Book: Dangerous Creautures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, narrated by Khristine Hvam

Published May 2014 by Hachette Audio|Run Time: 9 hours, 41 minutes

Where I Got It: audible.com

Series: Dangerous Creatures #1

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find Dangerous Creatures on goodreads & you can find Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl on their websites

Goodreads Summary: 

Ridley Duchannes is nobody’s heroine. She’s a Dark Caster, a Siren. She can make you do things. Anything. You can’t trust her, or yourself when she s around. And she ll be the first to tell you to stay away especially if you’re going to do something as stupid as fall in love with her.

Lucky for Ridley, her wannabe rocker boyfriend, Wesley Link Lincoln, never listens to anyone. Link doesn t care if Rid’s no good for him, and he takes her along when he leaves small-town Gatlin to follow his rock-star dream. He teams up with a ragtag group of Dark Casters, and when the band scores a gig at a hot Underground club, it looks like all of Link’s dreams are about to come true.

But New York City is a dangerous place for both Casters and Mortals, and soon Ridley realizes that Link’s bandmates are keeping secrets. With bad-boy club owner Lennox Gates on her heels, Rid is determined to find out the truth. What she discovers is worse than she could have imagined: Link has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay. With their lives on the line, what s a Siren to do?

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of the Beautiful Creatures novels, are back to cast another magical spell. Their signature blend of mystery, suspense, and romance, with a healthy dose of wit and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more.

What I Thought:

When I heard that there was going to be a Beautiful Creatures spin-off, I knew I had to read it.  And while spin-off series make me a little nervous, I am glad to say that I really liked Dangerous Creatures!

I was definitely curious about what would happen after the events of Dangerous Dream, the prequel novella. I kind of wish I had listened to it ahead of time for a refresher, but thankfully, you don’t need to read the prequel to know what’s going on. Although, if you haven’t read the original series, you might want to because it’s awesome, and because the world will make more sense.  (It does stand well on its own, though).

I am glad that Ridley and Link get their own story, and the world they get caught up in.  It was really weird seeing them on their own, with no Lena or Ethan or Amma or John or Liv or any of the other characters, but I feel like we’re getting a different side of the Caster world.  Of course, I do miss Gatlin and everyone there, and I didn’t quite fall in love with the new characters the way I fell in love with the characters from Beautiful Creatures, but I’m hoping that I’ll warm up to them by the end of the series.  At the same time, new characters fit with the story, and with a new series, it would be a little weird to have those familiar characters have a major role in the story.  (Still, they could pop up later on, given certain things that happen in the beginning).

I do love that we see the Caster world outside of Gatlin and how much of an effect Lena’s actions had on the entire Caster world, and not just the one in Gatlin.

What I like about Ridley being the narrator of the book is that we see how hard on herself she is.  I really felt for Ridley, and being a Siren has a lot of downsides I didn’t really think about in Beautiful Creatures.  This is a darker world, and I like that it’s darker than its parent series.  Ridley is definitely damaged and broken in her own way, and this dark Caster world…Ridley does seem to fit into really well.

And Link…I’m not sure how I feel about him.  Honestly, Ridley and her story took center stage…and I didn’t pay that much attention to Link, even though they travel to New York together and have quite the…adventure…there.  It’s such a great book for the fans of Beautiful Creatures.  It’s definitely a whirlwind, and I’m looking forward to the next book, because I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Ridley and Link, especially with that cliffhanger of an ending!

As for the narration, I thought Khristine Hvam was a great choice as a narrator!  I also liked that Kevin Collins made a few random appearances, singing as Link, and part of me wishes we got a bit more of Link singing.

Let’s Rate It:

Dangerous Creatures definitely doesn’t disappoint!  It’s a very different series than Beautiful Creatures, but I like that it’s such a different story.  I really felt for Ridley, and I’m hoping we get more of Link and the new characters in the rest of the series.  Dangerous Creatures gets 4 stars.