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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
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...
“What you are has no bearing on who you become, Sebastien. Man or demon, that is entirely up to you. It is never too late to chase the better version of yourself.”
I don't think a book could ever be more beautiful than Renee Ahdieh's writing.
This is why I love reading so much.
How a writing, words and narrative have the power make people fall in love with a story.
I love The Damned so much!
The series itself is gorgeously romantic.
I thought I love the first book but The Damned got me even more in love.
I honestly enjoyed the slow burn of the storyline.
The pace of the book keeps me enchanted with the world.
The first book disappointment was not having enough vampire content.
Since it was highly hype for it to be a vampire and werewolf story.
In the second book we definitely receive a more paranormal storyline.
After reading this, I think its definitely a more highly romance focus storyline than paranormal and I am not complaining at all.
I enjoy that we get so much Bastien's POV in this one and of course his squad.
Everyone's POV was so good, I love that the side character's storyline is as interesting as the main ones.
Especially Arjun and Pippa's, I want more of their POV and to follow their storyline.
Pippa is definitely up to something.
I thought I was in love with Bastien from the first book.
I am even more in love with him after finishing The Damned.
There is so much secrets and storyline to from everyone.
Thank god we are getting a third book!
We still need to know about Celine's past, and that cliffhanger!
Bastien's childhood and him being a vampire.
Overall, i enjoyed The Damned so much!
The emotions, action, world building, character building was PERFECT.
“But never is a long time, when you have eternity to consider.”
I don't think a book could ever be more beautiful than Renee Ahdieh's writing.
This is why I love reading so much.
How a writing, words and narrative have the power make people fall in love with a story.
I love The Damned so much!
The series itself is gorgeously romantic.
I thought I love the first book but The Damned got me even more in love.
I honestly enjoyed the slow burn of the storyline.
The pace of the book keeps me enchanted with the world.
The first book disappointment was not having enough vampire content.
Since it was highly hype for it to be a vampire and werewolf story.
In the second book we definitely receive a more paranormal storyline.
After reading this, I think its definitely a more highly romance focus storyline than paranormal and I am not complaining at all.
I enjoy that we get so much Bastien's POV in this one and of course his squad.
Everyone's POV was so good, I love that the side character's storyline is as interesting as the main ones.
Especially Arjun and Pippa's, I want more of their POV and to follow their storyline.
Pippa is definitely up to something.
I thought I was in love with Bastien from the first book.
I am even more in love with him after finishing The Damned.
There is so much secrets and storyline to from everyone.
Thank god we are getting a third book!
We still need to know about Celine's past, and that cliffhanger!
Bastien's childhood and him being a vampire.
Overall, i enjoyed The Damned so much!
The emotions, action, world building, character building was PERFECT.
“But never is a long time, when you have eternity to consider.”
The first book seemed to be setting up a very different story. This one became more intricate and more complicated side stories and new characters. Some stuff was far too subtly hinted at, if hinted at all, in the first books. The first book was more of a set up than its own story and it was so interesting. This one took a turn and while it’s an interesting story it just felt so different from the first.
CORGI ALERT
CORGI ALERT
i....have a lot to unpack and deal with here.
CORGI ALERT
i....have a lot to unpack and deal with here.
Ok so this book was good. I didn't like the beginning mainly because where was Celine and Sébastien? But after the first quarter of the book it got better. I know Celine wasn't at the top of her game but not everyone is and she has amnesia. I do realize why everything wasn't all about Celine and Sébastien and thats because a lot more was at play behind the scenes and while at first I didn't enjoy it, I now understand why it needed to be that way. This book is definitely setting up the next book in the series so just stick it out because Renee Ahdieh has a reason for everything.
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator brings the characters to life.
What drew me to this book was the cover, however I was a little skeptical because it’s about vampires and I’m not a huge fan of them but I decided to give it a chance. That being said, I thought it was pretty slow up until page 80-ish after that it picked up quite nicely. I thought all in all that the it was an okay book; I’ll give it a 3 out of 5 stars. I liked this one way better than the first book ‘The Beautiful’.
I am sad to say that this is the first Renée Ahdieh book I haven’t enjoyed entirely.
It was so slow and just kept building a world on top of the one she already had. I had to force myself to read the last 100 pages. They whole ordeal was cringe worthy and forced.
I suppose this is going to be a trilogy, but I don’t think I’ll be reading the next one.
It was so slow and just kept building a world on top of the one she already had. I had to force myself to read the last 100 pages. They whole ordeal was cringe worthy and forced.
I suppose this is going to be a trilogy, but I don’t think I’ll be reading the next one.
Renée Ahdieh has an amazing way with words and this is her best work yet!! The details in this book were perfect; the images she created through her words flowed through my mind to create these lavish pictures of the worlds in the book. The emotions I felt reading this book were insane—it was a rollercoaster ride, one that I loved very much. The plot was everything and even more—I was very satisfied with the beginning, the middle, and the end. It was perfect. The character’s—Bastíen, Celine, and the rest of the lions—lives were explored further than what had been divulged thus far; we discover, in greater depth, who they are and what their motivations in life are, and honestly it made me love the characters even more. Now, the romance. SWOON!! I fell even more head over heels in love with Celine and Bastíen (if that’s even possible) and I can’t wait to see where their love takes them in the next book!!