I have been anxiously awaiting the return of vampires to the YA genre. This book was hyped as being exactly what I have been waiting for, however, the slow pacing caused it to be more of a book with the threat of vampires. This being said, I am definitely looking forward to continuing the series as all of the build up in The Beautiful should come together to create a sequel with more action.
I loved the setting in 1872 New Orleans- the city comes alive through Renee Ahdieh’s words as she describes the decadent clothing, the architecture, and the sweeping sense of intrigue.
I also enjoyed Celine as the headstrong protagonist and Bastien as the charmingly mysterious love interest. There is a lot of potential for exploration with secondary characters as well- I hope to get to know the members of La Cour des Lions in more depth in subsequent novels. Since we alternate POVs a little in this novel (it was a great idea to give us the POV of the villain periodically without revealing their identity!), I would love this to be expanded to other characters as well.
Overall, this story has a lot of potential that I hope will come to fruition in the sequel.
I loved the setting in 1872 New Orleans- the city comes alive through Renee Ahdieh’s words as she describes the decadent clothing, the architecture, and the sweeping sense of intrigue.
I also enjoyed Celine as the headstrong protagonist and Bastien as the charmingly mysterious love interest. There is a lot of potential for exploration with secondary characters as well- I hope to get to know the members of La Cour des Lions in more depth in subsequent novels. Since we alternate POVs a little in this novel (it was a great idea to give us the POV of the villain periodically without revealing their identity!), I would love this to be expanded to other characters as well.
Overall, this story has a lot of potential that I hope will come to fruition in the sequel.