Posts Tagged: beautiful darkness

Beautiful Darkness Signing at King’s English

22 Oct, 2010 by in margaret stohl, new YA fiction 52 comments

Last night was the final tour stop for YA authors Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia’s Beautiful Darkness Book Tour at Utah Indie bookstore The King’s English. Kami and Margie were full of Southern Hospitality even though they herald from L.A.
If you want a good laugh, tune in and watch their previous blog T.V. coverage of the tour. They have fun bantering back & forth. (Frequently MStohl breaks into random song) Kami revealed she likes to think of new ways to kill off her characters, so you can bet not everyone survives the four book series. She is a Black Sabbath type of girl while Margaret prefers Glee.
The two have already planned out the entire series via grape smelly marker on a white board. Interestingly, the original idea for Beautiful Creatures came after hearing a group of teens complain about what they saw in YA fiction and what they wanted to see change.

YA contemp author Emily Wing Smith
hosted the first Q&A session and introduced her upcoming book
“Back When You Were Easier To Love” to be released April 28, 2010 by Dutton.

Brodi Ashton, author or the upcoming Ever’neath series mediated the Q&A speed round where questions were taken by blog TV participants online as well as live participants. In the audienc fieilding questions was Bree Despain, author of The Dark Divine.


Fellow Utah Book Bloggers Emily’s Reading Room were there with their Literati group.


I got to see some of my fun and favorite TwilightMOMS

Lisa- founder of Twilight MOMS, me, Jenny and Tara

and I spent my days before hand collecting meaningful junk for gift necklaces.


Here’s where you all come in…

Kami and Margaret were generous with their swag and we are giving some away. Our prize pack includes a Beautiful Darkness bookmark, a pin from the authors and one of my handmade necklaces.
Simply comment below to be entered to win.
Contest ends November 21, 201o and is open internationally.

Book Review- Beautiful Darkness

21 Oct, 2010 by in margaret stohl 2 comments

Hardcover, 512 pages
Published October 12th 2010 by Little Brown ISBN0316077054
series Caster Chronicles #2
4 stars

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

First of all a special thanks to fellow Twilight MOM Laura for letting me borrow her advanced reading copy of Beautiful Darkness before its release. She’s the best! I enjoyed this installment even more that I did Beautiful Creatures, finished it almost two weeks ago and the story has really stuck with me.

Beautiful Darkness picks up with Lena in a tough place after the events that unfolded on the night of her 16th birthday. She’s grieving and trying to figure out where she stands…torn between the world of a light and dark caster. Book #2 of the Caster Chronicles has a much more angst feel as she explores her dark side.

Here’s what I loved about the book

-New boy character John Breed. I wish we could have learned more about him but I have a hunch he will be back in a big way in book #3.

-The rich world building that combines every day southern culture and caster underground. In this book you are introduced to tunnels laying under Gatlin and secret passageways into a whole other world. Picture The Wizard of Oz’ ish alternate reality.

-The background history behind who Ethan’s mother Lila was and how intertwined his family is with Lena’s. She is a strong female adult character who influences past and future.

-We see more of Ethan’s housekeeper Amma. She keeps popping up in random places during the story to save the day. She’s got some sass and know how to whip up a mean pie for the county faire.

-The detail in Kami and Margie’s writing. They pack so much information in there its hard to process it all. But wow, they’ve upped the anty in this book. Intelligent, beautiful rich passages make the story immersive.

On the flipside, it took me a while to get back into the groove after a year has lapsed since the first book Beautiful Creatures. I would recommend reading that one again before picking up #2. There are a lot of repeat characters and back history that would be difficult to understand without the prequel. The series definitely builds on itself.

My favorite scene: when Ethan finds Lena on her ceiling surrounded in her thoughts. For some reason is an image that stuck with me after I finished. She is dealing with so many complex emotions and her writing, doodling and dress portray outwardly what she is feeling on the inside.

My favorite thing overall about the series: all of the symbolism and objects they tie into the story. It makes the book more tangible and real.

I’ll be at the Beautiful Darkness signing tonight at Kings English Bookshop -7 PM. Stay tuned for photos and news. And if you are in Utah… stop by! Margie and Kami are so fun to meet in person. If you are some where else, catch live coverage via blog TV. See their website for details http://beautifulcreaturesthebook.com/