Tag: renee ahdieh

Book Review: The Ruined (The Beautiful #4) by Renee Ahdieh

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Renee Ahdieh
Publisher: GP Putnam’s
Release Date: December 5th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The stunning conclusion to the instant New York Times bestselling quartet that began with The Beautiful.

The Sylvan Vale and the Sylvan Wyld are at war. Now that the unsteady truce between them has been broken, lines must be drawn. In an effort to protect the weakened Winter Court, Bastien rallies powerful allies and friends in New Orleans to come to their aid.

Meanwhile, under protection alongside her injured mother in the Summer Court, Celine is uncertain of whom to trust. She cannot get word to Bastien, and does not understand why he has not returned. When she realizes war between the fey courts is imminent, she journeys with Ali in an effort to find the time traveling mirror and change their fate.

But when Celine’s rivals realize Bastien has rallied his allies in the mortal world, they decide to take the fight to him.

Thank you Penguin Teen for the eARC.

I AM UPSET.

I have loved reading this series and I have been waiting a long time to get my hands on the final book and now I’m sitting here super cranky and not wanting to even write this because of the last 30%.

The first 70% was great, I love the writing style and the ease of the reading. The world building is intricate and I love the combination of vampires, werewolves, and fae.

BUT HERE WE GO (which is spoiler free, but you can probably read between the lines too).

The ending y’all. We spent four books leading up to this????? To a complete breakdown of a relationship over a dumb miscommunication that spiraled into total destruction. Causing the end of way too many things to ever recover. And the last few pages were this sorry attempt at saying well maybe things do work out, when NO. That foundation has crumbled. To spend so much time on some of these characters to throw it away. I just…I’m upset…to put it mildly. I feel duped.

There was a clear route this could have gone that would have brought true peace and reconciliation (and where I thought the book was headed???). And there were other characters we didn’t even get to see closing story lines for?? THAT WERE MAIN POINTS OF VIEW? The rushed ending was another nail in the coffin.

I’m losing my cool all over again. This one has really bummed me out.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: battle themes, loss of loved ones, murder

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ARC Book Review: The Righteous (The Beautiful #3) by Renée Ahdieh

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 456 pages
Author: Renée Ahdieh
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s
Release Date: December 7th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The third book in the instant New York Times bestselling series that began with The Beautiful.

Pippa Montrose is tired of losing everything she loves. When her best friend Celine disappears under mysterious circumstances, Pippa resolves to find her, even if the journey takes her into the dangerous world of the fae, where she might find more than she bargained for in the charismatic Arjun Desai.

Renée is back with her rich, atmospheric fantasy world that will continue to enthrall readers, new romance and mystery, and lush, pacey writing.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

BEST OF THE BUNCH [SO FAR].

I’m still in shock over that ending y’all. SHOOKETH. And I can’t wait for more people to read this so we can chat about it because my mind is whirling with possibilities. Where does it go from here?! Way to set-up for an action packed finale.

I loved that this focused on Pippa and Arjun (and HELLO some of my favorite tropes!!). This turned into one of the few cases of more insta-ish love that I was all in for. Those two just worked. Fantastic chemistry, swoony kisses, and dire situations. The majority of the POV’s were from them and I liked the dynamic shift.

There’s points-of-view from some of the other characters in the series too. They’re many angles to the plot and seeing the shifting sides from werewolves, vampires, and fae are creating a thickly woven story.

I am very excited for the last book in this series. What started out as a meh series for me is turning into another highly enjoyable one.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: kisses to closed door
  • Violence: physical altercations, weaponry, war themes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: domestic and child abuse recounted

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ARC Book Review: The Damned (The Beautiful #2) by Renée Ahdieh

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Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: YA Paranormal + Romance
Length: 456 pages
Author: Renée Ahdieh
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: July 7th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

New York Times bestselling author Renée Ahdieh returns with the second installment of her new sumptuous, sultry and romantic series, The Beautiful.

Following the events of The Beautiful, Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The treaty between the Fallen and the Brotherhood has been broken, and war between the immortals seems imminent. The price of loving Celine was costly. But Celine has also paid a high price for loving Bastien.

Still recovering from injuries sustained during a night she can’t quite remember, her dreams are troubled. And she doesn’t know she has inadvertently set into motion a chain of events that could lead to her demise and unveil a truth about herself she’s not quite ready to learn.

Forces hiding in the shadows have been patiently waiting for this moment for centuries. And just as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for the eARC. All opinions are my own!

MAYBE I AM INTO VAMPIRES.

I have been long holding the belief that I was over vampires. This duology has given me hope that maybe I can try some of the new vampire books coming out! I love the way this was written. Vampires weren’t IN MY FACE, but I also love the way the interacted with their world and the group of friends turned family themselves.

The Damned also went in a different direction than expected. I guess I was thinking I was getting more romance (typical, I know), but instead, there was a lot more whimsy and fantasy aspects to it that brought the paranormal/urban fantasy combination together. Still wished there was more romance, and more Celine, because she didn’t even show up til over 30% of the way through!

Watching the push and pull between Bastien and Celine was the kind of will they/won’t they, that I loooooove. Every time they were in the same room together I was glued to the page wanting to know what would happen next. I wanted more of them together, yet the writing was beautiful anytime I did get them. Ah, yes. Love a good romance component in a book!

One of my issues was how open ended the last few chapters were. I didn’t feel much closure with this installment because it was abundantly clear, a new series is coming, with a spin-off following another character. While totally here for it, I wish somethings had been more solidified. I’m curious where the enemies are going to rise from, how the other realms will play into it, and if I’ll get to see some of my favorite character again.

Ahdieh creates some of my favorite duologies and I love her writing. Can’t wait to see what’s next!

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult paranormal + romance
  • Language: occasional strong
  • Romance: kisses / heated make-outs; one love scene with minimal detail
  • Violence: murder, physical, magical; not incredibly gory

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Book Review: The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1) by Renée Ahdieh

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult historical fiction + romance + paranormal
Length: 448 pages
Author: Renée Ahdieh
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 8th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

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.

VAMPIRES?

I hesitantly picked this book up because I love Ahdieh’s books, but I heard the hypeness over the apparent vampires in this book [note: not a fan of vampire books, never really have been]. My cautionary read turned out a lot better than I thought. And I know I liked this much better than others BECAUSE there were barely any vampires in the entire book.

Ahdieh’s writing is always wonderful. I was easily invested in the story and enjoyed reading it. I love the setting, especially having traveled there, it really added to the atmosphere and vibe of old world New Orleans. The mystery and mythical combination is a tune I can love.

The romance was good, when the love triangle wasn’t in play. UGH. It didn’t need that at all to add to it (though now apparently it’ll play a big part in book two). Jury is still out and how the rest of this will unfold, but I was definitely shipping Celene and Bastien. I love the sultry banter and romantic moments they had. The ending left me all up in arms and I need a resolution.

I liked Celene for the most part. Her lack of communication skills were obvious and annoying. Celene could have had a better friendship with Pippa if she would trust her for one minute. The amount of inner dialogue she had about not telling anyone anything was running me ragged. An inability to communicate anything can really sour a character. Otherwise, I enjoyed her braveness and her courage against her situation.

Oh yes, those vampires? Well throughout the book I really couldn’t figure out who the mystery chapters were (in the vampires POV). I honestly didn’t know until they showed up on the page. That was satisfying to be on edge the entire time with who was attacking Celene and her cohorts. I definitely think they underworld of New Orleans will play a much bigger role in the second book since all of the reveals didn’t come out until the second half.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult paranormal, historical fiction romance
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: some kisses, an almost love scene with a little detail
  • Violence: gory murder description
  • Trigger Warning: attempted rape (never in full detail, discussed as part of Celene’s past with a few paragraphs dedicated to how he attacked her)

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