The Beautiful
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- Create Date：2021-03-30 14:19:01
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Renée Ahdieh
- ISBN：1529368154
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Summary
New York Times bestselling author Renée Ahdieh returns with a sumptuous， sultry and romantic new series set in 19th century New Orleans where vampires hide in plain sight。
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 Le Cour des Lions， after catching the eye of the group's leader， the enigmatic Sèbastien Saint Germain。 When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of Le Cour des Lions， Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sèbastien'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。
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 Le Cour des Lions， after catching the eye of the group's leader， the enigmatic Sèbastien Saint Germain。 When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in the lair of Le Cour des Lions， Celine battles her attraction to him and suspicions about Sèbastien'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。
Reviews
Colleen
，
3 Stars*Beautifully written， and yet， at its core… just another agnsty teen love-triangle*It was a moment of madness。 A random （and ill-advised） idea。 But for some reason， I thought teenage vampires were going to be the right thing to mix up my reading list。 Well， it was a departure from my norm。 But it was also a reminder of why I （usually） strenuously avoid these sorts of books and the young adult genre as a whole。I adored Ahdieh’s The Wrath and the Dawn， and that was the main reason I thought 3 Stars*Beautifully written， and yet， at its core… just another agnsty teen love-triangle*It was a moment of madness。 A random （and ill-advised） idea。 But for some reason， I thought teenage vampires were going to be the right thing to mix up my reading list。 Well， it was a departure from my norm。 But it was also a reminder of why I （usually） strenuously avoid these sorts of books and the young adult genre as a whole。I adored Ahdieh’s The Wrath and the Dawn， and that was the main reason I thought her take vampires might be more palatable to me。 And in some ways it was。What I enjoyed most was the setting and the writing itself。 New Orleans in 1872 was a great choice for a paranormal setting。 It felt almost like Southern Gothic at times， and I wish that had been more prevalent。 And Ahdieh’s prose was sultry and captivating。 I was invested by the end of the story， but it took me over a week to get through the first half。 It just didn’t grab my attention like I’d hoped。 “In only a few short weeks， Celine had learned to appreciate how the city seemed to come alive the moment the sun dipped below the horizon。 Not a normal kind of alive， like sunshine and laughter。 But a sinister， sensual kind of alive。 A warm caress and a cool whisper。” Unfortunately， it is impossible to read a teenage love triangle vampire story and not think of the overblown sensation that caused that subgenre to exist in the first place: Twilight。 And being on Team Let’s-Call-Blade-to-Exterminate-Them-All， reminders of that ultimate agnsty love mess are never pleasant to me。 Don’t get me wrong， The Beautiful is far from joining the clamoring league of generic Twilight knockoffs。 The story has plenty going for it and far superior writing style。 Not to mention a heroine who actually has agency！ But very early on there was an extremely overdone case of instalust which of course had to turn into the standard love triangle。 （Side Note: this book felt borderline steamy for a YA and the love interests were older than the seventeen-year-old heroine， so I’ll just list it as New Adult instead。） “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 other book that I was surprisingly reminded of was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue。 That’s probably a good thing for most people， but I found that book massively disappointing。 And reading something that reminded me of it showed me that I’m still rather sulky about just how disappointed I was。 Now， I will clarify that the stories are only superficially alike。 They both contain girls running away from constricted lives in old France， and they were both far more focused on uninteresting， agnsty love triangles than I was expecting。 That is where the similarities end。 But it was one more layer separating me from enjoying The Beautiful on any deeper level。I did like that there was somewhat of a murder mystery element to the story。 That also fed into the Gothic-esque atmosphere of the young beauty haunted by death。 I think Ahdieh’s lush writing and creative ideas will be enough to get me to read the sequel， but I’ll admit that it won’t be in a hurry。RATING FACTORS:Ease of Reading: 4 StarsWriting Style: 4 StarsCharacters and Character Development: 3 StarsPlot Structure and Development: 3 StarsLevel of Captivation: 3 StarsOriginality: 3 Stars 。。。more
Sarah Gilbert
，
DNF
Katelan
，
CAWPILE Rating: 6。43I had heard a lot of good things about this before going into it， so I think I was slightly clouded by the hype。 Although I did enjoy this book， I was left confused by a few things which I hope will be cleared up in the second one。 The characters were enjoyable to read about and I loved Celine's sass。 But I did find myself thinking they were older than they're supposed to be。 Odette is my favourite， I love how she doesn't care about gender norms or being a proper "lady"。 Over CAWPILE Rating: 6。43I had heard a lot of good things about this before going into it， so I think I was slightly clouded by the hype。 Although I did enjoy this book， I was left confused by a few things which I hope will be cleared up in the second one。 The characters were enjoyable to read about and I loved Celine's sass。 But I did find myself thinking they were older than they're supposed to be。 Odette is my favourite， I love how she doesn't care about gender norms or being a proper "lady"。 Overall， I did have a good time reading it， but I hope the second one is better。 。。。more
Stevie
，
Well this book is such a fresh breath of air， Not only is it set in a city with such history and intrigue。 but Renee keeps the New Orleans History and culture through the whole book。At first i was a little thrown by the fact that French was just thrown into the mix off and on。 but by the half way mark i think it would have taken away from the feel of it。 The detail and wonder of the city as well as the costume through the book was wonderful。 I loved Celine as a character as she battled between b Well this book is such a fresh breath of air， Not only is it set in a city with such history and intrigue。 but Renee keeps the New Orleans History and culture through the whole book。At first i was a little thrown by the fact that French was just thrown into the mix off and on。 but by the half way mark i think it would have taken away from the feel of it。 The detail and wonder of the city as well as the costume through the book was wonderful。 I loved Celine as a character as she battled between being a woman of society of that time and breaking out into a strong Female through the book。 There was a few twists that you really didn't see coming and you couldn't help but wonder a few things about the rivalry in the book as well as the ending。 I will be picking up the next book in the series for sure。 I can't help but want to know were the story is going。 。。。more
Fer Bañuelos （myownlittlebookshelf）
，
*4。5*Permítanme， tengo que buscar mi peluca porque no sé hasta donde me la voló este libro。Hay muchas reseñas debajo de este libro que dicen que no pudieron terminar el libro， que es terrible， que es lento y solo puedo decir YALL ARE FAKE PORQUE ME HICIERON CREER QUE ESTE LIBRO ERA TERRIBLE CUANDO ES UNA JOYA DE LA LITERATURA JUVENIL。Hermosa Eternidad o The Beautiful es el claro ejemplo de que la literatura juvenil ha evolucionado demasiado desde que apareció por primera vez。 Es el ejemplo cla *4。5*Permítanme， tengo que buscar mi peluca porque no sé hasta donde me la voló este libro。Hay muchas reseñas debajo de este libro que dicen que no pudieron terminar el libro， que es terrible， que es lento y solo puedo decir YALL ARE FAKE PORQUE ME HICIERON CREER QUE ESTE LIBRO ERA TERRIBLE CUANDO ES UNA JOYA DE LA LITERATURA JUVENIL。Hermosa Eternidad o The Beautiful es el claro ejemplo de que la literatura juvenil ha evolucionado demasiado desde que apareció por primera vez。 Es el ejemplo claro que las historias de vampiros no son solo brillos， sangre y cuestiones amorosas。 Y es el claro ejemplo de que la fantasía paranormal puede llegar a ser increíble si es bien tratada。Renée Ahdieh verdaderamente vino a quemarles el changarro a muchos autores del género。 Citando a la filósofa， académica e ícono mexicana Gloria Trevi， ábranse perras que ya llego la reina。 Yo ya había leído un trabajo de ella anteriormente que， si soy honesto， no me había terminado de convencer， pero con esta novela mis ganas de explorar el resto de sus obras se ha triplicado， porque déjenme decirles que The Beautiful es oro puro。Me enamoré por completo de la historia de Celine apenas empecé el libro。 Esta novela nos sitúa en un Nueva Orleans de 1872， donde la cultura y la diversidad explota en las calles， los secretos se cuentan a puertas cerradas y el glamour de la ciudad sirve para esconder mucho más que simples engaños。 Celine es fuerte， resiliente y una bad ass bitch como pocas que he leído。 Tiene un carácter fuerte gracias a ciertas situaciones que ha tenido que vivir， pero al mismo tiempo porta tanta seguridad， tanta presencia que era todo un deleite leerla。 Los otros personajes como Pippa， Odette （me encanta ese nombre）， Arjun， Bastien e incluso Michael también están perfectamente bien escritos。 Entiendes sus decisiones， su comportamiento y mientras vas leyendo la novela te cuesta creer que son ficticios， porque están demasiado bien escritos。De igual forma， uno de mis aspectos favoritos de la novela es la continua conversación que se tiene respecto al racismo y la diferencia racial que existía en la ciudad en ese entonces。 Nueva Orleans es una ciudad que， históricamente， se le conoce gracias a su linaje diverso y mezcla de culturas， por lo que me encantó que Renée haya hablado de esos temas en la trama， más por la vida de Celine。 Es de raza mixta， asiática y blanca， y hay conversaciones demasiado importantes sobre su ascendencia， la culpa que tiene respecto a ciertas decisiones que tomó respecto a ésta y un desarrollo de personaje importantísimo en nuestra protagonista。 10/10， Renée hizo lo que se tenía que hacer。El final me dejo tirado， lleno de intriga， satisfecho a más no poder y con unas ganas enormes de continuar con esta serie。 Sé que no hay un libro que le diga a los escritores como ganarse a los lectores， pero Renée Ahdieh debería escribirlo porque con solo este primer libro ya me tiene de por vida。 Si no lo han hecho， vayan y cómprenlo， apoyemos a autores de color y a historias ownvoices， y lean esta joya。 。。。more
Amy Dixon
，
I really didn’t enjoy this just couldn’t get into it really underwhelmed
ʟ ɪ ʙ ɴ ɪ
，
Algo más para resaltar es que todos tienen una sentido de lealtad， personalidad bien cimentada y la porción justa de benevolencia y egoísmo en sus estructura， por lo que ni un solo personaje me disgustó， cosa que como todos aquí saben， me fijo muchísimo y suelo criticar muy duro en cada historia。RESEÑA COMPLETA EN PASANDO PÁGINA BLOG Algo más para resaltar es que todos tienen una sentido de lealtad， personalidad bien cimentada y la porción justa de benevolencia y egoísmo en sus estructura， por lo que ni un solo personaje me disgustó， cosa que como todos aquí saben， me fijo muchísimo y suelo criticar muy duro en cada historia。RESEÑA COMPLETA EN PASANDO PÁGINA BLOG 。。。more
Farhana
，
（2。5）I had high expectations for this book but it honestly wasn't that great。 （2。5）I had high expectations for this book but it honestly wasn't that great。 。。。more
Camila Soto
，
I loved this book so much， the world is so wonderfully built， the characters were so developed and the plot twists made me like it from the first chapter。 It was captivating and fun and I could not put it down。 The tension between Bastien and Celene is just immaculate。 I would re-read this book ten times and I need to get my hands on the sequel right now。 Overall I give it 5/5 stars。*Always search up TW before reading any book*Also， sorry for any grammar mistake， english is not my first language I loved this book so much， the world is so wonderfully built， the characters were so developed and the plot twists made me like it from the first chapter。 It was captivating and fun and I could not put it down。 The tension between Bastien and Celene is just immaculate。 I would re-read this book ten times and I need to get my hands on the sequel right now。 Overall I give it 5/5 stars。*Always search up TW before reading any book*Also， sorry for any grammar mistake， english is not my first language。 。。。more
Shammah
，
I wanted to like this book more than I actually did。 There are quite a few swear words （both in French and English）。 The story didn’t ever suck me in。 It was all too easy to put this book down and move on to something else。 Overall it was just ok。
Amy
，
I might try to reread this without the audiobook at some point but the narrator was dreadful
Perksbook
，
？？？ super confused 400+ pages read， and I still don't have a single clue about what kind of creatures some of the characters are， the nature of that 'feud'， the villain's intentions。。。 I guess this will be explained in the sequel， but i was hoping for some kind of explication。It was mostly a romance book; an aspect I wasnt too thrilled about tbh ？？？ super confused 400+ pages read， and I still don't have a single clue about what kind of creatures some of the characters are， the nature of that 'feud'， the villain's intentions。。。 I guess this will be explained in the sequel， but i was hoping for some kind of explication。It was mostly a romance book; an aspect I wasnt too thrilled about tbh 。。。more
Maria Pereira
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I have very conflicting feelings about this book。 While I really like the way that Renée Ahdieh conveys the ambiance of 19th century New Orleans， with beautiful and not to heavy descriptions， there are also some aspects of the story that did not click for me:💔 The author tells us that Celine doesn’t fully trust Bastien and that she thinks that he is involved in some way in the murder of her friend， yet still she doesn’t seem to mind being alone with him。💔 The love triangle present in this book f I have very conflicting feelings about this book。 While I really like the way that Renée Ahdieh conveys the ambiance of 19th century New Orleans， with beautiful and not to heavy descriptions， there are also some aspects of the story that did not click for me:💔 The author tells us that Celine doesn’t fully trust Bastien and that she thinks that he is involved in some way in the murder of her friend， yet still she doesn’t seem to mind being alone with him。💔 The love triangle present in this book feels really forced to me and it kind of came out of nowhere。💔 I couldn’t get attached to any of the characters and so couldn’t care less whether they lived or died。 。。。more
Rachel
，
Another delight。 I quite enjoy Renee’s work！ These characters make me so happy， I love them。
Dakota
，
This book was beautifully written and really made me feel like I was there， experiencing all of what was happening for myself。 Definitely just found one of my favourite authors🥰🥰
Ally Cloud
，
Beautifully written， a story that captures your entire person and makes you wish to see the carnival and fall in love with a deadly prince。 This novel is quite different than Renee's mastery of "The Wrath and The Dawn" which provides quite an insight to the different styles and sophistication Renee has with words。 Beautifully written， a story that captures your entire person and makes you wish to see the carnival and fall in love with a deadly prince。 This novel is quite different than Renee's mastery of "The Wrath and The Dawn" which provides quite an insight to the different styles and sophistication Renee has with words。 。。。more
Armando Blanco
，
3，75⭐ （¡Que maravilla conocer esta ambientación tan increible como lo es Nueva Orleans en el siglo XIX y aún mejor acompañada de vampiros！）Tenia muchas ganas de empezar este libro ya que los vampiros me encanta， me encanta conocer estos seres y saber como se van a desenvolver con los humanos y todo el misterio al ser inmortales。 Renée es una autora que ya ha ganado fama con sus libros anteriores y que tambien se han publicado al español y que Puck publicará este libro se agradece demasiado。Celin 3，75⭐ （¡Que maravilla conocer esta ambientación tan increible como lo es Nueva Orleans en el siglo XIX y aún mejor acompañada de vampiros！）Tenia muchas ganas de empezar este libro ya que los vampiros me encanta， me encanta conocer estos seres y saber como se van a desenvolver con los humanos y todo el misterio al ser inmortales。 Renée es una autora que ya ha ganado fama con sus libros anteriores y que tambien se han publicado al español y que Puck publicará este libro se agradece demasiado。Celine era una modista de Paris hasta que tuvo que huir tras un tragico suceso en su vida， olvidando aquella vida tan maravillosa que llevaba。 En busca de una nueva vida y oportunidades decide marcharse a Nueva Orleans。Cuando llega a esta ciudad tan llamativa， rapidamente queda maravillada ante la temporada en la que ha llegado， el carnaval estará presente durante semanas y el baile de mascaras es el evento más grandioso de todos。 Antes de llegar al convento de las Ursulinas， lugar donde se quedara hasta conseguir alguna oportunidad y casarse， su mirada se centra en un hombre interesante y de gran atractivo。 ¿Quien es aquel joven tan misterioso aquella noche？Reseña completa en el blog。。。。Esta es una historia que me ha atrapado pero que tambien tiene momento lentos， la autora se toma el tiempo de sumergirnos a esta Nueva Orleans oscura y llena de misterio， ademas de interesarnos por un grupo muy selectivo de personas。Los asesinatos y seres de la oscuridad y sombra estarán presente a lo largo de esta historia。 Y cuando sucede el primer asesinato， Celine queda implicada de alguna manera ¿Puede huir antes de que sea demasiado tarde？ Quiero leer más de esta autora y quiero ya esa continuación despues del final que nos da， sin duda se que los vampiros estarán más presentes en el segundo libro ya que en este primer libro no se logra tener más detalles más que los esenciales para tener una historia llena de intriga y misterio。 。。。more
Krista Heit Valentine
，
Loved this book。 I will admit it took me longer than I would like to admit that there were a few different POV in the "Hiver" chapters and because I don't always look at chapter names， that some chapters were different character POV 。。。 BUT I love all the clues and breadcrumbs left along the way through the way the story was structured。 This book also allowed me to try to remember all my french lessons （that happen many moons ago） for some of the dialog。 Most of it was translated later in reply Loved this book。 I will admit it took me longer than I would like to admit that there were a few different POV in the "Hiver" chapters and because I don't always look at chapter names， that some chapters were different character POV 。。。 BUT I love all the clues and breadcrumbs left along the way through the way the story was structured。 This book also allowed me to try to remember all my french lessons （that happen many moons ago） for some of the dialog。 Most of it was translated later in reply etc but still fun。 This might be a downfall for some but I loved that it was incorporated into the story。Overall I loved the book and don't want to go into too many details because I would hate to give something away but just know this is a series。 I did not know going into the book but as I got towards the end I was already looking it up to see if the next book was out and if I could get it at the library， which I did （also a great book）。 。。。more
Hayley Westphal
，
The story is a little cliche， but still enjoyable。 Not a masterpiece， but I’d like to read the next one。
Fedyreads
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Absolutely loved this book！ The setting and the plot were amazing and intriguing but never more than the diversity of cultures pictured in it。 The combination of English， French， some bit of Spanish and Italian languages is so good to read。 Being an Italian girl myself I feared the description would have been a cliche and I'd faced the worst commonplace about my culture。 I couldn't be more wrong ， coming form especially coming from the greatest story-teller of all time who has the ability to pas Absolutely loved this book！ The setting and the plot were amazing and intriguing but never more than the diversity of cultures pictured in it。 The combination of English， French， some bit of Spanish and Italian languages is so good to read。 Being an Italian girl myself I feared the description would have been a cliche and I'd faced the worst commonplace about my culture。 I couldn't be more wrong ， coming form especially coming from the greatest story-teller of all time who has the ability to pass from ancient latin and greek knowledge to something much more contemporary。I was captured from the first pages ， reading about this amazing and determinated character who stops caring about what society may think about her personality and try to fight for the people she loves。Having read Renée Ahdieh for the first time with "The wrath and the dawn" duology ， her writing-style wasn't so foreign to me， but this does not mena that I was prepared to find Shahrzad quoted inside this new book ！ It was such an unexpected and welcomed surprise to see this two world meet in the most extreme but simple of way。 Celine herself is so like the main character from the "one hundred and one night" retelling that it wasn't so hard to fall in love with her and feel her wit as if it was Shahrzad's。 I can't wait to read the second one ， considering the fact that I refuse to believe that Celine and Bastien story is over forever！ 。。。more
Giselle Ramos
，
This book tried very hard to be mysterious， which made it so very hard to understand。 However， curious about the relationship and world， I want to read the next one， but also I was so unsure what it was even about throughout the whole book。 The world building was also so subtle and strange。 Bonus points though because Sebastian is mysterious and alluring and has a snake， and Celene has her own secrets I’m interested in。
Caroline
，
That plot twist tho！
Leah
，
I loved this so much， and I would recommend it to anyone！
Robin
，
Non è che avessi aspettative astronomiche， quando ho iniziato The Beautiful， e per tutta la prima parte del libro sono anche rimasta catturata dalla storia。。。 poi， attorno a pagina 220 o giù di lì tutto ha iniziato a collassare。 Sono arrivata attorno a pagina 300 prima di decidere di quittare， perché non ce la facevo più。 （Quindi aspettatevi un rant。）Leggendo alcune recensioni ho trovato ripetuto spesso il concetto che "leggendo la sinossi dei libri della Ahdieh sembra tutto perfetto， sembrano s Non è che avessi aspettative astronomiche， quando ho iniziato The Beautiful， e per tutta la prima parte del libro sono anche rimasta catturata dalla storia。。。 poi， attorno a pagina 220 o giù di lì tutto ha iniziato a collassare。 Sono arrivata attorno a pagina 300 prima di decidere di quittare， perché non ce la facevo più。 （Quindi aspettatevi un rant。）Leggendo alcune recensioni ho trovato ripetuto spesso il concetto che "leggendo la sinossi dei libri della Ahdieh sembra tutto perfetto， sembrano stati creati su misura per te， poi quando inizi il libro ti rendi conto che è tutta fuffa"。 The Beautiful è il primo libro che leggo di Renée Ahdieh。。。 ma mi trovo d'accordo。 Leggendo la sinossi sembrava il libro perfetto per me ed ero curiosissima， ma arrivata a pagina 220 mi sono resa conto che appunto。。。 era fuffa。 Una trama non c'è。 O meglio， ci sarebbe， ma non ci sono eventi。 Per 300 pagine capitano sì e no due cose degne di nota， il resto è un ammasso di:- voli pindarici da parte della protagonista， Celine， spesso scritti in modo forzatamente poetico per farli sembrare fighi e edgy;- descrizioni lunghissime su cose che alla fine non serve descrivere， come ad esempio la parte del ristorante de La Corte dei Leoni， dove ci si perde nella descrizione di ogni。 Singolo。 Piatto。 Servito。 Io amo le descrizioni， ma quando hanno un senso。 Non me ne frega niente di leggere due pagine intere su cosa una comparsa a caso sta mangiando。 Cioè ma anche no;- dialoghi su dialoghi fra Celine e altri personaggi il cui scopo è solo quello di far evolvere i rapporti fra di loro。。。 senza però riuscirci， sicché tutto sembra pressoché automatico。I personaggi infatti sono una delle note più negative che ho riscontrato in questo libro。 Celine è la tipica protagonista perfetta badass indipendente™ per cui ogni singola cosa è un affronto。 A un certo punto non ce la facevo più， continuare a leggere i suoi PoV era fastidioso， sembrava quasi che se un personaggio maschile respirasse una volta di troppo allora era un affronto e una mancanza di rispetto a Celine。 Non è questo il modo di rappresentare un personaggio forte e femminista， è solo ridicolo， perché se ciò che viene ritenuto un affronto è invece una cosa puramente logica e basilare che pure un bimbo dell'asilo ci arriva allora di che cazzo stiamo parlando。I rapporti fra i personaggi sono rapidi e strutturati in modo troppo superficiale。 Celine conosce Pippa e bom， amiche per la pelle。 Celine conosce Odette e bom， nuova amicona della vita。 Celine conosce Bastien e bom， amore e gelosia。 Celine conosce Michael e bom， lui le casca dietro。 A parte che su Michael dovrei aprire un altro discorso perché il rapporto fra i due è talmente ridicolo da avermi urtato mentre leggevo， ma non lo faccio perché rischierei di fare qualche spoiler。 In generale comunque i personaggi si relazionano fra loro in modo veloce e macchiettistico， stringendo amicizie importanti e amori nel giro di una settimana。 L'instalove fra Bastien e Celine è davvero campato per aria e anche se non è il centro focale della storia resta comunque un grosso problema， perché non è realistico。Altro problema sono i più PoV。 Noi seguiamo la maggior parte della storia dagli occhi di Celine， ma ogni tanto cambiamo punto di vista， seguendo quello del killer che perseguita la protagonista， che se ai suoi primi due capitoli sembrava interessante， a na certa diventa ripetitivo e ridondante。 A cosa ci serve leggere il suo PoV se alla fine ripete sempre le stesse cose e le uniche info che sembra darci sono: "sono incazzato ed esistono i vampiri"？ Il suo unico scopo è rendere quello che altrimenti sarebbe un normalissimo serial killer e un normalissimo thriller una storia paranormale， ma alla lunga è frustrante， sicché arrivati a pagina 300 noi di sti vampiri sappiamo solo che esistono e che "non sono esattamente vampiri ma creature più complesse"。 E io mi domando cosa l'ho letto a fare sto libro。 Aggiungo poi che il capitolo dal punto di vista di Bastien era del tutto evitabile sicché non serve a niente se non mostrare che lui è bad boy e che è perso per Celine dopo cosa。。。 una settimana？ Due？ Okay。 A "Love is an affliction， it always ends in blood" volevo cavarmi gli occhi。Le uniche due cose che mi sono piaciute di questo libro sono state l'atmosfera， perché per quanto tutto si regga in piedi a malapena l'atmosfera di questa New Orleans così gotica e pericolosa è bellissima， e lo stile della Ahdieh， che per quanto forzatamente poetico in alcuni punti riesce a catturare il lettore。 Inizialmente apprezzavo molto anche il personaggio di Odette， sicché la trovavo l'unica caratterizzata bene e davvero interessante， ma come tutto il resto ha cominciato a cadermi nella seconda metà del libro。Sinceramente， come ho detto non mi aspettavo il libro della vita， ma pensavo che sarebbe stato comunque nelle mie corde， e sono rimasta delusa da quello che invece ho trovato。 Proverò comunque a leggere altri libri dell'autrice， perché voglio darle un'altra possibilità。。。 ma The Beautiful direi che per me è un assoluto no e non mi sento di consigliarlo se cercate una lettura "seria"。 。。。more
Kathryn Grabski
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SO GOOD！！！！！！！
Micacat
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I was undecided between 3 and 4。 4 for the writing pertaining to New Orleans and the supernatural subject matter。 Bastien was so dark and broody， enjoyed how he was written。 But Celine， sigh， unbelievably self-absorbed， maybe what she did in her past accounted for that， anyone would be in their own head a lot， but off-putting。 And I noticed the author writing Celine as constantly 'I wish I had that amount of power，' over and over and over。 We get it， somehow this is leading to her becoming power I was undecided between 3 and 4。 4 for the writing pertaining to New Orleans and the supernatural subject matter。 Bastien was so dark and broody， enjoyed how he was written。 But Celine， sigh， unbelievably self-absorbed， maybe what she did in her past accounted for that， anyone would be in their own head a lot， but off-putting。 And I noticed the author writing Celine as constantly 'I wish I had that amount of power，' over and over and over。 We get it， somehow this is leading to her becoming powerful within the inhuman world rather than a mortal and 'merely a woman。' I also think a good bit could have been chopped out， way too much of Celine's thoughts and questions。 Dislike when an author does that， relies on the character asking questions， if the story is written well enough， the author shouldn't have to state the obvious。 And lastly， omgohs， not a love triangle， UGH！！ Ok， giving it a 3。 。。。more
Alex Warren
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I was apprehensive when picking up this book， mainly because of all the disappointed readers who missed the lack of vampires。 I will admit they are right， I wouldn't call this a vampire novel， but I think because I was not expecting vampires going into it I was able to enjoy what I would describe as a supernatural mystery set in 19th century New Orleans。 I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I will be picking up the sequel。 I was apprehensive when picking up this book， mainly because of all the disappointed readers who missed the lack of vampires。 I will admit they are right， I wouldn't call this a vampire novel， but I think because I was not expecting vampires going into it I was able to enjoy what I would describe as a supernatural mystery set in 19th century New Orleans。 I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I will be picking up the sequel。 。。。more
Abi
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This is a new favourite book。 It completely captivated me， and reminded me how amazing it is when you discover a new book that you are obsessed with。 I need the sequel now！The characters in this book were everything。 Celine and Bastien are potentially one of my favourite romances ever， and I need to see what happens in the next book。 I know it's going to be a love triangle， but it's going to be really interesting to see how she handles it after how the book ended。 I also loved the friendships be This is a new favourite book。 It completely captivated me， and reminded me how amazing it is when you discover a new book that you are obsessed with。 I need the sequel now！The characters in this book were everything。 Celine and Bastien are potentially one of my favourite romances ever， and I need to see what happens in the next book。 I know it's going to be a love triangle， but it's going to be really interesting to see how she handles it after how the book ended。 I also loved the friendships between Pippa and Celine， as well as Odette。 And how all of the characters are extremely complex， and you never quite know what their morals are or who they stand with。 I also loved Bastien's friendship with Arjun， and hope that is developed more in the next book。The atmosphere in this book was incredible。 I loved the New Orleans setting in the 1800s。 It was clearly well researched， and made me very intrigued to go to New Orleans。 I did not see the ending coming。 I had so many predictions about who the killer was going to be， and I was so wrong。 Also， the plot twist at the end I did not see coming either， which is always brilliant。This book is one of those ones where things aren't completely explained as you go， and you have to accept that you are going to be confused for a bit but things will eventually be explained。 There are still so many things that I am confused about， but I definitely think that is intentional and will add to the mystery of the series。The writing was beautiful， and had me so engrossed。 I cannot wait to read the rest of the series， and also other books by Renee Ahdieh。 This book was everything I needed and love， and I will be starting the sequel as soon as it arrives。 。。。more
Vassa
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This love triangle thooo Rly looking forward to reading the second part
Fatima
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An absolutely amazing read， the plot， characters and the writing style was utterly and irrevocably beautiful。 Definitely recommend it， this is just perfect。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Beautiful
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Beautiful&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Beautiful&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0