished Beautiful Redemption of the Castor Chronicles series if anyone wants to cry together I'm here hit me up please really though it's over and I'm a little lot sad

[bookeuphoria]