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meant2breading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I liked book number two, but not as much as the first. I understand the separation and some of the slowness in the beginning, though I couldn’t wait for Bastian and Celine to reunite ! I also enjoyed the world building outside of NOLA. However, I wanted more for and with Odette!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Racism
mandkips's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault and Homophobia
siglerbooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Murder
allyordyna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Not as great as the first book, but maybe it’s just due to the addition of the fae. Reminded me more of The Cruel Prince than Twilight.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Cursing, and Death
midnightrose_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Very disjointed sequel to The Beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
translove's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, Animal death, and Death
Moderate: Torture and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent, Homophobia, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Racism
danielle_isreading's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book was a great second installment of Renee Ahdieh's The Beautiful & The Damned series, but at times it felt like the plot was a little too slow.
Ahdieh's prose is once again stunning, and her characters fleshed out and interesting, and you never quite know what's going to happen. She blasts open the doors to this fantasy universe she's created, and I can't wait to see where she goes next with it.
Ahdieh's prose is once again stunning, and her characters fleshed out and interesting, and you never quite know what's going to happen. She blasts open the doors to this fantasy universe she's created, and I can't wait to see where she goes next with it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
annabelle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I think I liked this even more than the first. Still had lots of angst and mystery which I loved. The world expanded, the plot grew more tense, and the characters had to face new problems. This really felt more expansive than the first, and I can’t wait for the third one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
pastelwriter's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Listen. I don’t even know how to review this book. My emotions were so messy when I finished it that my first instinct was to film a book review. That video will probably end up more coherent (somehow) than whatever I type here.
Long story short? The parts I enjoyed about this were the ones that stuck to tested and true vampire tropes. The whole will they/won’t they going on with Celine and Bastien that lead to some tasty tension as Celine tried to get closer to Bastien after she had forgotten him? Just a gift. The fact that Celine was resisting vampire charms forcing her to forget? Beautiful. The fact that we have traditional vampire versus werewolf tropes? Delicious.The fact that we learned that Celine is half fae? Iconic. The time we spend in the fae realm? Fascinating. The tension between fae and vampires? Perfection.
At the same time, though, the characters seriously got on my nerves in this book. Bastien’s character in particular started out really strong, lost me a bit in the middle of the book, and then got me again at the end. At first, I was thriving because Bastien was being incredibly petty. He was angry at his family for having turned him into a vampire, and he was taking it out on them. Honestly, I thrive on righteous anger when I agree with why the character is angry. In this case, I did. Bastien lost me though when he put on his emo vampire coat on. He needed to stop with that bullshit. He was pushing Celine away because he’s a creature of darkness and would take her from the light or whatever such nonsense. And I just needed him to stop. Eventually, though, Celine got him in line. So, I was able to love him again.
The other thing that got on my nerves in this book is that it’s trying really hard to sell me a love triangle that is so flimsy it disintegrates like paper held to a flame. What’s worse is that the love triangle made me think Michael had no self-respect. The man kept seeing how drawn Celine was to Bastien, how she only spent more time with him because she couldn’t remember Bastien, and he really thought Celine would choose him. Why? What on earth gave him that idea? He was in a different plane of existence if he thought that was going to happen. So, it just made the whole thing even more annoying. It felt like a waste of my time, and it tested my patience.
In addition, I feel like the author played me. Unless I had a stroke while reading book one, I thought Pippa was a lesbian. But it seems she’s either straight or another sexuality. But the author was emphasizing attraction to men in this book, completely dismissing the female character she had chemistry with in book one, and I felt like my brain was melting.
Anyway. At the end of the day, all I can say sounds incredibly negative...but honestly it’s what kept me reading. The hot mess these characters were was super interesting to me. I was invested in seeing what they would do next. I wanted answers. I continue to want answers. So, really, I’m thankful to this book for taking me on a rollercoaster of emotions. The rollercoaster may have made me want to fight the characters, but I still had fun.
P.S. Something I still don’t get is why Emilie would turn against her brother. Like. He was literally a child when their uncle failed to save her from that fire. How was that shit Bastien’s fault? How could she blame him for being born into a world that priced him more than her? And because she kept her distance, why did she expect him to grow up not acting like a man inheriting a legacy? In addition, she thinks Bastien asked to be turned into a vampire and that it was granted to him because he’s a man...but that wasn’t even what happened! I just don’t buy it. Not a bit.
Long story short? The parts I enjoyed about this were the ones that stuck to tested and true vampire tropes. The whole will they/won’t they going on with Celine and Bastien that lead to some tasty tension as Celine tried to get closer to Bastien after she had forgotten him? Just a gift. The fact that Celine was resisting vampire charms forcing her to forget? Beautiful. The fact that we have traditional vampire versus werewolf tropes? Delicious.
At the same time, though, the characters seriously got on my nerves in this book. Bastien’s character in particular started out really strong, lost me a bit in the middle of the book, and then got me again at the end. At first, I was thriving because Bastien was being incredibly petty. He was angry at his family for having turned him into a vampire, and he was taking it out on them. Honestly, I thrive on righteous anger when I agree with why the character is angry. In this case, I did. Bastien lost me though when he put on his emo vampire coat on. He needed to stop with that bullshit. He was pushing Celine away because he’s a creature of darkness and would take her from the light or whatever such nonsense. And I just needed him to stop. Eventually, though, Celine got him in line. So, I was able to love him again.
The other thing that got on my nerves in this book is that it’s trying really hard to sell me a love triangle that is so flimsy it disintegrates like paper held to a flame. What’s worse is that the love triangle made me think Michael had no self-respect. The man kept seeing how drawn Celine was to Bastien, how she only spent more time with him because she couldn’t remember Bastien, and he really thought Celine would choose him. Why? What on earth gave him that idea? He was in a different plane of existence if he thought that was going to happen. So, it just made the whole thing even more annoying. It felt like a waste of my time, and it tested my patience.
In addition, I feel like the author played me. Unless I had a stroke while reading book one, I thought Pippa was a lesbian. But it seems she’s either straight or another sexuality. But the author was emphasizing attraction to men in this book, completely dismissing the female character she had chemistry with in book one, and I felt like my brain was melting.
Anyway. At the end of the day, all I can say sounds incredibly negative...but honestly it’s what kept me reading. The hot mess these characters were was super interesting to me. I was invested in seeing what they would do next. I wanted answers. I continue to want answers. So, really, I’m thankful to this book for taking me on a rollercoaster of emotions. The rollercoaster may have made me want to fight the characters, but I still had fun.
P.S. Something I still don’t get is why Emilie would turn against her brother. Like. He was literally a child when their uncle failed to save her from that fire. How was that shit Bastien’s fault? How could she blame him for being born into a world that priced him more than her? And because she kept her distance, why did she expect him to grow up not acting like a man inheriting a legacy? In addition, she thinks Bastien asked to be turned into a vampire and that it was granted to him because he’s a man...but that wasn’t even what happened! I just don’t buy it. Not a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault
malloryfitz's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Racism, Gun violence, and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault
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