Review: Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Chaos 

Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Series: The Caster Chronicles, Book Three
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, 518 pages
Release Date: October 18, 2011
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries

Synopsis: 
  
Lena’s Claiming has changed everything. Both the caster and mortal worlds are falling apart. Strange, terrible events are occurring all around them. Gatlin is unrecognizable. The casters’ powers are dangerously misfiring and it seems like the world is coming to an end. Ethan and Lena are racing to try to find an answer to restore the Order before it’s too late. Meanwhile, Ethan is being haunted in his dreams again, but not by Lena. And whoever is haunting him is appearing in his everyday life as well. As Ethan slowly begins to lose pieces of himself, including his memories, one thing is clear. Someone will have to be sacrificed. The biggest question on everybody’s minds is who? Will they figure it out in time? Before the entire world ceases to exist as they know it? There may not be a happily ever after in this story after all…

My Review: 
 
After the disappointment of Beautiful Darkness, I was nervous, yet also excited, to read Beautiful Chaos. I loved it. It felt like the first book all over again. This book was action packed and exciting. It kept me constantly guessing, trying to figure out the story based on the clues that were everywhere. Unlike Beautiful Creatures though, I did not guess anything right. Every single twist was a shock, in a good way. I could not put this book down. I started reading it last night and painfully forced myself to put it down around 1am (which was actually 2am due to daylight savings time) and then immediately picked it back up right after breakfast this morning and didn’t stop until it was over.

It felt so good to have Lena back in the story. Like I said in my review of Beautiful Darkness, it just wasn’t the same without her. She learns so much about her mother, Sarafine, in this book which I loved. I have been waiting to learn more about her since the first book and we finally did. We learned what she was like before she went dark. Lena struggles over this, but eventually comes to accept what her mother has become. Lena has really come into her powers in this book, even though they are somewhat out of whack with the whole apocalyptic theme going on. We get to see how strong she really is, and the potential for what she could become.

Ethan seems to be going crazy for the majority of this book. He is having wild dreams and is forgetting things like his own phone number. The whole book I was trying to figure out what was wrong with him and I never guessed until it was revealed. He comes into his role as the Wayward in this book. He seems to accept the role and unravels his true purpose. Once he understands his role in the story, there is no stopping him. He knows what his destiny is and will complete what he is meant to do no matter what. Once again, Ethan is fearless. He goes head to head with Abraham and Sarafine multiple times in this book and never seems afraid. I like this about him, but at the same time, I don’t. I feel like he is a mortal and he should feel fear. But I certainly admire his courageousness.

Overall, I loved this book, more so than Beautiful Creatures. There was so much action and excitement in the book that I just couldn’t put it down. My favorite element of the book was the mystery. It was like a puzzle that I got to try (and fail) to solve as I was reading. I loved that I couldn’t figure it out though. It meant the book was unpredictable, which is something that I love in any book or movie. This book definitely redeemed the series for me after the disappointment of Beautiful Darkness. It ended on the biggest cliffhanger ever so I am rushing through this review so I can pick up the next one. If Beautiful Redemption, the final book in the series, is anything like Beautiful Chaos, I should have the review up by tomorrow for you. Happy reading! 

Click here to purchase this book!