Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Beautiful Creatures
    Unavailable
    Beautiful Creatures
    Unavailable
    Beautiful Creatures
    Audiobook17 hours

    Beautiful Creatures

    Written by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia

    Narrated by Kevin T. Collins

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    This edition features exclusive movie cover art!
    Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

    Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

    In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateDec 1, 2009
    ISBN9781600248474
    Unavailable
    Beautiful Creatures
    Author

    Margaret Stohl

    Margaret Stohl is the bestselling author of twelve books for children and teens, including coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestselling Beautiful Creatures series. She also cowrites Mighty Captain Marvel for Marvel Comics. You can learn more about her at mstohl.com.

    More audiobooks from Margaret Stohl

    Related to Beautiful Creatures

    Related audiobooks

    Children's For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Book CLUB

      Jun 21, 2022

      Book CLUB
      1 min read

    • Article

      Cherries

      Feb 2, 2023

      She is still on the back step, even though the evening sun has cutthe garden in half. She is on the dark side.I bring a bloody-stained and holey bag of cherries.Still sullenshe accepts this peace-offering.No eye contact, she shifts alongjust enough r

      1 min read

    • Article

      WEEKLY Entertainment

      Jul 11, 2021

      WEEKLY Entertainment
      1 min read

    • Article

      Anatomy Of A Search

      Mar 17, 2023

      Anatomy Of A Search
      13 min read

    • Article

      Back Issues

      Jan 24, 2020

      Back Issues
      1 min read

    • Article

      ‘The Vanishing Half’ Is A Compelling Novel On Race And Home

      Jun 10, 2020

      Brit Bennett’s newest book navigates difficult truths with clarity and grace, and her vivid characters are hard to forget.

      2 min read

    • Article

      What’s Worth Watching Week 1

      Nov 3, 2022

      What’s Worth Watching Week 1
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Summer We Lost Her

      Apr 4, 2019

      The Summer We Lost Her
      8 min read

    • Article

      Back Issues

      Jan 20, 2022

      Back Issues
      1 min read

    • Article

      Back Issues

      Dec 23, 2021

      Back Issues
      1 min read

    • Article

      Mutazione

      Oct 22, 2019

      Mutazione
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Excavation Of Hob’s Barrow

      Sep 8, 2022

      Developer Cloak And Dagger Games Publisher Wadjet Eye Games Format PC Origin UK Release TBA 2022 Eyes widening, the vicar lurches forward, clearly in some discomfort. Doubling over, he clutches his stomach with one hand, the other pressed against his

      3 min read

    • Article

      HOT Beach Reads

      Jun 22, 2023

      HOT Beach Reads
      3 min read

    • Article

      FOR YOUNG & OLD

      Aug 11, 2023

      By MAUD VENTURA HUTCHINSON HEINEMANN Like unreliable narrators? Well, this one’s a doozy. Our deeply dippy protagonist is a French teacher obsessed with her high-flying husband, who is never named. Her children, her job and even her lovers are all p

      3 min read

    • Article

      Rose - Tinted Glasses

      Nov 10, 2021

      From the corner of her eye, Becca watched a small pack of drunk pixies adding salt into her grandmother’s bone china sugar pot. The sugar pot was the oldest thing in the house, even older than grandmother herself. There would be hell to pay if it bro

      12 min read

    • Article

      OUT NOW!MOVIES HOME ENT. BOOKS MUSIC TV On the screen

      Mar 1, 2023

      The Magician's Elephant Out March 17 on Netflix Peter is searching for his long-lost sister and when he meets a fortune teller he asks her if his sister is still alive. She tells him that he must find a magician with an elephant so he sets off on

      3 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      May 19, 2021

      Dot works at the Lost Property Office in Baker Street, where she is custodian of lost items. In her dedicated quest to reconnect people with their lost property, she becomes deeply moved by the emotional significance of memories attached to some of t

      2 min read

    Reviews for Beautiful Creatures

    3.5/5

    2,503 ratings288 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Beautiful Creatures presents a storyline of love, history, and changing fate. Full of characters that is detailed and that makes the reader want to know more about and scenes that make the book hard to put down.
    • 5/5
      I was very surprised to find out that this book was from a male P.O.V. If I had known I probably would have read it sooner, but thought it was going to be an emotional rollercoaster and I didn't want to deal with that female angst; sometimes you just need a break from the doubt that comes from the female brain. It was a pleasure hearing from Ethan, he didn't drive me crazy with the constant doubts or the expected teenage boy snarky-jerk attitude. Here's hoping the entire series has Ethan as it's voice.

      Ethan Wate lives in Gatlin, South Carolina, where he accepts and lives with the status quo of being different as not accepted. His life in Gatlin is a predictable one, he craves the day he gets to escape his dull life in Gatlin, until the day "she" shows up at his school. She, Lena Duchannes, is unlike all Gatliners in every way possible. Lena is the girl of Ethan's dreams, literally. Ethan has been having terrifying dreams about Lena for months and was surprised to find that the girl from his dreams is real and had hoped she was. Lena changes his views on his life as a Gatlin citizen and opens his eyes to his accepting of the way things are in his small town.

      Through Ethan's eyes Lena comes across as a dark soul with a lot of pain but someone not caught up in the typical teenage drama. Lena is someone wistful of the past, disenchanted to the present and bewildered by the future because of fears of what's to come. Lena dreads the coming of her sixteenth birthday, it's the day she will be claimed by the powers that be to an unknown destiny, good or bad she has no idea or choice in the matter as she's been told all her life. With Ethan's help Lena hopes to fix a mistake that happened over a hundred years earlier in hopes that she can make her own choice of who she want's to become.

      Ethan's and Lena's relationship was so sweet, I liked the fact that even with their strong connection they didn't just jump into a "I'll die without you" kinda love fest. They were both a little hesitant, Lena because she knows her life was not conducive to a relationship with a mortal, and boy does she not realize how right she was. And Ethan, I think was just a little hesitant to rush into to it too quickly and was afraid to rush Lena too.

      Lena and Ethan found a cameo, right after their first vision from the cameo and after they saw the initials inscripted on it I knew that their encounter and relationship was going to be a little bit of history repeating itself. I quickly figured out that they were both going to be tasked with the impossible job of breaking a hundred year old curse, created by Lena's ancestor which involved an ancestor of Ethan as well.

      Ethan's and Lena's quest to break her family's curse was very long but engaging and somewhat amusing at times. While this book was not fast paced or action packed I still really enjoyed their journey and the people who were a part of it. I loved Ethan's relationship with his family's houskeeper and somewhat surrogate mother, Amma. She has a no nonsense kind of approach to parenting and it was very sweet that Ethan respected her and also funny that he feared her too. Lena's relationship with her Uncle Macon was also very endearing, he was pretty scary himself and the most shunned man in Gatlin, being associated with him is not good for your social status.

      The characters in this book ran the gamut, from quirky to down right appalling. Link, Ethan's best bud was one of the more lighthearted ones, he was the funny clueless always got ya back friend. Link's mother, Mrs. Lincoln was on another spectrum, she was a pretty horrible character. Oh yeah, the sisters, they're so funny. As for Boo, I'm a bit on the fence about him, he was very protective of Lena but sounds kinda terrifying, and a little creepy, but I guess a protector can't look wimpy and needs to scare the crap outta people to get the job done.

      Beautiful Creatures is about humanity, magic, love, relationships, differences, and not giving up. In Lena's world things are just the way they are and there is no changing it, so many times she just wanted to accept her fate and remove Ethan from her life for his own safety. Lena wanted to give up many times but Ethan not being a part of her magical world and his human spirit of not accepting things that seems unchangeable and "we'll find a way" attitude, always bring Lena back on board, as much as he could, to keep trying. I was definitely frustrated with her constant negative look at her situation, yes it seems impossible but what could it hurt to just fight and think of the future generations who will be dealing with this curse.

      I haven't read a book this long in a while and wasn't sure what part of the story would come from my fingertips reviewing it without giving away too much. There is so much going on in this story but it was written well, the pace was great and the world and story building were very clever and new. It took me a while to read this book, had it sitting on my to-read bookshelf a while, really did want to get to it but was a little apprehensive because of the mixed reviews and possible angst ridden drama. So glad I finally got to it and was pleasantly surprised, I really did enjoy it and hope the rest of the series continues to get better and doesn't stray too far from the original.
    • 4/5
      I saw the movie years ago and when I learned it was based on a book, I immediately ordered the series... And then it sat on my shelf for years. [I really need to stop buying books and read the ones I own.Anyway, I pulled this out for Halloween Bingo as my "Southern Gothic" square. And man you don't get any more southern than the town of Gatlin. They are hardcore confederates who hate anything that deals with superstition (even though they all frequent the local card reader) they hate outsiders, or anyone who isn't exactly like them.Poor Lena never stood a chance when she came to live with her uncle Macon, the patriarch of the Ravenwood family and a recluse. If not for the Ravenwood family, the town wouldn't even exist, but that doesn't stop the townsfolk for hating them for being different. And they are different. They are a family of casters who were cursed when one of their ancestors made a bargain with a book of magic. In other caster families each child can chose the light or the dark when they come of age. But because of the curse, the children of this family have no choice, the book chooses. Lena is close to coming of age, she's a powerful caster, and there is a worry that she will go dark.This was an interesting story as told from the point of view of Ethan, who falls in love with Lena and gets caught up in her complicated world. He is a son of Gatlin, but he's not really like them. And he goes against the grain to be with Lena. The story was well written and kept my attention. I'm interested in seeing where the rest of the series goes.
    • 4/5
      This is a solid fantasy read, with many of the elements fantasy readers look for. There's lots of magic, romance, and wonder, set alongside an all-too-normal setting in the American south. I definitely thought that the book was far better than the movie (though that was good too, and at least a fair adaptation), and am disappointed that it took me this long to get the chance to read it.
    • 4/5
      Good book but the middle kind of drug on. The action picked up at the end and held my attention.
    • 4/5
      I saw the movie first and, while it takes some things from the books, it didn't get it all. I enjoyed reading the story about Lena and Ethan.I'm not much on history, but i loved the way they weaved the civil war setting with the present day. The supernatural and paranormal elements blended seamlessly and made this love story a believable one.The secondary cast of characters (Macon, Amma, Ridley, etc.) were well-fleshed out and added flavor to the story.Ethan, smart and full of tenacity. Lena, vulnerable, intelligent and very conflicted. All the things I like in characters. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.Would I recommend this? Yes and I plan on reading the rest of the series.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book!
    • 5/5
      A perfect blend of paranormal and Southern gothic. Possibly my new favorite YA paranormal.
    • 4/5
      I really liked this story but I didn't like the ending. The characters were engaging, the plot intriguing, but the conclusion was very anti-climatic. I will not put too much of a spoiler here but why is it that authors never want to write a single story? Everything has to be multi-volume grandiose works.
    • 4/5
      Ethan Wate dreamed of the girl before he saw her the first time at school. After almost running into her standing in the middle of the road during an unusual thunderstorm, the two found themselves drawn to each other. Lena Duchannes has returned to Gatlin, SC to live with her reclusive and unusual uncle in the magical Ravenwood mansion. All Lena wants is to live a normal life, which is unlikely since she is a Caster, an individual with the innate ability to manipulate magic. Although Lena tries to maintain control, however, unusual meteorological and environmental events keep occurring when she becomes upset, which is occurring more frequently the closer she is to celebrating her 16th birthday.

      Although not a frequent reader of Young Adult novels, I found this one to be both entertaining, suspenseful and a fast read even given its 500 page length. The character were generally well developed, some better than others. I thought the author did well in describing the town of Gatlin, a place that Ethan longed to leave. The reader was immediately transported to this small community when reading the novel. Although to be expected, I did tend to scan over descriptions of adolescent ardor and angst. I had enough of this living through this age period the first time.
    • 4/5
      "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."I adore this book SO much. I might have been influenced though because I saw the movie (like 10 times) before I read the book. I LOVE the movie!! I'm so upset that there's most likely never going to be a sequel. I was so blown away by the movie, it will always be one of my favorites. And I will forever wonder why it didn't do as well as it should have! It was so visually stunning and the story is great.. it breaks my heart that this isn't as big as I want it to be, as it deserves to be! The book itself was fantastic. It was in depth and it made me feel like I was right there in Gatlin alongside Lena and Ethan. Like I was Boo following them around. I also really enjoyed that they took a typical southern small town setting and threw in this new world that would shake it up. Oh and the term "Casters" sounds more sophisticated/intellectual/mature/respectable, I would rather be a "caster" than a "witch" being I'm light or dark; good or evil. The only thing I can come up with as to why this story is so controversial (and by that I mean why there's so many mixed reviews as to how many people enjoy this book and how much more dislike it) is because it is a slow read. I feel you really have to use your imagination to get lost in this book, which is why I said I might have been influenced because I had a lot of the images filled in for me already. I personally feel people judge the relationship between Ethan and Lena too harshly. It sounds like a pretty normal highschool relationship to me. BUT THE ENDING!! I won't give away anything but be prepared for multiple curve balls! I stand by this book. The writing is great, the story telling is captivating, it has good morale, it's relatable AND IT HAS MAGIC :D I can't wait to see what happens with Lena and Ethan in book 2 (Beautiful Darkness)!
    • 3/5
      I'm not sure. It took me almost a week to read this book. I liked it, but didn't particularly love it. So I give it 3.5 stars. One major thing I liked was that the point of view was from a guy's perspective. I get really tired of the whiny females sometimes. This is a weird experience for me because I usually either really like/love a book or I really don't. This one falls directly in the middle.
    • 3/5
      I wish I could give this 3.5 stars. It was a lot better than I thought it would be, but ultimately predictable and anticlimactic. However, I would say that this book was at the higher end of the YA paranormal romance phenomenon. The Civil War era flashbacks were excellent and the fact that this was told from the male POV made it unique.
    • 4/5
      Loved Lena and all the characters but thought the book was bit drawn out in spots. I know this happens but over all it was a very good read. Can't wait to see the movie now!
    • 3/5
      I liked the idea around this book and it could have been an excellent read. It was very slow and very whiney in parts. Ethan felt he needed to summarise conversations at least fifty times in case the reader didn't understand what was happening even though you did so that was annoying. There were some good parts but it was very much like a season of Vampire Diaries!
    • 4/5
      Audi-book Review:I really enjoyed the narrator,Kevin T. Collins, that read the story, his voice was really pleasing. I really liked the audio effects, it made it easier to imagine the scenes from the book. So the audio in a book itself was amazing, in my opinion. The only thing that I had trouble with is the dream sequences. The audio at dream parts were really low and I had trouble hearing what they were saying. Now about the book...The book started out really slow to me, well actually the whole book was slow. It took me awhile to listen to it. The plot in a story was really good, I really liked stories about witches, an this one was just really interesting. looking at that I don't know why it was slow to me. I just feel like she could of made it a lot faster or to put more action. Only in the about in the end of the book is were everything happened. But if I look at different point at the book, if she made it faster, we would of have missed a lot of details that are needed to finish the series. So I get why she put so much details, and I also get why some people didn't even finish the book. Now the characters, Overall I really like the characters in the story, especially Ethan. Ethan Wate is one of the main characters in the book. He lived in a small town in Gaitlin. Were everything goes by old times, and everyone does what expected of them. But not Ethan and especially not after mysterious Lena comes to town, and in Gaitlin everyone who comes is is automatically an outsider and not excepted. Ethan is a great narrative, his actions and feeling felt real to me. He doesn't try to be like everyone else, he is different and his own person. He is determined, sweet, a little optimistic, and protective. I loved his character, while Lena...Lena, Lena, Lena why are you so ugh? I just didn't really liked her. It annoyed me how she keep saying "I'm going dark, I'm going dark, I'm going dark" Like seriously? Have a little faith. Her character, or maybe its just the personality author give her, I didn't connect to. I connected more to Link than her. By the way I loved Link too! He is just such a good friend, he was still with Ethan when everyone turned their back on him. So his character was great! Everyone was great except Lena.So overall, I am not sure what to feel about the book. At times I really enjoyed it, at times it felt slow to me and at times I wanted to just stop listening to it, but I am glad that I didn't. I recommend to try listen to audio book i you can't finish the book. I will definitely try to finish the whole series because I really liked were the story was headed.
    • 1/5
      I tried. I really did. I tried for two chapters. And then I put it down like a sensible person who would like not to waste his life on things that actively annoy him.

      I was curious about the story in part because I was curious about the film. I like fantasy elements in real-world settings, and while I don't actively seek out YA pararom, I was willing to give this a shot. What I got was a ride on the cliche train, complete with a combined magical negro/mammy character that made my head hurt.

      There's every possibility this book improves, but if I have to get more than a third of the way into a 500 page book to get there, something has gone wrong.
    • 3/5
      Read from October 29 to November 10, 2011While this had a pretty clear ending, it ended with a little hint that there's more to come. I loved Lena, Ethan, and Link...for more Lena, I will read the next book in the series.
    • 3/5
      There's alot going on here which is why I'm not going higher than 3, and that's generous. Civil War reenactments, supernatural happenings, star-crossed lovers, bad mommies, witch hunts. I mean how much drama can one YA novel take? Especially given that this was set up to be a series. Authors could have taken it down a notch and saved some for #2. Overall it was okay though.
    • 3/5
      Nice southern setting -- liked the atmosphere of the old homes and especially the Caster Library. Needs a little more excitement throughout, however. The love story is too drawn out. I get it that Ethan and Lena are in love -- let's move on and find some adventures....This really wasn't as bad as I'd heard, nor was it as good. I may or may not finish the series...still pondering on that decision.
    • 3/5
      The sleepy South Carolina hamlet of Gatlin hasn't changed much since the "War of Norther Aggression." Ethan Carter Wate, a 15-year-old basketball player at Stonewall Jackson High School is counting down the days until he can leave, until he meets new girl Lena Duchannes. The electricity between them is palpable, but Lena's secret life and strange family could tear them apart, literally.The world of Beautiful Creatures is well-developed, with hints of humor and southern hospitality similar Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels (which are the basis for the True Blood TV series, although they diverge greatly). The writing is solid, with fantastic imagery that leaves the smell of Confederate Jasmine practically in the air. The magical realm is fascinating, realistic, and terrifying, and the romance seems genuinely portrayed. Where it flounders in the middle and at the finale, drawn out and boring at times, but it leaves an excellent cliffhanger for follow-ups. Recommended for students Grade 7 (about 14) and above.
    • 3/5
      Full disclosure, I picked this up because I heard it was made into a movie, and I wanted to at least try and read it before it was everywhere. I didn't hate it. I liked the idea behind having the male lead as the narrator; however, I'm not sure it worked all the time (sometimes it was very clear that two women writers were behind his inner monologue) The "Caster" plot line held my interest, and even though it was a bit one-demensional, I really am a sucker for anything that takes place in the South. It could have used a bit of a editor (500 pages is just like, 300 pages too long) I'll be moving on to the second book, for sure.
    • 3/5
      I didn't expect to like this book enough to want to read the next one in the series but I do--maybe because the ending of this one forces you into reading the next one. Lena isn't Claimed, the bad guys disappear, etc...the book is over but nothing is really resolved.

      Lena is a neat character. I like that this is a YA book where the female character is the strong, mysterious, supernatural one and the male is the one hopelessly falling for them. Sometimes Ethan's voice isn't the most believable--mainly when he's describing what he or Lena is wearing (in my experience, 16-year-old boys don't really care too much about that)--but I thought he had a good amount of emotional depth.

      On a very small note, the book is set in a small town in South Carolina, where I've lived for the past 8 or so years and I didn't quite buy it. It's a little heavy-handed in pointing out how backwards the South is (they hate strangers! they're weird about the Civil War still!) and I thought Ethan and Lena's classmates were really stereotypical and flat. I admittedly had a horrible time as the new girl in my small town SC high school but the horribleness was pretty varied. Also it was weird that plantations play a big role in the book and slaves are never mentioned? Like, in the flashbacks, Ivy is described as working as a housekeeper in Genevieve's house but is she really "working" there? It just struck me as a little weird that it's never mentioned at all.

      Anyway, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would and look forward to picking up the next book and seeing how that goes.
    • 4/5
      Much better than most of the paranormal romances out there mostly due to the excellent depiction of setting. You can really see and feel the claustrophobia and closeness of a small Southern town. The world-building in terms of powers and language is different enough to hold interest rather than just a cookie cutter version of the supernatural. I'm looking forward to reading the next one even though I gather it loses the setting.
    • 3/5
      It's a good read if you're looking for a non-challenging piece of literature. While it's good in theory, it's a carbon-copy of it's predecessors. Cute little forbidden love story, much like all young adult books nowadays.Only read if you're looking for a mindless story. It's good if you don't think about it.
    • 4/5
      I quite enjoyed this Southern Gothic paranormal mystery and look forward to reading the others in the series soon.
    • 3/5
      A great take on the witchy fantasy genre with a bit of vampire mixed in. Interesting.
    • 4/5
      This book kept me reading past when I should have gone to bed. I love books that include southern towns and old houses. The ending was a little confusing for me, but I'm hoping it will all become clear when I start the second book, which I definitely will!
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. Even though the protagonist was a teenage male, I think teenage girls would like t his book, too.
    • 4/5
      While there were aspects of the book I did really like, there were aspects that just didn't quite work for me. The characters are interesting but after a while kinda blurred into sameness. I also have great moral reservations about the fated to be good or evil sthick.I liked the narrator, Ethan, he was a nicely down-to-earth character and interesting. While it was long, the book flowed for me and I ploughed through it. I want to see the movie now and am curious about the rest of the series.