Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl is about Ethan, a good basketball-playing, cheerleader-dating, southern boy who had (until recently) enjoyed a peaceful, ordinary life in Gatlin, South Carolina. That is, until Lena Duchannes showed up at school. Lena was the niece of the town shut-in, Macon Ravenwood, who lived in the oldest plantation house on the outskirts of Gatlin. The upstanding citizens of Gatlin tolerated him because he never showed his face in town. Lena, on the other hand turned into the bane of everyone's existence... except for Ethan. It turns out, the strange dreams Ethan had been having were actually about Lena - they shared a strange connection and could even read each others' thoughts from miles away! Ethan finds out that's because Lena and her family are not typical Mortals like everyone else in Gatlin. They are Casters and Lena has until her 16th birthday, only a few months from their first meeting, before she is claimed - either Light or Dark. Lena is terrified of the Claiming, certain she is going Dark. She is just as terrified of losing Ethan, whom she has grown to love over the course of their few months together. Everything comes to a head the night of Lena's 16th birthday when she has to make a life or death decision which will result in losing one or more of the people she loves. Will she repeat the mistakes from the past which cursed her family? Will she choose Mortals over Casters? Light over Dark? Mother or Uncle?

This was a great fantasy. I really liked the way the authors made it from Ethan's point of view. Most of the paranormal romance stories I've read are from the girl's perspective. I also liked the way the authors wove in information about the Civil War and southern living. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes the Twilight Series or is a fan of paranormal romance.