Review: A Beautiful Evil by Kelly Keaton

I have finally bitten the bullet and forced myself to review A Beautiful Evil by Kelly Keaton.  Here is the lowdown on  book two of the Gods & Monsters series: 

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 the superhot 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 (Good Reads)

People, I want to say this was as good as the first one (or at least as middle of the road as the first one-- see my review of Darkness Becomes Her) but....


Level of Originality: 5. I still like New 2, the cool post-apocalyptic version of New Orleans which is all decay and Spanish moss with a bit of kids-forced-to-fend-for-themselves.

Level of Absurdity: 10. Witches and vampires and greek gods, oh my! This is a paranormal/magic blender.

Level of Paranormal Romance: 9. “the superhot Sebastian.” GAG. That is actually in the book blurb. I DIE. 1. Sebastian doesn’t seem super hot. He seems like cold oatmeal-- filling, but mostly sticky and boring. 2. There is nothing very romantic about this ‘romance.’ But I give the relationship a 9, since he is a witch/vampire and she is the daughter of a man created by Athena and a gorgon (aka medusa head). THAT is a paranormal couple.

Level of Harry Potterness: 2. The Novem, the borderline-bad-guy supernatural families that run New 2, fizz rather than spark.The same goes for Athena. Without scary bad guys or any real investment in these kiddos, It is hard to root for Ari. New 2 is so cool, but there is so much is beige in the plot! I cannot report on the climactic scene, since I found no evidence of a story arc here.  Hermione Granger would not stand for this shiz.

To conclude, this quote sums up my feelings on this series: "I know you can be overwhelmed, and you can be underwhelmed, but can you ever just be whelmed?"

Review: Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton

Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton:  This started out great, but things got a bit cra-cra.


Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is. Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.  She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.  Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed. (GR)

• Originality: 6. The originality of the New 2 was the best part of this book. The creole and southern Gothic works well- swamps and dripping Spanish Moss make a creepy setting for the voodoo magic feel. Decaying New 2 manages to be elegant but also post- apocalyptic. BUT Ari is also an exotically pretty girl who finds out that she has supernatural powers and is the key to saving the world. That part of this story gets a 2--standard for YA paranormal.
• Absurdity:  9. HIGH for the mixing of post-hurricane decayed America, the voodoo-magic-vampires-shapeshifter-Greek mythology. Do too many paranormal flavors spoil the plot-pot? This book teeters on that brink for me.
• Level of Paranormal Romance: Ugh let me tell you how disappointed I was in this. I was intrigued by the setup and Ari as she discovered New 2. She arrives, meets this guy Sebastian, who lives with a bunch of misfit (and probs paranormal) kids in a decaying mansion. He is rude. and plays the drums loudly. Then some unwelcome guests stop by and he is kind of snarky as Ari lays some smack down and beats people up. Soon thereafter Ari sees him hypnotize two women with caresses and then he corners her in a freakin' MORGUE (true, he tells her he wants to help her, but morgues are NOT safe-feeling). He then introduces her to  a voodoo priest. Ari has a terrible headache vision because of said voodoo encounter........and then wakes up in his lap and makes out with Sebastian!! WHAT THE WHAT? Ari, I had higher hopes for you. This was ridiculous, I can't deal. Let's move on.
• Level of Harry-Potter-ness: 4. I dug the creepy atmosphere of ruined New Orleans and the mystery around Ari's mom's death, but things went off the rails as we found out why Ari is being hunted. It's a blender of paranormal, and I cannot take all the aspects seriously the way they are mixed. 

Will I read the sequel A Beautiful Evil? Yes. Will I judge myself a bit? Yes. You can, too. But it is ok because I need to find out more about Violet, the creepy/adorable little kid who has a white pet alligator, fangs (seriously) and loves Mardi Gras masks. SHE IS COOL.