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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I gave the book one of this series a 4-star rating and within the first chapter, I was deeply disappointed. The FMC that I admired was gone. I loved the MMC and I thought he was a much better vampire than Edward (sorry, Team Edward), but in the sequel, he was degraded to a whiny, heartbroken mess. The steamy vampire-ness was gone and in the attempt to make the sequel bigger and better, it ended up being a confusing mix of subplots and supernatural lore without any depth.
Despite the focus shifting to the other supporting characters, I didn't care for them enough to actually care about their stories. Even the betrayals fell flat and failed at being a plot twist, even though it came out of nowhere.
It was overall just boring and I don't think I will be continuing on with the series.
Despite the focus shifting to the other supporting characters, I didn't care for them enough to actually care about their stories. Even the betrayals fell flat and failed at being a plot twist, even though it came out of nowhere.
It was overall just boring and I don't think I will be continuing on with the series.
I love these books! They are so well written and promote such strong, DIVERSE, characters. I think that both Celene and Bastian are worthy heroes. They each have their own agency and their love is something to root for--sorry, but not sorry, Michael. Read this!
All I have to say is... can’t wait for the third one!
**3.5 stars rounded up
This was good. There was heartache and tension but not nearly as much as I would've liked to see between Bastien and Celine
This was good. There was heartache and tension but not nearly as much as I would've liked to see between Bastien and Celine
This book was such a wonderful, riveting follow up to The Beautiful, that leaves off with Celine trying to figure what had happened that fateful night that left her badly wounded as well as (unknowingly to her, but painfully knowingly to Bastien) tearing her apart from her beloved Bastien. If the complaint about The Beautiful was that there were no enough vampires, this book most certainly serves it up. Here, you learn more about the vampire and werewolf folklore as well as why the two sides are at war. You also learn more about the St. Germain family and what had happened to Bastien's sister. I was kept at the edge of my seat reading this book and had a hard time putting it down as I uncovered layer upon layer of everyone's stories which come together at the explosive climax and leaves me craving more at the cliffhanger ending. Currently awaiting for my paperback version of The Damned's follow up for The Righteous and can't wait to delve into it!
4 stars
With the way The Beautiful ended, I immediately picked up The Damned. (thank you, publishers, for letting me read it early) And I was not disappointed. Renée Ahdieh knows how to write, she paints such gorgeous pictures with her words.
It should be said how much I enjoyed the relationships of this book. I was in awe of Celine and Pippa's friendship. It is exactly what a friendship should be. They care so deeply for each other and you can see that. But Bastien and Celine, I adored them so much. Both individually and together, they are wonderful characters.
I don’t want to spoil things as usual so I can’t say much. But just know this book is magical and if you have a love for vampires, then read this book!
Nothing is confirmed as of yet, but I do hope there will be more books coming. I am not ready to let go of these characters or this world.
With the way The Beautiful ended, I immediately picked up The Damned. (thank you, publishers, for letting me read it early) And I was not disappointed. Renée Ahdieh knows how to write, she paints such gorgeous pictures with her words.
It should be said how much I enjoyed the relationships of this book. I was in awe of Celine and Pippa's friendship. It is exactly what a friendship should be. They care so deeply for each other and you can see that. But Bastien and Celine, I adored them so much. Both individually and together, they are wonderful characters.
I don’t want to spoil things as usual so I can’t say much. But just know this book is magical and if you have a love for vampires, then read this book!
Nothing is confirmed as of yet, but I do hope there will be more books coming. I am not ready to let go of these characters or this world.
3.5 stars I got kinda bored but I stuck with it and the book picked up.
I felt very much the same way about the first book. An interesting YA paranormal fantasy that’s intriguing enough to keep me reading but not quite a five star read.
Things I Liked:
- Bastian: I felt like Bastian’s character was much more developed in this book, and I enjoyed getting to read his POV.
- The fantasy elements: the world building makes so much more sense in this book, and I enjoyed how much more in depth that aspect of the story went
Things I Didn’t Love:
- Emilie: I don’t understand her motivations at all. *spoilers* She saved her brother from a fire only to want to kill him now? For what reason? Because she hates her uncle? How is that Bastian’s fault?
- the ending: another cliff hanger, more pressing questions and big twists and reveals. It does make me want to read more but it’s also a little tiring.
Things I Liked:
- Bastian: I felt like Bastian’s character was much more developed in this book, and I enjoyed getting to read his POV.
- The fantasy elements: the world building makes so much more sense in this book, and I enjoyed how much more in depth that aspect of the story went
Things I Didn’t Love:
- Emilie: I don’t understand her motivations at all. *spoilers* She saved her brother from a fire only to want to kill him now? For what reason? Because she hates her uncle? How is that Bastian’s fault?
- the ending: another cliff hanger, more pressing questions and big twists and reveals. It does make me want to read more but it’s also a little tiring.
Ok.... so first of all, it took me a solid month to finish this. Not good!
I will start off with what I liked about the book and then what I feel fell flat with this installment.
The Good:
The diversity and representation in both The Beautiful and The Damned is amazing. I wish every author was like Ahdieh and able to present different cultures and languages so beautifully and effortlessly. For that I truly commend her, I liked reading the other languages and being able to follow along with the flow of the conversations. I liked the discourse surrounding the different foods that are specific to certain cultures. For example, the conversation between Valeria and Arjun. Simply amazing. I also love how Ahdieh depicts just how deep hate runs in the West and how people look down on those who are different because the color of their skin, their religion, and who they love.
The Bad:
Sadly, the bad outweighs the good which makes me so sad because The Beautiful was such an amazing book. It seems this novel suffered from the sequel curse.
I will start off with Celine and the romance with Bastien. In the first book Celine is probably one of the strongest characters I have read about, to date. In this one, she seems to have regressed and become the lovesick teenager. My problem with the fact that her memories were gone was that she focused on who she was missing instead of what actually happened. It felt like every one was trying to tell her of dangers and whatnot and all she worried about was kissing Bastien. And while Pippa annoys me, I didn’t like how judgmental Celine came across during their conversation at Pippa’s engagement party. Then it felt like once Celine found Bastien again all she did was like beg him to love her and that just came across as desperate. One thing I will address... I absolutely hate love triangles where you obviously know who she wants and who she picks. Like what’s the point... that’s not a love triangle at all. See The Infernal Devices on how to properly execute a love triangle. Also, it seemed like Bastien looked for any excuse to not be with Celine. I hate those broody types where he pushes her away to the point that he’s completely being a dick but in his thoughts he’s pining after her.
Next I would like to address the multiple POVS. Because we were switching between so many POVS and perspectives, I could not connect with any of the characters. Also the world building took a huge left turn in this book. We went from paranormal spooky romance to straight hard fantasy. There’s a lot to keep up with and it’s not particularly explained well.
Overall, The Damned fell really flat for me and I’m actually so disappointed because The Beautiful is out of this world. I don’t know if I will finish this series once the next book comes out...
I will start off with what I liked about the book and then what I feel fell flat with this installment.
The Good:
The diversity and representation in both The Beautiful and The Damned is amazing. I wish every author was like Ahdieh and able to present different cultures and languages so beautifully and effortlessly. For that I truly commend her, I liked reading the other languages and being able to follow along with the flow of the conversations. I liked the discourse surrounding the different foods that are specific to certain cultures. For example, the conversation between Valeria and Arjun. Simply amazing. I also love how Ahdieh depicts just how deep hate runs in the West and how people look down on those who are different because the color of their skin, their religion, and who they love.
The Bad:
Sadly, the bad outweighs the good which makes me so sad because The Beautiful was such an amazing book. It seems this novel suffered from the sequel curse.
I will start off with Celine and the romance with Bastien. In the first book Celine is probably one of the strongest characters I have read about, to date. In this one, she seems to have regressed and become the lovesick teenager. My problem with the fact that her memories were gone was that she focused on who she was missing instead of what actually happened. It felt like every one was trying to tell her of dangers and whatnot and all she worried about was kissing Bastien. And while Pippa annoys me, I didn’t like how judgmental Celine came across during their conversation at Pippa’s engagement party. Then it felt like once Celine found Bastien again all she did was like beg him to love her and that just came across as desperate. One thing I will address... I absolutely hate love triangles where you obviously know who she wants and who she picks. Like what’s the point... that’s not a love triangle at all. See The Infernal Devices on how to properly execute a love triangle. Also, it seemed like Bastien looked for any excuse to not be with Celine. I hate those broody types where he pushes her away to the point that he’s completely being a dick but in his thoughts he’s pining after her.
Next I would like to address the multiple POVS. Because we were switching between so many POVS and perspectives, I could not connect with any of the characters. Also the world building took a huge left turn in this book. We went from paranormal spooky romance to straight hard fantasy. There’s a lot to keep up with and it’s not particularly explained well.
Overall, The Damned fell really flat for me and I’m actually so disappointed because The Beautiful is out of this world. I don’t know if I will finish this series once the next book comes out...