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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love how this author makes each book almost a different kind of book but equally as interesting. Allowing some of the secondary characters to shine more in this one was really enjoyable. I honestly would have loved for that to be even more fully embraced. Exploring the world was grear. And as always I would have preferred love scenes to not be glossed over but I understand that is not what this book is, so I dont hold it against these books.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
I didn't know I wanted a Pippa and Arjun book. Thank you so much. This was glorious. And how dare you with that ending!! I'm going to be consumed with thoughts for NIGHTS!
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The Righteous by Renée Ahdieh embraces the fake dating trope in the midst of geopolitical chaos in the latest installment of The Beautiful Quartet
The Righteous by Renée Ahdieh picks up a few days after the evens of The Damned. Celine and Bastien have fled to the Sylvan Vale while Odette lies in an endless slumber. When Arjun leaves to find Odette a healer, Pippa follows him into the Vale in a desperate bid to find Celine. That’s when things take a turn for the worse as she's mocked and toyed with by the fae gentry, leaving Arjun to save her in the wildest way possible: by getting engaged.
While the previous two books offered occasional insight into Pippa and Arjun, The Righteous fully focuses on their characters. Pippa, who came off as kind and loving if a little subdued becomes an imposing character in her own right. Her arc throughout the book is remarkable as she learns to be more confident in herself and reach for the unexpected. Ahdieh makes this plainly obvious both through Pippa's internal monologue, as well as how Arjun perceives her.
On the opposite end, Arjun spends the book learning to be vulnerable. Having grown up in the Sylvan Vale, he used nonchalance and boredom to protect himself from the fae but his rash decision to get engaged to Pippa means he has to open up to her. Their relationship cements itself quickly over the first half, allowing them to face the events of the second half as a pair.
While I liked reading about this, I did think it came out of nowhere. There isn't much indication in the previous books of an attraction between these two and it was all too fast. As much as I enjoyed the whirlwind romance between Celine and Bastien, there could have been space for Arjun and Pippa to have more interactions alongside them. I'd even go as far to say as the whole thing was a little insta-lovey once the two were thrust together.
As far as the plot is concerned, it was disjointed. The series itself has a greater plot that involves the Horned Throne and it becomes central to The Righteous, but only in the second half of the novel. Given how The Damned ended, I thought it would take a more central role earlier on, instead there was a sudden change where we went from concentrating on Arjun and Pippa to the larger geopolitics of the fae. I won't deny those geopolitics were very interesting. From the Wyld's crumbling court to the Vale's grander ambitions for the realm, to a surprise alliance, it almost overshadowed Arjun and Pippa's shenaningans. I look forward to seeing how Ahdieh plans to resolve all the threads she's left hanging, because it certainly looks like an epic battle is on the way.
Like previous books, The Righteous jumps POVs. Mostly focusing on Pippa and Arjun, we do get to see other beloved and not-so-beloved characters. Emilie remains in the shadows in this one, Michael takes on a more direct role as he's determined to, also, find Celine, while Bastien and Celine are exploring the Vale with Lady Silla who is less than thrilled by Bastien's presence. I liked having the fuller picture, though I have to admit Michael's chapters did bore me at times as he doesn't bring much to the story at the moment.
The best part of the book remains Adhieh's writing. Its lyrical quality brings the world to life once again, with the Vale taking center stage through Pippa's inexperienced eyes. Despite how description-heavy the book is, it didn't take away from the plot. Rather it gave Ahdieh's story a fairy-tale feel.
I'll admit I didn't enjoy The Righteous by Renée Ahdieh as much as the previous two books. I missed Celine and Bastien, and Ahdieh could have done more to ease readers into this new focus. She makes her plot intriguing enough that I will be finishing the series though, and I'm very curious to see who the next book will focus on given the growing cast of POVs.
I need time to absorb what I read but this book was pretty messy compared to her previous works :/ I didn't pick up on a plot until 60% through the story and there were more POVs than necessary.
12/8: The Righteous pretty much picks up immediately after Celine and Bastian's disappearance, but from Pippa and Arjun's perspective. I'm generally not used to switching main characters throughout a series, so this was a bit jarring as I had difficulty remembering what last happened. I do understand why the author made this choice though- most of the action centers around P/A. Celine and Bastian appear at the halfway point, but because they were such side characters by this point, I felt like their (3??) chapters could've just been eliminated altogether. Michael was pretty much useless as well and I would have preferred if she kept it to P/A's POV instead of 5+.
We get more insight into Pippa and Arjun's backgrounds and motivations, but I'm not sure they developed as characters in this book. Watching them fall in love was ...not out of nowhere but far more abrupt than I expected. I still don't know if the romance or the plot was the highlight of this story.
The plot was kinda all over the place, and I wasn't sure what direction we were taking until the end. I think the whole story takes place over a matter of days and was incredibly fast. The first half was P/A Doing Stuff in faeland; Pippa on her search to find Celine, and Arjun trying to keep her alive. For a series that promotes itself as vampires in New Orleans, 95% of the book takes place in this realm, which required a lot of world-building, so it felt like a whole different book. Looking back now, the issues brought up at the beginning was never brought up later in the story. Book 4 appears to feature Celine as the main character again, so I'm not sure if this book was just to set up the world for the finale. I do like that Korean and Indian mythology made appearances but I wish it was more prevalent in the story.
Overall, I'm quite disappointed in book 3, but I look forward to the finale just so we can get some closure on this series.
12/8: The Righteous pretty much picks up immediately after Celine and Bastian's disappearance, but from Pippa and Arjun's perspective. I'm generally not used to switching main characters throughout a series, so this was a bit jarring as I had difficulty remembering what last happened. I do understand why the author made this choice though- most of the action centers around P/A. Celine and Bastian appear at the halfway point, but because they were such side characters by this point, I felt like their (3??) chapters could've just been eliminated altogether. Michael was pretty much useless as well and I would have preferred if she kept it to P/A's POV instead of 5+.
We get more insight into Pippa and Arjun's backgrounds and motivations, but I'm not sure they developed as characters in this book. Watching them fall in love was ...not out of nowhere but far more abrupt than I expected. I still don't know if the romance or the plot was the highlight of this story.
The plot was kinda all over the place, and I wasn't sure what direction we were taking until the end. I think the whole story takes place over a matter of days and was incredibly fast. The first half was P/A Doing Stuff in faeland; Pippa on her search to find Celine, and Arjun trying to keep her alive. For a series that promotes itself as vampires in New Orleans, 95% of the book takes place in this realm, which required a lot of world-building, so it felt like a whole different book. Looking back now, the issues brought up at the beginning was never brought up later in the story. Book 4 appears to feature Celine as the main character again, so I'm not sure if this book was just to set up the world for the finale. I do like that Korean and Indian mythology made appearances but I wish it was more prevalent in the story.
Overall, I'm quite disappointed in book 3, but I look forward to the finale just so we can get some closure on this series.