Review: The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh
“New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead.”
The Basics
Title: The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1)
Author: Renée Ahdieh
Published: 2019
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons — Penguin Random House
Pages: 425
Format: Hardcover
Genres: Fiction — Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Young adult, Fantasy romance, Urban fantasy, Young adult fantasy, Paranormal romance, Historical fiction, Reconstruction Era fiction, Historical romance, Reconstruction Era romance
Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org, and I will earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you click through and make a purchase.
Book Synopsis
New Orleans, 1872. Having fled from Paris to escape her past, seventeen-year-old dressmaker Celine Rousseau is living at the Ursuline convent with other young women who have recently arrived from Europe. In exchange for room and board, she is, among other things, expected to help raise money for the convent, which is how she finds herself selling handkerchiefs in the city center one afternoon. When one of the women who purchases a handkerchief asks Celine to design her dress for an upcoming costume ball, Celine unexpectedly finds herself thrust into the notorious and secretive La Cour des Lions. Before long, she finds herself under the spell of the group’s handsome and enigmatic leader, Sébastien Saint Germain. Even as she grows closer to Sébastien, she cannot shake the feeling that he is hiding something from her, for there is something seemingly unhuman about the members of La Cour des Lions. When the bodies of murdered women begin turning up around the city, her suspicions only grow, and when she finds herself in the sights of the murderer, she decides to take a drastic measure to lure the killer out into the open.
My Review & Overall Thoughts
TLDR: Don’t be put off by its young adult label – this lush, paranormal romance can be read and enjoyed by older adults too.
Like many people who grew up in the era of Twilight, I am always a bit wary of any book, especially a romance, that includes vampires. I have had more than my fill of lame vampire love stories. So, when I began reading rave reviews of The Beautiful, I was more than a little skeptical. Nonetheless, I decided to pick up a copy and give the book the benefit of the doubt, and boy, am I glad that I did. From the moment that I opened The Beautiful, I was hooked, and within a day, I had finished it, staying up late into the night reading it. It is such a captivating story filled with romance, intrigue, suspense, and wonderful characters.
The protagonist, Celine, is a strong female lead. Unconcerned with the etiquette of 19th-century society, she is outspoken, strong-willed, and sharp-witted. She holds her own against some of the most formidable characters in the book. She is also well written and fleshed out, and she evolves over the course of the story. In short, she feels lifelike. The other primary character, Bastien, is also well developed. He is an interesting and complex character, who is not quite as he appears to be at first blush. He is also shrouded in mystery – is he human, and what exactly is his Court of Lions? All of this, in combination with his good looks and lack of pretense, makes him a swoon-worthy love interest.
The romance between him and Celine is – let’s face it – people’s primary draw to this book. Like Romeo and Juliet before them, Bastien and Celine know that they should not be together, yet they cannot seem to stay away from one another. The chemistry between them is evident, from their furtive glances to their lively banter. Their story draws you in, for you cannot help but wonder if they will end up together or if their relationship is doomed.
Celine and Bastien might be the stars of the show, but that is not to say that the secondary characters should be disregarded. Indeed, the supporting characters are outstanding in their own right. They strike that perfect balance of contributing just enough to the plot to feel like meaningful characters without ever stealing the spotlight from the protagonists. Pippa and Odette are two of my favorite secondary characters.
Moving on from the characters, another highlight of The Beautiful is its pervasive sense of mystery and suspense. Throughout the book, we are left wondering and theorizing about who the killer could be. Clues are dangled before us, yet their significance is frustratingly unclear. The narrative style further contributes to this feeling of being left in the dark. Namely, chapters from Celine’s point of view are written in the past tense, while chapters from the murderer’s point of view are written in the present tense. This gives off the impression that the murderer is always one step ahead, whereas Celine is constantly playing catch up in the past. It is as though the killer already knows how the story will end, and we are just seeing the inevitable come to pass.
The writing itself is first-rate. Ahdieh is a gifted storyteller, who knows how to spin a tale. Her writing is engaging, easy to understand, and perfectly paced. She knows how to set a scene and evoke emotions. Furthermore, her use of the first person in the chapters from the killer’s point of view is brilliant. Being granted access into their twisted mind has a chilling effect.
The not so good
Occasionally, French phrases are used in the dialogue, and while most of the time, their meaning is either given or easy to intuit, sometimes it isn’t. For people such as myself who unfortunately do not speak French, it would have been nice to have footnotes that provided the translations. That said, I was able to use an online translator to figure out the meaning of the French words, so it was not too much of an inconvenience.
The book also ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, but now that the sequel is out, this is not too big of a deal.
Overall
The Beautiful is a mesmerizing story that harkens back to Anne Rice’s classic vampire tales. Filled to the brim with action, mystery, and romance, it is a book that once you start, you won’t want to put down.
Have you read The Beautiful? If so, what did you think of it? As always, share your thoughts with me in the comments section below!
