e-ARC, 448 pagesRelease Date: October 8, 2019Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Read from: October 12-18, 2019The Beautiful, #1Source: Publisher & Edelweiss (I received a copy of this book from the Publisher & Edelweiss in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)TW: Death, ViolenceFor fans of: Vampires, Paranormal Romance, Historical Fiction, Sparkly Covers, Diverse Authors, POC MC, YA
In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city's glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group's leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien's guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.
When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.
At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Normally I don't like historical fiction, but if you pair it with something I do like.... say vampires, I'll still give it a shot. And that's of course what this book did for me. And of course there's the fact that Renee Ahdieh wrote it. Because that means I HAVE to read it no matter what it's about lol
"Be faithful, he warned, "for the faithless are alone in death, blind, and terrified."1%
Celine Rousseau has come to New Orleans to flee her past life in Paris, France. She resides now in the Ursline Convent with other girls. She is quickly swept up into society's underworld and the leader, Sebastien Saint Germain. A girl from the convent is suddenly found dead and then more bodies began popping up. Celine takes matters into her own hands and wants the killings to end. But what if she her searches reveal something a lot more sinister at play?
"Every place she went, life insisted on confining her. Perhaps she deserved it. Her sins were many, her pardons few."4%
After the sparkly vampire came out, I remember every paranormal romance wise was about vampires. It got to the point where I didn't want to read them anymore. I don't think I've read one for a good 10 years. So when this one came out, I remeber being a bit iffy. And as soon as I started readiong it, I'm not sure why I was iffy about it. This isn't the sparkly nonsense that I used to love so long ago. This one has actual eat your throat out vampires and listen, I AM HERE FOR IT.
"Celine knew it was wiser to continue on their course. To remain ambivalent. Safe. But if a monster takes a life, what kind of creature refuses to save one?"12%
Like I stated before, I LOVE Ahdieh and will read everything she has. And this was no different. I highlighted so many passages I loved in this book and wrote down about 4 pages worth of quotes. That's normal for me with authors that I love, but normally it's when I write down longer quotes. These were fairly short and I still managed to have about 4 pages worth. It was just that good.
"It suddenly struck Celine how the simplest words often carried the most weight. Yes and no. Love and hate. Give and take."60%
But even with those things, the plot wasn't great. I found myself almost DNF'ing this for most of the first half of the book. I remember writing down the percentage when things really started happening and it wasn't until about 60% that they sped up, and that made me really upset. If I knew I was going to spend most of my time reading fluff, I would have skimmed that or even read something else first. Don't get me wrong, this book is good, but I could have listened to this on audio where I sped it up and probably would have liked it more.
"Honestly I thought this was a fête for saints and sinners." "And you though to go dressed as a saint?" "Didn't you know, darlin'?" he drawled. "All the best saints are sinners."73%
The characters were ok, but not exactly memorable. For example, [SPOILER] the person who was behind everyone was someone I didn't even remember. I had to go back and find their name in the rest of the story.[END SPOILER] The main character Celine was good, but she ended up being the only one I liked. I wasn't even a fan of the love interest and I normally like the broody, quiet ones. They just weren't my favorites.
"We forget our dreams, but nightmares linger with us evermore."77%
This book took me through a lot of ups and downs, but to say I'm not a fan of two of it's hugest aspects, please know that just getting through this is big for me. I still plan to read The Damned, because let's face it, this wasn't my favorite by Adhieh, but if she wrote it, I'll read it.
Overall, I give this
