Best Book I Read in August!

The best (and pretty much the only, man, being a college student is a total time suck!) book I read in August was the one, the only...

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl!!!! Here's the book's summery:

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.

Sounds amazing, eh? Well, trust me, it is! For my review, I thought I'd do something a little different. To show my devotion for such an amazing book, I decided to express my feeling in the form of a letter. But, more specifically, a love letter. Enjoy! :)

Dear, Beautiful Creatures,

When we first met, it wasn't love at first sight. The first time I tried reading you, I only made it to chapter two and then gave up. Your summery intrigued me and I knew you were the kind of book I would love to read, but for some reason I wasn't feeling that...connection that a girl and a good book are supposed to feel, so, like a coward, I stopped returning your phone calls (a.k.a. returned you to the library) and hoped that I would eventually forget about you and move on.

But, alas, everywhere I looked, your name was mentioned and I just couldn't get you out of my head, people said you were amazing and fantastic and one of the best books they'd read in a long time, but I just couldn't understand their love for you.

Until...

A few weeks ago I happened to pay a visit to my public library and there you were, sitting all innocent-like on the shelf. I avoided your gaze for as long as I could until, unable to find anything else to read, I plucked you off the shelf, reread your summery for what seemed like the hundredth time and thought, "eh, why not?" And decided to take a chance and check you out to see what all the hubbub was about.

That same day, I took you home and began to read you...and I haven't stopped since.
Once I got past chapter one and began to get into the meat of the story, I was hooked. I fell in love with your luscious setting, your lovable characters and your romance, oh, your romance! And I also fell hard for your sweet and loyal leading man, Ethan and really identified with and felt for your strong-willed and feisty leading lady, Lena. Like Ethan and Lena, now I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. You are to me what other women's clutch purses and cell phones are to them, I have to have you with me wherever I go, or else I would cease to exist.

So thank you, Beautiful Creatures, for coming into my life. These past few weeks with you have been like a dream. You've taught me how to love again and how not to judge a book by its first chapter. I can't wait to read your sequel, Beautiful Darkness (I'm gearing up to write his love letter as we speak! :P)

~Ella