I am slightly annoyed that this was only a partial book. If you want me to review an ARC, I feel like you should give me the entire thing so I can form a fully-voiced opinion. As it is, after a slow start, it was starting to form into a good story, but that's where my "Sneak Peek" ended. I will say that eventually I will probably go in and read the whole book, so that's a plus.

I’ve had The Beautiful on my TBR for a while, so getting a sneak peek helped me to prioritize it, and now that I’ve read the sneak peek, I am finishing it on audiobook! Celine is an interesting FMC with secrets in her past and I imagine an exciting series of events before her. This sneak peek gives just enough for the reader to know Celine struggles with the darkness inside her, and in that way she’s very relatable. Plus the mystery surrounding New Orleans and the intriguing cast of characters introduced does a great job of hooking the reader!

Celine Rousseau is headstrong, defiant and ambitious when she arrives from Europe at the age of 16, accompanied by six other orphaned girls, all to be raised in a convent by the Ursuline Sisters learning useful household skills, as well as etiquette, and proper social graces for launching them successfully as marriageable young ladies in Renee Ahdieh’s, “The Beautiful,” a young adult/children’s romantic historical thriller set in 1870s New Orleans.

The girls arrive in New Orleans at the beginning of Festival—a season of colorful parades, balls, and festivities leading up to the finale of Mardi Gras—that are all tempting, lurid and glitzy enticements for the naive newcomers—especially Celine.

While living in Paris, Celine was apprenticed to the workshop of an haute couture fashion designer. There she gained a sharp sense of style along with a delft and delicate hand at stitching. Upon arrival to New Orleans, Mother Superior tasked her to make handkerchiefs and sell them in Jackson Square to earn donations for the nunnery.

One fortuitous day, a mysterious woman stopped by the Convent’s booth and purchased all of Celine’s pocket squares, and then requested that Celine create her a ball gown. This was quite out of the ordinary. How was Celine going to convince the Sisters to let her do this project? Also the woman needed to be met in the evening at a specified location.

Celine wants to throw caution to the wind; however, she must be extremely careful not to make anyone uncomfortable or suspicious of her because she’s hiding a huge secret that can ruin her reputation and the possibility of her future happiness.

Remember, this is targeted at tweens, so the writing of “The Beautiful,” may not engage sophisticated audiences. For fans of Anne Rice’s vampire series, this is a fun little romp on the master’s home turf.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Renee Adhieh, and Publisher G.P. Putnam and Sons Books for Young Readers for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Group for this Sampler!


This sampler left me so intrigued, I will be immediately buying and continuing this book!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

I've not read this series but I'm intrigued. Had a little of The Originals in it. A lengthy sampler, that def gives some sense of the book.

Well I didn’t see that coming. This was quite the sneak peek. I will be on my way now to grab a copy to finish!

This like a perfect aged wine. Just over flowing with all the feels of old time vampires! Truly a book that has pulled me in quickly! I look forward to finishing it.

Felt this was a nice lengthy sampler! I actually was hoping to share with my sister who is a big Twihard like myself! She and I loved it and will be purchasing the actual book immediately!!!!

I’m even more excited to start The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh!
This sneak peak only made it worse! 😂 Now I’m jumping on Amazon to purchase this first title in The Beautiful Quartet series. So far I loved the writing style and the characters immediately grabbed me.
I’m so looking forward to jumping straight into this series!

Thank You NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group & G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

I enjoyed the start of this so much, I liked where the plot was headed and I liked the characters. I really enjoy Renee Ahedieh writing.

Vampires and New Orleans? YES PLEASE! This was a great excerpt from what looks to be an amazing series! I CANNOT WAIT to read more!

Thank you for the sneak peak for the book, a little late to leave a review but better late then never!
Once I read the little snippet, I had to get the book to continue reading!

It's a great way to introduce you to a book and see if you like it. It has vampires which is an autobuy in my eyes!

Great little entry into this book! I love that NetGalley provides these, so neither time or money will be wasted on a book one might not enjoy

it's a really good preview, it would clearly spark a lot of interest for readers to go in-store and pick up the gothic vampire atmosphere it provides.

An enjoyable sneak peek that certainly engaged me. Hopefully I will be able to get round to reading the whole thing soon enough.

A most hearttfelt thank you to Renee Ahdieh and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read a sneak peek of The Beautiful in exchange for an honest review.

I began reading this sneak peek and then in a matter of an hour it was done, and I was hungry for more. From the very first sentence -"New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead"- you know you are in for a loop of fantasy mixed with a little murder mystery, which is the best I can ask for in a book. The main protagonist is Celine, a woman with a past she wants to escape so bad, she boards a ship to flee to New Orleans. Her hope of a new beginning gets her to cross paths with Sebastien, who is admittedly alouring from the very moment he makes an appearance.
The fact that this books has vampires in it, is in fact a warning and a trope at once, as you are prepared from the very beginning that blood will run rampant in the swtreets of New Orleans.

If you enjoyed The Vampire Diaries and The Originals tv series, then you have found yourself a book to read. And did I mention this is the first in a series ?So you should search no more, go ahead and read The Beautiful quartet now!

I received this sneak peek in exchange for a honest review. This was only 72 pages so not really that long enough to get into the book. It takes place in 1872. In the city of New Orleans where the city is ruled by the dead. There is a girl named Celine that is 17 and she thinks New Orleans is her safe haven. She is taken in by sisters of the Ursuline convent. Celine runs into Sebstien who is the leader of the La Cour des Lions. But bodies keep turning up so she has to battle her attraction for him and her suspicions.


I didnt get into this book until about page 69. I would have loved if this was the whole book which I may have to now get since I did get into but it took it till the end for that to happen. The book started out slow but did get interesting in the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sneak peek of The Beautiful. I don't know how I have missed it in my queue for so long. The author does a fantastic job of capturing 1870s New Orleans - in fact, pretty much New Orleans in any time period. The writing is atmospheric, painting a vivid picture as the background for the action. And even though the characters appear to be teenagers, I think anyone who likes this type of book will be drawn in, just as I was. This is also the perfect length of a sneak peek because it gave me enough to be intrigued but also left me wanting to know all of the rest. I can only judge from this short bit, but if the rest of the book is as good, it is a definite winner! I'm off to find it on Amazon now!

I finally read the rest of the book and I enjoyed it. Thank you for the sneak peek.
I loved the vampire theme of this book and will be reading the rest, the cover is what took my attention. The world building was great and I can see that it will continue to expand in the next two books.