The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh
(The Beautiful #1)
Young Adult, Fantasy, Historical
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Synopsis
In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she’s forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with the vibrant city from the music to the food to the soirées and—especially—to the danger. She soon becomes embroiled in the city’s glitzy underworld, known as La Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group’s leader, the enigmatic Sébastien Saint Germain. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of La Cour des Lions, Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sébastien’s guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.

When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. As the murders continue to go unsolved, Celine takes matters into her own hands and soon uncovers something even more shocking: an age-old feud from the darkest creatures of the underworld reveals a truth about Celine she always suspected simmered just beneath the surface.

At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful.

What I thought
I was in need of beautiful writing and gripping storytelling and I knew that Renée Ahdieh would deliver.  I love her writing, I was sucked into the story from the beginning.

I know there have been quite a few reviews complaining that there were not vampires until the end of the book.  So I want to address this first, this isn’t really the case.  Now hear me out I think the issue is vampire culture has changed over the years (twilight onward).  I’m not criticizing the change so don’t come after me, but this book relies on old vampire lore knowledge.  They are everywhere in the book if you know how to look for them.

I loved this book.  I liked that I finally got a vampire book to read that sticks to the old culture, maybe I am just showing my age but oh well.  I personally just can not get into the “twilight age” of vampire books.  This is going to be either you love it or you hate it kind of book.  So I am interested in seeing your thoughts below if you liked it or not.

The next book in this series is supposed to be out on June 2, 2020, and I really hope that the date does not change.  I cannot wait to pick it up.

My Rating: /5Follow me on other platforms:
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