The Beautiful was my first read by Renee Ahdieh and I have to say that I’m quite impressed. Were there things I wasn’t crazy about? Sure, but for the most part this story kept me entertained, intrigued, and wanting more.
“Nothing contrived of man could ever control such beings.” -The Beautiful ARC
Celine was a force to be reckoned with and I loved that about her. In my eyes she was from the wrong generation, but she was exactly the kind of female New Orleans 1872 needed. She doesn’t like being caged by societal norms and eventually refuses to care about propriety at all. She witty and isn’t afraid to stand up for what she’s passionate about.
Bastien was all over the place for me, but it was precisely that, that made me fall for him. He’s secretive and lets people perceive him as this bad guy, but on the inside he genuinely cares and is very protective about the ones he loves. He’s young and it shows, but we have to remember this is a YA, Bastien being 18 and Celine 17. The secondary characters were easy to connect with and I feel really made this book what it is.
“He would rather be a dream she once had. Beautiful for a time. Meant to be forgotten.” -The Beautiful ARC
The plot itself was paced really well and kept readers engaged and on the edge of their seats. The mystery was amazingly thought out and executed great. Celine, new to New Orleans, has captured the attention of this crazed, mysterious serial killer. The run-ins they have with each other provide more and more detail on the fact that this ins’t no ordinary human, and in fact isn’t human at all. This leads her down a dark path and finding out that not many people she’s associated herself with as of late are human. She must either sit and wait to be the next victim or take action and try to stay one step ahead.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. The ending killed me…like D.E.A.D. If you’re looking for a clean wrap-up ending then this book will murder your insides. There isn’t a happy ending…in fact there’s no ending at all. Just a “well here’s what you’re getting, stay tuned for the next installment” and omg! I didn’t know that going in so I wasn’t prepared at all. I give this book 4-stars because the writing is really good with characters you want to get to know. The plot was executed brilliantly, but as with all YA’s there was a little over-the-top dramatics and barely any of the romance aspect. We “hear” the thoughts and the longing, but we only get one scene where it’s actually shown. I would have liked to see that aspect shown a little more so the build up would have been better, but hey, it’s a teen romance, I can’t get too upset. Will I be reading the next book in this series….yes, yes, and more yes!
***Thank you Bookish First, Renee Ahdieh, and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the free title and the opportunity to review it. The views and opinions I have expressed here are solely my own and are in no way a representation of the author, publisher, and/or distributor. The quotes posted here are taken from the advanced readers copy. Please check finished copy of book for final quotes.***
“Nothing contrived of man could ever control such beings.” -The Beautiful ARC
Celine was a force to be reckoned with and I loved that about her. In my eyes she was from the wrong generation, but she was exactly the kind of female New Orleans 1872 needed. She doesn’t like being caged by societal norms and eventually refuses to care about propriety at all. She witty and isn’t afraid to stand up for what she’s passionate about.
Bastien was all over the place for me, but it was precisely that, that made me fall for him. He’s secretive and lets people perceive him as this bad guy, but on the inside he genuinely cares and is very protective about the ones he loves. He’s young and it shows, but we have to remember this is a YA, Bastien being 18 and Celine 17. The secondary characters were easy to connect with and I feel really made this book what it is.
“He would rather be a dream she once had. Beautiful for a time. Meant to be forgotten.” -The Beautiful ARC
The plot itself was paced really well and kept readers engaged and on the edge of their seats. The mystery was amazingly thought out and executed great. Celine, new to New Orleans, has captured the attention of this crazed, mysterious serial killer. The run-ins they have with each other provide more and more detail on the fact that this ins’t no ordinary human, and in fact isn’t human at all. This leads her down a dark path and finding out that not many people she’s associated herself with as of late are human. She must either sit and wait to be the next victim or take action and try to stay one step ahead.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. The ending killed me…like D.E.A.D. If you’re looking for a clean wrap-up ending then this book will murder your insides. There isn’t a happy ending…in fact there’s no ending at all. Just a “well here’s what you’re getting, stay tuned for the next installment” and omg! I didn’t know that going in so I wasn’t prepared at all. I give this book 4-stars because the writing is really good with characters you want to get to know. The plot was executed brilliantly, but as with all YA’s there was a little over-the-top dramatics and barely any of the romance aspect. We “hear” the thoughts and the longing, but we only get one scene where it’s actually shown. I would have liked to see that aspect shown a little more so the build up would have been better, but hey, it’s a teen romance, I can’t get too upset. Will I be reading the next book in this series….yes, yes, and more yes!
***Thank you Bookish First, Renee Ahdieh, and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for the free title and the opportunity to review it. The views and opinions I have expressed here are solely my own and are in no way a representation of the author, publisher, and/or distributor. The quotes posted here are taken from the advanced readers copy. Please check finished copy of book for final quotes.***