Review: Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Chaos (Caster Chronicles #3) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Publisher: Little Brown
Publication date: October 18th, 2011
Number of pages: 518
Format: Paperback
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Ethan Wate thought he was getting used to the strange, impossible events happening in Gatlin, his small Southern town. But now that Ethan and Lena have returned home, strange and impossible have taken on new meanings. Swarms of locusts, record-breaking heat, and devastating storms ravage Gatlin as Ethan and Lena struggle to understand the impact of Lena's Claiming. Even Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals is affected - and their abilities begin to dangerously misfire. As time passes, one question becomes clear: What — or who — will need to be sacrificed to save Gatlin?

For Ethan, the chaos is a frightening but welcome distraction. He's being haunted in his dreams again, but this time it isn't by Lena - and whatever is haunting him is following him out of his dreams and into his everyday life. Even worse, Ethan is gradually losing pieces of himself — forgetting names, phone numbers, even memories. He doesn't know why, and most days he's too afraid to ask.

Sometimes there isn't just one answer or one choice. Sometimes there's no going back. And this time there won't be a happy ending.

In the third installment to Kami and Margaret's Caster Chronicles, we find it has been two months since the events of the previous book. Everyone is trying to deal with the reprecussions of the fallout of Lena claiming herself. It's not all good.
The town has gone crazy, and Link's Mom is talking like it's the end of days.
She just may be right.

Ridley is trying to come to terms with her now-mortal status, and it ain't good. You would think this is the first time she has been ordinary and without any magical powers, but I suppose when you experience that sort of power to go without it would be as if you are missing something crucial and you just aren't the same without it.

Suddenly Ethan starts to get another moon song speaking of Eighteen Moons.. and he and Lena start to wonder who it refers to, since Lena's birthday is far off so it can't possibly be talking about her.
It's a race against time as they try to discover the answer to the riddle those songs are usually associated with.

If I am honest, this book didn't get that good until the 2nd half. I felt things were dragging on, and I wondered where things were heading.
Ridley annoyed me to a point, and I felt so bad for Link.. who clearly really likes her, more than she likes him.
But by the end of the novel I really liked it, and the cliffhanger.. wow.. I can't even imagine what the next book is going to be like.

There was some interesting developments, and some new and some returnee characters have come back into the fold.
One of the reasons I was drawn to this series was that it was narrated by a male protagonist.. You just don't find that very often nowaways. And while it did take awhile to get used to.. I think I couldn't imagine this series any other way.

I was glad we got to see Ethan's dad and see how he was dealing now that he has come back to the land of the living. I wondered if he was going to stay locked into his study forever.
You discover more about Link and how he plays a bigger role in this book than he had before. With him now quarter of an Incubus, and a good part of this book deals with his kind.
We also get to see more of Lena's mother, Sarafine and more of her past with Lena's father. It was good to get an insight of what happened all those years ago when Sarafine, whose name was Izabel before becoming dark and how she became who she have come to see her today.

And then there is the book's evil. Abraham. He is who is behind pretty much everything as he was in the previous book. He really was one bastard, even dead. I wish so much on him, and none of it is good.

Verdict:  5/5