Movie Review: Beautiful Creatures (Spoiler Free)

Beautiful Creatures 
Movie
Based on 'Beautiful Creatures' (Caster Chronicles #1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Ethan longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new girl, Lena. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town. (IMDb)

SPOILER FREE

You know that crazy but guarded excitement you feel when one of your favorite books gets turned into a movie? You feel that way because GAWD, you are about to see your drool worthy book boyfriend on the big screen and you just can't WAIT to see how the people in charge of effects show all the spells and magic powers. But guarded and even a little nervous because, there is NO WAY the lead guy is going to look like you imagined him, and to fit the sophisticated, developed and detailed plot into a few hours they're gonna have to cut some much-loved and important stuff.

Well, that was my prediction for Beautiful Creatures and it proved to be accurate.

On it's own, the movie was a great one. Fresh setting and ensemble, well-done flashbacks to the Civil War, original plot (well, not the mortal-falls-in-love-with-magical-being part. I mean the tragic end to a love story that doomed their descendants 150 years later thing). The characters were real and lovable (Alden Ehrenreich just oooozed charm) and there were some very funny lines. But if you read the book...

WHY OH WHY DID THEY CHANGE SO MUCH?! -What my friends and I were saying a lot of the time. We meant it as a rhetorical question, because we all know that these things need to be ADAPTED for the big screen and unfortunately ADAPTED means CHANGED. But still, it was impossible not to complain. Enough elements were omitted/changed that it doesn't matter if you haven't read the book yet. You could watch it without spoiling too much for yourself.

DESPITE THIS, I overall actually liked it. While they may have changed parts of the plot, the characters stayed the same and they were what I liked most from the series. I found myself hoping they'll make all four movies at the end of it. (Unlike, say, Percy Jackson) Because I'm far from a movie expert and severely biased I'm not going to grade it.

ANYHOO,
THE FIRST CHAPTER OF CLOCKWORK PRINCESS WAS RELEASED!! (*SQEEEEEEEAAAALLLL*) You can read it HERE.
I just preordered my copy and needless to say I am VERY excited. 17 more days... <3

Have a good weekend everybody and please don't forget to follow my blog if you like what you read!
-Esty

Review: Beautiful Redemption

   

Beautiful Redemption (Caster Chronicles book #4) 

Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Fantasy 

***SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN'T READ BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, DARKNESS AND CHAOS***

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

Ethan Wate has spent most of his life longing to escape the stiflingly small Southern town of Gatlin. He never thought he would meet the girl of his dreams, Lena Duchannes, who unveiled a secretive, powerful, and cursed side of Gatlin, hidden in plain sight. And he never could have expected that he would be forced to leave behind everyone and everything he cares about. So when Ethan awakes after the chilling events of the Eighteenth Moon, he has only one goal: to find a way to return to Lena and the ones he loves.

Back in Gatlin, Lena is making her own bargains for Ethan's return, vowing to do whatever it takes -- even if that means trusting old enemies or risking the lives of the family and friends Ethan left to protect. 

Worlds apart, Ethan and Lena must once again work together to rewrite their fate, in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series.

SO, AFTER THE MASSIVE LIFE-ENDING HEART ATTACK WE ALL SUFFERED AT THE END OF BEAUTIFUL CHAOS, WE NOW HAVE A DEAD ETHAN. See, I was very nervous about this. The whole dead-narrator thing is usually a hit-or-miss for me. I'm happy to say that this was a hit. A MASSIVE one:)

The Afterlife thing was done perfectly for this book. Somehow, if it had been like the realms in A Great and Terrible Beauty, or Summerland in Alison Noel's books it just wouldn't have been right, you know? This was like a second Gatlin of the town's deceased. It was ironic and comical how it's pretty much the same.. you'll see. 

I looooved how the POV's were done. Finally we get to hear some of what's going on in Lena's mind. And speaking of Lena, I can't even begin to describe the EMOTIONS I felt when reading this. I was crying and laughing all at once (=mark of a good writer/s) and there is no other word to describe the beginning other than HEARTBREAK. Everyone is in such a state of utter sadness and you just have to stand by and read and not be able to do anything about it. And just a hint, the end is a little like that, too. 

The characters?? One of the best sets out there. Link and Ridley's relationship is so funny and so THEM that it just makes you smile through the tears even during the bad times. It's even oddly realistic. And Amma, Sweet Redeemer you are amazing. End of story. Macon- I heart you. Nuff said. Ethan, I hope one day I'll meet a guy like you. And Lena is the kind of girl I hope to be, who doesn't care what they say and fights for the ones she loves, four books long. 

And last but MOST, the sisters. I have always said no series is complete without its trio of old ladies, and these women play the part proudly. I think I actually choked with laughter because of them in one of the earlier books. I love love love how Ethan is with them and how they know pretty much everything but you'd never tell and how Aunt Prue left an entire plan for her own funeral and their southern accents and their "E-mergencies" how they never let anyone get a word in edgewise. God bless them. They are officially the coolest ancient great-aunts EVER. Yeah, I said it. ;) 

Well, as it says on the last page in Latin, "The story is finished, but the writings remain forever" (Thank you, Google Translate). Now all that's left is the happy-sad feeling when you finish one of your favorite series.*wipes tear* Bye-bye Gatlin. Grade: 100%

-Esty

p.s. if you have already read this please tweet me so I can gush over the ending!!!