The Damned Review

     

 

GoodReads:

Following the events of The Beautiful, Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The treaty between the Fallen and the Brotherhood has been broken, and war between the immortals seems imminent. The price of loving Celine was costly. But Celine has also paid a high price for loving Bastien. 

Still recovering from injuries sustained during a night she can’t quite remember, her dreams are troubled. And she doesn’t know she has inadvertently set into motion a chain of events that could lead to her demise and unveil a truth about herself she’s not quite ready to learn. 

Forces hiding in the shadows have been patiently waiting for this moment for centuries. And just as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.

My Review

Before we start, I did a review for The Beautiful on Tuesday, and you can find it here.

This sequel was better than the first book for me, maybe it was the expanding on other characters, but the things I loved from the first book carried over, Celine, the atmospheric writing, and the cast of amazing characters.

POOR CELINE. POOR BASTIEN. POOR EVERYONE.

Celine’s memories are gone, but, it was a price she was willing to pay to save Bastien and oh my heart broke for them a little. But the. memories aren’t staying away like they’re meant to, so what does that mean? There’s so much to unravel and I loved that.

While I appreciated Bastien in the last book I actually really enjoyed him this time, we get to learn more about who he is, and turns out he is a cinnamon roll!

Also was there a hint of a certain person pairing with Pippa? *Gasps*

This not only takes us away from New Orleans but opens up more of the world that Ahdieh’s built. We learn more about the creatures, we learn more backstory for our delightful cast.

I’m going to be honest here, this is what I wished True Blood show had been when I used to watch the show, I made it about 2/3 seasons and had to stop as I found out more and lost complete interest. [Never read the books so I can’t comment on that]

Ahdieh has made this sprawling world with worlds within it and lore and history just totally floors me with how much work she’s put into this series.

Where Bastien was the pretty boy to admire in the last book I just felt that this book I got to really invest in him and get to know him.

Celine continues to prove her strength and after the ending in the first book, she’s just straight up remarkable after all she’s been through between the last book and this one.

I couldn’t help but feel bad for Michael at the end, but, the progression of Celine and Bastien’s plot made certain things necessary and holy cow I did NOT see that origins story coming! I mean it’s hinted that someone is not all they appear to be but finding out what they are, just left me slack jawed. I know I’m being super vague but I never want to spoil stories for you all.

The ending of this book really makes it hard for me to wait for book 3 but considering I have no other option, I’ll just be sitting here, twiddling my thumbs impatiently.

As indicated by the hoarding of this review, it’s a spooky read and I have no regrets in holding onto it until now lol.

I had never read anything by Ahdieh until now and I will say with a certainty that I intend to read more by her, past and future writings both.

The point is, this book builds on book one, there’s so much more world-building, and I loved it.

5 cups of coffee from me, I now need a time machine to speed through the wait.