Review – A Beautiful Evil (Gods and Monsters, Book 2) by Kelly Keaton (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Length: 320 pages
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: January 1, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-1442409286
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Gods and Monsters series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

“When Ari first arrived in the dilapidated city of New 2, all she wanted was to figure out who she was. But what she discovered was beyond her worst nightmare. Ari is a descendant of Medusa and can already sense the evil growing inside her—a power the goddess Athena will stop at nothing to possess.

Desperate to hold on to her humanity and protect her loved ones, Ari must fight back. But Athena’s playing mind games, not just with Ari, but with those she cares about most. And Athena has a very special plan for the brooding and sexy Sebastian.

Ari is determined to defeat Athena, but time is running out. With no other options, Ari must unleash the very thing she’s afraid of: herself.”

This is the second book in the Gods and Monsters series by Keaton. Although I didn’t like this book quite as much as the first book in the series, it was still a good addition to this series. I continue to enjoy this YA urban fantasy series and the heavy mythology overtones to it. The characters and world are all very well done.

In this book Ari is learning how to use and control her new powers. We end up venturing into Athena’s realm, as Ari and friends try to rescue those that Athena took at the end of the last book.

I continue to enjoy all the mythological creatures, the interesting world-building, the easy to engage with characters, and all the action in these books. The story is pretty dark and has heavy gothic overtones to it, which I enjoyed.

Overall this was a well done continuation of this YA urban fantasy series. I love the blend of mythology, unique world-building, action, paranormal elements, and light romance. I would recommend to those who enjoy YA urban fantasy with a darker tone to it. This series is similar in tone to the The Demon Trappers series by Jana Oliver.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge
– Paranormal Reading Challenge
– YA Reading Challenge