Summary:
There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere. At least, that’s what I thought. Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.
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…
My take: 3 looks
Originally reviewed February 13, 2015
This is not a book that I would have read, had it not been for it being chosen as a BOTM in my online reading group. One, it’s a YA, which I have been reading a lot of lately, and almost had my fill of teen angst and dystopian societies. Two, it’s over 500 pages – not my normal voluminous choice. Third, there is a newly released movie from the book and it looks terrible.
However, I found this to be a very quick and satisfying read. The teen angst is there, but not in spades. The background is a southern town with some of the same quirks as the one in which I live, so dystopian doesn’t figure into the storyline. And it’s about witches, which is a plus. I am growing tired of vampires.
The characters were nicely fleshed out. I liked the two teen main characters very much, and I also enjoyed the various family members. I will look forward to getting to know more about them in the rest of this series. Lena is at a crossroads in her life, culminating in her 16th birthday, and Ethan is going to help his new true love through it. Throw in good versus evil, light versus dark, death versus life, nice versus mean and you have a fun story.
Recommended.
