Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles, #1) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (September 14, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0316077038
ISBN-13: 978-0316077033
Classification: Young Adult
Format: Paperback, 592 pages

Ethan has been having dreams about a girl. Pretty typical for a red blooded American teenager, but when SHE appears outside of his dreams he knows the dreams aren't ordinary and neither is the girl. In the small Southern town of Gatlin where the only thing out of the ordinary is the town is an old man who lives alone, things are about to get shaken up a bit. With Casters, beings that are not quite human who have magically qualities, starting to take over run the neighborhood things in the quiet little town will be anything but boring.

Liked it, but had a lot of unanswered questions at the end so I'm hoping there will be a sequel. Hence, only a 3 our of 5 stars rating. :(

****SPOILERS****
Still don't know Lena's name. What's with the 17th moon? Does that mean she's going to get a year reprieve? Are Hunter, Larkin, and Sarafine really gone or not? Why did Lena's eyes change? Does it mean she is claimed by neither or both or undecided until the 17th moon? Is Ethan really only human? Why does he have power and how can Lena and he have had such a bond even before the two met? Why did everyone know they would? I originally thought Ethan and Lena would be the reincarnation of Ethan and Genevieve, but if they saw her ghost can that really be? I'm so confused. Also, could the spell used on Ethan have changed him? Could the two be bound in a way that they can be together now? Parts reminded me of Carrie (but less violent) and Firestarter(mainly because of the hair).
****SPOILERS****

Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles, #2) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

In this book Lena is feeling guilty for using the "book" to save Ethan which ultimately cost Macon his life. For the book cannot be used with out consequences ant those consequences were extracted by substituting Macon's life for Ethan's. Lena's dealing with an inner conflict between the good and bad sides of her nature. She feels she dooms all those around her. Ethan is trying to be supportive, but he still can't remember what occurred the day Macon died and is having a hard time dealing with the changes he sees in Lena.

Now Ethan must find things out about himself, his mom, and the Castor world that will influence his decisions. The addition of a mysterious Castor that seems to be making moves on Lean will put Lena and Ethan's relationship to the test. Plus, another girl, Liv, will enter Ethan's life and he will need to determine if holding on to Lena and putting up with her erratic behavior is worth it or if he should give Liv a shot.

I gave this book 3 1/2 out of 5 Stars. The pace was a little slow for my tastes and at one point I had to put it down and read something else because it couldn't hold my attention. After that initial set back I read on and decided to only read 100 to 200 pages a day. I was less confused than with the first book, but truly wish they'd write a glossary of what each part of the Light and Dark Castors are and can do.