A Change of Scenery: Emilie from Emilie's Book World

Hey, all!

Welcome to day two of "A Change of Scenery"! Today on the blog is our first guest post from the lovely Emilie from Emilie's Book World! I'm such a fan of her blog and love chatting books with her so I'm really excited to have her here on the blog. And to get her opinion on setting in a novel! Welcome, Emilie!

Since Ciara is away exploring Ireland, she has asked me to write a guest post on some of my favourite books, the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, specifically about how the setting affects the rest of the story. So here it goes.

In a lot of books, the setting is just a backdrop for whatever is happening in the story and ultimately it doesn't really add much to whatever is happening. But sometimes there are some books where the setting is an integral part to the story, and that's the case with the setting of the Beautiful Creatures series. The story is set in the fictional town of Gatlin, South Carolina. This is a town where there is a lot of history, some of it really dark and mysterious and that plays into the Southern Gothic feel of the story as a whole.

The story itself would not work as well if it were set anywhere else, which may be somewhat stating the obvious, but that doesn't make it any less true. The story itself is about the world of Casters which carries a lot of mystery and there is definitely a certain darkness to it. Add to that the southern setting and it's enough for the story to give me chills. While reading, there are definitely some moments that wouldn't have been the same if it weren't for the town the story was set in.

The setting in this story is just incredibly powerful, to the point that it sometimes feels like the city of Gatlin, South Carolina takes on a life of its own. On more than one occasion, it almost feels like the town is a character in the story. And to be honest, those are the types of settings I love best. Because it feels absolutely real and I can feel like the story is taking place all around me.

So if you ask me, settings can definitely strongly impact the story and the characters. In the case of the Beautiful Creatures series, the setting just takes the story to a whole other level and helps create that dark and mysterious feel that's present throughout the story. And it's so well described that I can see it all the whole time I'm reading.

I love reading about setting taking on a life of its own! I really have to read Beautiful Creatures ASAP! (Actually, be sure to keep checking the blog cause I'm thinking of doing a read-a-long).

The Beautiful Creatures Series by Margaret Stohl & Kami Garcia (Links to Goodreads):

1. Beautiful Creatures

2. Beautiful Darkness

3. Beautiful Chaos

4. Beautiful Redemption 

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, Emilie! Be sure to stop by tomorrow for any other post about setting!

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)