Renee Ahdieh is an auto-buy author for me, so when I finished The Beautiful, I knew I was going to pick up The Damned regardless if I wasn't a huge fan the first one.

Unfortunately, this series isn't for me. I struggled to fully immerse myself in the plot. I understand the author was trying to develop the characters and world, but I found these scenes to be too slow. When the story finally picks up I was able to slowly get more interested in the book.

I don't want to give away spoilers, but I wasn't a fan of this writing style.

Something that I enjoyed more than the first book was the world-building. Ahdieh took the opportunity to dive deeper and expand on a vague world.

Again, I couldn't get behind Celine and Bastine. I know so many people love them, but I just couldn't see and connect to the romance between the two. Something that improved from the last book is the development of the side characters. I would still love to continue to learn about them and experience more scenes with each one.

I was really hoping this was going to develop and Six of Crows vibe, but I feel like this one goes in a different direction. I still recommend this one to vampire lovers and fans of Ahdieh's other books. This story isn't bad by any means but just didn't work for me.

3.5

Okay… I really really liked The Beautiful, but dare I say that I liked the Damned more??


If you read with me on bookstagram, by now you should know that I love a good vampire book. So much that when The Beautiful came out last year I pre-ordered it and couldn’t wait to binge. And I really loved that book, because I felt like it was such a different type of vampire story, set in New Orleans, very mysterious, not in your face vampire.

BUT JUST WAIT FOR BOOK 2. What I thought I loved about the first book was totally different from what I loved about the second book! I feel like The Beautiful left me with questions I wanted answered, and The Damned swooped in and was like here are all your answers wrapped in a perfect little romancey, sexy, vampy, fantasy bow. This book is where the fantasy world that I was anticipating begins, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I flew through this and was left with a fantasy world hangover (those of you who read fantasy know that those world hangovers are the worst).

I can’t believe I have to wait so long for the next installment, and that is all Im going to say without spoiling anything.

Thank you SO MUCH to @penguinteen and @reneeadieh for letting me read this one early! The Damned is coming to your shelves 7/7/2020!

The Damned is a very different book than The Beautiful and it took awhile to hit its stride, but ultimately I really enjoyed the direction that it took. Book 1 was a historical murder mystery with vampires appearing quite late in the game, but in book 2, vampires are very present from the prologue on and there isn't much of a mystery element. This book expands a lot on the mythology of the world that Ahdieh has created, we get answers to some unanswered questions from Book 1, the central relationship gets steamier, and everything gets much more complicated.

In terms of pacing, this book was a little awkward and in some ways feels like it's setting things up for the next installment in the series, although we do also get some degree of resolution. One criticism some readers had of Book 1 was that information on the world was parsed out too sparingly, but in this book we sometimes get too much information that is less woven into the story. This is especially true at the beginning and we don't get Celine as a perspective character until nearly 25% of the way in. That was a mistake in my opinion, because I'm much more invested in what's happening with Celine and it would have been better to get at least a little bit with her earlier on.

In some ways, this book feels like it's responding to earlier criticism. Not enough vampires? Let's give you lots of vampire scenes! Not enough world-building info? Here's a whole bunch of it! As someone who LOVED book 1, I kind of wish it hadn't gone so far, but I'm sure other readers might appreciate the changes.

That said, I thought the narrative was interesting and took some twists I was not expecting. You continue to see some nods to the Twilight series, but written the way that it should have been. (i.e. not everyone is white and straight, our heroine has agency, our hero is not controlling and creepy, it's sex-positive instead of weird about purity etc.) I am really enjoying the series and seeing where the author takes it. I'm here for the dark romance, the angst, and politics, and all the hidden secrets. It's not a perfect book, but I'm definitely interested in continuing on with the series. I received an advance copy of this book for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The first half of this book, ⭐️⭐️⭐️. The second half, ⭐️.
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The world building was so incredibly rich in the first book that when it fell completely flat in this one I was shell shocked. When the narrative was taking place in New Orleans, the story was strong. But when the genre of the book morphed from that sort of urban fantasy vibe to high fantasy, the world building was just not there. All these new creatures were introduced and played an imperative part of the story...and yet we never find out what they do, how they interact with this new world, and how Celine REALLY fits into all of it. There were also some major plot holes (which I can’t discuss here because of spoilers), but I will say character inconsistency for this one main player equivalent to Daenerys GOT season 8 occurred, and that was the final straw for the ending of this book for me.
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I had more problems then just with the world burning aspects but I hate writing negative reviews so I’m just going to leave it at that.

I feel like I’m the victim of a bait and switch. The Damned was not at all what I was hoping or expecting. It’s not horrible but the style and story veers off in a different direction than the first book gave us and it left me baffled and struggling to find enthusiasm to read it.

The Beautiful, which I loved, is all sultry, New Orleans atmosphere. Historical Fiction but still Urban Fantasy. Vampires and Werewolves and a murderess on the run. Dark thoughts and forbidden rooms, a stalker in the shadows.

The Damned (slight SPOILER ALERT 🚨feel free to stop reading now if you want) has turned into just another Fairie-Land story. And okay, that’s not bad, and perhaps it’s just me, but I‘m sick of the Fae. All the atmosphere of the first book is missing. I was invested in the city of New Orleans and the vampire/werewolf war and the feel of the city, and then suddenly the setting itself, is gone. We’re given a lot of info dumps and seemingly a whole new plot. It was just jarring to me.

Celine was also largely absent. I was 65% into it and she made a couple appearances, was talked about a bit, but was largely absent. She’s an obvious focus and crux of the plot as we near the end, but still, somehow, it no longer felt like her story. Instead, the book is told through a multitude of characters, a couple of which I started to confuse.

And I won’t spoil the ending, but it felt like the author was trying to reign it all back in and blow it up at the same time. I was bemused.

So, if I obviously have this many criticisms, why the relatively normal 3 Star rating you ask? I honestly can’t tell if it’s just me feeling blindsided and being sick of Fairie stories or if my grievances are real. The writing is fine. I just lost the magic.

* I received an free advance ecopy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought The Beautiful was a decent but not great start of a series, but with how it ended. I had higher hopes for the sequel. Unfortunately I ended up disappointed here.

While I did enjoy the introduction of Lady Silla and everything that came with her and did like the additional world building we got, I just had such a hard time caring about the characters. If you remember, Celine ends up losing her memory at the end of the first book (I didn’t remember and had to google a summary 10% in since the book doesn’t navigate the transition all that well) and I felt like her personality went the way of her memories as well.

It was also incredibly slow to start. You could probably cut out 100 pages or so from the first third and not miss anything. The perspectives bounced around but I never felt like I got to know anyone all that well. The expected love triangle was basically an Edward/Jacob knockoff and Èmilie was an extremely boring villain. And if you gave me three tries, I don’t think I’d be able to get within 50 years of guessing when this story supposedly takes place.

Based on the way it ends, I’d expect there to be a third book, and I just can’t see myself putting in the time to read it. This was just not for me, but if you loved the first one, I could see how this would be a worthy follow up.

I really enjoyed this book overall and would give it 4 stars!

Things I loved about this book:
Unlike in The Beautiful, we got to see much more of the Court of Lions and Bastian in particular! I also loved seeing Celine grow more and refuse to be placated in any situation.

The beginning is a bit of an info dump, but I loved getting so much of the backstory to everything leading up to that point for most of the characters!

I haven’t seen anything that says otherwise, but I’m really hopeful there will be a third book. The ending to this one felt.... not ending. Not finished.

Included as a top pick in bimonthly July New Releases post, which highlights and promotes upcoming releases of the month (link attached).

RTC.

ARC received from PenguinTeen through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion!!
The Damned picked up only one day after the events of the Beautiful. Bastien is forever changed and Celine has no knowledge of the supernatural world lurking in New Orleans.
Rene Adieh blew the world open with her introduction of the fey, werewolves, and all other creatures in the Sylvan Wyld and Sylvan Vale. I was so impressed by the growth of the characters, such as Celine and even Bastien, and there were so many moments of laughter and heartbreak. It was a fun read.

After the major events that left me wanting more in 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡, I immediately started the next novel. ⠀
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𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘿𝙖𝙢𝙣𝙚𝙙 picks up right after the cliffhanger from the first novel, and we see how our main characters deal with the turn of events that transpired at the end of book one. I felt like The Damned started off slowly since our characters adjust to their new normal, however it does pick up at about 30%. We see so much more of the vampire world, are introduced to more backstories and learn about other creatures more in depth. Again Renée Ahdieh’s writing was so descriptive that it made the scenery and surroundings feel like I was there. ⠀

Pros for me: we get to see more points of view in this story, we get to see other vampires take more of an active role in this story. The introduction of fae and the sylvan worlds were so well written

Cons: the beginning dragged. The plot line of her having the dress shop was just abandoned and we moved on to the supernatural. Also when she traveled to meet her mother for the first time, I would have liked to see her reaction as she traveled through strange lands like we saw with Bastien. But we blinked and she had arrived.
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I believe this is a 4 book series and I’m already itching for book 3!⠀

Let me just start off by saying The Beautiful was one of my favorite books of 2019. Renee Ahdieh brings back vampires, but makes them so much more breathtaking and beautiful. I was blown away with how luscious the writing style was and how dark and mysterious New Orleans was. The Damned blew my mind. I was not expecting this book to go the way it did at all, but I can’t get over how much I loved it.

“Life is not given to any of us. Neither is love. A hundred thousand years will not teach you that truth. You must accept it for yourself.” He turns to me. “What you are has no bearing on who you become, Sebastien. Man or demon, that is entirely up to you. It is never too late to chase the better version of yourself.”

The Damned is definitely more focused on Bastien and we see a lot through his point of view, which I loved so so much. Renee weaves this magnificent story together that is so stunning and intriguing you want to know everything and more. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Bastien’s emotions, his passions, his strengths, and weaknesses. I care so much for Sebastien Saint Germain and getting to know his darkest most inner thoughts was the best thing I could have asked for. Besides Bastien, we see a lot more perspectives which was a total plus for me. I won’t spoil it and say who all we get to know better, but you won’t be disappointed. Celine is what made me love The Beautiful, she is a strong, independent woman who doesn’t care about how she looks or acts for society. She does what she loves even if it isn’t up to par with societies standards. We don’t see nearly as much of Celine during the first half of the book, but with the way the story flowed so smoothly I didn’t mind.

“Because of everything that happened, I’ve learned to love myself more,” she said. “And is that not the best gift any trial in life can give you? The power to love yourself today better than you did the day before.”

Another thing I truly enjoyed was all of the action and world building. I was completely caught off guard when we aren’t just dealing with vampires anymore. Renee brings in every sort of creature and it’s phenomenal. Honestly, I knew we would see more of the vampire side of New Orleans and I was correct, but I learned so much more of the history as well. I loved all the twists and turns this book had and was absolutely thrown off with the ending. I actually would appreciate if the next book were in my hands right now. I can say without a doubt Renee has set up a riveting series because of all that she included in this book; I can’t wait to see where this series goes. All I know for sure is I can’t wait.

The Damned by Renée Ahdieh – sequel to the Beautiful – is a magical tale of fey, vampires and romance set in historical New Orleans with some crossovers to the world of the fey.
Renée brought back vampires and vampire romance to YA fiction in a completely unique way.
I enjoyed The Beautiful, but I wouldn’t have called it outstanding. The Damned on the other hand, delivered beyond its promise.
Complex characters and stunningly beautiful settings sweep the reader into a magical world they wouldn't want to leave.
Overall, the Damned raises the Beautiful series to a whole new level and I can’t wait for the next book. Let’s not forget that Renee’s writing style is so stunningly lyrical that it’s always a pleasure to read her words.

My review will be posting July 1st! I'll update the links then!

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

I didn't have super high expectations for this book, mostly because I didn't love The Beautiful. But I still expected an entertaining story. Unfortunately, I didn't get it. The Damned starts off soooo slow, which I didn't think was possible after the cliff-hanger ending of The Beautiful. Nothing much happened until 40% of the way through, and then it just got weird. The world expanded to include fae and trolls and werewolves, and there just wasn't the space to do it justice. The relationships between characters felt forced, the plot achingly slow and bizarre, and the ending just plain confusing. It's a shame.

First of all, I just have to say how pretty this cover is!! It's so haunting and stunning.
Renee Ahdieh followed up her amazing book, The Beautiful, with another astounding book in The Damned. This sequel picks up right where the first installment left off, and I really enjoyed getting back into this world of the mysterious side of New Orleans.
I really loved Celine in this book! I appreciate her character growth and back and strong as ever. Bastian and the other characters were all extremely captivating.
I found the beginning to have a bit too much info-dumping, but that's about my only complaint!
Thank you Penguin Teen for providing me with a copy of this book!

Holy moly this book! I’m not sure I really knew what to expect with the second book. But I can tell you it went beyond any expectations that I did have. There are so many things going on with in this book that I caught myself at times saying holy shit. Again I love Celine and Bastien. Hopefully you didn’t think their little love triangle was over in the first book because it certainly is not. So buckle in this is gonna be quite the ride.

My Review: I have been an avid reader ever since I can remember. Naturally I hopped on the vampire wagon very early on. I have been a sucker for vampire novels ever since the Twilight era. Don’t be confused though, you won’t find any Edwards or Jacobs here. (Don’t get me wrong I LOVED Twilight) but The Beautiful Series is so much more. It’s beautiful, (no pun intended). It’s carefully written, into a world that your mind can only imagine as magical.

After reading The Beautiful, like many of you I am SURE. I had many many questions, and it felt like I had to wait a very very long time for the next novel to Find. Out. What. Happens. Next! Time happens in funny ways, and now that I have gotten the opportunity to read The Damned, I wish I could have those first feels after reading The Beautiful for the first time. *First feels are real, enjoy every single book you read always*.

The Damned takes on a whole new route very different from The Beautiful. It’s written in multiple POV’s which I LOVE. So It gives us that extra unique visual into some very important characters.

There’s definitely a lot of information, and I definitely recommend reading The Beautiful before diving into this one.

I love all the characters, but I can’t help but feel their stories are not over. Maybe it’s just my personal feels in wanting to know more about them. It did feel like the story was a bit incomplete at the end, it’s the anticipation for the next one in the series.. oh the wait!

My Verdict: I definitely recommend this series. The world building keeps you captivated, the characters draw you in, and the story line keeps you forever.

First of all, thank you to Penguin Teen for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Following the events of The Beautiful, Sébastien Saint Germain is forever changed all thanks to Celine. She was willing to let go if it meant saving his life, only he doesn't see it that way. He is now cursed, just like everyone else around him. At the same time, Celine is suffering from nightmares, and slowly, she starts to learn things baout herself she never wished to know.

If I'm being honest, I read The Beautiful for a readalong in November and I wasn't that into it. It was prasied as the new era of vampire, and though set in New Orleans, we never really get that rich backdrop, which was severely disappointing. Celine, as a narrator, was obnoxious, and I just had a difficult time connecting to any of the charcters.

In the Damned, we see most of the story from Sebastien's POV, and honestly, it's almost more annoying, because we're constantly switching from first POC for him, and then third person for everyone else. It's a huge distraction for me, because I don't like switching TYPES of POV. I love multiple POV so long as they're all 1st or 3rd, but I really can't stand switching between 1st and 3rd.

In general, I was just disappointed. I thought this book would be more rich now that a lot of the secrets were out in the air, but we spent a lot of the first part of the book just seeing Sebastien being mopey and other characters pitying him. I get it, but it just felt overdone.

This book was awesome! It gave a great follow up after the cliffhanger in The Beautiful. It expands the plot so much, adding onto what you learn in the first book. This book also adds more POVs, so you are able to understand the storyline mire thoroughly. I love how this book ended and can’t wait until the next one! I am a sucker for the main romance and am excited to see more!

THE DAMNED is an action packed sequel, full of betrayal and mystery and romance. I didn't love it as much as THE BEAUTIFUL, but it was nonetheless so enjoyable and beautiful. This book offers multiple characters' perspectives; I really liked this change, though it did get overwhelming at times. Many of these characters would have something to add that went along with nothing presently happening, but then their secret would come out later in the book. I also thought it was strange that one perspective was told in first person while all the others are in third. This book definitely branched out from the series being Celine's; many more characters have a say in the story and we meet many new people from a few different worlds, and it is really becoming an elaborate series. I loved seeing more of the initial group of vampires and being able to learn more about their pasts. There is also a lot of history about the different rivals in this world, which I really enjoyed too. The ending was surprising and I cannot wait to see where the next book goes! There are a lot of loose ends that need to be tied up, and I can't wait to see what Renée Ahdieh delivers.