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2.91 AVERAGE
2.91 AVERAGE
I have always loved a good vampire book and especially a southern vampire one. But this one was kind of a let down as far as the ending. Though I enjoyed the story, I felt like for it to be the final book that it was very flat.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and my review was not influenced in any way
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and my review was not influenced in any way
I'm so confused. In Ahdieh's author notes at the end of this book, she talks about writing a four book series about vampires - where did that series go?? I thought we were getting old fashioned vampires from 1800 New Orleans. That is not what we got at all. By the end of the book, this was more about fae politics than vampires. I feel so betrayed.
I absolutely LOVED The Beautiful. The ambiance, the vibes, the location, the characters... it was all there! I ended that book excited to see what happens next. Alas, as the series went on, each book just fell more and more flat. And we lost what made that first book so special. Honestly, by the end of this series, I HATED Celine and did not want her with Bastien at all.
So let's talk about this book. It was a giant mess from beginning to end. And all because the characters refuse to talk to each other like adults. Celine just whines about how she's not taken serious and Bastien has turned on her and her mother loves her and wah wah wah. What happened to the girl who took no shit from anyone? Who didn't take things at face value but fought to find the truth and stand up for what's right? She was 100% gone. Her "love" for the mother who abandoned her was invalid. I never fully understood why Celine turned her back on everyone for one person who left her.
Then there's Bastien. He at least was trying to do the right thing but yet he never communicated that information to anyone. He just came up with his own plans and decided they were right. His fights with Celine were just so frustrating because no one was actually talking to the other!
Also, I need someone to explain Emelie to me. I never understood her blind hatred for Bastien. Yes, hating her uncle was legit - he left her to die. But Bastien only ever loved her and she was just like, who cares let me destroy your world. And why? I felt like this character was only used for her rage to push the plot where it needed to go. There was no other function to her. And I found that sad. Emelie could have been explored more and given more depth than just hate.
The best character was Arjun. And we don't talk about what Ahdieh did there.
Oh, what was the point of Haroun? Why introduce this character and the crossover and do absolutely NOTHING with it? I really do not understand.
There was so much information given to us in this book and then the ending climax was crammed into one chapter that felt rushed. I missed the core family from the first book. I missed Vampires. I miss what this series could have been because it began beautifully!
Sadly, I wish this series would have stayed at one book.
***** Initial reaction ****
I am upset. I am frustrated and I don't know how to rate this right now.
But one question, what was the point of the character crossover? Did I miss something?
I absolutely LOVED The Beautiful. The ambiance, the vibes, the location, the characters... it was all there! I ended that book excited to see what happens next. Alas, as the series went on, each book just fell more and more flat. And we lost what made that first book so special. Honestly, by the end of this series, I HATED Celine and did not want her with Bastien at all.
So let's talk about this book. It was a giant mess from beginning to end. And all because the characters refuse to talk to each other like adults. Celine just whines about how she's not taken serious and Bastien has turned on her and her mother loves her and wah wah wah. What happened to the girl who took no shit from anyone? Who didn't take things at face value but fought to find the truth and stand up for what's right? She was 100% gone. Her "love" for the mother who abandoned her was invalid. I never fully understood why Celine turned her back on everyone for one person who left her.
Then there's Bastien. He at least was trying to do the right thing but yet he never communicated that information to anyone. He just came up with his own plans and decided they were right. His fights with Celine were just so frustrating because no one was actually talking to the other!
Also, I need someone to explain Emelie to me. I never understood her blind hatred for Bastien. Yes, hating her uncle was legit - he left her to die. But Bastien only ever loved her and she was just like, who cares let me destroy your world. And why? I felt like this character was only used for her rage to push the plot where it needed to go. There was no other function to her. And I found that sad. Emelie could have been explored more and given more depth than just hate.
The best character was Arjun. And we don't talk about what Ahdieh did there.
Oh, what was the point of Haroun? Why introduce this character and the crossover and do absolutely NOTHING with it? I really do not understand.
There was so much information given to us in this book and then the ending climax was crammed into one chapter that felt rushed. I missed the core family from the first book. I missed Vampires. I miss what this series could have been because it began beautifully!
Sadly, I wish this series would have stayed at one book.
***** Initial reaction ****
I am upset. I am frustrated and I don't know how to rate this right now.
But one question, what was the point of the character crossover? Did I miss something?
Unfortunately, this series ended in a whimper. It really started out strong, and even though my enjoyment waned a bit over the course of the series, I was still intrigued to see how this 4-book epic ended. I will say, was entertained through most of the book, but even halfway through the book, new characters, plots, and items were being introduced to a plot that has been ballooning and eventually overburdened the story. And then... It ended. It tried to be a tragedy, but the story was so rushed and too much happened that it just felt wrong. Characters who we've known and loved since the beginning of the series didn't even get a line at the end of the book! Odette who? I mean we spent the entire last book getting to know Arjun and Pippa and then Arjun dies in 2 sentences and we leave Pippa crying in despair and then a brief mention in the epilogue. What was the entire point of their relationship??
Other seemingly important plot points or characters that went away:
-the mirror. Hardly used, barely did anything, not destroyed, not mentioned. Is it.. still around? Isn't that dangerous?
-pippa becoming a werewolf. Why did this even happen? It had no bearing on the plot, dropped by the end. She must have just needed a reason for her to disappear for awhile.
-Ali. Introduced as a potential love interest? A man with a mystery? Oh, no he's just here to briefly canoodle and give some exposition and then go away. Cool.
I wish I could say better things but this series ended so abruptly and was so bloated by the end that it retroactively dragged the whole series down as well. Read the first book and stop there.
Other seemingly important plot points or characters that went away:
-the mirror. Hardly used, barely did anything, not destroyed, not mentioned. Is it.. still around? Isn't that dangerous?
-pippa becoming a werewolf. Why did this even happen? It had no bearing on the plot, dropped by the end. She must have just needed a reason for her to disappear for awhile.
-Ali. Introduced as a potential love interest? A man with a mystery? Oh, no he's just here to briefly canoodle and give some exposition and then go away. Cool.
I wish I could say better things but this series ended so abruptly and was so bloated by the end that it retroactively dragged the whole series down as well. Read the first book and stop there.
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Celine ruined this entire book for me. I loved the series, but fuck me this was terrible. The characters were suddenly all over the place, important ones (but of course not the ones I’ve been wishing dead) were killed off without a glance and that ending was the worst thing ever. I’m so angry, I need to punch something. The two stars are only for the Bastien and Arjun chapters - Arjun carried this entire series fuck off.
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-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:
Yes
adventurous
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
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
Complete and utter sabotage of the expected YA romance arc. Kill everyone off and end with hate and bitterness and banishment and brokenness.
Apt title.
Apt title.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm not sure how I would have felt if I had remembered the first two books or read this right after reading those, but I was so disappointed with this book. The ending was incredibly unsatisfying, and I don't remember Celine being that annoying. Pippa was the only consistently good character; Bastien had his moments of annoyance, but was otherwise okay, and Arjun (barely in this story and I forgot he existed except when it was his chapter) and Celine were not very fun to read about. Their character arcs were more of a downward spiral, and not in an interesting way. It was just painful, and I can't believe where Celine and Bastien ended up because Celine acted like a literal child the entire book and when she and Bastien were together, it felt like toddlers throwing tantrums. Like, grow up and learn what a conversation is.
Anyway, overall highly disappointing conclusion to this series. I remember loving the first two books so much, I have no idea how I could be this disappointed in this book.
Anyway, overall highly disappointing conclusion to this series. I remember loving the first two books so much, I have no idea how I could be this disappointed in this book.