The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh is a wonderfully haunting tale that eloquently blends historical fiction and the mystique of New Orleans with the paranormal. The story follows Celine Rousseau, who has recently arrived in New Orleans after fleeing Paris under suspicious circumstances. She is almost immediately thrust into the beautiful, dangerous, and otherworldly world of Sébastien "Bastien" Saint Germain and his not so merry Cour des Lions, who have unique and terrifying abilities.
I enjoyed this book immensely (in case you couldn't tell from the title of this review) and applaud Ahdieh on her lovely depiction of such a strong female character who desires to buck tradition and fight until the very end. I quickly devoured The Beautiful and am beyond excited about the impending sequel, The Damned, which will hit shelves this summer.
I appreciated that, although the book did set the stage for a relationship to form between Celine and Bastien, the story focused more on Celine's independence and how determined she was to make her own fate. She refused to sit back and wait for Sébastien or anyone else to fix everything and charged headfirst into battle to protect those she loved. All in all, a wonderful read.
I enjoyed this book immensely (in case you couldn't tell from the title of this review) and applaud Ahdieh on her lovely depiction of such a strong female character who desires to buck tradition and fight until the very end. I quickly devoured The Beautiful and am beyond excited about the impending sequel, The Damned, which will hit shelves this summer.
I appreciated that, although the book did set the stage for a relationship to form between Celine and Bastien, the story focused more on Celine's independence and how determined she was to make her own fate. She refused to sit back and wait for Sébastien or anyone else to fix everything and charged headfirst into battle to protect those she loved. All in all, a wonderful read.