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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I felt like this book was much more intriguing than the first one. Obviously, the love story between Celine and Bastien takes the forefront. But it also delves into the pasts that brought them together.
Bastien’s journey toward becoming more of a man than he was as a mortal is rich and layered. Celine’s discovery of her heritage was a bit flat in juxtaposition. One twist after another leads us far into the world of immortals and I was glad to be along for the ride.
You will definitely be surprised by the trajectory of the story and those who are lost and found along the way.
Bastien’s journey toward becoming more of a man than he was as a mortal is rich and layered. Celine’s discovery of her heritage was a bit flat in juxtaposition. One twist after another leads us far into the world of immortals and I was glad to be along for the ride.
You will definitely be surprised by the trajectory of the story and those who are lost and found along the way.
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-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
So, this is the final book that I will read from this author because I try to avoid hate reading books. I may sometimes hold on longer to a series than I should because I hold out hope for the author, but this one just had too many issues with me that continued from the previous book and I don’t foresee it getting better. I also feel that Celine’s brand of feminism is exclusionary, anti sex worker, and at times very reminiscent of modern radical feminism, which has at least in the U.S. been split off from other brands of feminism for being very exclusionary and attacking other vulnerable groups instead of actually trying to dismantle systems of oppression and assumes that there is only one size fits all solutions to societal issues and shames other women for not being what they consider to be "radical enough" (i.e. shaming women for wearing makeup or shaving and saying they've been indoctrinated by male society while also attacking women who appear to be too masculine and generally shaming women for their desires). I critique the type of feminism present in Celine because as an intersectional feminist, I think Celine's thinking can get a bit backwards with the amount of shaming of women that she does and shaming of women's clothing. Celine’s feminism is also very modern for being a character in a historical fiction series and doesn’t match up with the feminism of her time period, which is fine, but again comes off as her shaming other women instead of critiquing the injustices in her society or challenging the beliefs held by other characters. Celine spent more time shaming women than she did actually being a feminist. Celine is also a terrible friend who infantilizes her “friend” Pippa for wanting to be married to a man based on money, security, raising herself up in society, and the looks of her suitor. Celine thinks that her way is the only valid way and constantly treats Pippa as if she doesn’t know what she wants in life. I do think that stories where a character doesn't know what they want in life and is going along with what society tells them what they should do is capable of being written in a respectful, non-infantilizing way, but this one massively missed the mark. I also think it is important that everybody be able to choose what they want in life, even if what they want doesn’t match up with your own wants. Nobody should be shamed for wanting a more traditional life, just as nobody should be shamed for wanting a non-traditional life. You can and should critique the issues with a traditional life, but there is a difference between critiquing systems of oppression and shaming women who live a more traditional life or live under systems of oppression.
My other biggest complaint comes from the lack of historical research done and the portrayal of corsets. I don’t want to just pick on Ahdieh when I talk about corsets, especially because this wasn’t the worst corset portrayal I’ve ever read or seen. I want to make it very clear that corsets were not torture devices that the patriarchy forced on women. Tight lacing should never be considered synonymous with corsets. Only a small group of women participated in tightlacing. I’m also not suggesting that corsets are for everyone. For much of history women wore corsets to work in and for everyday life. If they were causing major health issues, women would have been wearing something else for support. Corsets worked similarly to how bras do, but also had the extra feature of being able to provide support for heavy clothing that was worn. A fun fact is that men actually wore corsets for a period of time. Photoshop is also not a new concept at all and a lot of photos of women with very thin wastes that you see from the Victorian period were actually altered. I guarantee if you look closely around the waste, you will be able to see faint lines of how wide the waste actually was where it wasn’t completely hidden after the production of the photos. I also think that it is very bad that we continue to pass on the myth that corsets were killer articles of clothing as it only continues to harm people today, especially actors. When we only view corsets as painful articles of clothing, we continue to allow for an uncritical view of actors being harmed for a role. Corsets need to be broken in much like shoes do and a layer of fabric, called a shift, needs to be worn underneath the corset to prevent minor injuries like bruises and blisters. Onscreen portrayals of corsets never seem to include a shift despite women throughout history having worn shifts underneath their corsets and the necessity of wearing a shift. Corsets also need to be accurate to the size of the person wearing it and the wrong size and measurements can cause major pain and even injury. Without information like this, actors can be vulnerable to injury and may not be able to speak up when they are experiencing pain or injury from the costumes they are put in.
I’ve attached links for further reading if anybody is interested in learning more as I don’t have enough room to write all I want to write on corset misconceptions and I also highly encourage others to do their own research too.
Make No (Whale)Bones About It: Debunking those Corsetry Myths - LancasterHistory
Complete self-instructing library of practical photography : Schriever, J. B. (James Boniface), b. 1868 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Altered images: wasp waists in 1880s studio portraits from Cork and Belfast | Jacolette: (wordpress.com)
The Truth About Corsets: Busting the Myths – The Vintage Woman (thevintagewomanmagazine.com)
What 'Bridgerton' Gets Wrong About Corsets | History| Smithsonian Magazine
Corset Myths | Who Were They?
My other biggest complaint comes from the lack of historical research done and the portrayal of corsets. I don’t want to just pick on Ahdieh when I talk about corsets, especially because this wasn’t the worst corset portrayal I’ve ever read or seen. I want to make it very clear that corsets were not torture devices that the patriarchy forced on women. Tight lacing should never be considered synonymous with corsets. Only a small group of women participated in tightlacing. I’m also not suggesting that corsets are for everyone. For much of history women wore corsets to work in and for everyday life. If they were causing major health issues, women would have been wearing something else for support. Corsets worked similarly to how bras do, but also had the extra feature of being able to provide support for heavy clothing that was worn. A fun fact is that men actually wore corsets for a period of time. Photoshop is also not a new concept at all and a lot of photos of women with very thin wastes that you see from the Victorian period were actually altered. I guarantee if you look closely around the waste, you will be able to see faint lines of how wide the waste actually was where it wasn’t completely hidden after the production of the photos. I also think that it is very bad that we continue to pass on the myth that corsets were killer articles of clothing as it only continues to harm people today, especially actors. When we only view corsets as painful articles of clothing, we continue to allow for an uncritical view of actors being harmed for a role. Corsets need to be broken in much like shoes do and a layer of fabric, called a shift, needs to be worn underneath the corset to prevent minor injuries like bruises and blisters. Onscreen portrayals of corsets never seem to include a shift despite women throughout history having worn shifts underneath their corsets and the necessity of wearing a shift. Corsets also need to be accurate to the size of the person wearing it and the wrong size and measurements can cause major pain and even injury. Without information like this, actors can be vulnerable to injury and may not be able to speak up when they are experiencing pain or injury from the costumes they are put in.
I’ve attached links for further reading if anybody is interested in learning more as I don’t have enough room to write all I want to write on corset misconceptions and I also highly encourage others to do their own research too.
Make No (Whale)Bones About It: Debunking those Corsetry Myths - LancasterHistory
Complete self-instructing library of practical photography : Schriever, J. B. (James Boniface), b. 1868 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Altered images: wasp waists in 1880s studio portraits from Cork and Belfast | Jacolette: (wordpress.com)
The Truth About Corsets: Busting the Myths – The Vintage Woman (thevintagewomanmagazine.com)
What 'Bridgerton' Gets Wrong About Corsets | History| Smithsonian Magazine
Corset Myths | Who Were They?
Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCferU-BCL2dlFjWdD0rS75Q
*I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*
3.5/5 Stars
This is the second book in the Beautiful series.
I liked that we got more of a focus on Bastien in this one. It was interesting getting more of his backstory as the story went on. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs in this and how it gave us glimpses into other characters' heads, other than just Celine and Bastein. My biggest complaint is the "love triangle" between Bastien, Celine, and Michael... it just seems so unnecessary in my opinion and definitely could be left out because Michael doesn't even stand a small chance against Bastein and everyone knows it.
I am intrigued to see where the story goes from here, as we were left on a bit of a cliffhanger.
*I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*
3.5/5 Stars
This is the second book in the Beautiful series.
I liked that we got more of a focus on Bastien in this one. It was interesting getting more of his backstory as the story went on. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs in this and how it gave us glimpses into other characters' heads, other than just Celine and Bastein. My biggest complaint is the "love triangle" between Bastien, Celine, and Michael... it just seems so unnecessary in my opinion and definitely could be left out because Michael doesn't even stand a small chance against Bastein and everyone knows it.
I am intrigued to see where the story goes from here, as we were left on a bit of a cliffhanger.
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Slooow burn almost no burn
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
And we are BACK!
I don't know why I took such a long intermission to get back to business on this series. I truly love a good vampire story. It is one of lifes simple pleasures is it not? I listened to the audio and while I dont think its my favorite reader I do think it grows on you, especially because there are a lot of accents so I commend her for doing it.
Basically as readers we are clearly reading this one for Bastian. I love his character as a whole, and the obstacles he has to overcome in each book. These are your dark vengeful vamps but they try to be decent....they try.
The romance is NA, but fairly non descriptive but has a ton of heat and chemistry.
The world building just gets better in book 2, the characters more developed and I love the direction that this one took. We get more of the vampires, more backstory, more werwolves and even Fae.
I am glad this is a trilogy because I am so excited to read The Righteous this spooky season.
I don't know why I took such a long intermission to get back to business on this series. I truly love a good vampire story. It is one of lifes simple pleasures is it not? I listened to the audio and while I dont think its my favorite reader I do think it grows on you, especially because there are a lot of accents so I commend her for doing it.
Basically as readers we are clearly reading this one for Bastian. I love his character as a whole, and the obstacles he has to overcome in each book. These are your dark vengeful vamps but they try to be decent....they try.
The romance is NA, but fairly non descriptive but has a ton of heat and chemistry.
The world building just gets better in book 2, the characters more developed and I love the direction that this one took. We get more of the vampires, more backstory, more werwolves and even Fae.
I am glad this is a trilogy because I am so excited to read The Righteous this spooky season.
I wish this had more from Celine’s POV, I like it the best by far. Her first chapter was around 100 pages in. 🥲 too many POVs for my taste too, I found myself starting to get bored in some of them.
But still enjoyable overall, and I’m excited to continue the series!
But still enjoyable overall, and I’m excited to continue the series!
Interesting- liked how Celine got memories back, she was strong and power woman. Think there is a lot to the plot, Celine being chased for murderess and also has to face wolves? And Michael- unsure of which side he will take- think he will side w wolves but then help Celine and bastien. Also pippa is back? Hope she will end up w Arjun. Odette dying? :( Celine being daughter of queen is