Publication Date: October 23, 2012
Publishing House: Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 9780316123532
ISBN: 9780316123532
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked
Summary:
Some loves are meant to be... Others are cursed.
Ethan Wate has spent most of his life hanging to escape the stillingly 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.
Worlds apart, Ethan and Lena must once again work together to rewrite their fate, in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series.
(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)
Review:
While we don't encourage spoilers on this site, I'm afraid it's inevitable for this one. I can't think of a way to write a review for this one without giving something away. If you're checking this one out, I'm pretty sure you've picked up a book or two from the series anyway.
Beautiful Redemption is the fourth and final installment in the Beautiful Creatures series. If you have not read the first few books, I would not recommend reading further beyond this point.
Beautiful Redemption brings us to what happened next after Ethan Wate jumped off a water tower to save the lives of those he holds dear. After finding out that his death is not written by Fate, but by another Caster, he sets out on a journey to go back to Gatlin, to his friends and family, but most especially to go back into the arms of a certain Caster girl. When Lena finds out that Ethan is trying to communicate with her, even when he is in an altogether different dimension, she must do her part to overcome the threats that push them apart to be able to bring back the boy she loves.
While I did enjoy the first book from the series, book two was boring, and book three was only slightly better. Beautiful Redemption is a mess, and not a very hot one at that.
Let's start with Ethan. He's sensitive and caring, and he seems to be a pretty good boyfriend. The first books have already established that fact. However, his relentless pining for Lena puts me off at times. I mean, all throughout the series, I never really understood why they were both so attracted to each other. If anything, I thought that the fact that they were not able to touch without one of them twitching in agony only fueled their interest in each other, kind of like a psychological reaction. (Like if your mom says don't touch that, and because you're so hardcore, you do. And end up getting electrocuted.) I was expecting better scenes from this book, as it is the last of the series, but all I got was a few barely there action scenes. (There were action scenes? Really?) I mean, Ethan has got to be magical or something, the way his contenders rarely put up a fight. I think that he has got things way too easier now that he's drifting around in the afterlife (pun not intended).
Do not get me started on Lena. I skipped over her attempts at poetry, because they just made me angry. In fact, her poetry in this book is more annoying and cumbersome than ever.
Some loves are meant to be... Others are cursed.
Ethan Wate has spent most of his life hanging to escape the stillingly 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.
Worlds apart, Ethan and Lena must once again work together to rewrite their fate, in this stunning finale to the Beautiful Creatures series.
(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)
Review:
While we don't encourage spoilers on this site, I'm afraid it's inevitable for this one. I can't think of a way to write a review for this one without giving something away. If you're checking this one out, I'm pretty sure you've picked up a book or two from the series anyway.
Beautiful Redemption is the fourth and final installment in the Beautiful Creatures series. If you have not read the first few books, I would not recommend reading further beyond this point.
Beautiful Redemption brings us to what happened next after Ethan Wate jumped off a water tower to save the lives of those he holds dear. After finding out that his death is not written by Fate, but by another Caster, he sets out on a journey to go back to Gatlin, to his friends and family, but most especially to go back into the arms of a certain Caster girl. When Lena finds out that Ethan is trying to communicate with her, even when he is in an altogether different dimension, she must do her part to overcome the threats that push them apart to be able to bring back the boy she loves.
While I did enjoy the first book from the series, book two was boring, and book three was only slightly better. Beautiful Redemption is a mess, and not a very hot one at that.
Let's start with Ethan. He's sensitive and caring, and he seems to be a pretty good boyfriend. The first books have already established that fact. However, his relentless pining for Lena puts me off at times. I mean, all throughout the series, I never really understood why they were both so attracted to each other. If anything, I thought that the fact that they were not able to touch without one of them twitching in agony only fueled their interest in each other, kind of like a psychological reaction. (Like if your mom says don't touch that, and because you're so hardcore, you do. And end up getting electrocuted.) I was expecting better scenes from this book, as it is the last of the series, but all I got was a few barely there action scenes. (There were action scenes? Really?) I mean, Ethan has got to be magical or something, the way his contenders rarely put up a fight. I think that he has got things way too easier now that he's drifting around in the afterlife (pun not intended).
Do not get me started on Lena. I skipped over her attempts at poetry, because they just made me angry. In fact, her poetry in this book is more annoying and cumbersome than ever.
I cannot tell you how many times I've put down the book, simply because I felt that, given the volume of the book, there should be some semblance of a storyline that jumps out at you. All I got, however, were a lot of bad poetry from Lena, and a weak plot. To say that I felt cheated would be an understatement. Ethan's journey in the afterlife to get home and Lena's attempts to wrestle the Book of Moons from Abraham were uneventful and anti-climactic. You could've condensed the whole thick book into a slimmer volume and you wouldn't miss anything of importance.
I'm sorry, Beautiful Redemption, but you could've ended The Caster Chronicles with a bang, instead of a whimper.
I'm sorry, Beautiful Redemption, but you could've ended The Caster Chronicles with a bang, instead of a whimper.
Rating:
I slightly skimmed your review because your warning on spoilers. Just incase I would want to read this series. Which, with all these wonderful reviews, is making me want to take another glance at what i originally think of this series.
ReplyDeleteWould you recommend it for people who doesn't really like paranormal romances but would give it a shot if it's awesome?
New follower. ^^
-Delaney @ the Random Ranterer
Hmm. This is a tough one.
DeleteI believe that there are two kinds of people who are somewhat hesitant to foray into paranormal novels, and are thus looking for different things.
If you're the type of reader who likes books that are easy to read, then by all means, go for this one. The Caster Chronicles series is okay for new readers. But if you're the kind of reader who has been previously put off by paranormal books but are willing to give it another shot, and desire a meatier reading material, I would recommend other reads, like Everneath by Brodi Ashton, Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey, and Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr.
It all comes down to what kind of reader you think you are.
I hope this has been helpful. If you have any more questions, please do feel free to ask! We love entertaining them.
Ohhhh. That is very informative to someone like me! XD I really loved how you explained that. I guess I might give it a try. :/ Though Everneath is somewhat something I think I would like. Somewhat. XD
Delete-Delaney @ the Random Ranterer
Hope you enjoy the books you'll be picking up then!
DeleteI really did enjoy this series especially the third one. However I do agree that these books didn't made a lot of sense most of the time. The INSTA-LOVE was annoying and the magic system was so scattered.
ReplyDelete