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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
“Real love may be a choice, but I plan to choose someone who steals the breath from my body and haunts my very dreams. That is the only kind of love worth having.”
This book is the first book but 10 times better! Everything about The Damned was great, the world-building, the characters, the romances, and of course there were much more vampires. I absolutely loved getting more POV’s even from the side characters and I think having those short action-packed chapters from other people's perspectives is what made the book so easy to read and enjoy. In my review for The Beautiful, I mentioned how the book was more of a mystery instead of filled with vampires and magic. Although I thought The Beautiful was a mediocre book with potential, this book brings it to shame! If you are debating whether or not to finish the trilogy, I would highly recommend doing so because this book really elevated my expectations for the next book.
This is an easy 4/5 stars and I can’t wait to see what Renée Ahdieh writes in the next instalment of the trilogy!
~SPOILER SECTION~
Going into the book I was so skeptical because, although I liked The Beautiful, I didn’t love it. As we know from the ending of the last book, Celine's memories have been erased and Bastian has been turned into a vampire by his Uncle Nicodemus.
Boy oh boy! This book didn’t hold back in any regard! The characters in this book are just chef's kiss! Jae, Arjun, Émilie, Michael, and even Odette's characters are just so much better. In my review for The Beautiful, I said how I wished that there was more about the Court of Lions’s members and this book really gave. Arjun is easily my favourite and I can tell he will be until the end of the trilogy, but Jae and Michael were also really nice POV’s to read from. Odette’s character is awesome and I loved the chapter where she is hunting and talking to her victim! The only problem (which wasn’t a problem for me) is that Celine isn’t really in the book until your 99 pages in. This wasn’t a problem for me, because I understood Celine had her memories erased and that she wouldn’t add much to the plot. But as her powers started growing we see her gain those lost memories which are really cool to read about! This book really revolves around Bastian and his new life which I really enjoyed! I loved seeing his reluctance to being a vampire and how he gradually became more adapt to... y’know drinking people’s blood to live!
Okay, now let’s talk about Émilie! She is such a better villain than Nigel! And oh my gosh, her backstory is amazing. I loved her chapters and the reason why she became a werewolf and started the grudge against Bastian and Nicodemus! She is so petty! She blames a literal nine-year-old and a mean uncle for destroying her life! I can understand her resentment to her uncle but her brother... definitely not! Also, her connection with the Grimaldi’s is cool and I liked how she wasn’t the stereotypical villain!
Looking back on The Beautiful, I really like how Bastian wasn’t a vampire and how I was convinced that he was. Also, again, I was so surprised that Michael wasn’t a werewolf. I think Renée was trying to move away from the boring werewolf-vampire-human love triangle, which I think is nice!
The writing is also much better and the descriptive words and metaphors are so beautiful! This one line is just amazing and it was from Bastian’s perspective saying: I realize I’ve moved into the lamplight like a moth drawn to a killing flame when Jae takes hold of my shoulder returning me to darkness. Ahhhh! That’s gold!
I think the only reason why I’m giving it 4/5 stars is that only a couple of things. The first thing is the ending. In The Beautiful Bastian’s uncle is the trademark, power-hungry, villainous-but-not-really guy. I was just confused with why he basically sacrificed himself. Maybe he wanted to die heroically, but I’m not really sure if being a weird-sort of martyr was what his character would really do in that situation. For the second: I think Celine's reaction to the Otherworld is pretty dull, I just feel that it was a little unrealistic for her not to have a million questions off the bat or even for her to be in denial that the Otherworld existed. The last problem I have with this book is probably generic, but I really dislike love triangles and I think they are extremely over-done. Although I can admit that Renée wasn’t overbearing with it, it was still present and I can’t get over why almost all books have to have two male characters pining over their ‘true love’. This is a personal problem but overall I liked how the author wasn’t shoving the romance down our throats!
After I read the first book and heard it was going to be a trilogy, instead of a duology, I’m not going to lie, I was a little bummed because I didn’t love The Beautiful, but now I can’t wait for the next book! I will definitely recommend the series and hope to be as happy with the next book as I am with this one!
4 ⭐️
This book is the first book but 10 times better! Everything about The Damned was great, the world-building, the characters, the romances, and of course there were much more vampires. I absolutely loved getting more POV’s even from the side characters and I think having those short action-packed chapters from other people's perspectives is what made the book so easy to read and enjoy. In my review for The Beautiful, I mentioned how the book was more of a mystery instead of filled with vampires and magic. Although I thought The Beautiful was a mediocre book with potential, this book brings it to shame! If you are debating whether or not to finish the trilogy, I would highly recommend doing so because this book really elevated my expectations for the next book.
This is an easy 4/5 stars and I can’t wait to see what Renée Ahdieh writes in the next instalment of the trilogy!
~SPOILER SECTION~
Going into the book I was so skeptical because, although I liked The Beautiful, I didn’t love it. As we know from the ending of the last book, Celine's memories have been erased and Bastian has been turned into a vampire by his Uncle Nicodemus.
Boy oh boy! This book didn’t hold back in any regard! The characters in this book are just chef's kiss! Jae, Arjun, Émilie, Michael, and even Odette's characters are just so much better. In my review for The Beautiful, I said how I wished that there was more about the Court of Lions’s members and this book really gave. Arjun is easily my favourite and I can tell he will be until the end of the trilogy, but Jae and Michael were also really nice POV’s to read from. Odette’s character is awesome and I loved the chapter where she is hunting and talking to her victim! The only problem (which wasn’t a problem for me) is that Celine isn’t really in the book until your 99 pages in. This wasn’t a problem for me, because I understood Celine had her memories erased and that she wouldn’t add much to the plot. But as her powers started growing we see her gain those lost memories which are really cool to read about! This book really revolves around Bastian and his new life which I really enjoyed! I loved seeing his reluctance to being a vampire and how he gradually became more adapt to... y’know drinking people’s blood to live!
Okay, now let’s talk about Émilie! She is such a better villain than Nigel! And oh my gosh, her backstory is amazing. I loved her chapters and the reason why she became a werewolf and started the grudge against Bastian and Nicodemus! She is so petty! She blames a literal nine-year-old and a mean uncle for destroying her life! I can understand her resentment to her uncle but her brother... definitely not! Also, her connection with the Grimaldi’s is cool and I liked how she wasn’t the stereotypical villain!
Looking back on The Beautiful, I really like how Bastian wasn’t a vampire and how I was convinced that he was. Also, again, I was so surprised that Michael wasn’t a werewolf. I think Renée was trying to move away from the boring werewolf-vampire-human love triangle, which I think is nice!
The writing is also much better and the descriptive words and metaphors are so beautiful! This one line is just amazing and it was from Bastian’s perspective saying: I realize I’ve moved into the lamplight like a moth drawn to a killing flame when Jae takes hold of my shoulder returning me to darkness. Ahhhh! That’s gold!
I think the only reason why I’m giving it 4/5 stars is that only a couple of things. The first thing is the ending. In The Beautiful Bastian’s uncle is the trademark, power-hungry, villainous-but-not-really guy. I was just confused with why he basically sacrificed himself. Maybe he wanted to die heroically, but I’m not really sure if being a weird-sort of martyr was what his character would really do in that situation. For the second: I think Celine's reaction to the Otherworld is pretty dull, I just feel that it was a little unrealistic for her not to have a million questions off the bat or even for her to be in denial that the Otherworld existed. The last problem I have with this book is probably generic, but I really dislike love triangles and I think they are extremely over-done. Although I can admit that Renée wasn’t overbearing with it, it was still present and I can’t get over why almost all books have to have two male characters pining over their ‘true love’. This is a personal problem but overall I liked how the author wasn’t shoving the romance down our throats!
After I read the first book and heard it was going to be a trilogy, instead of a duology, I’m not going to lie, I was a little bummed because I didn’t love The Beautiful, but now I can’t wait for the next book! I will definitely recommend the series and hope to be as happy with the next book as I am with this one!
4 ⭐️
After trading her memory of Bastien to save him by having him turned into a vampire at the end of [b:The Beautiful|42265183|The Beautiful (The Beautiful, #1)|Renée Ahdieh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547578763l/42265183._SY75_.jpg|65881999], Celine now can't shake the emptiness, and Bastien is struggling with his new reality. Then, Celine's estranged fey mother shows up. Yay, more faries... Liked the book, but won't be finishing the series. I've had my fill of YA high fantasy fairy worlds.
The main characters were just okay; however, I enjoyed Jae, Odette, and the rest of Les Cours de Lions (points for the Lestat reference ♥️) and found the POV chapters interesting. I would have preferred more of that...set in New Orleans and not Fairyland.
The main characters were just okay; however, I enjoyed Jae, Odette, and the rest of Les Cours de Lions (points for the Lestat reference ♥️) and found the POV chapters interesting. I would have preferred more of that...set in New Orleans and not Fairyland.
"Beauty often masks the decay beneath."
"It always struck her as odd how people believed exciting things were bound to happen at parties... Odette thought the most exciting space was the one within her own mind." #same
Had high hopes for this one beacuse I enjoyed the first book in the series quite a bit. Turned out I did not enjoy mutch at all. The book feels dedicated to the character Bastien which was a character I liked least in the last novel, and I feelt he turned out to be an even worse person in this one. Celine changed from a strong female lead to a damsel in distress in this one and it feels like she is not in it mutch until the end. Nothing suprised me in this novel and the characters I liked in the last book turned boring and bland in this one.
The damned by Renée Ahdieh get a 5.5/10 stars.
The damned by Renée Ahdieh get a 5.5/10 stars.
I did not vibe well with this at all :( it has all sorts of things I usually love but it just didn't meld well together in my opinion
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
mysterious
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lots of twists and turns. The fresh takes on vampires, werewolves, and fey and the relationships between the different races of magical creatures were fascinating. I love a good amnesia trope especially in a romance. The characters are arcing spectacularly.