Series written by Renee Ahdieh, published 2019-2022.
Celine Rousseau is a young dressmaker from Paris. She has a dark secret that haunts her, causing her to flee her home in Paris for a new start in a New Orleans convent, but she is quickly pulled into another dark world. Celine and her friend Pippa are invited to the Court of Lions, led by Count Nicodemus St. Germain and his only heir, handsome and alluring Sebastien St. Germain. Gruesome murders are happening all over New Orleans, and when Annabelle from the convent is found dead in the Court's headquarters, Celine is afraid that her new friends know more than they admit.
I was expecting more from this series. I absolutely loved The Wrath and the Dawn (a duology) by Ahdieh, and so I had high hopes here. This felt like a mess. It was not particularly compelling, I grumbled about things often, and at times, reading these felt like an obligation rather than an escape. I’m honestly not sure if I will read the last book (The Ruined) when it comes out, but if I do, it will only be to see how everything supposedly connects.
This is labeled as a YA series, but really might not be appropriate for anyone under about 17. There are some hot and heavy scenes and graphic deaths, as well as more than a few instances of profanity.
Read the books before taking a bite out of the spoilers below.
"But a greater fear lurked deep in Celine. Past the rush of blood, into the marrow of her bones. No matter where she went, danger followed. And it horrified her. Just as it thrilled her."
The first thing that felt completely bonkers to me was that most chapters were written in third person, with the occasional chapter in first person, but we have no idea whose head we are shoved into. It is intended, as Emilee’s identity is concealed until the right moment. I was further confused that each book has a different chapter format: first chapter titles, then chapters labeled for point of view (even though views switched in the first book as well), and then quotes to head the chapters.
For the majority of The Beautiful, we aren't expressly told what creatures exist in this world; we are left to guess about vampires and werewolves, and it felt almost completely disjointed from the subsequent books. It is a murder mystery that takes place in the French Quarter of New Orleans, with bodies found and a dark otherworldly being chasing Celine. The Damned was Celine trying to restore her stolen memories and we learn a little more about the werewolf happenings, which both possibly could have been skipped with no huge detriment to the story (other than the courtship of Michael and Celine). Lastly (at least so far), the events of The Righteous follow Pippa and Arjun, taking place mostly in the land of the Fey. The Sylvan Vale and Sylvan Wyld are mentioned early on in the story, but we have only a small idea of why the other realm exists or even matters. It's simply the place that the creatures come from, and I was merely pretending to understand why the information was relevant until the characters are taken there. It's hard to discern the overall story arc connecting everything in the series, or if it is simply the events that are occurring around these characters. My biggest thing is that looking back to the beginning of the story, there are more questions about how those events matter to the overall series, instead of "look how far we have come".
Ahdieh is very good at writing fluffy and beautiful phrases and ideas, but as a whole, I find the substance behind them lacking. Be sure to let me know what you thought, as I know this is a very polarizing series.
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