upturnedroots 's review for:

The Damned by Renée Ahdieh
4.0

Are you angry you were not permitted to die on your own terms? Who among us is granted such a bounty?

I LOVED how much the world expanded in this book and the many threads of the plot that were set into motion for future installments.

I also enjoyed so many of the character's stories that Ahdieh made sure to flesh out. Jae's, Odette's, and Arjun's especially. And you can really see Bastien's struggles with morality and navigating his new life.

The ending did feel a little rushed but I think it's because we had more switching character perspectives near the end (but they were important to show), and this book had a slow burn plot-wise for most of it. At first I felt like I actually understood the villain's sense of revenge but then
Spoiler Odette died and I WAS LIKE NOOOOO. Also Celine's crime catching up to her happened very quickly.


Looking forward to the next book. I hope we get much more of Arjun's story
Spoiler since from the way it ended with Pippa's perspective it seems like we will.
I feel like this is Ahdieh's strongest series so far that I've read.