It's a rant-a-long! Basically, I'm going to tell y'all what I'm thinking while I read and spoil every little thing about this book. So if you haven't read it, you've been warned.

Okay, here we go...

Oh, look. The narrator's a girl named Bianca. Strange name, but whatever. La, la, la. She hates the new school she's being forced to attend because her parents are teaching there and decides to run away. But wait! A strange boy tackles her! His name is Lucas and he thought someone was following her. (Then why did you tackle Bianca??) And of course, he's gorgeous. *crosses eyes* Where are all these gorgeous teenage boys made? I don't remember one guy from my high school being 'gorgeous' or even model-worthy. She decides to stick around... because of a guy. Oh, we've all been there, Bianca.

She's made a friend, Rachel! But her roomie, Courtney, is all beautiful and rich and they don't relate. Bianca has a sad.

Now they're at a party and Bianca meets Balthazar. Wait... Balthazar?? What the hell kind of name is that? I know this book has vampires in it, so I'm going to assume he's an old vamp and because the roomie's bitchy, she's going to be a vamp, too. (Stereotypes!) But Balthazar (Balthie, from now on) is nice to Bianca. Maybe he won't bite her. Oh, but that Erich guy totally will because he's giving off major psycho vibes. (BTW, vamps staring creepily at people is so passe now, Erich. Edward totally killed anything cool about it years ago.)

La, la, la. (<--That marks the passage of time.)

A dance! About... Autumn? Don't they usually call that Homecoming? Of course, there's no football team at this ultra-swank, but eerily constructed school. (Gargoyles? Is that necessary on anything built after the 1500s?) Whatevs. Balthie asks Bianca (from now on, she's Bi) and since Lucas didn't ask (something weird is going on with him because he's totally avoiding Bi), she agrees. Ugh. And now he's suddenly jealous because Bi's having a nice time with Balthie? What gives, bipolar boy? Oh. They talked it out. Good for... what. the. hell. She just bit him! Oh, man. She's really going after his neck. This is kind of gross.

Oh, good, someone showed up to help, even if it is bitchy roomie.

HOLD THE PHONE! SHE'S A VAMPIRE BABY??

I don't... no. I have no words for this. Claudia Gray, you got me. I wasn't expecting that.

But Bi knew the entire time her parents and fellow classmates and the teachers were vampires! And that one day she would become one! Lies! Deceit! I don't like Bi as much now that I know she has this deceptive side. *glares*

Alright, something weird happens with Erich and Rachel because Erich is stalking her and Bi accidentally (I swear, it was accidental, guys!) bites him and somehow Lucas followed her onto the roof (there should be a warning somewhere not try this at home) and saw everything. *takes a breath* Wow. Lots of things happening.

Uh-oh. Lucas figured out Bi's secret. But seems fine with it? Really?? Okay, something is definitely going on with him. And they love each other! That seems very convenient. What's going on, Lucas? Why aren't you angrier about Bi keeping this secret from you? Is it because you have a secret of your own that you should share with the class?

La, la, la. They go on a date. How cute. But awkward because Bi's parents are chaperones. So they avoid them by going to a diner and then Lucas picks a fight (random?) with this dude who was just bs-ing. Chill, Lucas. No need to go into Hulk-mode.

Oh-ho! Lucas' secret is revealed! He's a descendant of a long line of vampire hunters who are part of the Black Cross. =\ to the name. But whatevs because now Lucas is running for his life! Ah! Bi's parents and Balthie and pretty much everyone else who's a vamp is chasing him with the intent to kill! Poor Bi. But she's going to find him first and totally run away together because that seems like the best plan EVER. Being on the run from your family is what every teen aspires to achieve one day.

And they still love each other even though Lucas hates every vamp he sees on sight. Isn't that... sweet.

So now they're in a motel (gross) and have this deep, meaningful conversation while dealing with rampant teenage hormones. Snuggles! And then Lucas' mom shows up (Buzzkill!) and hauls them off to the Black Cross HQ. Wow, this has gotta be awkward for Bi. Ha! They keep talking about how Bi's safe now and they know she was stolen as a baby from her "evil" vampire pseudo-parents.

And then the bad-mouthed parents show up! (It was almost like they knew their cue.) Eek, don't die parental units! They whisk Bi away from Lucas (unfair!) because they just don't understand. (Preach it, Will Smith!) Now Bi is all alone at the school she still hates because Lucas isn't there and she still has a bitchy roomie and her parents are just so horrible because they don't see that Bi and Lucas' love is for REALS. But Lucas sends a letter to Bi through his roomie. He still loves her! *swoon* And they'll meet again! (But not like in the afterlife. He means in real life. Because this ain't Romeo & Juliet, y'all.)

I now have a tic under my eye that I didn't have before from reading this book. Balthie was cool, but everyone else made me cringe. Bi and Lucas hid some rather BIG things from each other, but love conquers all... right? (No. It doesn't. This will come back to bite them in the ass.) Also, when will YA books stop being based in creepy old boarding schools? FYI, North America's not that old. So if the boarding school is in North America, I'm not going to believe it gives off sinister castle vibes. What happened to meeting someone at the local high school? Is it because it's easier to write without having to deal with parents or RULES that are placed on children for their own good? Like, DON'T run off with boys who want to kill your parents. *tic*

I'm not going to read the rest of the series. I don't care if you give me all the books for free. I refuse.

So, almost a year ago, I was hearing all these wonderful things about a book called Beautiful Creatures. Wonderful things from authors and bloggers whom I respected. When I looked at the book in the book store I was excited. it had an awesome cover (I love covers) and it was a long book. I love getting long books. More bang for your buck so to speak.

I was terribly disappointed in it. It's length just meant that it was unedited. It meandered on and on until the ending and then rushed and threw it weird things and just didn't make much sense. But, I liked the characters, and it was a debut so I thought I'd give Beautiful Darkness a try. They to have improved, right? The must have editors that point out glaring inconsistentcies, right?

No. I really can't see that they do.

The book was incredibly predictable, threw in love triangles from nowhere, as YA books can't exist these days with a love triangle, and had the worst ending of any book I've read in the last year. Possibly longer.

Ethan, my favorite character in the series, basically does nothing. He watches while other people show up to save him.

What???? Why did no one tell them that having their main character, the narrator, do NOTHING was a stupid, boring, idea? Now, some might argue that he's the only normal person in the group, there wasn't anything he could do. THEN GIVE HIM SOMETHING TO DO. Have him find something, or be in charge of something, or heck discover previously unknown skills. I don't know. But having your main character do nothing, not even have a moment of self-realization during the climax of the book is just lazy writing.

Speaking of other people showing up at the end. Almost the entire book is spent with the characters trying to find this place, they are unsure if it even exists. The dig up clues and piece together a map and go on a long journey with many (predictable) twists and (boring) turns. Then at the end...everyone just shows up out of nowhere. I mean everyone. How did they get there? No one knew how to get there previously. But then they all show up just at the right time to save the day so poor, normal, could-never-measure-up Ethan doesn't have to.

This book was awful. I got it for free and I regret it.