Beautiful Darkness, Swag Giveaways, and Which Character Are You?

Hello everyone!

Last year, a pretty awesome (and very pretty book) book came out called Beautiful Creatures (read my review here), written by two lovely and talented ladies named Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. This month, the fantastic sequel will hit stores!

Beautiful Darkness

Lena and Ethan have lived through the day that they had been dreading for months, Lena's sixteenth birthday, but not without some sacrifices. With Macon's death, Lena is depressed and lost, and there doesn't seem to be anything that Ethan can do to help her, despite his own experiences with grief. Then Lena begins pulling away and taking risks, and Ethan, still not aware of what really happened to him the night of Lena's birthday, can't understand why. So he digs deeper into Caster lore and his mother's research to look for a way to save Lena and what they have before it's too late. But once you've entered the Caster world, you can never go back, and some secrets Ethan uncovers will put him and everyone he loves in far more danger than he can imagine.

Beautiful Darkness is a very detailed and layered sequel that won't disappoint fans of Beautiful Creatures. Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's world is vivid and rich, with an old south backdrop, lore, and traditions--the setting is really what sets their work apart from the endless options in the paranormal genre. Though it picks up where Beautiful Creatures leaves off, the book covers a good amount of time as Lena and Ethan struggle with conflicting feelings about the night of Lena's birthday, the consequences, and the grief each are experiencing. Ethan's voice is especially strong in this installment, as he has to stand on his own and discovers a whole new world right beneath his own nose. Garcia and Stohl also introduce a few new characters that add new tension between the main characters and open the way to new, surprising secrets about Caster powers and the battle of Light vs. Dark. All the twists, secrets, and surprises culminate in a journey through the Caster tunnels and a suspenseful showdown between family members that will leave some dead, and some very much alive. There might be some confusion as to who is left standing at the end, but one thing is for certain: this story is not over, and readers still have another deliciously thick and dark gothic book to look forward to.

To celebrate the release on October 14th, we've formulated a fun character quiz for you all to see which character you resemble the most! Check it out:

Photo by Vania Stoyanova

1. If you were listening to your iPod this artist would most likely be playing

a. The Smiths
b. The Foo Fighters
c. Black Sabbath
d. Nine Inch Nails

2. What would you wear on any given day?

a. Black skirt, t-shirt and chucks.
b. Jeans, my silver surfer t-shirt and chucks
c. Vintage Led Zeppelin t-shirt and black jeans
d. Platforms and the shortest skirt I can find

3. What would you most likely snack on?

a. Granola Bars
b. Donuts
c. Amma’s Pie
d. Hard Candy

4. If you lived in Gatlin where would you hang out?

a. My bedroom
b. The library
c. Daree Keen
d. I’d rather be anywhere but Gatlin

5. What would you be doing on an average day?

a. Writing in my journal
b. Reading one of my favorite books
c. Practicing with my band
d. Causing Trouble

6. Two characteristics that describe me would be

a. Artistic & Private
b. Loyal & Easy Going
c. Funny & Scattered
d. Cocky & Impatient

7. The qualities that attract me to someone are

a. Trustworthy & Intelligent
b. Kind & Mysterious
c. Hot… what else is there?
d. Tolerant & Good looking

8. The book most likely on my nightstand is

a. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
b. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
c. Wolverine Origin Comic
d. US Weekly

9. If you could visit anywhere in the world where would it be?

a. Florence, Italy because I love museums
b. Anywhere but where I live
c. New York, NY
d. LA

10. A movie I would order from netflix is

a. The Breakfast Club
b. Nightmare on Elm Street
c. Transformers
d. Cruel Intentions

Now, look at your answers. If you got mostly A's, you resemble Lena. Mostly B's, and you are like Ethan. C's resemble Link, and D's are like Ridley!

Now, for the fun part--a giveaway!! I will have some Beautiful Darkness swag bags to give away! All you have to do is take the character quiz and fill out the form below!