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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
yeah.. i think this series just isn’t for me. i gave the beautiful a 3.5 stars (though it feels more like a 3 stars), and since i had already bought the damned i thought i’d just read it. sadly, i ended up not loving it. personally, i don’t connect to any of the characters and the storyline also doesn’t exactly intrigue me. this series is in no means a bad series at all, i just wasn’t able to fully immerse in the world and be invested in it.
Holy CRAP this went nowhere near the way I was expecting it to. As a Holly Black fan I found that the introduction of the fey to this neat little vampiric universe tickled me pink.
I LOVE Bastien's development in this book SO MUCH oh my God.
I love that the plot doesn't try to take Celine away from her fate - to become "the tamer of the beasts" - I love that she and Bastien legit decide to just work with it, and screw what the fey or Nicodemus or anybody has to say about that. So many times in these types of books the girl ends up trying to thwart a fate that intense for the sake of the love interest, to varying degrees of success. I love that Celine and Bastien constantly validate each other (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
I LOVE Bastien's development in this book SO MUCH oh my God.
I love that the plot doesn't try to take Celine away from her fate - to become "the tamer of the beasts" - I love that she and Bastien legit decide to just work with it, and screw what the fey or Nicodemus or anybody has to say about that. So many times in these types of books the girl ends up trying to thwart a fate that intense for the sake of the love interest, to varying degrees of success. I love that Celine and Bastien constantly validate each other (aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
I've been having trouble reading physical books lately (blessed are the audiobooks), so I was so happy when I picked up this book and suddenly was 150 pages in, without really noticing the passage of time.
Ahdieh's writing is lush and beautiful as ever, and even though I've never set foot in New Orleans, I feel like I have. I can smell the gumbo, and taste the blood. - And there is quite a bit of blood.
Some complained about the lack of vampires in the first book; this one is overflowing with them. And other supernatural creatures. It was a thrill.
I really hope we get news of a third book soon, I need more!
Ahdieh's writing is lush and beautiful as ever, and even though I've never set foot in New Orleans, I feel like I have. I can smell the gumbo, and taste the blood. - And there is quite a bit of blood.
Some complained about the lack of vampires in the first book; this one is overflowing with them. And other supernatural creatures. It was a thrill.
I really hope we get news of a third book soon, I need more!
THE ENDING PLEASE SKDNDJDN I’m shocked and amazed and excited for book 3, I loved this book so much at first I thought I wasn’t gonna like it because of Bastien POV but I’m so glad I was proven wrong!! My love for these characters has only grown stronger
"Lost souls do not seek redemption."
"Apologies are for sheep. Let them all see what I have become. Let them fear me."
“My mortal father used to say that anger and fear are two sides of the same coin. They both make us behave outside of our nature."
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How do I love vampires… Let me count the ways...
OK, why a vampires are generally not up to true lore standards but The Beautiful perhaps vampires back to beautiful atmospheric New Orleans. They were dark and mysterious and in a massive blood feud for power with other magical creatures. My criticism of The Beautiful, was although I loved the beauty of the world that was created… Not much happened until the last third.
The Damned is still quite atmospheric and beautifully written but it packs a lot more punch than its predecessor. The forbidden love somehow becomes more forbidden, the bloody feuds become bloodier and the magical creatures expand exponentially.
I’m giving this one 4.5 stars - I’m only taking off half a star because I wanted like 100 more pages! Boy, do I hate a cliffhanger! Now I remember why I wait until all the books are out in the series before I dive in!
"Apologies are for sheep. Let them all see what I have become. Let them fear me."
“My mortal father used to say that anger and fear are two sides of the same coin. They both make us behave outside of our nature."
——————————————————-
How do I love vampires… Let me count the ways...
OK, why a vampires are generally not up to true lore standards but The Beautiful perhaps vampires back to beautiful atmospheric New Orleans. They were dark and mysterious and in a massive blood feud for power with other magical creatures. My criticism of The Beautiful, was although I loved the beauty of the world that was created… Not much happened until the last third.
The Damned is still quite atmospheric and beautifully written but it packs a lot more punch than its predecessor. The forbidden love somehow becomes more forbidden, the bloody feuds become bloodier and the magical creatures expand exponentially.
I’m giving this one 4.5 stars - I’m only taking off half a star because I wanted like 100 more pages! Boy, do I hate a cliffhanger! Now I remember why I wait until all the books are out in the series before I dive in!
2 stars!
This book was not I had hoped it would be. I really liked the Beautiful, but unfortunately I didn't like this one. This book didn't work for me for a number of reasons. The first one is that I was sad to learn that we essentially strayed away from vampires as a focus in this book and suddenly got all these fey creatures and extra worlds etcetera. What I liked about the first one was that it was just vampires and nothing else crazy. I remember a few other series which I really liked when they just focused on the vampires, but as soon as they started expanding and including all sorts of creatures, the books suffered.
Another pet peeve of mine was the constant switching of POVs. I generally don't mind multiple POVs, but I felt the amount of differnet POVs used in this book was completely unnecessary. Additionally, I hated the fact that this book also switched between 1st person present tense and 3rd person past tense. I suppose this was done to showcase who was the actual main character of this instalment in the series, but all it did was tick me off.
I also had issues with the plot. Or lack thereof. Nothing happens for the first 100 pages. It's all recap of the previous book and people wanting things they cannot have. Then the next 150 pages was more of people wanting stuff they couldn't have. And finally, all the plot was crammed into the last 150 pages. I also think the plot wasn't strong, as it wasn't a single plot. It was essentially three (two and a half?) different events which were all bunched together in the book and just happened to happen right after each other. Some of the interesting stuff was rushed to the extreme, to the point where I literally didn't care anymore. The third (or 'half', in two and a half) event I am talking about felt absolutely unnecessary to the story. We get literally two chapters (each about half a page long) from this character's point of view, until suddenly the character appears right after the 'big' climax. All this does is create an extremely convenient plot point so Celine can stick to a promise she made earlier in the book, which she would have done regardless of this.
I felt the 'actual' villain of this story was lacklustre at best. To a certain extent, I understood where they were coming from, but apart from two chapters from their point of view early on in the book, we don't see anything of them until the final few chapters. In those early chapters, the villain talks about having a grand plan to destroy the vampires and brags about being so cunning. Well, this grand plan wasn't terribly grand. There was no build-up to the climax, so there were no stakes and I just found it hard to care.
I am also not sure what exactly the point of the setting of this books is (1872 New Orleans). The author hardly utilizes the setting they chose, except for reiterating that women have no choice and should be content to be a rich man's wife and that people of colour are severely discriminated against. This could be set in a cardboard box and the atmosphere would still feel the same. I don't feel like there is any specific purpose to the story being set in New Orleans.
I am sure there are more things I disliked about this book, but these were the most important things. I could rant on and on about this, but that would not be a very useful thing to do with my time. I gave this two stars solely for the cover and the few steamy scenes between Celine and Bastien we get in this book. I am pretty sad that I didn't like this book more, but alas.
This book was not I had hoped it would be. I really liked the Beautiful, but unfortunately I didn't like this one. This book didn't work for me for a number of reasons. The first one is that I was sad to learn that we essentially strayed away from vampires as a focus in this book and suddenly got all these fey creatures and extra worlds etcetera. What I liked about the first one was that it was just vampires and nothing else crazy. I remember a few other series which I really liked when they just focused on the vampires, but as soon as they started expanding and including all sorts of creatures, the books suffered.
Another pet peeve of mine was the constant switching of POVs. I generally don't mind multiple POVs, but I felt the amount of differnet POVs used in this book was completely unnecessary. Additionally, I hated the fact that this book also switched between 1st person present tense and 3rd person past tense. I suppose this was done to showcase who was the actual main character of this instalment in the series, but all it did was tick me off.
I also had issues with the plot. Or lack thereof. Nothing happens for the first 100 pages. It's all recap of the previous book and people wanting things they cannot have. Then the next 150 pages was more of people wanting stuff they couldn't have. And finally, all the plot was crammed into the last 150 pages. I also think the plot wasn't strong, as it wasn't a single plot. It was essentially three (two and a half?) different events which were all bunched together in the book and just happened to happen right after each other. Some of the interesting stuff was rushed to the extreme, to the point where I literally didn't care anymore. The third (or 'half', in two and a half) event I am talking about felt absolutely unnecessary to the story. We get literally two chapters (each about half a page long) from this character's point of view, until suddenly the character appears right after the 'big' climax. All this does is create an extremely convenient plot point so Celine can stick to a promise she made earlier in the book, which she would have done regardless of this.
I felt the 'actual' villain of this story was lacklustre at best. To a certain extent, I understood where they were coming from, but apart from two chapters from their point of view early on in the book, we don't see anything of them until the final few chapters. In those early chapters, the villain talks about having a grand plan to destroy the vampires and brags about being so cunning. Well, this grand plan wasn't terribly grand. There was no build-up to the climax, so there were no stakes and I just found it hard to care.
I am also not sure what exactly the point of the setting of this books is (1872 New Orleans). The author hardly utilizes the setting they chose, except for reiterating that women have no choice and should be content to be a rich man's wife and that people of colour are severely discriminated against. This could be set in a cardboard box and the atmosphere would still feel the same. I don't feel like there is any specific purpose to the story being set in New Orleans.
Spoiler
Another thing I seriously disliked was how Celine suddenly became the special snowflake in this book. I really liked her in the first book, especially since she was so no-nonsense. She made her own choices and fought for what she wanted. And then suddenly in this book that's because she's the daughter of the queen of the Sylvan Vale?? Booo.I am sure there are more things I disliked about this book, but these were the most important things. I could rant on and on about this, but that would not be a very useful thing to do with my time. I gave this two stars solely for the cover and the few steamy scenes between Celine and Bastien we get in this book. I am pretty sad that I didn't like this book more, but alas.
4.5
I loved The Damned, it was so much better than The Beautiful
I loved the multiple point of views, we got to know the characters so much more and actually care about them.
Also Celine, she is a badass Renee has written her beautifully.
I am really excited for the next book in the series
I loved The Damned, it was so much better than The Beautiful
I loved the multiple point of views, we got to know the characters so much more and actually care about them.
Also Celine, she is a badass Renee has written her beautifully.
I am really excited for the next book in the series
A hot mess of sloppy plot threads and a rushed ending.