The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

Summary from Goodreads:

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.

Review:

So, there were things I loved in this book and things I hated. And I guess I’ll sort out all my feelings by the end of this review because I’m feeling a little mixed up right now.

I’ll start with the good. I loved the setting. If you’ve ever been to New Orleans, you know it would be the perfect backdrop for a YA paranormal romance, or a teen show on the CW. There’s just something supernaturally off-putting to the city. It’s the perfect place to go on a ghost-tour. I totally went on a ghost-tour there and had a ball. It was also the perfect place to go on a mini vacation with a group of girlfriends (art, drinks, ghosts, oh my!) And, Ahdieh really got that about this city. She wrote about the alleyways and the churches and the grittiness of it all, but also got into the indulgent spectacle of it too, with eh fancy hotels and masquerades. She really did a great job writing New Orleans.

I also loved the time period. I remember learning about girls who traveled across the ocean to do what Celine did. Ahdieh did her research. The convent, the jobs, the matchmaking, and all of that really added to the story for me. And it’s been a while since I’ve read a good historical fiction novel. I also love that Celine has this strong background in fashion. So, there’s a lot about dresses, costumes, and needlework. I wasn’t expecting any Project Runway with my vampire story, and it was an added bonus for me.

I loved the friendship story in here too! It wasn’t all about the love story all the time! Yes, major points for making other things important too.

I hated the lack of originality in regards to the vampires. I know everyone makes fun of how the vampires sparkle in Twilight, but at least that author came up with that on her own. Ahdieh seems to have taken a lot from Twilight (not the sparkle). The whole thing with the certain vampires with special abilities really was setting off Cullen alarm bells in my head. Also, the setup with the wolves, really? I would liked this book so much more, and maybe given 1-2 stars higher a rating if the author did not setup a “love triangle” at the end with a potential werewolf character. I put love triangle in quotes because like in Twilight, it’s clear who the main character is “meant” to be with.

I hated the repetition. We get it. Sebastien is like the devil. And a phantom. That metaphor got so tiring. Unless he actually goes by the name Devil, I really don’t want to hear it any more. Also, for a book that doesn’t show who the vampires for at least half of it, referring to a certain character as the devil and his friends as dark creatures….kind of gives it all away. Either let us know they are all dark creatures earlier on, or don’t.

I also hated the romance. It was instant. And besides the fact that both characters are extraordinarily beautiful, brave, and strong, I don’t really feel like they ever have enough time together to get so fully in love. I wanted to ship them more, believe in them more. Stuff happened at the end, and I just had no emotion at all about it.

All in all, I loved the concept of this back. I love vampire stories. I adored the New Orleans setting. I liked the friendship story and the bits about historical fashion. I wish this author strayed a little further from Twilight than she did. She is so great and original. Why did she have to throw the werewolf storyline thing in? Why? I would have given this a higher rating if not for that. I also wasn’t buying the romance so much. It needed more development. I guess I have kind of mixed feelings still. I give this one a 6/10.