Прелестно изкупление

Caster Chronicles #4

by Kami Garcia

Дали смъртта е краят... Или е едва началото?
Може ли да бъде спасен нечий живот, след като е свършил?

В „Прелестен хаос” Итън Уейт се принася в жертва, за да спаси не само момичето, което обича, но и целия свят. След възстановяването на Общия ред той открива, че смъртта може да бъде също толкова голямо предизвикателство, колкото и животът. Предстои му дълго пътуване в отвъдния свят, за да не изтлее напълно като сянка и да намери начин да се върне при Лена и любимите си хора. С помощта на Великите и на странници, които среща по пътя си, Итън ще се изправи пред Отвъдното съдилище на Пазителите и ще се опита да пренапише съдбата си в „Хрониките на чародейците”.
В Гатлин Лена е готова на всичко, за да му помогне, дори това да означава, че трябва да се довери на стари врагове и да рискува живота на семейството и приятелите си.
Дали двамата ще докажат, че смъртта може наистина да е само началото на безсмъртието? Дали ще ни убедят, че е възможно да има любов, при която да чувстваш усмивката на любимия в съня си?
И че животът понякога наистина може да има сладък вкус...


Може би няма смисъл в живота. Може би има смисъл само в живеенето.
Това научих. Това щях да правя отсега нататък.
И в любовта, колкото и лигаво да звучи.
Лена Дюшан. Името й звучи като дъжд.
Вече не падам. Така казва Лена и тя е права. Може да кажете, че летя.
И двамата летим.

"Прелестно изкупление" - финалната част на една история, която ни кара отново да повярваме в любовта.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, Fiction, Magic, Supernatural

296 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2012

About the author

Kami Garcia is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author. She is the coauthor of the BEAUTIFUL CREATURES series, which has been published in 51 countries and 37 languages, with over 10 million copies in print. In 2013, Beautiful Creatures released as a feature film from Warner Brothers. Kami is a cofounder of the YALLFEST kid lit book festival and the author of five solo novels, including her Bram Stoker Award-nominated novels Unbreakable and Unmarked (THE LEGION series) and The X-Files Origins: Agent of Chaos. Kami’s first graphic novel Teen Titans: Raven, with artist Gabriel Picolo, is the first book in her TEEN TITANS series for DC Comics and the adult series JOKER/HARLEY: CRIMINAL SANITY, from DC Black Label.

Find Kami online at kamigarcia.com, on Facebook @KamiGarciaYA, and on Twitter and Instagram @KamiGarcia.

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was better than the last. Mostly cause Ethan is dead.

After three books, I thought, surely Ethan and Lena would run out of ways to confess their love??

"It didn't matter if we were dead or alive. We could never be kept apart."

Apparently not.

Because, now that Ethan is dead, we have a whole new angle. Pining.

"Even when I didn't know anything else about where I was or what I was supposed to be doing. You were my Wayward, even then. Everything always brought me back to you. Everything."

Mutual. Pining.

"I love her beyond the universe and back. I love her from this world to the next."

Sigh. Just shootme now.

Okay, so if you manage to wade through all this lovey-dovey he-is-my-moon she-is-my-stars stuff....the plot was actually a bit decent (better than the last two at least).

Ethan sacrificed himself at the end of book 3 and is now in the underworld. Which is a lot like the real world - only with lots of arbitrary and convenient rules to keep the plot plodding along.

Lena is mourning yet another death until she plucks up the courage to do something radical. Like bring her boyfriend back from the dead. After all, when has that idea ever gone wrong?

From then on, Lena and her friends spend all their time following arbitrary and convenient rules to bring back her dead boyfriend.

As usual, the only reason I'm continuing this with this series is because the authors can write absolutely amazing side characters.

Well...side character.

I abso-freaking-lutely adore Link. He has such a hilarious personality that it really makes this series shine.

As I followed him along the sharp black stones, I could hear Link's voice in my head. "Bad move, man. He's gonna kill you, stuff you, and add you to his collection of idiots who followed him back to his creepy cave."

Audiobook Comments
Read jointly by Kevin T. Collins and Khristine Hvam. As usual, I enjoyed the narration by Kevin Collins and all the character he gives to the folks of Gatlin County.

For the first time, we have the story written from the perspective Lena. We have a new narrator (Khristine Hvam) for Lena's parts. However, what really threw me off was that the new narrator did all the accents differently. Some of them were so different that I really had to pay attention keep track of who was who.

YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads

[Charlotte May · Rating 2 out of 5]

What was that bullshit ending?!

Ugh.

Ok, so I read this purely so I could complete the series. I wasn’t expecting much, as these books have been getting more and more ridiculous with their plot holes and characterisations as they have gone on. So having now completed the Caster Chronicles I can finally say I am done, I am glad for it and I will probably never return to this series.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

So, Ethan is dead. (Honestly how many times can a character be killed off and resurrected in a book series?!?) This book is split into three parts, 1 and 3 are from Ethan’s perspective, where he does whatever he possibly can and bargains with anyone and everyone in the otherworld to try and make his way back to Lena.

Part 2, you guessed it, is from Lena’s perspective. Ethan has succeeded in leaving notes for Lena and their friends, to assist him in his return, which includes finding things for him, such as the infamous book of moons.

All the villains from the previous books show up – Saraphine, Abraham, Angelus. All the characters can talk about is how the world is going to end, or they just pine over one another – that’s it. Lena was annoying, Ethan was annoying. I like Link – particularly as everyone underestimates him, and then he just murders Abraham with a pair of garden shears – that was the best part for me.

And the worst of the worst, the ending. In order to bring back Ethan, Amma has to die. No. No. Nope nopity nope. Absolutely not. She is my favourite character – why on earth is Ethan so special that this was allowed! He chose to throw himself off of the water tower. This isn’t the kind of series where something like killing off the only positive role model in Ethan’s life is an acceptable plot choice!! They did it for shock factor, no more no less and I am not here for that.

2 stars and I am glad to be over this series.

[BlackroseBlackheart · Rating 4 out of 5]

OH MY GOD. I AM SO SORRY.

I realised I had been putting off this review because writing it would have meant the end of... of this. The love, the heart-break, the passion, the frustration, the components that truly make this a beautiful series.

And all I have to say is... DAMMIT XAVIER, where were you all the rest of the series??? :o

I wasn't too sure about the book being from Lena's POV so much, as I kind of missed Ethan. He was a little more wry, and I thought it dragged on a little bit, which is the only reason I gave it 4 stars out of five (blasphemy, I know -_- ), but otherwise this was the perfect ending to a much-loved series.

Kami Garcia, I salute you, and I eagerly await any more books you wish to write :)
_____________________________________________________________________
This is going to sound really weird, but... the cover of this book is always going to remind me of Hurricane Sandy, because of the closeness of both, and because of the way the stairs. Y'kno? Like a hurricane, with the eye of the storm in the middle. The stillness in the middle of the storm. Who knows, maybe that's where we start. In the center, where all is not what it seems...



I don't know, okay? I've been revising so frickin' hard for my GCSE Maths exams that I haven't been able to read the book. It's just sitting there, on the bookshelf, waiting to be picked up. Waiting to release it's secrets and sacrifices to me, as soon as I have a chance to PICK THE DAMN BOOK UP. you have no idea how much this is driving me around the bend.


Oh and did I mention how much I hate Maths???

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, my dear friends, is the Day. 23/10/12. The Day we all fall down these Gothic stairs, arriving finally to the end of Beautiful Creatures.

Thanks to all who read my pre-review rant about this book, and liked it. All 80 of you (for now...) :P


Review to come...
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OMG. OMFG. Oh my. Oh, oh my. It's green. It's- it's bright green. And there's a staircase. There's a flippin' staircase. It's winding down, down, down...

A green winding staircase. Whoa, mama.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just took a look at the new name. Beautiful Redemption. Wow. *Exhales loudly like a crowd cheering* AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Towards the end of Beautiful Chaos, I was sobbing in my pillow, clutching the book like a damn lifeline. When it ended (why, WHY did it END?), I was sob-screaming, banging my head on the wall, and half-mumbling incoherent threatening things to the authors about the unbelievably STUPID cliff-hanger.

And all that was going through my head for the next week was...
Shit, authors, you lay a ONE hand on my Ethan in the next book, you're both DEAD. DEAD!!!!!

Well, not really, cuz I can't be bothered to pay tons of money to go all the way to USA, and lug an axe with me, but... I'll figure something out :P

Plus, they probably won't kill him off. I mean, that'll take away the whole point of a YA book. No love interest means no panting, no smoochy-woochy scenes that fill in, like, maybe half the book, and basically a minimal story that doesn't get good reviews or has any prospects of being converted into a film by producers that may or may not think that all we teens care about is watching another teen's angst on the big screen.

But still...

ETHAN................

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

****FINAL RATING: 3.90 STARS****

CATCHALL
Wow. My first thought after finishing this was, what a stunning finale to the Caster Chronicles. I feel like I've been reading these books for years. They're so fantastic and gorgeous. This series just…wow. I mean, wow. I'm speechless really. Was this book perfect? Of course not. But I loved every moment of it nonetheless. It made my heart ache in a good way. I've become so connected to these characters, to this universe, that I have really found a home in it no matter how cliché that sounds. Beautiful Redemption was gorgeous and breathtaking and most certainly went out with a bang.

THE HERO
ETHAN
Ethan is, of course, our hero. He's changed so much from the first book. He used to dream of escaping Gatlin. Now the only thing he wants is to get back to it. Before he met Lena, he was just a typical boy. Now, he's a strong young man. I loved seeing him change, and he continues to change in this novel. He is forced to mature still more. If he wants to return to Lena, he must stay strong. Ethan definitely has some issues. We all do, of course. He can be impulsive, but he's also sentimental in a good way. He has feelings and a heart, and though that doesn't always make life easy for him, it also helps him in more ways than one.

THE HEROINE
LENA
Because Lena narrates a part of the story for the first time, we get to know her more intimately than ever before. She's a lot like Ethan, which isn't surprising, since half the time they seem to be the same person. Even so, she's also starkly independent and very strong even on her own. She'll do absolutely anything to get Ethan back, even if it seems completely insane. Insane doesn't matter to her—he does. She does think about her magic an awful lot, but at least she knows when not to use it, and I guess that makes sense.

THE FRIENDS
LINK
Link is fantastic. Easily my favorite character in the entire series. He has the most amazing an awesome personality. Sure, he's a bit arrogant, but that's just part of what makes him so darn lovable. He thinks of things that no one else would ever think of, and by sheer luck and a strange conglomeration of circumstances, his plans somehow always seems to work. He also says the most random and weird things, which of course just make my entire life.
RIDLEY
Ridley is Lena's cousin, but I didn't feel like making a separate header, so whatever. She's a very, very interesting character. She's Dark by nature. That much has always been clear. But it's also very clear that she cares for Lena, and she cares for Link. She seems constantly at odds with what to do with herself even though she usually tries in the end to do the right thing. I love how she changes throughout the books especially.
XAVIER
Xavier is an entirely new character that we meet in this book. There are several, but Xavier is by far my favorite and in my opinion the most important. When we first meet him, we're not supposed to be sure what to make of him. He is many things in more ways than one and a complete enigma. Eventually, though, I really came to love him. He's a shockingly complex character and I really wish that we could have gotten to know more about him.

THE PLOT
And now for the most lengthy part of my review. Let's discuss the plot. There is so much good that I have to say here. Of course, there's also a bit of bad. But clearly I loved this novel, so I imagine I have mostly good things to say.

Well, there was definitely excitement to this plot. Somehow, even without making everything move at a million miles an hours, the action in this book in still heart-poundingly intense. When I'm reading this book I'm desperate to keep reading so that I can find out what's next. There's a certain level of anticipation that's achieved here and that can count me among its prisoners.

It seems like no matter how much we find out, no matter how much information to gather, there is always more that we don't know. This added still more suspense to the novel! I was reading to find out not only what was next, but to find out more. I loved the way the information was slowly spilled to us, revealed to us smoothly, in milky transitions. I loved finding out more, tying everything together just a little more.

Still, this book had less good v evil. Not totally, but in general, there was more focus on Ethan's journey to return to Lena and Lena aiding him than there was with Caster corruption and such, and I was sorry for that. It ended up leaving some things too open-ended for my taste, which naturally I was sad about.

Also, some things were just way too convenient. Like, some things just worked out way too nicely. It was completely unrealistic and made no sense and just kind of ticked me off. It all felt very rushed and contrived and just didn't seem very genuine. I wasn't buying it.

Even so, overall, like I said, fantastic. I really, truly did love this. It brought both joy and sadness to my heart, drug me onto an emotional roller coaster and decided not to let me go. There are some intensely emotional moments to balance the action and the info, and some of them were definitely tearjerkers.

THE ROMANCE
Ethan and Lena have such a sweet, soft kind of chemistry. It sparks, but it's also obviously not going to fade anytime soon. Maybe never. You can feel the love between them. When they're together. Even when they're apart, which they mostly are in this book. But at the same time, while it's clearly the most important thing to each of them, it doesn't really ever seem to control them or dominate them. It's a large part of their lives and who they are, yes, but it does not define them. They love being together and hate being apart, and when apart all they want is to find their way back to one another, but they still stay strong.

THE WRITING
I've always loved Kami and Margaret's writing. Their descriptions, especially, are lovely. Absolutely lovely. I love the way they describe the worlds their characters inhabit, and the gorgeous places around them, so vividly and completely. It's like I can picture myself really there. And I practically can. What my main problem here has always been is that Ethan's voice isn't very masculine. He sounds so feminine a lot of the time. It's gotten a little better, but that first impression is hard to erase. However, unlike the the other Caster Chronicle books, we also get Lena's point of view in this installment. Not only is her voice gorgeous, but it was nice to have that change. Even if her voice sounds suspiciously like Ethan's. That may be the point.

THE ENDING
My sappy and sentimental heart has a thing for sentimental endings, and so by default I do too. And this ending just made my heart so so so happy. There was so much sweetness to it! And of course, it was desperately romantic. But there's more to it than that. There were sacrifices that had be made. There are always sacrifices, serious, permanent ones. And I love that this ending embraced that too. There's happiness, but there's also heartache because endings are never perfect.

WRAPUP
I certainly had my ups and downs with this series. It wasn't perfect, and I was often frustrated by it. Even so, over all of that there was an overarching enjoyment that made me unable to keep from loving these books. They're achingly real, and I recommend them with all my heart. If you love magic, especially, you'll probably love these. I myself will definitely be reading future works by both Kami and Margaret. And maybe if we're lucky, they'll even work together again someday.

FINE.

Find more of my reviews on Sparkles and Lightning!

[Ilze Folkmane · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is such a thing as sloppy writing, and this book, even the whole series, could easily be shown to aspiring writers as an example of such writing. Also, editors could take a note or two on how not to edit. I've seen booklets with more thought-out structures and better edited plot elements.
I have no doubt that the authors are a pair of imaginative, creative and wonderful women, but I wouldn't go as far as saying that writing is their thing. If it is, they hide it pretty well. The amount of plot holes in the book is higher than in all my bookshelf taken together. I guess there are several possible explanations for this (e.g., they had no idea what they were doing; they had crappy note-taking system; they understood everything so well that they couldn't imagine that some other people might not understand), but in the end it all boils down to the editor, who should have tied the authors to a couple of chairs and made them write a decent book. This one seemed to be read once. By a cat probably.
However, what strikes me most, is the lack of belief I realised I had in Ethan and Lena’s love. Somewhere in the middle of the fourth book (I know, I'm really quick when it comes to perceiving things), I suddenly realised that they have absolutely no chemistry at all. I was more moved by and ready to believe Ethan’s sort-of-crush on Liv than his unwavering, supposedly undying adoration for the love of his life. And the reason for this is mainly that Lena is as interesting and deep as a wooden board. The authors clearly wanted to create some buzz in the world of supernatural young adult novels by making the main heroine the gifted, awesome one, while the boy can barely tie his shoestrings by himself, but it really doesn't work out if the supposedly awesome character does not have any qualities worth mentioning apart from her quirky magic skills. So, to sum up – Lena sucks. What also sucks is the fact that her narrative and Ethan’s narrative have the same exact voice, but that’s not Lena’s fault, of course.
So what I'm saying in the end is that I applaud the effort the authors put in this book, because I truly believe that writing a book is a difficult, time-consuming and exhausting job, no matter what the end result looks like. At the same time, if you can’t create likeable, clever characters, but end up making them look stupid because of your lack of writing skills, don’t write the book. Or write the book, but don’t publish it. Or get a better editor. To be honest, though, no one forced me to read it, so I can’t really complain too much, but at the same time I would like all authors and editors put a little more effort into their work. You know, it’s just common courtesy towards readers.

[Mike Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATE 7/19/12

The cover of this book has green letters. Green. FREAKING GREEN, which is my favorite color. And a staircase winding down, down, down. And they gave us the title, Beautiful Redemption.

Redemption - The action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil: "God's plans for the redemption of his world". Hmm, maybe Ethan's the one getting saved. I hope...

Now, I have some new predictions for you guys. I recently reread Beautiful Chaos (my eyes were totally mistified by the ending) and I've come up with some new predictions. Here are fifteen "prophecies" that I believe must come true in Beautiful Redemtpion.

1) Lena will break down. She'll become almost Bella Swan-like and be gone when everyone needs her, but some vision from Ethan will finally get her ready and she'll Bind the New Order and bring her Mortal boyfriend back. That's got to happen. If Ethan was going to die, the authors would've ended the series at three books (which would have made me bomb their houses. No, I'm kidding. But I would've been pretty mad.) Plus, look at the summary. It's almost telling us Ethan's coming back.

2) Amma will die. This is one of my oldest predictions, and it still stands because I believe it to be true. Amma made her deal with the bokor in Beautiful Chaos, and Abraham banished him. I think the deal is going to be trading her soul for Ethan's or something like that, and she dies. Her death will be painful, but it won't be unexpected.

3) John Breed and Liv Durand will get together. Their romance was hinted at in Beautiful Chaos, but they didn't actually get together yet; remember Liv denied that they were dating? I'd actually love to see Jiv (or Lohn?) happen. They're pretty cute together.

4) Ethan's mom will come back, or reveal that she was never actually dead. A similar thing happened in The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, and it was completely unexpected. I think the authors would do it. It'd certainly be an excellent plot twist.

5) Ridley will finally choose- once and for all- which side she's on. For the past three books she's been back and forth. We can see that she really loves Link, but she's not showing it because of the part of her that's Dark. However, when she became Mortal, she was shown true love and Light on Link's part (and their relationship is SOOOO cute). Also, I think what Macon said- "Everyone has Light and Darkness" was a hint at a possible plot turn.

6) There'll be one final, spectacular Claiming Moon. This is almost confirmed by the sudden Nineteen Moons at the end of Beautiful Chaos. The only question is, will it be John's Nineteenth Moon? Or some new character?

7) Abraham will have a hand in trying to stop Lena from Binding the World Order. Of course he will. He's the main antagonist, the reason for so much of Ethan and Lena's struggles. And he was mysteriously sane in Beautiful Chaos, so I think he has some epic end-of-the-world tricks up his sleeve for the next book. Let's hope they're not too epic, 'cause I don't want the authors killing off anyone else, even though I'm certain that's going to happen.

8) It'll be from Lena's point of view. I can imagine the authors continuing with Ethan's point of view, but it wouldn't really be very entertaining. I mean, what else can he do but watch from the Otherworld? If he's dead, all he can do is watch. It would be interesting if they did a Vampire Diaries type thing where Ethan's a ghost and Lena's the only one who can see him, but I don't know. Lena's POV would be best though. Or maybe even both! That'd be awesome, and from the looks of the summary, I'm seeing both their stories.

9) There's going to be an earth-shattering, jaw-dropping secret that NO ONE saw coming. That kind of thing has been happening a lot in YA, sudden plot twists that no one saw coming, so I can imagine something forbidden happening. Only... what?

10) Ethan's father will finally come out of his depression/stupor. This will only happen if his mother comes back. That'd be pretty nice. His dad's a clueless character, but I think with the right incentive he'd be cool.

11) Marian will either die or Liv will have to give up something to save her. This wasn't on my original list, but when I reread the book I noticed the depth of the Far Keep subplot, and I realized that Marian might be dying in the next installment. That'd be terribly sad. I love Marian's character, but hey. Doesn't look like there's any way to save the Caster Librarian...

12) There will be something underground, explaining the winding staircase on the cover. Or maybe that's just a metaphor for Ethan's journey into the Otherworld, or to find Lena. Too early to tell.

13) There will be an Ethan's dad/Ethan's mom/Macon love triangle if she does come back. I mean, come on. Mrs. Wate was the reason Macon chose Light- or at least part of the reason- so you know he still has feelings for her. It would be kind of awkward for Lena and Ethan, though.

14) The bokor will have a bigger huge role. I mean, come on. This one's gotta happen. Amma's little deal with him was deadly, I'm assuming, so maybe he'll be on the villain card with Abraham in the book.

15) There will be a bittersweet ending. At the moment, I can see many characters dying, the Nineteenth Moon being action packed, Abraham causing some trouble, and Lena and Ethan having that powerful reunion. I think the book will end on a bittersweet note, but I don't know how much of which will come across.

So, there you have it. Those are my predictions for Beautiful Chaos. Now, hurry up October! Please! So we can see if they come true!

Note: Guys, have you heard that they just recently finished filming the Beautiful Creatures movie ??? It's coming out February 13, 2013. Who's going to see it? I hope they make movies out of all the books, including this one!

[Shawna Finnigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I guess that’s the thing about a hero’s journey. You might not start out a hero, and you might not even come back that way. But you change, which is the same as everything changing. The journey changes you, whether or not you know it, and whether or not you want it to.”

I had a massive love hate relationship with this series so I'm surprised by how much this book blew me away. Beautiful Redemption was the perfect conclusion to the Caster Chronicles. It wrapped everything up so nicely and it gave one final heartbreaking yet heartwarming adventure for these characters. I don't want to let these characters go so I'm glad that there's a spin off series and a few novellas that I still have left to read.

The two major things that made me love this book more than the previous three were the pacing and the writing style. The pacing was so much better in this book. The other three books were super slow and it was a drag to get through them, but this one had so much conflict and character development that it didn't feel slow at all. I could really tell that both of the authors had improved with their writing style and writing capabilities with this book. The writing was never bad to start off with, but it flowed so much smoother in this book and there were so many beautiful quotes in this book.

The part of this series as a whole that really stood out though and made me love it is the characters. All of them are so lovable and so many characters go through massive transformations that'll make you fall in love with them all. Link and Ridley were definitely my favorite in this series and I'm excited to read the spin off series that focuses on them, but Liv, Lena, John, and Ethan also hold a special place in my heart.

I don't really have much more to say on this series but I am so glad that I read it and I will always cherish this series, especially this final book.

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 1 out of 5]

So this is the last book in the series and I made it. Thank goodness for that because I didn't think I had it in me after the disastrous second and third books in the series.

Ethan is trying to make his way to Lena and Lena is also trying to get to Ethan. Ethan leaves clues for Lena so that she can find them and then find him.

It follows the same plot as the first, second and the third book in the series. In every book, Ethan dies and then they resurrect him and in every book there's an apocalypse on the horizon and in every book they outrun it. I mean talk about repetitive and done to death. Everyone was so annoying in this like most of the books in the series and I was annoyed at all of them and myself for reading this series and the author for that stupid ending.

I am just glad that this series is finally over.

1 star

[Manon · Rating 5 out of 5]

21st of October (1 day after reading Beautiful Chaos) : The book doesn't even have a name yet, but I just can't wait 'till October 2012 to read it - hope Ethan is alright! And it's so sad to think after that one, whatever its name, there won't be any other story with our Ethan, Lena, Liv, Amma, Link, Macon and co...

14th of February (almost 4 months after reading BC) : WE HAVE ITS TITLE! I'm actually much more excited now! But I'm wondering what does Beautiful Redemption's plot will look like, and I'm quite nervous to see whose "redemption" the book is gonna be about. Oh god, curiosity makes waiting much more harder!!

6th of March (5 months after reading BC) : COVER RELEASED! Haha, I knew it was gonna be green for once. I love it. And it's a good omen for what'll happen, isn't it?!

10th of October (14 days before the release) : The book is out here in precisely two weeks. Oh my god. Seven days and it's gonna be the end of this series I've been adoring since its release in France. How am I going to survive without Ethan, Lena and co?

23rd of October (5 minutes after having finished it): Wow. Or, like Amma would have said it, W.O.W. three vertical, symbolizing atonishement with a hint of gratitude. Because that's how I feel, at this very moment. I just loved this book so much five stars aren't enough. Ten thousand stars wouldn't be enough. This book was magical, in the real sense of the term, I was hooked and only managed to let it down after five hours of non-stop reading (I even read it while going down my stairs, that's to say!).
The ending was just the perfect one. Every single word in this book was perfect. I don't always feel that way, I most of the time find little things that could have been changed, improvements to do on an artistic plan, even and mostly in my favourite books. But not in this one. In all points, this was the perfect ending to the four years of my life I have spent loving these books, running blogs about them, posting on networks, meeting the authors - this book is like the final gift Kami and Margie did to us readers, and I feel oh so grateful for that. I wouldn't change a thing in it, and even if I could, I wouldn't, because the perfect imperfections are making this book one of my favourite ever. I just feel so overwhelmed by emotions right now, I don't really think I can think clear, and even if it was the case, and even if I often revise my opinion for days after the reading, I don't think how my opinion of this book could ever change.
On a more technical matter, I loved that both Lena and Ethan got to tell us the story, from each side of the universe - ours and the other. It was not a suprise, of course, this book was not a surprise on a surprise on a surprise, but it didn't made it less interesting and captivating and amazing. I felt Ethan's will to live, Lena's sorrow and her will to bring Ethan back where he belonged. I felt every single page of this book, and I really do wish I could forget about it to start it over and over.
I almost cried of happiness when Lena finally unreveals her name, which is beautiful, as well as when Link finally told us about that mysterious mischief Amma caught him doing. This is what I mean when I said Kami and Margie were giving us here a final gift, because they didn't have to tell us all this, but they did.
I also had the feeling that 'la boucle était bouclée' as we say in France, it was like by his final chapter, Ethan was sort of closing his own story, and the reference to the 'stupid and the stuck', which is the very first line of the first chapter of the first book brought tears to my eyes, because it meant that it was over, but in the most beautiful way, no excessively happy and not excessively sad, and here the authors managed to find the perfect tone to close this wonderful story.
The end brought mixed feelings to me, I was both happy and sad, because of the blissful yet sad tone of these last chapters, but maybe also because it was the end of this book series I loved ever since I read it, and that will remain in my heart forever.
I really do hate endings - who doesn't? - but as we say, all the good things have to end someday. This is where the Caster Chronicles end, with their lot of joy and sadness, of laughter and tears, of Ethan and Lena and Link and Ridley and Olivia and John and Macon and Amma and Lila and the Sisters and all these other perfect characters who have been here for me for these past four years.
So THANK YOU SO MUCH to our wonderful authors for having shared the magical world of the Casters with us, which I don't even remember my life without.

[Marnie (Enchanted Bibliophile) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was totally unexpected!
I had a very general idea as to where this story was going, I even gave a little prediction in my review of Beautiful Chaos. But man was I wrong!

This book just blew me away. It was so different- different is what caught me in Beautiful Creatures, so I guess that's what did it this time around as well.
I love how it all played out, how every thing tied so neatly into this final installment of the Caster Chronicles.

I believe this will be a series I read and re-read over and over again.
The magic in this books is more than just the casts; it's the relationships, the characters and the ever unpredictable plot.

Kami and Margaret outdid themselves!

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest I was a bit disappointed with the last installment in this series. I liked the other books but this one sort of failed to deliver. The authors used multiple points of view in this book switching off between Ethan and Lena. I think perhaps if they had switched perspectives more frequently instead of having large portions of the novel be from one pov or the other it would have added more of a dynamic feel. As it was the book felt stagnant and the plot was inevitable and predictable. I didn't enjoy the new characters that were introduced and the ending felt anticlimactic. I wish certain plot points had been further elucidated such as what happens in the Far Keep and to the Keepers after Ethan's adventure there. Additionally the physiological changes Ethan and Lena experience were not explained. For anyone who has read all the prior books I would say go ahead and finish the series but don't get your hopes up too high.

[Benjamin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm feeling so...you know, disappointed...

Full review posted!

Nice quotes, bad content.

“I guess that’s the thing about a hero’s journey. You might not start out a hero, and you might not even come back that way. But you change, which is the same as everything changing. The journey changes you, whether or not you know it, and whether or not you want it to.”

Spoilers from this and the books before!!

HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT

This is the last book of the series and the worst (at least for me). It’s the shortest and yet, it could have been better if it only had had 120 pages.

Worldbuilding: Rest in peace under the uselessly dramatic stuff.

Writing style: I haven’t been a huge fan of it but the “accent” was impossible to understand.

The so annoying characters:

Since the first book I couldn’t stand Ethan (I’m not stereotyping) but every time I read a chapter with his POV I couldn’t avoid picturing him as a girl instead of as a boy. (Sorry not sorry)

Lena was okay in the books before, but in this last book, there are pages dedicated to her sorrow.

What the f*ck did you do with Ridley, first you gave me a strong, evil Siren and then we got this weeping creature. NO way!

Amma: Of course, my favorite character had to die. Is there any other way of making things worse? I don’t think so.

Macon: He never become the importance he deserved.

Ethan’s aunts: they’re funny but that’s it.

The cat is the best thing in the series.

A little funny summary:

Ethan: “I’m dead because I wanted to, but considering it well, I don’t want to be dead anymore”

Some miracle: “Oh, but Ethan you don’t have to be dead if you don’t want to, you can always go to see a mysterious creature that will tell you the answer to all your problems”

Ethan: “Right! How could I have forgotten that?” “But first I have to talk with Lena because she can’t live without me.”

Lena (in the living world): “I missed Ethan so much, I don’t care if everyone else dies I just want him here, so I can write my shitty poetry” “But I don’t worry because I know he will come back”

Everyone else: “You cannot bring your boyfriend back”

Lena: “You don’t know anything, you don’t have eyes with different colors like me.”

Everyone else: “But we are older, duh”

Lena: “Shhhhh, don’t wanna hear you talking, go clean my room.” “I’ll go and save Ethan by myself.”

Ethan (still dead): ”After fighting so much I’ll finally go back to see Lena (I was actually letting everyone else die for me) I’m such a powerful man”

Ethan (living world): “Guess who’s back bitches?” “Wait, why is Amma flying through the sky” “Oh no! She’s been eaten by the Greats” “Never mind, I’ll be okay”

Lena: “Let me kiss you, Ethan, I’ve missed your stupid decisions so much”

Ethan: “So have I, Lena. Let’s go to Dairy Queen and make some babies.

Lena: “What a wonderful idea! I’ll make babies with you for the rest of my life.”

THE END

Being serious, nobody should waste their time reading this series.

“There is a point. I don't know what it is, but everything I've had, and everything I've lost, and everything I felt-it meant something.
Maybe there isn't a meaning to life. Maybe there's only a meaning to living.
That's what I've learned. That's what I'm going to be doing from now on.
Living.
And loving, as sappy as it sounds”

[Lazaros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabula Peracta Est.
Scripta Aeterna Manent.

After the story is written forever.

I'm so sad to see this series coming to and end. Every single book was amazing and I'll forever cherish them.

I won't lie, it was the most painful book in the series but at the same time it was the best and the most beautiful just like the first half of its title suggests.

Ethan found his way back and there was a price paid (of course there would be) but everything ended beautifully and tragically all the same just as I was sure it would. There was a happy ending but not for everyone.

I just want to say how much the writing affected me. I think this book was the most well-written book the duo has released. It was so deep. The meaning behind the book was made clear throughout the entire book. We are never alone. We always have people looking out for us even when we think we don't.

I also loved the fact that we got to see how Lena thinks and how she perceives all these things happening. Most of all, I'm going to miss Ethan because I love him so much and I'll forever be grateful to those two wonderful authors for intruducing him to us, the readers. Thanks to them, we got to experience another amazing world and we can always re-read the books if we want to!

Well, that's it! Thanks for reading my review! :)

[Jordan]

GRRRRR.... Why did you have to stop it when Ethan jumps! Why! It took all I had not to cry. I love Ethan and Lena and if you Seriously kill Ethan, Lena will go CRAZY. Probably even worse than when she thought Macon was dead! You can't continue the series without Ethan it is crazy!
Please please please please DO NOT KILL ETHAN. Or kill him and let the Wheel of Fate bring him back to life! But he has to live. If he dies they all die, because Lena will lose it and go crazy!

[Maham · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have no idea why everyone is raving about this book so much. I wouldn't have given it any stars were it not for the fabulous array of supporting characters - Link, Amma, Ridley, Macon...they are the only reason I kept reading this series after the second book.

Lena and Ethan are one-dimensional in the sense that their love is all-consuming and all-encompassing. I always think those relationships are so unrealistic. The fact that Ethan wasn't even a little conflicted about the choice between staying with his mother or going back to Lena...I don't know, I just found that unrealistic.

That aside, every climax was anti-climatic. Villains easily despatched and problems easily solved - despite that, the writing seemed to drag on forever. You would certainly expect more from a book that's written by TWO authors. It just felt like everything was repeated twice or something, just to drag out the ending.

Somehow, when I eventually got to the end (months or years or millennia after I started reading) and everything had been resolved, I had to read though what felt like a thousand pages of mindless, boring, life-going-back-to-normal stuff. This whole book was a mess, from start to finish, like Garcia and Stohl couldn't decide how to end it so they thought of a rushed-out plot and then wrote a lot of words so that it didn't look like it was rushed.

Mainly...I was bored. I couldn't relate to Ethan because even after four books, he still doesn't sound like a guy. And I definitely couldn't relate to Lena since the John Breed fiasco.

OH and I just remembered; right at the end, Ethan informs us that since he came back from the Otherworld he and Lena can touch without his heart stopping. No explanation. None at all. Do I hear deux ex machina? Actually, when I think about it, no explanation was given as to why he died every time she touched him in the first place, right? Urgh.

For the love of God, do not read this book. It's better if you stopped reading at the end of the last book and consoled yourself with the fact that actually, Ethan came back to life and they lived happily ever after because...well, why not.

[Perro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pre-Reading Review MELT . DOWN .
OH
MY
GAWD .

THIS STUPID BOOK .

IS COMING OUT .

ON MY BIRTHDAY !!!!!!

I'm trying not to cry . Like . Things just got so serious .

My life just got so real .

I'm so depressed .

Book-depression .

Raise your hand if you know what I mean .

I mean just like BOOM GOES YOUR OVARIES .

LIKE THE FRANKS MAN . I JUST FINISHED READING BEAUTIFUL CHAOS AND HERE I'M BOUT TO CRY LIKE THE FRANKS, ETHAN JUST DIED THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL BUT I'M SO MAD BRO , BLANK PAGE AND IT'S LIKE OHAI THERE I'M JUST GONNA BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS PAGE AND I'M GONNA SAY "NINETEEN MOONS" AND YOU KNOW I THINK MY REACTION OF THROWING THE BOOKS ON THE GROUND AND SCREAMING AND HARASSING MY SISTER BECCA AND JUST I ALL OUT LOST MY MIND IT'S LIKE MAJOR FANGIRLING LIKE HONESTLY MY BIRTHDAY I ALMOST STOPPED BREATHING I MEAN I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE I AM .

WHERE AM I WHY DO I FEEL HOMICIDAL I HATE EVERYTHING I HATE THE WORLD I HATE THIS BOOK I HATE LIFE I HATE EVERYSINGLETHING I HATE IT ALL I JUST I'M GONNA BURN DOWN THE LIBRARY OR SOMETHING AAAAND I SEE A 2.5 AND A GRAPHIC NOVEL LIKE GRAPHICAL NOVEL NO MY LIFE IS RUINED I JUST .

Hey guys it's Miki , Raychal's having a Level 5 fangirl moment . So like I'm her subconscious and she's going to be taking a book-depression break for I dunno.... the rest of her life maybe c: So we'll miss you guys . Kbai .
~Mikitara

Post-Reading Review
Bye.

[High Lady of The Night Court · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think these books only ever got better and better. The more I read about these people and their lives and the world of the casters and the mortals it only got better.
This book just had a way of keeping me captivated - and after the ending of the last book I was dreading this book.
Towards the end this book just gets extremely and touching and I've grown so fond of this world- like any series it gets so hard to say goodbye to the characters after going through so much with them.
I give this book 4 stars, and if you've read the last book, try to finish this one I think it's just as good as the last.

Damn it- the last 2-3 chapters of this book broke my heart. Xavier turns out to be a great person and when he says Ethan is his only friend it is just so sad.
AMMA WHYYYY!!!! When Amma dies it's just pure heartbreak for me- she was always one of my favorite characters. :( The reunion to the end if the book is just plain emotion - I JUST CANT WHY AMMA !!

[Jessica (Goldenfurpro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

REVIEW FOR THE ACTUAL BOOK:
This was an AMAZING end to the series!
Yes, I said end!
THIS IS THE LAST BOOK!!!
Wait! No! Don't be sad!
It was a satisfying ending, not one of those endings that make you go "OH MY CHEESE! What will happen next?! I NEED TO KNOW!!!!". Believe me I've read some of those "endings" to series and they did not make me happy! But this book? Again, it was satisfying!
So I guess you wanna know about the book?
Well... i'm not going to give things away but I will say this:
-It's different than the other books in the series, but different in a good way.
-Yes, there are some slow and boring parts but it all works out!
-Did I say that it had a satisfying ending?

I know that some of you are going "grrrrrrrrrr! That's not a review! Where is the review?!" and I apologize for the crappiness that is "my review" but I am keeping my lips sealed on the happenings in this book!
So if you wanna know what happens, you'll have to read the book yourself! *evil laughter*

ANOTHER EDIT:
And here's the movie trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=...
Not a fan of the guy playing Ethan :p
He looks NOTHING like how I pictured him!

EDIT:
THE MOVIE POSTER!!!!
IT IZ HERE!!!!!

*Jumps up and down with excitement*

Original "review":
WHY WORLD?
WHY MUST YOU MAKE ME WAIT SO LONG?
AFTER AN ENDING LIKE THAT!
WHY MUST YOU TORTURE ME SO?
I seriously need a time machine just so I can travel to the future and get this book. anyone with me?

By the way did you know that there is going to be a Beautiful Creatures movie?!
Beautiful Creatures Movie

SO FLIPPING EXCITED!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

i cried myself to sleep last night.
&a bit this morning while getting ready.
i mean;
WHAT. THE. FUCK?
how can you continue the series if ethan`s dead?/:
at least, that was the impression i got, i`m still a little confused on it.
either way, the ending broke my heart.
i cried for about the last 200 pages, when ethan figured out about the other half of his soul.
i *knew* it was himm/: the one who is two, i mean.
i`ve never been so devastated about a book before D:
i need this *now* 3

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

RECAP: Ethan, the One Who is Two, sacrificed himself at the end of the last book to restore Order to the world. He awakens to find himself in the Otherworld... a land of the dead, but not a heaven or a hell, just a limbo-y, in-between type place. And he's not alone. Here he finds his mother, Aunt Prue (a casualty of the Beautiful Chaos created after Lena's dual claiming), the Greats, and a few others. He quickly learns how to get a message to Lena, and discovers that his fate was altered. He sets off on an adventure through the Otherworld to change that fate, by removing his rewritten/edited to kill him page out of the Caster Chronicles at the Far Keep -- the "good" home of the "good" Keeper Council. ALong his journey, he discovers the Light casting book, the Book of Stars, and to move forward, is required to bring the Gatekeeper the Dark casting book, the Book of Moons, as payment. We all know Abraham Ravenwood, supervillain, has it.

Cut to Lena. For the first time in the series, we enter the mind of someone other than Ethan (kinda funny how it's a four book series with love triangles and supernatural creatures, and the fourth book has alternating perspectives... feels familiar... pulling a Stephenie Meyer are we?). Lena and the Gatlin gang (John Breed, Liv, Link, Amma, Marian, Macon, etc) get Ethan's message and go looking for the book, saving a caged Ridley and taking down Abraham very easily in the process. Then they all merge their powers and help Amma and the Greats pass the book to the Otherworld to get it to Ethan.

Cut back to Ethan, and he enters the Keep to find he must go through a Labyrinth and fight to the death. Apparently, the big bad Abraham was working with even bigger and badder Angelus (remember him from the Far Keep Council???) who has tried to alter his own Mortal fate into a supernatural one, to be special, and hates his own kind so much he wants to destroy them all. So he punishes those who went against his wishes or failed him and in death makes them his slaves. First is Xavier, the Gatekeeper who helps Ethan but struggles with mutations. Second, found in the middle of the labyrinth, is... Sarafine. She's been blinded and chained and forced to fight soul after soul that attempts to get into the keep. Ethan interacts with her, but her hatred of Angelus outweighs her hatred of Ethan and she sacrifices herself to let him get through to defeat the evil Keeper. (Of course, we all know it's because, just like Ridley, Dark casters actually can feel things and she wants to protect Lena in the long run.) Of course, Ethan triumphs over Angelus and returns home -- at the cost of Amma, whose deal with the bokor in Chaos was to trade fates so "her boy" could live. Amma "dies" without having to die and joins the Greats. Everyone else lives happily ever after, all coupled up.

REVIEW: Meh. I like the story. It was great. But there were a few things that irked me. First, Abraham was made a huge bad guy for two books and a short story. As was Hunting. And they both die WAY too easy and all of a sudden, Angelus is the guy behind it all. Granted, we saw at Marian's trial previously that the Council wasn't entirely pure or moral or good, but it just felt like the writers way of making a BIGGER story with a BIGGER conspiracy behind it all.

Other than that, I was impressed by the series as a whole. It kept my attention, made me like the characters, and was relatively original even while using some stock twists and storylines.

Overall, I liked the series quite a bit. :)

[Joy (joyous reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warning: Spoilers galore. Read at your own risk.

There are books that you savour every page that you read and books that you simply couldn't wait to finish. Beautiful Redemption was a combination of both. I've started reading this book ever since it came out; and as you can tell, it took me a week or so to finally say goodbye. The ending, for us was bittersweet and I'm going to miss every single character of this book. If the ending to Beautiful Chaos left you in a fetal position, sucking your thumb, this book may or may not make up for that. My feelings? Well, this book wasn't up to scratch - sadly.

Beautiful Redemption finds Gatlin mourning the death of our boy - at least, those who were in the know. Link hounds Lena on the pretense of wanting to protect her. Lena haunts Greenbrier where Ethan was "interred" while Amma and the all the other casters casted a very powerful spell to protect Ethan's dad from ever knowing his son offed himself by jumping off the water tower. Business as usual in Gatlin except for the fact that their son is conspicuously missing.

Meanwhile, Ethan hasn't given up hope that he could return to those he loves. In the Otherworld, he's making deals left and right, finding ways to get back to Lena and attempting to right the wrong that started the whole thing to begin with.

Well, this is where Ethan and Lena's trials and tribulations come to an end. And while I'm happy with the way this book ended, I can't help but feel like it was entirely anti-climactic. I thought that they didn't really struggle and that the authors gave the characters an easy out. Not that they were convenient or anything; I just found that Beautiful Chaos was more suspenseful than this one ever was.

Half the time, Ethan was fighting his battles without having a clue on what to do. And really, who would, right? I mean he's a teenager who suddenly found himself in the after life trying to figure out how to get back to the real life. Trust me, it wasn't like the stuff he had to do was easy but he was his own army going into battles with his gun half-cocked. The final showdown between him and the "bad guy" was a bit of a let-down. I expected some black magic kickassery and never got it. It was too tidy and - pardon me for saying this - kind of lame.

Sigh.

However, I love that this has a Lena POV. But what's a mystery to me was the lack of distinction between their voices. It seemed like Lena and Ethan were the same person. Their thought processes were alike.

As usual, the southern gothic theme in this book was of high calibre. I've always found this world mystical and mysterious and the writing duo of Stohl and Garcia never disappoint. The appeal of this series also extends to their colourful secondary characters.

Over all, I think Beautiful Redemption was a good enough adieu to a series that I've come to love. But I think it didn't live up to its fantastic reputation. This book could've been better, which only adds to my grief of it ending.

[Phoenix2 · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last book of the Caster chronicles takes place in the after life (?) I think, or at least where Ethan goes after he dies. The good part of the book is that the povs are swifting, so we get Lena's as well (yeah!!). The not so good parts are th first half of the book, where Ethan is trying to figure out what it's happening to him and accept it and then go back and see everyone and try to communicate with them and then finally (FINALLY) learn that he can go back and that's when the action starts. Another thing that I didn't like was the ending, it was too swift and I would have liked to have more of a battle then just a realization (I'm not writing anything else, because there are major spoilers, but if you read the book, you'll know what I'm talking about). Some chapters were dragging the story and some others were okay, but this book was defenatelly not the best end you could get for this series. I mean they started really strong and they just gave us books that were less and less good, till we reached Beautiful Redemption, that is nothing compared to Beautiful Creatures. Maybe I'm just overthinking this, but I thought Beautiful Redeption was just okay.

[Cat's Review · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished this today and I think I said, "What the H*LL?!?!" throughout the entire novel.
This was the worst book out of the entire series.
It felt like the authors just had to squeeze one more novel into the crazy mess they thrust upon the readers.

Ethan died. That itself was pretty boring and unemotional. He jumped off the water tower to save Gatlin and the Mortal world and I really didn't feel a thing. Through his journey to get back to the Mortal world and among the living again, he had to encounter and accomplish crazy and seemingly impossible obstacles.

I should say, obstacles that were very conveniently removed without much fight and Ethan was allowed to go on his merry own way.

SPOILERS


Case in point:
When he encounters Sarafine in the labyrinth: he doesn’t actually have to fight the Most Powerful Dark Caster in the World (or second, depending on which author is writing at that moment). She just kills herself and Ethan appears at the Far Keep. One problem solved.

Ethan finally makes it to the Far Keep library and into the room that houses The Caster Chronicles. Needless to say, he has to go through very little trouble to access his page and Angelus is decimated by a rip of his page.

Other stupid things that happened in the book:

Ethan needs the Book of Moons, desperately. Why? Not for a real reason that will help him get out of the Otherworld. He only needs it because the gatekeeper of the Far Keep requested it as a form of payment to let Ethan through the doors. Big whoop! All that nonsense of the crow, getting the Greats to help and a Sheer Dark Caster actually giving the Book of Moons to the Greats was just a waste of writing. Once the Book of Moons was actually delivered there, that was it. It wasn’t needed for anything else.

Abraham: the Most Powerful Dark Being in the World (depending on which author is writing at the moment). He is difficult to defeat, has numerous powers and does not die.
In comes Link – he “rips” and pops up in front of Abraham and very conveniently, takes the huge garden shears (that he swiped from summer school) and used them to kill Abraham. That’s it. The Big Badass Devil is dead. The Most Powerful Incubus/Dark Being is killed by a pair of garden shears.

What a letdown. I expected a battle or a war but nope. We get death by garden shears. After all that buildup and then we get a disappointing end.

Macon: suddenly appearing whenever the young people are about to get their butts handed to them by the older Dark people and singlehandedly saves the day. Who needs to really fight? Uncle Macon will just show up and rescue us (at the bar, with Abraham, all of book 3, etc.).


Why did Amma actually have to die? Macon intervened with the whole boker scenario and yes, the boker did not receive Amma’s death as payment. However, the whole reason why Ethan had to get his page out of The Caster Chronicles was to make him come alive and return to the Mortal world because his death was a mistake. Ethan ripping his page out of the book should not have resulted in Amma dying, as this was not even something that related. I just think that the authors wanted to pluck at one more emotional string before they ended this mess of a series.



Why does Lena’s voice sound just like Ethan? If it wasn’t for the bad poetry snuck in there, I never would have guessed that it was Lena’s turn to tell a story.

Ethan keeps fighting to get back to the Mortal world to see Lena and Amma (just switch the order once in a while) but often forgets to mention his father. He mentions his friends here and there but only referenced wanting to see his father again a few times. How odd.

Lena and Ethan claim to be in love but I actually never felt it throughout most of the series. The authors may want us to believe it but I never got the impression that they were that romantically connected to each other. Lena basically called the shots most of the time and frequently pushed him away. Ethan just followed after her like a loyal and sad little puppy

My impression of the whole series: WAY TOO LONG and way too much going on. Each book could have easily been cut in half and told the story a lot better than what was actually published.

There didn’t seem to be a logical plan for the series and the Caster world was just too chaotic (too many characters, too many Casters, too many random and unnecessary events, too many inconsistencies and too much whining.

Ethan was not a believable male character and this should not have been told from his point of view. He was basically a female posing as a male. It was like the authors wanted to try something different in the wake of Twilight’s success but they were not able to convince me that Ethan was a true male (like I mentioned above, I was not able to tell the difference between Lena and Ethan if the dialog tags were not there or specific references to the characters).

The overall plot was interesting and some of the characters were actually well written: Amma, Macon, sometimes Marian and Ridley. I was not impressed with Ethan, Lena, Ethan’s parents, Sarafine, the high school crowd and the townsfolk.

I give this book two stars and the whole series 2.375 stars

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

BEFORE

Can't wait to read!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!! Must find out what happens to Ethan, and Lena, and Link, and John, and Liv, and Ridley, and Amma, and Macon . . . Can't wait until tentatively October!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And the Movie!!!!!!!! LOVE Emmy Rossum!!!!! So much I can't wait for! FREAKING OUT!!!!!!

Okay, glad I got that out of my system ;)

AFTER

(SPOILERS ahead)

I've got to say, it wasn't my favorite of the series. I was so excited to read it, as you can see from my before assumption, but it just seemed to come up short. Everything happened so quickly and without almost any struggle. Very early on in the book we learn Ethan's death was a mistake and there's a way he can fix it and he doesn't even need to figure out how on his own. Obidias tells him everything, and while it seemed daunting at the time, Ethan got things rolling very quickly. He got his messages to Lena, she saw them and figured them out immediately. She got him the stone immediately and figured out his need for the Book of Moons and got it to him a lot quicker than expected. Abraham and Hunting didn't even seem to put up as much of a fight and John gets to stay with Liv. Then once Ethan has the Book of Moons he gives it to Xavier and is let into the Far Keep gates. He has to take the Warrior's Way and encounters Sarafine as a Sheer and has to battle to the death with her . . . but wait! Because she hates Angelus more, she self-combusts and plunges herself into eternal darkness for Ethan?? I didn't come up with the character but that seems very un-Sarafine like. Then Ethan gets a reprieve with Angelus and gets to fight for his page in the Chronicals and wins pretty quickly. (Although I did love Xavier's role in that!) The only shock was when he gets back home and finds himself on the water tower, only to have Amma trade her life for his, which was unbearably sad, that part almost made me cry! Then all of a sudden Ethan and Lena can kiss and touch and they no longer have to fear of Ethan dying and when it's brought up to Marian and Macon they simply say they'll look into it? Don't get me wrong, the book was enjoyable and I'm glad I read it, but maybe I finished it too quickly? Obviously all of these things didn't happen as fast as I perceived (it was a 400+ page book) but it just seemed to have a different tone than the rest of the books. I knew things were going to work out and I knew Ethan would get back home. I didn't predict the Amma thing which was a twist, but I wanted something more exciting. Ethan still falling from the tower and getting extremely injured but not dying, or John going with Abraham after all and escaping later. I just thought everything happened a little too simply. But, again, I still loved the series and I can't wait to see the movie. Maybe I'll just have to read through it again and slow down a bit to get the full impact.

[Annette Dellosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATED 10/26/12

Few of my theories were right all along. Well not exactly that accurate but they were as close as they could get. LOL

Anyways, way to end the book series. At first it was slow considering the consequences Ethan needed to face. But I loved the 2nd half with Lena's POV. It was a nice change, reading from another character's POV. After that, I went all the way without breaks. I finished it 3am in the morning and my eyes hurt like hell. But the wait was worth it. I just wished there was more to the story after Ethan got back. Oh well, I'll really miss this series.

MY REACTION BEFORE READING THE BOOK

I got a couple of theories. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST 3 BOOKS, DON'T BOTHER TO READ THE REST OF THIS POST. :)

1st: After sacrificing himself, Ethan may get the other half of his soul back, thus giving him the chance to live again.

2nd: Ethan may end up in a coma with his soul wandering around.

3rd: We may have chapters with Lena's POV.

4th: Abraham will plot an END-OF-THE-WORLD scheme (or have already been plotting).

5th: All Casters (Dark & Light) will find out they don't matter to Abraham and will unite to stop him no matter what.

6th: Even the Greats will help them and in order to do so, they will wake Ethan up and make his body a vassal for their powers.

Crazy theories.. I know. :)

[Bookaholic (reads every mortal thing) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The sole reason I gave this a 4 stars was because now this series is finally over. And the ending was the EXACT SAME THING!

[Ximena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aunque no puedo contar de la historia por posible spoiler, puedo decir que la saga me encantó, los personajes están bien hechos, los llegas a conocer perfectamente; la narración, al menos en mi caso, si logró que me imaginara las escenas tal y como las narraba; la historia de cada libro en sí me encantó; y el final de la saga...DIOS, ambas autoras supierón muy bien enlazar las cosas para que al final no quedara nada a medias. En el tercer libro de la saga, creí que acabaría de otra manera la historia por algo que sucede al final de dicho libro, pero a medida que leía el cuarto, me di cuenta que el final volvía a cambiar.
En la saga encontramos, amor, desamor, amistad, entre otras cosas, pero sobre todo se ve el AMOR DE FAMILIA, y eso me encantó.
Puntuación general de la saga: ★★★★☆

[Ashley Daviau · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a great conclusion to a series that I really loved. I was heartbroken at the end of the last book and filled with despair at how it would all come together in the final book but it turned out to be the perfect ending. It was definitely a rollercoaster ride and I did still shed a tear or two of sadness at the end but I really couldn’t have imagined a more fitting ending to the series!

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio #138

[Gerasimos Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had mixed feeling as I was starting this. I was both happy and sad. Happy because I would get back to the caster's world, a world that I love. Sad because I would not be able to do that again, since this is epilogue of the series.

Fortunately, this was a beautiful conclusion to a series that I love with all my heart. Was it perfect? Was it flawless? No. Some things could have ended differently, some others were rushed. But all the characters got what they deserved and all the plot threads got tied. So although, this was not the best book in the series it still was great-I love this series so much that I could not give less than five star.

I will miss the characters, I will miss Gatlin, I will miss the Caster world... As for goodbye. . .well, I won't say it – because I know I'll come back again and again in this world in the years to come.