The Beautiful (The Beautiful Quartet) Hardcover – October 8, 2019

Quick Stats:Overall: 5/5 StarsCharacters: 5/5Setting: 5/5Writing: 5/5Plot and Themes: 4.5/5Awesomeness Factor: 5/5“We forget our dreams, but nightmares linger with us evermore.”// Content Warning: Violence, Death, Gun Violence, Torture, Rape Mention, Rape, Murder, Racism, Racist Slurs, Misogyny //“There was no way for us to turn back. The tinder has been collected. The match has been struck.Only one of us can survive the fires of Hell.”Release Date: 10/8/2019Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young ReadersPage Count: 448Premise:The Beautiful follows Celine as she flees her life in Paris and goes to New Orleans. Staying in the convent, Celine falls in love with the city she's taken refuge in. But when young girls start being found dead, Celine must delve into the dark underworld of the city to find the murderer.“I am the spider. I set silken traps. I watch as you step into my web.I wait to strike.But do not fear. I promise I will never forget you.”- Writing & Setting-There are two aspects of this book that I think are causing people to not enjoy it. The first- the writing. If you’re familiar with Renee Ahdieh’s books, then you know her writing style. The prose is elegant, while still including fun banter between the characters and interesting asides. The majority of the book is in 3rd person, following Celine and Bastien, but there are 1st person chapters interjected, told from the point of view of the mystery murderer. While I loved each perspective, I think the mystery murderer was the most interesting (plus they quoted Aida so I love them now). However, the reason I think the writing might be a downside to some people, is that it’s a little dense. If you’ve read Renee Ahdieh, this will be no surprise to you (in fact, I think her writing has gotten even better than previous books), but if you’re coming into this expecting something easy to jump into, you’ll be disappointed.There is a benefit to the denseness of her writing- it really, really helps set the scene and make the setting feel alive. You can tell Renee Ahdieh did her research when writing this book. The way she describes the food and fashion of the time is absolutely mesmerizing. She captures the sights and smells of 1870’s New Orleans so well, you feel transported there while you’re reading.“No matter where she went, danger followed.And it horrified her. Just as it thrilled her.”- Plot -Now for the second reason why people might not like this book (or why they might love it!)- the plot. This book is primarily a romance, with a hint of murder mystery, but overall it’s heavily character driven. This book is about Celine, Bastien, and the murderer. It’s about uncovering each characters past and seeing how and why it’s influencing the present. I know a lot of people were excited about the vampires, but the entire vampire aspect really doesn’t play a large role until the latter half of the book, and even then, it isn’t quite what most people (myself included) expected. I think a lot of people were thinking this book would be more like Twilight or other previous YA paranormal romances, but the paranormal aspect really doesn’t come to play until close to the end. For the majority of the book, it’s a historical romance with an interesting mystery.Despite it not being what I expected, I really did love the plot of this book. It was a little slower, but it was so worth it. And when the plot picks up, it picks up. I didn’t want this book to end. The twists and reveals were amazing, and the suspense was killing me throughout the book. I couldn’t put it down.“I am not so captivated by the beautiful, monsieur. For I know beauty is only a moment in time.”- Characters -The Beautiful has a few important characters, and I love them all so much. Celine, the main protagonist, is such a strong character, whose backstory is really interesting. I wish I could elaborate more on it, but no spoilers. I will just say- they handled it really well. Bastien, the main love interest, is such a fun character. Their romance is rooted in them being equals (and Shakespeare). The side characters are also really compelling, all of them were well rounded and interesting on their own. My only complaint is that by the end, some of the character motivations (and a little bit of the paranormal stuff) are a little murky. And by some of the characters, I really just mean one specific character. However, I think this will all be dealt with in the sequel. Have I mentioned yet that I’m dying for the sequel?!“The truth is not always what you see.”- Conclusion -Pros- Great characters, great writing, great world-- basically great everythingCons- Don’t go into this book expecting your typical paranormal romance. It’s a lot slower and denser than your average vampire book, but it's still amazing!Overall- 5/5 stars.While I can understand why someone may not love this book, I still would recommend it to anyone who is interested. This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year. But oh god that ending killed me and I don’t know how to cope.“It always ends in blood.”

This is the first book by Renée Ahdieh that I have read. I have her other books, but I haven't had the chance to read them yet. I was drawn to this one because of that absolutely stunning cover, and the fact that I wanted to read something a little different and darker - and the whole subject of vampires and late 1800's New Orleans really intrigued me. I noticed that a lot of other people, including reviewers that I really trust when it comes to what books I tend to read, rated this one a little lower than I expected. I still bought it and read it anyway."New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead."Seventeen year old Celine, a girl who is skilled with making beautiful gowns and studied under some of the most impressive in Paris, where she lived, has found herself setting sail to America - New Orleans to be exact - after horrible events unfold in her home. She refuses to be arrested - or worse, executed - so she runs away to make a new life for herself, where she can leave her past behind her.Only as usual, the past has a way of not staying there.When Celine and her friend, Pippa, meet Odette, a striking young woman who is searching for a gown for a party, Celine agrees to make her one. When Celine goes into the city to find Odette, she gets more than she bargained for."Proper young women certainly wouldn't feel so enlivened by the very idea of danger. Nor would they already be seeking out the next chance to feel their hearts pound in their ears and their faces flush as though they were close to a candle flame."Celine meets Bastien, a young man with a very different worldview and a lot of mystery behind him - and she instantly develops feelings for him, despite her character denying it. Bastien is dangerous, and Celine is tired of being the good girl, and wants something a little dangerous in her life.Unfortunately, the murder of another girl who lives at the convent with Celine and Pippa starts off a mystery - especially when a symbol is present next to the murdered girl."They were like two trains set on a collision course. Better for all those involved if they did not relish each other's company.At least that way they could avoid colliding at all."As Celine continues to meet Odette to work on her dress, and as she and Bastien fight feelings for each other and finally admit that they are fond of each other's company, more murders pop up - each time they happen it occurs around Celine. So Bastien and Celine try to fight their feelings and stay away from each other, but it doesn't help when Celine realizes that she needs his help to trap and stop a killer - and she can't do it alone."The first time Celine had visited Jacques', she'd come to the conclusion that the members of La Cour des Lions were not ordinary humans. Of course that knowledge raised the question: if they weren't exactly human, then what were they?"Celine finds herself taken up in a whirlwind of immorality, evil, murder, and falling in love with someone forbidden - all while trying to figure out who killed these innocent victims, why, and how.Part of me is glad that I picked this one up.Another part of me feels as though I honestly could have skipped it. This book had a lot of issues for me, particularly with the pacing and the way it just took forever to get anywhere. This is the kind of book that I felt could have wrapped up about one hundred pages less than what's here...there was just so much detail (maybe a bit too much in this case), and as far as vampires go, there wasn't really anything vampire-related for like the first 3/4 of the book. That was a huge bummer.The characters were also so difficult to really develop any kind of feelings for. Character development in this book was almost nonexistent, and aside from Celine's friend, Pippa, I honestly didn't have any feelings toward any of them one way or the other. The characters just felt kind of flat and really basic, with not so much flair behind them to make them memorable.The setting and world building of this book was beautiful, however, and I found myself drawn to the beautiful New Orleans of the 1870s. Renée Ahdieh did such a great job of painting this picture and bringing the past to life. I almost felt like I was there. I've never actually been to New Orleans (and obviously I wasn't around in 1872 either), but I felt like through this book, I hopped into a time machine and went back to this time and place and had the chance to experience it. I enjoyed that.The murder mystery aspect of The Beautiful was interesting - I did find myself wondering what the symbols next to all the victims was about, and I especially didn't guess who the killer was - totally didn't see that one coming.If you like Renée Ahdieh's other books, then don't skip this one. If it's an action-filled book with plenty of vampires, this isn't really for you. I am eager to see what Renée Ahdieh does with the sequel to this one, though - I'll definitely pick it up because I'm really eager to see how that ending played out into the next book.

Veio bem embalado e sem nenhum defeito!só acho que as páginas são muito finas, o livro em si é bem frágil e a capa não tem orelhas (não é um defeito só uma preferência)

A lot goes on in this first book of the series. A lot of exposition without really exposing much of anything. Still enough mystery left at the end to make looking for the next book in the series a possibility. Well-written and snappy dialogue with a lot of description of the place and clothing, etc. Still good, and I look forward to more.

I loved this book, the world and characters were so well developed. Had to buy the sequel as soon as I finished!

Sad there are only two books to this series. I fell in love with the characters and read both books in a week.

Muito bonito, bem embalado