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A review by merlin_reads
The Righteous by Renée Ahdieh
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Guys, I really don't know what I just read. This book felt like a completely different story from the rest of the series and I'm not sure if I like it. Book 1 was so beautifully written with this New Orleans vampire vibe that felt so rich and immersive, and we had our Romeo & Juliet love story. Then Book 2 strayed from that a bit by bringing in multiple POV's and some fae action, which I was like, ok we're expanding the magical world, I can get on board with that - maybe. And that brings us to the clusterfuck that was book 3. Who are these characters and what happened to the plot of the first book?
Let me start off by saying that Ahdieh can write. Her words are beautiful and she can really set a scene. I've been a fan since The Wrath and the Dawn and I will continue to follow her after this series. But I am questioning this series.
I absolutely dislike when authors completely change their characters from one book to the next. Change does not happen overnight. It's a gradual thing. I did not recognize Celine in this book at all. She went from this strong willed, no nonsense character to as simpering child who stopped thinking rationally and just blindly followed her mother. I could not stand her here and even though we only saw her for a brief time, I was over it. I wish Bastien would have left her in the Vale and returned to his family.
Oh and Bastien, what happened to your backbone? Completely gone. Along with any communication he and Celine used to have. It felt like the change in them was only there to push the plot to where it needed to be and I did not like it.
This book also took the spotlight from who we thought the series was about (Celine & Bastien) and put it directly on Pippa and Arjun. While I found Arjun fascinating and was happy to get to know him more, Pippa took some time to warm up to. By the end of the book, I was strictly in their corner but I'm still a little lost as to what the author is trying to do. And what was that ending? Took me a minute to really understand what was happening but now I'm even more confused.
I really just wanted a vampire vs werewolf story set in 1800 New Orleans. Why did we have to overcomplicate that?
Let me start off by saying that Ahdieh can write. Her words are beautiful and she can really set a scene. I've been a fan since The Wrath and the Dawn and I will continue to follow her after this series. But I am questioning this series.
I absolutely dislike when authors completely change their characters from one book to the next. Change does not happen overnight. It's a gradual thing. I did not recognize Celine in this book at all. She went from this strong willed, no nonsense character to as simpering child who stopped thinking rationally and just blindly followed her mother. I could not stand her here and even though we only saw her for a brief time, I was over it. I wish Bastien would have left her in the Vale and returned to his family.
Oh and Bastien, what happened to your backbone? Completely gone. Along with any communication he and Celine used to have. It felt like the change in them was only there to push the plot to where it needed to be and I did not like it.
This book also took the spotlight from who we thought the series was about (Celine & Bastien) and put it directly on Pippa and Arjun. While I found Arjun fascinating and was happy to get to know him more, Pippa took some time to warm up to. By the end of the book, I was strictly in their corner but I'm still a little lost as to what the author is trying to do. And what was that ending? Took me a minute to really understand what was happening but now I'm even more confused.
I really just wanted a vampire vs werewolf story set in 1800 New Orleans. Why did we have to overcomplicate that?