The Beautiful Series - Renee Ahdieh
#1 - The Beautiful
#2 - The Damned
#3 - Untitled (Expected 2021)
If you go on Goodreads to read reviews of these titles you will probably see some rather mixed reviews. I am here to tell you, some of those people are WRONG! Haha, I am just kidding. This is a series that either lands with people or it doesn't. It did land with me and was exactly what I was wanting from a vampire series 💕
I do believe this is a series worth diving into to see if it was everything you were wanting form a vampire tale or not. I think what bogs some readers down is the heavy exposition of these books. That is a fair criticism. This did not bother me because I enjoyed the world Ahdieh was building and I enjoyed her characters. I do want to give fair warning that if heavy exposition frustrates you, however, this may be off-putting.
BUT... if you love a good vampire tale and intriguing characters, this might just be the escape you were looking for. Check it out! Download an excerpt or borrow from the library. I really do believe this series is an underrated little gem and I can truly not wait until the next title releases! For my full reviews of both titles, see below.
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The Beautiful
When I read the synopsis of this last year I was immediately attracted to it. I have been parched for a good vampire story. Parched I tell you!! But the mediocre reviews it was getting did not inspire me to pick it up immediately. This was unfortunate for me because I loved this!!
This just goes to show you that reading is a very personal experience and what one reader may not care for may be exactly what another reader wants. I thought it gorgeously written, full of surprises and filled with well-drawn characters.
I think what inspired some of the reviews it has received is that this is a read heavy on description and it does not move quickly. There were times even I thought, hmm, an edit would not hurt here. Honestly for me this was minor though as I was so wrapped up in the world that it had me feverishly turning the pages to find out what would happen next!
Which, listen I really do not want to bother much longer with this review because I really want to pick up the next book to see what is going to happen. So, bye, going to be going back to mythical New Orleans now, thank you very much.
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The Damned
So I know this is a series that has had a rather mixed bag of reviews but these books were definitely meant for some people and I am part of these people! I LOVE this series. The world-building, the characters, and the twists are everything I love and want in a fantasy vampire novel.
Ahdieh takes her time building the backstory of each character so if that is not your cup of tea this may not be for you. That said, if you are invested in these characters like I am, then these backstories are going to be very important to you like they were for me.
I think at the end of the day that is what I love most about these stories - they are very character-driven. I felt similarly about The Gilded Wolves. The first in that series did not get rave reviews either but, man, it got rave reviews from me because those characters are some of the best. Same story here. If you love these characters, you will love this story.
Also... that ending kind of crushed me and I need the next one now.
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