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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
So I read and LOVED The Beautiful last year which meant that The Damned was one of my most anticipated books of the year.
Content warnings: violence, fighting, murder, racism
With the way The Beautiful left us on such a cliffhanger I was desperate to get into this one, and I’m so glad it did not disappoint.
I loved that Renee included a lot more Korean mythology in The Damned. I’ve read all of her published novels at this point and I was super happy to see more of her culture in this novel. It felt the most personal of all her novels so far and I’m excited to read more of this series and to see more of that.
Continue my review here: https://kirstyreadsblog.com/2020/07/11/the-damned-by-renee-ahdieh-blog-tour-review/
Content warnings: violence, fighting, murder, racism
With the way The Beautiful left us on such a cliffhanger I was desperate to get into this one, and I’m so glad it did not disappoint.
I loved that Renee included a lot more Korean mythology in The Damned. I’ve read all of her published novels at this point and I was super happy to see more of her culture in this novel. It felt the most personal of all her novels so far and I’m excited to read more of this series and to see more of that.
Continue my review here: https://kirstyreadsblog.com/2020/07/11/the-damned-by-renee-ahdieh-blog-tour-review/
Following the tragic turn of events in the final chapters I really think this was a good follow up
It may not have been as daring as the first book but I really liked how well things tied up in. Preparation for the righteous.... Bastien oh my sweet summer child I hope things work out well for you and Celine.... Good read thoroughly enjoyed it ✅
It may not have been as daring as the first book but I really liked how well things tied up in. Preparation for the righteous.... Bastien oh my sweet summer child I hope things work out well for you and Celine.... Good read thoroughly enjoyed it ✅
Initial Thoughts
I was SO excited to read this book. I really enjoyed The Beautiful and when Penguin Teen offered me the chance to review this one early, I was like YES, PLEASE!
Some Things I Liked
Different POV. I just loved that Bastien was the first person POV in this book and I really loved how that matched the title. Celine was “the beautiful” and the first person POV in the first book, and Bastien is now “damned” so he’s the main POV in this book. I also liked that we had chapters that followed other characters throughout the story.
BAHHH the love story. Ok, BAHHH is not exactly an articulate way to describe something. But, it’s me basically word vomiting all over this post because I loved it so much. Celine and Bastien are just so perfect and so stubborn and they made for such a great romance read.
Poor Michael. Yes, I list this in things I liked. Michael is ok but, Bastien > Michael all day every day. I hope Michael finds a nice lady in the next book, not Celine. Celine is spoken for. But, I do feel bad for him.
ODETTE – yes, all caps for Odette and how much I loved her as a character. She deserves a series all to herself. She’s so tragic and self-loathing and I love her for it. Where’s her person? Renée Ahdieh, please give Odette a love story!
Series Value
If there is not another book in this series, I do not know what I will do. The ending was so ridiculously open-ended, there can’t not be more. However, I really like the poetry of the names as just “The Beautiful” and “The Damned” – what would Renée Ahdieh even call the next book?
Final Thoughts
I liked The Beautiful but I loved The Damned. The twists, the POVs, Bastien as the primary narrator. The pages literally oozed with drama and I can’t wait for more. Although more is unconfirmed, I will continue to wish for more!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommendations for Further Reading
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh – if you liked the dramatic writing style and the rich descriptions, try Renée’s other series.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness – if you liked the supernatural elements of The Beautiful and the various types of beings described, definitely give The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness a read.
I was SO excited to read this book. I really enjoyed The Beautiful and when Penguin Teen offered me the chance to review this one early, I was like YES, PLEASE!
Some Things I Liked
Different POV. I just loved that Bastien was the first person POV in this book and I really loved how that matched the title. Celine was “the beautiful” and the first person POV in the first book, and Bastien is now “damned” so he’s the main POV in this book. I also liked that we had chapters that followed other characters throughout the story.
BAHHH the love story. Ok, BAHHH is not exactly an articulate way to describe something. But, it’s me basically word vomiting all over this post because I loved it so much. Celine and Bastien are just so perfect and so stubborn and they made for such a great romance read.
Poor Michael. Yes, I list this in things I liked. Michael is ok but, Bastien > Michael all day every day. I hope Michael finds a nice lady in the next book, not Celine. Celine is spoken for. But, I do feel bad for him.
ODETTE – yes, all caps for Odette and how much I loved her as a character. She deserves a series all to herself. She’s so tragic and self-loathing and I love her for it. Where’s her person? Renée Ahdieh, please give Odette a love story!
Series Value
If there is not another book in this series, I do not know what I will do. The ending was so ridiculously open-ended, there can’t not be more. However, I really like the poetry of the names as just “The Beautiful” and “The Damned” – what would Renée Ahdieh even call the next book?
Final Thoughts
I liked The Beautiful but I loved The Damned. The twists, the POVs, Bastien as the primary narrator. The pages literally oozed with drama and I can’t wait for more. Although more is unconfirmed, I will continue to wish for more!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommendations for Further Reading
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh – if you liked the dramatic writing style and the rich descriptions, try Renée’s other series.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness – if you liked the supernatural elements of The Beautiful and the various types of beings described, definitely give The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness a read.
I was highly disappointed by the sequel to this book. Sure the world was expanded upon, and we got more history as to why things are the way they are, but it felt like it was all spoon-fed information. They also killed off the best character at the very end. furthermore, the book was SO BORING, THERE WAS NO SUSPENSE AT ALL! After the wildness of the first book, I thought this book would have more spice, but there wasn't even any salt and pepper used to give it a little flavor. A disappointment to be sure.
adventurous
dark
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 don’t even know what interested me in the first book enough to order this
Book 2 in The Beautiful Trilogy picked up right where we left off and did not skip a beat. A lot was revealed in during this book & left a lot on the table. I look forward to seeing how Micheal, Celine, & Bastien handle it all.
The review is originally from my blog, you can view the post here
[MY MOST ANTICIPATED SEQUEL]
*there might be spoilers in here for the Beautiful*
Thank you Hodder & Hodder for providing me an EARC via Netgalley!
The Damned starts where the Beautiful ended. Following the events of The Beautiful, Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The treaty between the Fallen and the Brotherhood has been broken, and war between the immortals seems imminent. The price of loving Celine was costly. But Celine has also paid a high price for loving Bastien.
Still recovering from injuries sustained during a night she can’t quite remember, her dreams are troubled. And she doesn’t know she has inadvertently set into motion a chain of events that could lead to her demise and unveil a truth about herself she’s not quite ready to learn.
Forces hiding in the shadows have been patiently waiting for this moment for centuries. And just as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.
Where overall The Beautiful was more of an introduction to the world and mostly New Orleans. In the Damned we dive into the darker underworld of New Orleans, which has more secrets than ever expected! I loved the writing style of Renée Adhieh so much, and how she explained how everything worked was so good!
Where in the first book we mostly followed Celine, in this book we follow more different characters and the focus mainly lies on Bastien and La Cour de Lion, due to all the characters having their own journey after the events of the Beautiful. I loved having the focus on Bastien, it was something I loved. Thanks to all the different views, we get to know La Cour de Lion really well. I loved understanding everyones motives and getting to know their history.
The family of the Cour de Lion is one of the main topics in this book, The family is one filled with loyalty, which is something that was made really clear in this book, due to getting to know all the characters in the family. Love and loyalty are two things that are priority in this family. Even though the love is born out of loyalty. Loyalty that is sometimes born out of fear thanks to a *strict* Nicodemus, or other events that are happening, that have to make sure the family is one.
The book has a slowish part, and a super fast-paced part. The second, fast-paced part was a bit shorter, and things that happen do feel a bit too “perfect”, there is no hesitation in any character, which was different than things that happened in The Beautiful, where things didn’t feel too “perfect” at all. This made mainly Celine a bit of a bland character, which was a bit disappointed, since she had a great start in this book!
Certain things where wrapped up a bit strange and got pushed to the background, but I only noticed it after finishing the book and going through my notes. I wasn’t that noticeable while reading, since there was so many things happening.
I really enjoyed the sequel, and I’m pretty sure we’ll get more books in this world, since I really need more!
I ended up rating it 4,5 out oof 5 stars!
[MY MOST ANTICIPATED SEQUEL]
*there might be spoilers in here for the Beautiful*
Thank you Hodder & Hodder for providing me an EARC via Netgalley!
The Damned starts where the Beautiful ended. Following the events of The Beautiful, Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The treaty between the Fallen and the Brotherhood has been broken, and war between the immortals seems imminent. The price of loving Celine was costly. But Celine has also paid a high price for loving Bastien.
Still recovering from injuries sustained during a night she can’t quite remember, her dreams are troubled. And she doesn’t know she has inadvertently set into motion a chain of events that could lead to her demise and unveil a truth about herself she’s not quite ready to learn.
Forces hiding in the shadows have been patiently waiting for this moment for centuries. And just as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.
Where overall The Beautiful was more of an introduction to the world and mostly New Orleans. In the Damned we dive into the darker underworld of New Orleans, which has more secrets than ever expected! I loved the writing style of Renée Adhieh so much, and how she explained how everything worked was so good!
Where in the first book we mostly followed Celine, in this book we follow more different characters and the focus mainly lies on Bastien and La Cour de Lion, due to all the characters having their own journey after the events of the Beautiful. I loved having the focus on Bastien, it was something I loved. Thanks to all the different views, we get to know La Cour de Lion really well. I loved understanding everyones motives and getting to know their history.
The family of the Cour de Lion is one of the main topics in this book, The family is one filled with loyalty, which is something that was made really clear in this book, due to getting to know all the characters in the family. Love and loyalty are two things that are priority in this family. Even though the love is born out of loyalty. Loyalty that is sometimes born out of fear thanks to a *strict* Nicodemus, or other events that are happening, that have to make sure the family is one.
The book has a slowish part, and a super fast-paced part. The second, fast-paced part was a bit shorter, and things that happen do feel a bit too “perfect”, there is no hesitation in any character, which was different than things that happened in The Beautiful, where things didn’t feel too “perfect” at all. This made mainly Celine a bit of a bland character, which was a bit disappointed, since she had a great start in this book!
Certain things where wrapped up a bit strange and got pushed to the background, but I only noticed it after finishing the book and going through my notes. I wasn’t that noticeable while reading, since there was so many things happening.
I really enjoyed the sequel, and I’m pretty sure we’ll get more books in this world, since I really need more!
I ended up rating it 4,5 out oof 5 stars!
So, if you read my review for The Beautiful then you’ll know I had a few issues with it. The first being that it really lacked the involvement of vampires as it was marketed and that I wish I was able to connect with Sébastien more.
It’s almost as is Renée Adhieh heard me and gave me everything I asked for. This book is the vampire book that we wanted The Beautiful to be and it honestly did not disappoint.
This book jumps straight in, following the events of The Beautiful and I was more than happy to be back in this world with these characters, especially because now we have chapters from not only Celine but Sébastien, Odette, Michael and Eloise (to name a few). I loved being able to connect with these characters more and understand their motives. I grew to love Sébastien more and was really happy that this book focused more on him and his journey.
Whilst Celine was not seen for the beginning of this book it really made sense and it made her chapters more interesting. We watch as she struggles with remembering the events that took place in the first book whilst balancing a tailor shop and a new romance which is incredibly one sided. However, Celine quickly takes back control in this book and it was interesting to learn more about her past and her life.
One of the things I loved about this book was learning more about the side characters and reading from their perspectives. We see Pippa struggling with keeping Celine safe, Arjun being the most loyal of friends and Odette being the absolute best.
Although I found myself struggling to get into this book at the beginning, I found that I was unable to put it down from 40% onwards. There was so much action in this book and it never slowed down. I found myself more intrigued and eager to carry on reading (which I did into the early hours of the morning}.
I do however wish that the ending hadn’t had felt so rushed. Everything happened at once and I felt myself having to take a moment to let my brain catch up. Whilst I am incredibly shocked by some of the revelations (one had me near to tears), I wish that it had been spaced out a bit more and given more depth.
Adhieh is the master of creating these insanely captivating and atmospheric worlds that you just want to explore more. If you were on the fence about reading The Damned I really do recommend picking it up. As I said at the beginning, this is the book I wanted The Beautiful to be with vampires and different mythical creatures! I honestly cannot wait to read the next book in this series!
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
It’s almost as is Renée Adhieh heard me and gave me everything I asked for. This book is the vampire book that we wanted The Beautiful to be and it honestly did not disappoint.
This book jumps straight in, following the events of The Beautiful and I was more than happy to be back in this world with these characters, especially because now we have chapters from not only Celine but Sébastien, Odette, Michael and Eloise (to name a few). I loved being able to connect with these characters more and understand their motives. I grew to love Sébastien more and was really happy that this book focused more on him and his journey.
Whilst Celine was not seen for the beginning of this book it really made sense and it made her chapters more interesting. We watch as she struggles with remembering the events that took place in the first book whilst balancing a tailor shop and a new romance which is incredibly one sided. However, Celine quickly takes back control in this book and it was interesting to learn more about her past and her life.
One of the things I loved about this book was learning more about the side characters and reading from their perspectives. We see Pippa struggling with keeping Celine safe, Arjun being the most loyal of friends and Odette being the absolute best.
Although I found myself struggling to get into this book at the beginning, I found that I was unable to put it down from 40% onwards. There was so much action in this book and it never slowed down. I found myself more intrigued and eager to carry on reading (which I did into the early hours of the morning}.
I do however wish that the ending hadn’t had felt so rushed. Everything happened at once and I felt myself having to take a moment to let my brain catch up. Whilst I am incredibly shocked by some of the revelations (one had me near to tears), I wish that it had been spaced out a bit more and given more depth.
Adhieh is the master of creating these insanely captivating and atmospheric worlds that you just want to explore more. If you were on the fence about reading The Damned I really do recommend picking it up. As I said at the beginning, this is the book I wanted The Beautiful to be with vampires and different mythical creatures! I honestly cannot wait to read the next book in this series!
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.