Review: A Beautiful Evil - Kelly Keaton

All Ari ever wanted was to know who she really was.  But the truth was beyond her worst nightmare.  A descendant of Medusa, Ari is cursed to become a monster, able to kill with a single look or touch.  Haunted by the horrific image of her future, Ari, along with the brooding, sexy Sebastian, is doing everything she can to find out more about Athena, the goddess who cursed her family and kidnapped young Violet.

But time is running out, and Ari must fight back.  And now, as she prepares to face Athena.  Ari knows she must unleash the very thing she's most afraid of . . . herself.

Gods and Monsters Series:

Darkness Becomes Her

A Beautiful Evil (Released in the UK on the 2nd of February)

Visit Kelly Keaton's website for more information

Review:

I really enjoyed Darkness Becomes Her so was looking forward to reading A Beautiful Evil, I have found that I've been disappointed by quite a few sequels recently though so was a bit nervous that this wouldn't live up to my expectations.  I shouldn't have worried though because if anything Kelly Keaton's second novel was even better than the first.  This really is a fantastic series and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.  If you're new to the series but looking for something unusual in the YA paranormal market then I'd highly recommend checking out Darkness Becomes Her, I love the fact that the author has focused on Greek mythology and come up with something completely different to anything else I've read.  This series does need to be read in order though and my review will include a major spoiler for the first book so you might not want to go any further unless you've already read it.

A Beautiful Evil picks up the story just after the ending of the first book.  Ari is trying to come to terms with the fact that she is a descendant of Medusa and that she is turning into a gorgon.  She is scared to learn to use her new abilities but if she wants to have a hope of rescuing Violet from Athena then she is going to have to face her fears.  The more she learns about Athena the harder her task appears to be but luckily she still has good friends who want to help her.

I loved getting to spend more time with Ari's new housemates in this installment.  One of the things I liked the most about the first book was the interaction between the group of misfits who all share an abandoned house in New 2.  We get to see more of Sebastian, Henri, Dub and Crank and learn a few more of their secrets in this book.  I did miss Violet though as we didn't see as much of her this time around but that was completely understandable and I'm hoping she'll have a bigger part to play in the next part of the story.  It is so nice to see that Ari is finally letting people past her defences and learning to rely on her friends.  She spent so long looking after herself that she still finds it hard to trust but she has come a long way since the first book.

Athena is proving herself to be a frightening enemy, she knows exactly how to hit Ari the hardest and enjoys making her suffer.  Ari isn't one to sit back and just let it happen though and she is getting stronger all the time.  I have a feeling the final showdown between the two of them will be explosive and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.  This series is fast paced and the author always manages to surprise me with a few twists that I didn't see coming.  A Beautiful Evil is a quick and fun read with plenty of action and a hint of romance that has left me keen to pick up the next book.  If you enjoyed Darkness Becomes Her you don't want to miss this one.

Source: Received from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.

Other Reviews:

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Review: Darkness Becomes Her - Kelly Keaton

Ari Selkirk has always stood out.  With her teal-coloured eyes and freakish silver hair, it's hard not to.  And she's always been alone.  Her mother died when she was tiny, and she's grown up in foster care, longing for some understanding of who she is and where she came from.  When her search for answers uncovers a message from her mother with the single word 'RUN' on it, Ari realises that someone, or something, is getting too close.  But it's impossible to protect herself when she doesn't know who or what she's running from.

Returning to her birthplace in the rebuilt city of New Orleans, she discovers she isn't so different after all.  But why is every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, afraid of her?  The truth is both disturbing and terrifying . . .

Gods and Monsters Series:

Darkness Becomes Her

A Beautiful Evil


Visit Kelly Keaton's website for more information

Review:

Ari was brought up moving from one foster family to another and although she has now found a loving home she has never really felt like she fitted in anywhere.  She also has questions about her birth parents and it is when she goes looking for answers that she finds herself in a whole new world.  After finding a letter from her mother telling her that her family is cursed and she must run Ari decides she must head to New 2 to find answers.  New 2 used to be New Orleans, until 2 hurricanes destroyed the city several years ago.  Unable to fund the cost of re-building the city the government sold the city to an alliance called the Novem and the city has become a haven for outsiders and anyone who is different.  Although the Novem have started re-building a lot of New 2 is still very run down and poverty stricken but Ari finds a group of misfit children and feels like she has found a place where she can fit in at last.

I wasn't really too sure what to expect of Darkness Becomes Her but it is an impressive YA debut and I'm looking forward to seeing where Kelly Keaton takes the series next.  If you're looking for a YA urban fantasy that is a little different then this would be a good place to start, the author has mixed in an interesting amount of Greek mythology and the story stands out from the huge number of YA vampire stories in the market at the moment.

Ari is different from a lot of other YA heroines in the fact that she can stand up for herself and she doesn't take people at face value.  Her past has taught her to be wary and it takes her time before she will trust people.  Although she is vulnerable she is capable of standing up for herself and can kick butt when she needs to.  I did think that the romance took off a little too quickly when she met Sebastian but I liked them as a couple so I was easily able to forgive that.  We are introduced to some great secondary characters who I'm looking forward to learning more about as the series progresses.  Along with Sebastian you have the rest of the misfits Crank, Henri, Dub & Violet and although I liked them all it was Violet who really stood out for me.  She is a weird and quite creepy character but at the same time she was also incredibly sweet and makes you want to look out for her.

The story line is fast paced and full of twists and turns, I'll admit that I had made a good guess at what Ari was before the big reveal but this didn't reduce my enjoyment of the story and I couldn't wait to find out if I was right or not.  There were a few things that I would have liked to have seen expanded but I'd rather have a pacy shorter story than one that is long winded and meanders to the finish line at a snail's pace.  Darkness Becomes Her was a great start to a new series and is an easy book to devour in one session.  I can't wait to get my hands on the next book in the series and would recommend this to any fans of YA paranormal stories.

Source: Received from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review.

Other Reviews:

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