Beautiful Creatures
#5433.81 of 680 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 2009–2012 Reading commitment Medium Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl Last reviewed 2026-09-10
Overview
A four-book young-adult paranormal romance series set in the small fictional town of Gatlin, South Carolina. It follows Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes, a "Caster" who faces a supernatural destiny that will claim her allegiance to either the light or the dark on her sixteenth birthday. The main series is complete at four books; a two-book companion series shifts focus to two supporting characters in New York City.
Romantasy, Urban fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
Beautiful Creatures Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Beautiful Creatures | 2009 | 1 | core | 3.78 (626,000 ratings) |
 | Beautiful Darkness | 2010 | 2 | core | 3.84 (123,670 ratings) |
 | Beautiful Chaos | 2011 | 3 | core | 3.93 (89,948 ratings) |
 | Beautiful Redemption | 2012 | 4 | core | 3.92 (64,501 ratings) |
The main Ethan/Lena arc.
Library / Expanded (2 works)
Dangerous Creatures Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Dangerous Creatures | 2014 | 1 | 3.84 (11,113 ratings) | |
 | Dangerous Deception | 2015 | 2 | 3.72 (3,986 ratings) |
Companion duology following supporting characters Ridley and Link in New York City.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Beautiful Creatures? Beautiful Creatures's Core Canon is 4 books, plus 2 more in the wider Library/Expanded material.
- What is the reading order for Beautiful Creatures? Publication order, starting with Beautiful Creatures. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Beautiful Creatures finished? Complete (2009–2012).
- How much reading does Beautiful Creatures take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books).
- How is Beautiful Creatures ranked? #543 of 680 ranked universes on this site, based on 904,119 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #543?
Ranked #543 of 680 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.81 across 4 core books.
- Backed by 904k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #542, Kai Lung (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 4 books · Complete · 904k ratings · Ranks #543 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length romantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- Beautiful Creatures (2009)
- Beautiful Darkness (2010)
- Beautiful Chaos (2011)
- Beautiful Redemption (2012)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- William C. Morris Award, 2010: finalist: Beautiful Creatures; ALA/YALSA William C. Morris Award finalist, 2010, for the debut novel Beautiful Creatures.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.81 across 904,119 ratings on 4 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Beautiful Creatures accepted 2026-09-10
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-10
Rule: Core Canon is the 4-book Ethan/Lena arc (Beautiful Creatures through Beautiful Redemption); the 2-book Dangerous Creatures companion series, which follows different lead characters, is Library/Expanded.