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Review: The Damned by Renée Ahdieh

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The Damned is the second book in The Beautiful series and it continues some weeks after the end of the first book, so spoilers for The Beautiful ahead.

Celine finds herself in the hospital, Michael Grimaldi by her side, unable to remember how she came to be in the hospital. All anyone would tell her is that there had been a murderer stalking the streets of New Orleans and he would have taken her life if Michael hadn’t saved her. But, all her memories of the incident and some from the time before are just gone. Her doctor says that it isn’t uncommon for people with head injuries to forget things, and her memory may return in some time. Of course, we know where her memories have gone and have no expectation that she will ever get them back.

Bastien wakes above the restaurant Jacques’, surrounded by the other members of the Court of Lions, a vampire. And he is angry about it. He is made even angrier to find out that Celine has traded her memories and possible future with him to save him. Bastien hears of someone who may be able to unmake him and he becomes obsessed with the possibility of not being a vampire again.

Émilie, still consumed by rage, waits for any sign that she has succeeded in killing her brother and ending Nicodemus’s bloodline. Obviously, that would be delightful, but there is a possibility, she knows, that Nicodemus would have turned his nephew. And if he did, that is also to her advantage because she can use it to stoke the war between the Fallen and the Brotherhood.

So, we have Celine, trying to recall everything she has lost, Bastien struggling to come to grips with his new life, Michael Grimaldi, still in love with Celine and fawning over her in Bastien’s absence, a scheming werewolf still on the prowl, and to that we add newly engaged Pippa, and a whole bunch of scheming fey, just waiting to cause chaos. And chaos there is. This was also a quick read, even at 401 pages. Can Bastien come to accept himself? Can Celine recall her lost past? What other secrets will be exposed? This book was a good time. We learn more about the fey Otherworld in this book and we continue to watch our main characters grow and change. We learn more about the other members of the court, getting some more backstory on Madeleine, Hortense, Jae, Odette, and Arjun.

The end was a bit abrupt, but there are two more books left in the series so I don’t mind a cliffhanger (especially since those books are already out). We do get some resolution, with some storylines tying up so that we can move on. This was a fun read, so I am definitely going to pick up the next one.

I got this one from my local library and that is where I’ll be going for the next one!

Review: The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

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Celine Rosseau has fled Paris for New Orleans, in hopes of starting a new life. She’s running from a secret that weighs heavy on her. She begins her life in New Orleans at the Ursuline convent with her new friend Pippa, who has also left things in Europe in hopes of finding a new life.

Unlike some of the other girls who came over on the ship with them, Celine and Pippa don’t have what you might call practical skills. They weren’t governesses, so they aren’t meant for the classroom. They can’t cook or garden. Pippa is a painter and Celine was apprenticed at one of the best ateliers in Paris. So, they are relegated to making little baubles and selling them outside the church to raise money for the orphanage. They hear rumors about a violent murder that has taken place in the city. It must have something to do with the court, the gossipers say.

While selling her handstitched handkerchiefs, Celine meets Odette Valmont. One of the upper echelons of society, money is no object for Odette. It is carnival season in New Orleans and she needs something absolutely smashing for the masquerade ball. She asks Celine to design a costume for her. Celine, of course, agrees. She has mad fashion skills and it would raise a lot of money for the orphanage. How could she say no?

Celine meets the most beautiful man she has ever seen, Bastien, on the way to take Odette’s measurements. She finds out Bastien and Odette are both members of this mysterious court. And then, of course, there are more murders. Can Celine solve the murders before she becomes a victim? Is Bastien a jerk in a nice suit, or is there something special underneath his gilded exterior.

This was a fun and fast read. Celine is a great main character. She has good energy. She grows through the story. Bastien is good, too. There’s an excellent cast of character surrounding them. The plot is intriguing and includes a mysterious villain who is planning these murders with an ulterior motive. The villain’s chapters are in first person while Celine and Bastien, who both of chapters from their perspective, are written in third person. It was really interesting to see the narrative arc unfold from Celine and Bastien’s point of view and to then get explanations and little details here and there from the villain in the shadows.

There’s a bit of a twist at the end that sets up the second book in the series. I’ve already picked it up from the library, so you know I enjoyed this one.

So, if you like historical fantasy and/or vampires, smart leading ladies, and you’d like to see an interesting twist on New Orleans vampire lore, I’d say check this one out.