Omni Daily Crush: "Beautiful Creatures"

When friends and colleagues ask, "What should I read next?," my first response, invariably, is "What is the last book you loved?" It's an easy way to glean someone's reading taste, and is the main reason publishers love to make grand statements like "Her book is this year's "Eat, Pray, Love"  or "He is the next John Grisham" when they pitch to booksellers. So, when I saw the poster for Beautiful Creatures butted right up next to the poster for the Twilight series at BEA, I thought, they must be trying to make this book "the next Twilight"--even if just by proximity. Imagine my surprise to find out that is exactly what it is.

Beautiful Creatures charms you from the first page, drawing you into a lush world of mystery and magic until you emerge gasping and blinking, wondering how you lost the last few hours and how many more you are willing to give up. Star-crossed teenagers, (one with a mysterious secret), find each other in small town Gatlin, South Carolina, and drama ensues. To tell too much is to spoil the fun of finding out, but let's just say that in this fresh, smart, fun read, the boy is chasing the girl who has the dark, dangerous, life-altering power. Love it, love it, love it.

'Course, it doesn't come out until December. I know, sorry, but you can't choose what you crush on, or when--sometimes the books choose you. At least you know that between now and then you'll have Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and New Moon in the theaters to keep you happy. We'll hopefully have more to share on Beautiful Creatures soon, so stay tuned.

--Daphne

Recommended for fans of the Twilight Saga, Wicked Lovely, Tithe, the Gemma Doyle series, and anyone that likes to lose themselves in a good southern gothic.