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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
THE DAMNED explores how Bastien copes with becoming a vampire and how Celine deals with her lack of memories, as well as revealing secrets regarding her mother.
THE DAMNED started off quite slow in my opinion, with Celine being mentioned for the first time 25% into the book. What I found the most irritating, however, was how frequent the French is. I obviously understand that New Orleans is a particularly French place, however in most of the vampire scenes (and some other scenes throughout) there are several sentences per page in French that are not translated. It seems like you need to have a French GCSE to understand some of the dialogue, as I'm not Google Translating sentences every other page. This creates quite a jarring effect, taking me out of the immersion.
Throughout the book we read chapters from the perspectives of all the different characters introduced in THE BEAUTIFUL, which I thought was an interesting choice as 1) we can learn about the universe directly from those in the different sectors and 2) we don't tire of the same two main character narrators that I find happens often when I'm reading.
The book definitely introduces the paranormal aspects that THE BEAUTIFUL didn't have, with vampires, werewolves, and fey- in parts it's fairly reminiscent of the Shadowhunter world. Despite this, there isn't anything remotely gothic about the vampires, and this is a let down for me because gothic-ness is quite a large trait for vampire novels.
Ahdieh continues her technique of (pointlessly) repeating key elements of characters' backstories in THE DAMNED, with Emilie's death/caught in a house fire story being told to us 3 times across the book with pretty much identical description and nothing new added. The 'story' takes 2-3 pages each time and became rather boring and irritating after the second repetition. I also think we were told who murdered the girls from THE BEAUTIFUL, but I'm not sure- it's insinuated that Nigel was only responsible for the Celine-Sebastian situation and that Emilie manufactured the other murders to get revenge on her uncle? Emilie's role in the novels was a bit confusing to me.
The book as a whole was quite slow, picking up significantly in the last 50ish pages. THE DAMNED feels a bit like a filler/pathway novel that allowed Ahdieh to establish the lore of her universe, explore Bastien's new vampire identity, and create the timescale for Celine to gain her memories back. This makes me feel like Book 3 will definitely be more engaging, and I suspect it'll have a Cassandra Clare feel with all the waring factions, however it doesn't diminish the drag of THE DAMNED.
There isn't really any romance in this book at all, which probably contributed to why I found it a slow read. Bastien is determined to remove himself from Celine, and Celine isn't into Michael as much as he is into her. Celine becomes rather desperate for Bastien (I guess understandably if they were so deeply in love in THE BEAUTIFUL- I didn't interpret their relationship to be as intense as this book claims it was), and eventually convinces him to go against the rules and start dating again. All this time Celine is messing about with Michael's emotions, and I do end up pitying him, as it's clear that he isn't going to let her go without a fight.
To conclude, if you've read THE BEAUTIFUL then I do recommend THE DAMNED, as it isn't a bad novel but just doesn't live up to the predecessor. This book is an ideal pathway novel into Ahdieh's universe and for Book 3, and so I can appreciate it for that- however, if I were to ignore that, THE DAMNED isn't anything spectacular.
THE DAMNED started off quite slow in my opinion, with Celine being mentioned for the first time 25% into the book. What I found the most irritating, however, was how frequent the French is. I obviously understand that New Orleans is a particularly French place, however in most of the vampire scenes (and some other scenes throughout) there are several sentences per page in French that are not translated. It seems like you need to have a French GCSE to understand some of the dialogue, as I'm not Google Translating sentences every other page. This creates quite a jarring effect, taking me out of the immersion.
Throughout the book we read chapters from the perspectives of all the different characters introduced in THE BEAUTIFUL, which I thought was an interesting choice as 1) we can learn about the universe directly from those in the different sectors and 2) we don't tire of the same two main character narrators that I find happens often when I'm reading.
The book definitely introduces the paranormal aspects that THE BEAUTIFUL didn't have, with vampires, werewolves, and fey- in parts it's fairly reminiscent of the Shadowhunter world. Despite this, there isn't anything remotely gothic about the vampires, and this is a let down for me because gothic-ness is quite a large trait for vampire novels.
Ahdieh continues her technique of (pointlessly) repeating key elements of characters' backstories in THE DAMNED, with Emilie's death/caught in a house fire story being told to us 3 times across the book with pretty much identical description and nothing new added. The 'story' takes 2-3 pages each time and became rather boring and irritating after the second repetition. I also think we were told who murdered the girls from THE BEAUTIFUL, but I'm not sure- it's insinuated that Nigel was only responsible for the Celine-Sebastian situation and that Emilie manufactured the other murders to get revenge on her uncle? Emilie's role in the novels was a bit confusing to me.
The book as a whole was quite slow, picking up significantly in the last 50ish pages. THE DAMNED feels a bit like a filler/pathway novel that allowed Ahdieh to establish the lore of her universe, explore Bastien's new vampire identity, and create the timescale for Celine to gain her memories back. This makes me feel like Book 3 will definitely be more engaging, and I suspect it'll have a Cassandra Clare feel with all the waring factions, however it doesn't diminish the drag of THE DAMNED.
There isn't really any romance in this book at all, which probably contributed to why I found it a slow read. Bastien is determined to remove himself from Celine, and Celine isn't into Michael as much as he is into her. Celine becomes rather desperate for Bastien (I guess understandably if they were so deeply in love in THE BEAUTIFUL- I didn't interpret their relationship to be as intense as this book claims it was), and eventually convinces him to go against the rules and start dating again. All this time Celine is messing about with Michael's emotions, and I do end up pitying him, as it's clear that he isn't going to let her go without a fight.
To conclude, if you've read THE BEAUTIFUL then I do recommend THE DAMNED, as it isn't a bad novel but just doesn't live up to the predecessor. This book is an ideal pathway novel into Ahdieh's universe and for Book 3, and so I can appreciate it for that- however, if I were to ignore that, THE DAMNED isn't anything spectacular.
I enjoyed this book as much as I did The Beautiful. The character-building allowed each character to twist and turn the story so I was completely surprised. The addition of other paranormal creatures added an extra layer to the story. I'm already waiting for the next sequel.
A little harder read with all the POVs but still very well written. I personally enjoy understanding everyone's views of the same situation and their personal backstories. But, it definitely leaves a cliffhanger just as the first book did to keep you wanting to know what's next!
dark
mysterious
fast-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
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
The sequel suffers from trying to accomplish too many things at once. The beginning is slow and then about halfway through it starts racing through a million different perspectives and plots regarding fae, vampire, and werewolves. This also leads up to a finale that tries to tie up several loose ends and ultimately feels rushed. It would have been better to split the fae and vampire/werewolves bits into two separate books and flesh out the rest.
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
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: Gore, Violence, Blood
Minor: Racism
3.5. I enjoyed this book but it left me with the “that was it” feeling. The author does it great job with the inner monologue with her characters and makes me enjoy reading from all POV but when it comes to the actual physical actions taken by the characters, it was lacking. It went from theyre in the vale, to being in at court, to being here, to being back in human world, to the dock, back to the veil so quickly. I would have really enjoyed reading more about the travel and decision making that comes with these versus a couple paragraphs going over what was decided. We didn’t even get a funeral for odette or to know what bastien told the others what to do while he’s gone, he’s just gone back to the vale all of a sudden with Celine and Celine, once again, leaving pippa with no clue on if she’s alive. Also Celine finding out she’s half fey barely phases anyone. Like, hello. This is a big deal and it’s only a shock to everyone for a whole page.
This book could have used another 100-200 pages to be more satisfying.
In the end, I still enjoy learning more about this world and will continue on.
This book could have used another 100-200 pages to be more satisfying.
In the end, I still enjoy learning more about this world and will continue on.
This was such an explosion of expansion on book 1...I'm obsessed.
adventurous
dark
emotional
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