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.
Reviews
“This richly imagined series has all the elements of a successful
Southern gothic supernatural romance…The ambiguity of good and evil adds
appealing complexity…Genre fans will love it.” (VOYA)
“Gorgeously crafted, atmospheric, and original. I devoured
it.” – Melissa Marr, NYT bestselling author of Wicked Lovely
""A hauntingly delicious dark fantasy." – Cassandra Clare, NYT
bestselling author of City of Bones
“Ethan Wate, a high school sophomore, plans to escape his small
Southern town as soon as he can. Life has been difficult since his mother died;
his father, a writer, has withdrawn into his study. Then Lena Duchannes arrives,
and this strange new girl is the very one who has been occupying his dreams. She
and her kin are Casters, beings who have supernatural powers. Getting to know
her exposes Ethan to time travel, mortal danger, and love. The teens can hardly
bear to be apart, but Lena's 16th birthday, when she will be Claimed for dark
or light, is only 6 months away. To save her, they fight supernatural powers
and the prejudice of closed-minded people. Yet, good and evil are not clearly
delineated, nor are they necessarily at odds. In the Gothic tradition of Anne
Rice, the authors evoke a dark, supernatural world in a seemingly simple town
obsessed with Civil War reenactments and deeply loyal to its Confederate past.
The intensity of Ethan and Lena's need to be together is palpable, the detailed
descriptions create a vivid, authentic world, and the allure of this story is
the power of love. The satisfying conclusion is sure to lead directly into a
sequel. Give this to fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight or HBO's "True Blood”
series and they will devour all 600-plus pages of this teen Gothic
romance." Grade 7 & up. School Library Journal
“Exquisitely told and impossible to forget.” – Michelle Zink,
author of Prophecy of the Sisters
Author Biography
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl live in Los Angeles, California, with their
families. They are the authors of Beautiful Creatures, Beautiful Darkness,
Beautiful Chaos, and Beautiful Redemption. Kami Garcia was a teacher and reading
specialist with an MA in education, and leads book groups for children and
teenagers. Margaret Stohl has an MA in English and studied creative writing
under poet George MacBeth at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.
