GoodRead - Beautiful Creatures: The Manga

You must be wondering if I'm alright or not. I mean, within a few weeks, I have read the movie companion, seen the movie and, now, read the manga for a book that I liked, but didn't love (I still much prefer Beautiful Darkness more than Beautiful Creatures and I still have every intention to read both Beautiful Chaos and Beautiful Redemption by the end of this year). But I won this via Twitter when Penguin Books did their #TwitterChat with both authors, Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I asked the question if they were times they disagreed over any events that happened in the series and how they overcame them. I'm not sure if the question was answered, but I won a copy. So, thank you Twitter!

In this manga, it tells the basic story of Beautiful Creatures. In the town Gatlin, Ethan Wate is desperate to escape. But when Lena Duchannes enters his life, Ethan discovers that the sleepy town of Gatlin isn't as sleepy as he first thought. Soon, Ethan and Lena's love for each other is tested...

Out of this and the movie, the manga is the most loyal. And this surprised me. I honestly thought the manga was going to be a cheap and fast way for the publisher to plug in the hype going around the series due to the movie. Also, there's a feeling that, if a book/series is popular in YA at the moment, then there HAS to be a graphic novel/manga to go with it (milk the cash cow dry, publishers!) .And it didn't feel like that. It felt like the artist who adapted the novel into this - Cassandra Jean - is a fan of the books (I could be wrong) and took from the novel what was important and put them in the manga. I mean, there was so many things that I read in the manga that I honestly forgot was in the book (Link getting a tattoo of Ridley, for example). This helped refresh my memory of this book and, being honest with you, I liked this. I honestly enjoyed reading this. I think I might have enjoyed this more than the novel (please don't hurt me!)

The art. I have to talk about the art. It's a manga, I have to talk about the art. And I really liked the art. It just fitted with the world of Gatlin. I know some of you guys won't and that because of the the style. It's very sketchy. It's not neat or polished. It's as if Ethan drew this in a sketch book. So, because of this style, some characters' faces seem flat and you have moments where there's writing to show the mood or an action (ie AWKWARD, BAM, SLAM and GASP). But this, in my opinion, seem to fit and work.

I would really like the rest of the series to be done as manga, but I sense this will depend on how the movie does (and from what I've heard, the box office is doing ok, but not enough to warrant a sequel...), but if you're a fan of the series or of manga, you might want to give this a peek.

More Beautiful Creatures and Blackwood News

Right, I know this is revealed last week, but we have another Beautiful Creatures trailer and... well... it kick  butt! I love it! I am SO dragging my family and friends to this. Sorry everyone I know and love, but you will (hence my plan to read the whole series next year). So, here's the new trailer... and Emma Thompson is AWESOME! Just saying!

Second of all, fans of Blackwood by Gwenda Bond, get excited. News has been released that MTV is developing a TV show based on it. Kelsey Grammar's (Frasier to you and I) production company, Gramnet Prods, will be producing the show with Lionsgate TV and comic book and TV writer Peter Calloway will be writing the pilot. If MTV like the pilot, then we MIGHT get a full blown series!

Now, for those of you who haven't read this (like me), Blackwood follows Miranda and Phillips, two teens with their own troubles. Miranda is a misfit teen from Roanoke Island's most infamous family and Phillips is an exiled teen criminal who can hear the dead. They are forced together when the Lost Colony legend repeats itself. Hundreds of years ago, 114 people vanished without a trace. And it happened again. And one of the new 114 people missing is Miranda's father...

GoodRead - Beautiful Creatures

I have been aware of Beautiful Creatures since it came out in 2010 (or was it 2009?). I heard the hype and seen the cover (pretty, isn't it?). So why have I not picked it up then? The size. Have you not seen it? It's 563 pages long! And it has TINY writing! It's a scary beast of a book! But I always kinda wanted to read it. So when the trailer for the movie version of Beautiful Creatures was revealed a few months ago (it's at the bottom of this review, FYI), and I thought "This movie looks awesome! I need to get my hands on this series and play catch up!". And when I told people I could find a copy of Beautiful Creatures in my local bookshops, the lovely Sya from Mountains of Instead got me a secondhand copy and sent it to me...

Again, I love being part of the YA book blogging community! Just saying!

So, in the small Southern US town of Gatlin, everyone seems to know everyone's business. They enjoy the reenactments of the American Civil War (or, it's in known in Gatlin, The War Between the States or The War of Northern Aggression). They enjoy going to church every Sunday and have an Us Vs Them to outsiders. And Ethan Wate wants out. Once he's finished school, he's gone. But when a mysterious newcomer, niece of the mysterious Macon Ravenwood, Ethan is instantly attached to Lena Duchannes. He's been seeing her in his dreams for months. But as the pair slowly fall in love, Ethan enters Lena's world. The world of Casters. The world where that sits under the town of Gatlin. The world where, on her sixteenth birthday, Lena's fate is decided. She will go either Light or Dark...

And in the end, there will be grave... The question is whose?

Right, let's get started on how I feel about this. And am going to be honest. I'm not sure. On very much on the fence. I do see the book's pros, but I do see its cons as well.

Ok, let's did with the cons as I think I might rant over these. I think they come down to two points. The length and Lena herself. With the length (563 pages, as I said before), there is so much in this book and yet, there were times the book dragged. I get from most people that this was a problem with them, so I'm not alone, and I completely get other people saying "this is world building" (and I can't fault that! The world building in this book was good and clever). But when the book did drag, I did wonder if these chapters were needed or if the book could have been tightened up a bit...

The second fault I had with Lena "You Don't Understand" Duchannnes. Out of all the female characters in the book, she was kinda weak (though she is fifteen). And if she used the phase (her catchphrase, really) "You don't understand" one more time...

However, this book does have good points! The character development and the world building within this book was really good. And the gothic, Southern feel to the book was wonderful! I loved that! It feel like how I felt a southern town in the United State would feel like. And the writing style - you would never know two people wrote this! Also, the characters. Most of the characters (even Lena up to a point...) were good characters and surprised me. And they have stand-out scene that make me very happy!

One of my fave scenes was when Mrs Lincoln (Ethan's best friend's mother) went toe-to-toe with Lena's uncle, Macon in a Law & Order courtroom-style. That made me so happy as the chapter was built on all the tensions that had affected the book from the very start and hinted dangerously to the end. And then, we have Ridley's scenes... she was always a fun character to read about, as is Link, Ethan's best friend.

I am going to finish the series. Of course I am! I already have Beautiful Darkness and Beautiful Chaos and, at the time of writing this, I have preordered Beautiful Redemption. But as the books are so thick (all are around 500 pages), I'm going to take my time over reading them. So, the course of next year and maybe early 2014, you will probably get the rest of the Caster Chronicles. But yeah, I will be very intriguied to see how the movie turns out...

GoodRead - Dream Dark

When I said, quite casually on Twitter, that I was going to buy this, people of Twitter got upset. "But you haven't read the series!" they cried. "You're spoiling yourself if you read this series!" (my fave response was "NO YOU CAN'T DO THAT BLASPHEMY!") So, I have to explain why, even though I said I won't read it to several people on Twitter (*looks sheepish as the stares of @JeffreyWest & @CassJayTucker* hi).

Because I wanted to read it. Plus I do this all the time with series (have you not seen me attack the free short stories for the Soul Screamers series) so I can get the feel for the writing style so I know if I will get on with the series...

So, Dream Dark takes place between Beautiful Darkness and Beautiful Chaos so if you are reading this series, SPOILERS AHOY!

Following the events of Beautiful Darkness, something isn't right with Link. He seems to have gone off his food. He seems to have grown several inches taller. And when did he develop muscles like that from? And how did he heal from that bite so fast? Look out Gatlin, South Carolina, here comes the first Linkubus...

This is a story for the fans. I have to say this first and foremost so, if you're like me and know nothing of the series, BACK AWAY! This isn't for you.

But saying that though, I quite liked this story. Link was a fun character. Do you know how hard it is to find a fun character from a series which is quite dark? And the writing was good! Which solves me question over if I'm going to read the series or not...

Of course I was. I'm going to see the movie (It has Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons and Viola Davis in it! And have you not see that pic of Emmy Rossum being Ridley?! THIS FILM BETTER BE RELEASED IN THE UK!!!) so, of course, I'm going to read the book.

My main problem is the length. I wish the short story was longer (TEASE THE FANS!). I spent 49p on this (not much, I know), but I want more money's worth. And if I was a fan of the series, I wouldn't want to pay this, only to get 56% of Beautiful Chaos teaser, which is a good teaser for those about to read Beautiful Chaos, but not me who hasn't read the series (I didn't read this so NO MORE spoilers than what I read [which by the time I read Beautiful Creatures, I would have COMPLETELY forgotten!]).

If you are a fan of the series (and/or you're lusting after Link), this is essential. If you're like me and unsure over the series, go to your local library or download a teaser of Beautiful Creatures on your eReader and see what you think...



PS - I wrote this several days before the Beautiful Creatures teaser trailer come out and the same song I chose as my theme song for Dream Dark was used on the teaser trailer! I'M PSYCHIC, PEOPLE!!!

Beautiful Creatures Teaser Trailer!

Yes, I know I haven't read the Beautiful Creatures series, but I am SUPER EXCITED about the movie. I just love the idea of it. And, earlier today/yesterday, the teaser trailer was released!



OH MY GOD! Doesn't it look GREAT?! Sorry friends and family members of mine. We are going to watch this when it comes out! And I look like I have to attack my local bookshop/Amazon for the series (unless Puffin UK would like to treat me... ONLY JOKING, PUFFIN! Will happily buy this myself!). Sorry in advance to my poor bank account/credit card.

Also, it was revealed the poster!

I LOVE how the words Beautiful Creatures is in the same style as used on the US and UK covers!

So, reactions? Do you love the trailer? Or not? Or did you squeal when you heard Florence and the Machine? LEAVE COMMENTS AND LET ME KNOW! 

(Oh, before I sign off, I want to thank Braiden from Book Prode for showing me the trailer & poster and Jeffrey West, Girls in the Stacks and Cass Jay Tucker for hyperventilation with me. And of course, Cass for her reaction video (Jeffrey will do one tomorrow, I hope!). I love Cass's reaction. "OH! THAT'S FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE!" I love her!)