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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-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:
No
I really was looking forward to this and the continuation of the stories told in the first two books. However, this book was a let down there were so many plot points introduced and the story jumped around a lot. The stakes seemed really low and some of the major “issues” characters faced were solved quickly and easily. I’ll probably end up reading the last book when it comes out but only because I’m curious how the author will wrap the series up when she currently has so many loose ends.
adventurous
emotional
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
emotional
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Didn’t like this one as much as the other two
Pippa just got on my nerves sooo much
Not enough Bastien
Pippa just got on my nerves sooo much
Not enough Bastien
I might have liked this even more than The Beautiful and The Damned?? This seems to be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I loved getting to know more of Pippa and Arjun rather than just sticking to Celine and Sébastian. Miss being in NOLA though. Need Odette back too 🥺
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
WTF was that ending?!?!
(Also, adding in a character from one of my favourite series of all time?? Don't mess this shit up PLS)
(Also, adding in a character from one of my favourite series of all time?? Don't mess this shit up PLS)
I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be giving a Renée Ahdieh book such a low rating.
If I’m being totally honest with myself, I should have DNFed The Righteous. Or maybe not picked it up at all, given what a bad taste The Damned left in my mouth. But Renée Ahdieh has been at near the top of my must-read list for years and I was really hoping that The Damned was a fluke.
But The Righteous is an absolute mess.
There’s no plot to speak of. Nominally, Arjun’s in the fairy land to find a healer for Odette—but that “plot” is mentioned a total of, like, three times in the entire book. Same for Pippa’s “plot” of finding Celine. The romance between Pippa and Arjun—which seems to be what The Righteous intends to be the actual plot—is pretty flat. It progresses in fits and starts, without any development to actually connect the pieces.
The characters themselves are…Look, Pippa and Arjun were fine side characters in earlier books, but they were never anyone I felt compelled to learn more about beyond the little stuff offered up by The Beautiful and The Damned, and The Righteous doesn’t change that opinion at all. There are also way too many people who get just a couple of chapters from their POV—none of which seem like they actually add anything to the story.
(The weirdest of these is definitely Celine, who gets two or three short chapters from her POV and spends a page and a half of one musing about orgasms—unconnected to anything relevant.)
The Righteous is also the longest book to date—despite reading more like a side novella than an actual important part of the series. And it furthers The Damned’s sense of the series being a fantasy grab bag, just throwing any and all fantasy tropes into the mix without any concern for internal consistency or logic. (Now with time travel! /s)
If I’ve got any sense at all, this is where I quit The Beautiful quartet and just pretend The Beautiful is a standalone. There is still a part of me that wants to see the series through and see how everything wraps up—but I’m really struggling to see how it could end in a way that’s even remotely satisfying or enjoyable to read.
1/5
If I’m being totally honest with myself, I should have DNFed The Righteous. Or maybe not picked it up at all, given what a bad taste The Damned left in my mouth. But Renée Ahdieh has been at near the top of my must-read list for years and I was really hoping that The Damned was a fluke.
But The Righteous is an absolute mess.
There’s no plot to speak of. Nominally, Arjun’s in the fairy land to find a healer for Odette—but that “plot” is mentioned a total of, like, three times in the entire book. Same for Pippa’s “plot” of finding Celine. The romance between Pippa and Arjun—which seems to be what The Righteous intends to be the actual plot—is pretty flat. It progresses in fits and starts, without any development to actually connect the pieces.
The characters themselves are…Look, Pippa and Arjun were fine side characters in earlier books, but they were never anyone I felt compelled to learn more about beyond the little stuff offered up by The Beautiful and The Damned, and The Righteous doesn’t change that opinion at all. There are also way too many people who get just a couple of chapters from their POV—none of which seem like they actually add anything to the story.
(The weirdest of these is definitely Celine, who gets two or three short chapters from her POV and spends a page and a half of one musing about orgasms—unconnected to anything relevant.)
The Righteous is also the longest book to date—despite reading more like a side novella than an actual important part of the series. And it furthers The Damned’s sense of the series being a fantasy grab bag, just throwing any and all fantasy tropes into the mix without any concern for internal consistency or logic. (Now with time travel! /s)
If I’ve got any sense at all, this is where I quit The Beautiful quartet and just pretend The Beautiful is a standalone. There is still a part of me that wants to see the series through and see how everything wraps up—but I’m really struggling to see how it could end in a way that’s even remotely satisfying or enjoyable to read.
1/5