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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
Yet again another amazing book by the author, she amazed me, had me on the edge of my seat and muttering "oh god oh god" repeatedly at my kindle, this was utterly shocking the hole way through and I loved it I can't wait for the next installment.
Yet again another amazing book by the author, she amazed me, had me on the edge of my seat and muttering "oh god oh god" repeatedly at my kindle, this was utterly shocking the hole way through and I loved it, I don't think I laughed this much at a book in a wile and it was perfectly balenced with action and romance.
I can't wait for the next installment
I can't wait for the next installment
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
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
In all fairness to this series, I also didn't like the first book so if you did like the first book you may be safe reading this one.
First and foremost, these books are in general, quite forgettable. In both cases (picking up this book after it came out and writing this review in February after finishing the book in October) I had to look at my notes to refresh my memory on what actually happened during the books. I read a lot so I don't expect to remember the intricacies of every book that I read but I do generally expect to remember general plot points, main character's names, and some things about the universe. Picking up the second book in this series (and writing the review) was like a blank slate. I could read these books again in a year and probably have zero recollection of ever reading them at all.
Comparatively, [b:The Beautiful|42265183|The Beautiful (The Beautiful, #1)|Renée Ahdieh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1547578763l/42265183._SY75_.jpg|65881999] and [b:The Damned|53131137|The Damned (The Beautiful, #2)|Renée Ahdieh|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570224902l/53131137._SY75_.jpg|65882266] hardly seem to be from the same series. They are so different, and they both aren't good. While The Beautiful was told through the eyes of Celine, our naive (but pretending she isn't) female lead, The Damned is told from the perspective of Sexy Vampire Bad Boi Seb-but call me-Bastian. I did prefer this perspective, because Bastian knows a lot more about the world that they live in and despite the world-building dump that we normally would never get in a second book (worlds are supposed to be built in the first book, Y'all) it works because Celine sees NOLA through a very different lens.
The author also introduced a lot of new characters and expanded on preexisting ones. Sure, this isn't unusual for a second book in a four book series but the author clearly wanted me to care about these other characters and I didn't care about them. I just didn't.
It was also kind of difficult for me to process/accept that the first book was contemporary fiction with a fantasy element and now we are getting a full blown fantasy novel. That's a big change for someone to make half way through a series. Maybe someone more analytical would appreciate the fact that Ahdeih made sure the world you see through Celine's eyes is authentic to Celine and what she knows about the world but I am not a literature graduate student. I just want a good read.
One star because I do stay.. intrigued once the actual plot starts. That counts for something in my book.
3.5 rounded to a 4. Liked the vibe of the first book more. Wayyyyy too many plot points going on. The first half drags on and then 20 different plot points are introduced and wrapped up in 100 pages. Didn’t feel like a gothic New Orleans vampire story. Celine and Bastien started to become insufferable.
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-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
A little lazy to switch POVs MULTIPLE times, but I still enjoyed this. It's not supremely original, but a fun read nonetheless and I'll be reading the last one when it comes out
I loved this book. The ending to the Beautiful had me reeling for weeks, and to no surprise, so did this one. Bastien and Celine have some of the best angst ever in this book. I did not believe it to be possible, but the angst got turned up a notch since book one. There were multiple POV's which made the book very fast-paced and left me not wanting it to end. If you loved The Beaufigul then this will be the perfect sequel, even though the ending will leave you in pieces.