Ethan Wate has lived in Gatlin his whole life...and nothing ever happens in Gatlin. But all that is about to change as Lena Duchannes "storms" into town. Literally. Ethan immediately feels drawn to Lena - and I still say all this YA cliché insta-love, electricity flowing, melting-into-one-another almost immediately is extremely annoying. And ridiculous. However, this novel redeems itself by explaining all that in the end. And the main story itself is truly a page turner. Lena is the niece of the town recluse and has powers she is trying to hide. Trying, but not always succeeding. She and Ethan have a connection that allows them to communicate without speaking - often without even being near each other. Lena has a secret having to do with something that will take place on her 16th birthday, which is only a few months away at the beginning of the novel. In addition, there is another mystery that the pair are trying to unravel throughout the course of the novel having to do with an old locket, a family curse, and some extremely vivid visions - visions Ethan and Lena share. I don't want to give too much away, so I'll stop at that. I do want to add, though, that I really liked the story and have already purchased the next two books in the series :) ( )

Although this book was almost 600 pages long, it somehow felt hollow and I didn't feel the length at all. This was a cheeky southern-gothic-fantasy novel laced with teenage romance. Overall it wasn't an amazing read but it wasn't bad at all; an easy and fun read that doesn't pack as much depth as I expected. ( )

I didn't love the characters and the writing was mediocre, mostly I skimmed this book, especially the angsty teenage parts which were fairly painful. on the other hand, it was spooky and mysterious in a was a southern magic novel should be. ( )

My friend just finished reading the third book in this series and told me I HAD TO READ IT. Because of the movie coming out, I couldn't get it from the library, so I bought it for my Kindle and began with high hopes. By the time I was halfway through, I was disappointed with it. But let's start with the positive.

Things I liked about this book:

-It's told from the guy's perspective. This is a nice break from the norm, but I don't know if it will attract many male readers. The cover, the title, and the summary all scream typical teen paranormal romance novel. In fact, all through the prologue of the book I assumed I was reading from Lena's perspective. It was only at the beginning of the first chapter I realized it was actually Ethan's.

-Overall, the plot was exciting enough to keep me turning the pages. I did start to skim in the middle and again towards the end, though, which brings me to...

Things I did not like about this book:

-The ending. What a flipping cop out! I suppose that's a spoiler, but I like to be warned when a book lacks a satisfying ending.

-The main characters, Lena and Ethan, were so whiny. I guess you could say the authors did a great job creating authentic teens because they captured many annoying aspects of adolescence. Lena is sooooo convinced she'll be claimed for the Dark, despite the fact that it seems like there's a 50/50 chance she'll be claimed for Light. It's like she's a total drama queen. I kept thinking, Katniss would not whine like this. She would suck it up and face it with dignity. And Ethan is soooo convinced he knows better than Macon and Amma, even though they obviously know way more than he does. Here's a tip, homeboy. Listen to your elders. They are trying to protect you. Jeez. Obviously, I did not find this couple super endearing. Even the character written for me to love, Marian the librarian, annoyed me. Wouldn't you be annoyed by someone who spoke mostly in famous quotes?

-The book was much longer than it needed to be. Much, much longer. There were a ton of threads going that the authors didn't tie to together well in the end. For example, So Ethan's mom's a ghost? So they never found anything helpful in The Book of Moons? So Saraphine just gets to throw this huge rule change at Lena at the last minute? And how did Saraphine marry a nice guy and have a baby if she was claimed for the Dark when she was 16? Do Casters breed at a young age or what? So Lena learned nothing from history and just repeated Genevieve's mistake exactly? Obviously, some questions may be answered in later books, but it still made it seem like the authors weren't in full control of the world they created.

My friend assures me that the second book in the series is way, way better than the first, so there's a chance I'll read it if I can get it from the library. No way I'm sinking any more money into this mediocre franchise. ( )

It wasn’t the best, but then again I did read it when I was 11 so maybe it just didn’t hit me like it should’ve, but I won’t be reading it again. ( )