From the Publisher
Praise for the bestselling Beautiful Creatures novels:
An Amazon.com Big Books of Spring Selection
"A hauntingly delicious dark fantasy."—Cassandra Clare, New York Times bestselling author of City of Bones
"In the Gothic tradition of Anne Rice....Give this to fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight or HBO's True Blood series." —School Library Journal
"Gorgeously crafted, atmospheric, and original." —Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Lovely
"The authors ground their Caster world in the concrete, skillfully juxtaposing the arcane, magical world with Gatlin's normal southern lifestyle....[Fans will] plead for more." —VOYA (starred review)
"A lush Southern gothic." —Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author of Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale
"Smart, textured and romantic." —Kirkus Reviews
Holly Black
"A lush Southern gothic."
Melissa Marr
"Gorgeously crafted, atmospheric, and original."
Cassandra Clare
Praise for the bestselling Beautiful Creatures novels:
"A hauntingly delicious dark fantasy."
School Library Journal - Audio
08/01/2014
Gr 7 Up—Modern-day siren Ridley Duchannes and her hybrid incubus boyfriend, Link, head to New York City in this spin-off of the duo's "Beautiful Creatures" series. Link wants to make it big as a punk rock drummer but doesn't realize that Ridley is using him to pay off a debt to a menacing underground club owner. The siren is an unsympathetic character as she flip-flops between bitter and sweet, spewing snarky, melodramatic dialogue, which becomes tiresome and predictable. Link's bandmates are all different types of Casters with paranormal abilities, but distinctions between the various categories run together and become confusing. Narrator Khristine Hvam does an admirable job differentiating the characters' voices though, and sound effects that highlight the dream portions of the story are a nice touch as well. This offering from Garcia and Stohl will be enjoyed by fans of their previous series, but those wanting more intriguing supernatural romance might be more satisfied with Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone or Maggie Stiefvater's "Raven Cycle."—Tara Hixon, Cashion Public Schools, OK
School Library Journal
08/01/2014
Gr 7 Up— Bad girl (and Siren) Ridley Duchannes finds life in the big city more than she bargained for when mortal boyfriend Link befriends a crowd of Dark Casters.
Kirkus Reviews
2014-05-08
This spinoff/continuation of the supernatural Beautiful Creatures (2009) world focuses on bad-girl Siren Ridley Duchannes.The summer after the Gatlin, South Carolina, crew graduates high school, they share one last night of bonding before going their separate ways. Link's created a hilarious religious-college hoax as cover for heading to New York City in pursuit of musical stardom. Ridley, Link's on-again, off-again girlfriend, hitches a ride with him out of town—he thinks it's for love, but she has her own agenda. At a Caster underworld club called Suffer, she lost a high-stakes game of Liar's Trade. She owes a band a new drummer—luckily, Link is a drummer in need of a band—and to club owner Lennox Gates she owes one marker. Paying one debt, Ridley hooks up Link with the band—he gets on great with them, they not so much with her—and then tries to live as a regular person to please Link, who grows ever more suspicious of her secretive behavior. Sections related from Lennox's perspective reveal dead antagonist Abraham Ravenwood's plots against the heroes from beyond the grave. Readers new to Stohl and Garcia's world, even those who have read the original novels but not the Dangerous Dreams novella e-book, may be disoriented despite the slow pace. Overall, the characters charm, and for hooked readers, the ending promises a sequel.Prickly yet endearing Ridley makes a sturdy anchor for this expansion of the Caster world; fans will be pleased. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)
