A BEAUTIFUL EVIL
Kelly Keaton
285 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 21st, 2012
Source: ARC from Publisher
Rating: LOVED
Myth and mayhem inhabit a richly reimagined New Orleans in this sequel to Darkness Becomes Her.After the epic graveyard battle at the end of Darkness Becomes Her, Ari and her friends know what they’re up against: Ari is facing the Medusa curse and is haunted by the image of what she will become. To make matters worse, the heinous goddess Athena has kidnapped young Violet and is threatening to destroy Ari.
Ari, along with Sebastian, is doing everything she can to learn more about Athena and to get Violet back. But the battle of good and evil is bigger than she realizes, and she’s about to be pulled into a world more horrific than she could ever imagine…
If you thought Kelly Keaton’s YA debut DARKNESS BECOMES HER was good, Beautiful Evil will blow you away.
The world of New 2, a devastated futuristic New Orleans, is lush, vivid, and teeming with life – and its not all human either. Kelly Keaton’s writing is descriptive, from the setting to the characters. Every character, from the horribly awful Athena to the fatherly Michel, were all perfectly drawn out.
The story picks off near the time DARKNESS BECOMES HER ends, with Ari attending Presby, a school for Novem heirs and otherwordly creatures. Despite the variety of inhuman students, Ari is the only god-killer on premise, making her notoriously famous.
But Ari is on a mission. She must train herself to her limits and learn as much as she can about Athena and her plans. Her father and Violet are still in Athena’s clutches, and Ari can’t even begin to imagine the terrible torture they must be going through.
One thing I saw greatly improved from DARKNESS BECOMES HER was the language. While Darkness Becomes Her had curse words on nearly every page, A Beautiful Evil had barely enough to count on my fingers (I think). And I don’t know if it was just me, but I think Ari turned out a lot maturer in the sequel as well.
A Beautiful Evil is a stunning sequel. The action is intense, the stakes even higher than before, and the tension thicker than ever. You won’t be able to set it down until the last page. And get this: the ending isn’t a cliffhanger! Despite the tied-in ending that left me content, the wait for book three will be hard. I can’t wait to see what Keaton has in store for us next.
Amy
I haven't read Darkness Becomes her, but the more I see this book around the more I am thinking I need to read it and get into this series. It's good to know that the second book improved a bit from the first one too. Thanks for the awesome review. :)
Tiffany Mahaffy
I need to get Darkness Becomes Her as I have a copy of A Beautiful Evil on the way! I have had these books on my wish list forever and I am so excited to hear that they are both good books!! Thanks for the review1
Lalaine
OMG I just finished this book just now! and K totally nailed this one! Darkness Becomes Her was just amazing and this second installment was just as great as the first. Great review! x
LALAINE'S FICBOOKREVIEWS
J.R. @ Not Your Momma's Book Blog
I'm reading Darkness Becomes Her right now and I noticed the language but it's not really bothering me. So far I'm really liking the first book and now after reading your review I'm even more excited to read A Beautiful Evil! Have a great weekend!
Carrie at In the Hammock Blog
oooh, sounds great! the cover is really interesting too!
Annette
Duh…I didn't realize this was the sequel to Darkness. The covers don't “match” do they? I haven't read it yet, but it's on my list. Glad to hear you liked this one too!
Mary @ BookSwarm
Hum–I didn't read the first one but it sounds like I probably should. While I don't mind cursing in my books but less in this one sounds like the MC has matured.
Haleyknitz
I haven't read the first one… but I might have to now! this sounds really good :)
Christina Kit.
I love the sound of this one, and it's very original.
Kris-10
Great review! I loved Darkness Becomes Her and can't wait to read this awesome-sounding sequel! :))
Alexa
I just recently traded for a copy of Darkness Becomes Her so now I'm really excited to get into this series since you loved book two.
thanks for the great review
Julie W
I just recently read Darkness Becomes Her and can't wait to read A Beautiful Evil!! I really enjoyed the first one, but I'm very glad to hear that there is less cursing and that Ari has matured in this installment. After reading your review I'm SO excited to read it! I'm going to go to Amazon right now and get the darned thing so I can get started! My wallet may not thank you for the awesome review, but I do :D LOL
jwitt33 at live dot com
Mandee
I'm looking so forward to reading this series! Thank you for making my choice easier!
Hushed Paradox
I'm glad the sequel did not disappoint as Book 2 usually is the low point of a series. I enjoyed your review. :)
Kristin@BloodSweatandBooks
I love this cover it just sucks you in to what the series is all about. Great review. Can't wait to read this myself.
Bonnie Regan
Ooh! Now I'm excited to read this. I read Darkness Becomes Her and I thought it was interesting enough to continue the series but I wasn't blown away. Sounds like this one is even better. :) Great review!
Sverige
When I finished reading its preview and found out that my cousin is in their bookstore I asked her how good is the book, then she said it's perfectly great so I told her to buy the book for me. Then I found this blog, I have a feeling that it's really nice book, I'll read it later, after blogging.
Vivien
GAH!!! I've had this on my wishlist ever since I finished book 1. I am so glad this lived up to expectations :)
Gaby
I really enjoyed this. I'm so surprised by this series. In the next book I want Violet to give up her secrets, I'm sure she's got plenty :)
Jaime Lester
Darkness Becomes Her is and always will be a favorite of mine. I haven't had the chance to read A Beautiful Evil yet, but I will soon, and I will go into it knowing that I will have another favorite. Thanks for the review!
Wren B.
I really loved that it was not a cliffhanger either but it still made me want more. This series surprised me and I love it. It is one of my favorite series with a strong heroine and a strong male hero.
bn100
Good to know it's part of a series. Interesting sounding series.
VampedChik
The cover of this one caught my eye originally. It sounds like an awesome read. I will definately have to read the series.