Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
Release Date: October 8, 2019
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Source: Library
Genre: Young Adult / Romance / Paranormal
In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to
seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans is a safe haven after
she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the
sisters of the Ursuline convent, Celine is quickly enraptured by the
vibrant city becoming embroiled in the glitzy underworld, known as La
Cour des Lions, after catching the eye of the group's enigmatic leader,
Sébastien Saint Germain.
When the body of one of the girls from
the convent is found in Sébastien's own lair--the second dead girl to
turn up in recent weeks--Celine must battle her attraction to Sébastien
and suspicions about his guilt along with the shame of her own horrible
secret.
Renée Ahdieh's The Beautiful is the first installment in the authors The Beautiful series. This is a story that is set in 1872 New Orleans; a city that is ruled by the dead. 17-year-old Marceline Beatrix Rousseau aka Celine travels to New Orleans with 6 other girls, including her new friend Pippa, where she hopes for a new beginning after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent, Celine is quickly enraptured by 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. She also quickly catches the interest of Odette Valmont, who is part of The Court of Lions. Odette and Celine become fast friends, but when it comes to who she owes her loyalty to, The Court of Lions owns her.
But it is Sébastien Saint Germain that she seems not to be able to escape from thinking about. Sébastien claims that he is human, but it is apparent that those he surrounds himself with, are much, much more. When the body of one of the girls from the convent is found in Sébastien's own lair--the second dead girl to turn up in recent weeks--Celine must battle her attraction to Sébastien and suspicions about his guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine is sure the killer has set her in his sights.
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. This story alternates between Celine, Sébastien, and a mysterious character named Hiver who seems intent on starting a war between the Fallen and the Brotherhood by targeting Sébastien, and his people.
Readers love to play armchair detective and in The Beautiful, the author has put together a masterful murder mystery, a romance that vials Buffy and Angel, and as the bodies pile up and secrets unravel, readers will delight in putting together the clues to figure out whodunnit and why. It is especially telling that Celine is not a Mary Sue, nor is she an angel who hasn't seen things she hasn't seen. When the bodies start falling, Celine doesn't run away and hide. She and Bastien are two trains set on a collision course, and with the way the story ends, this is going to be an interesting ride if I decide to continue reading the series.
The author intertwines French and Spanish and Creole and the African and the Far East for a wide range of diverse and also the flavor of the history of New Orleans itself. Celine is a smart character and she takes no bull from anyone and I admire her for that, but there are times she pulls some hair brain schemes that cause problems. Will I continue the series? We shall see how 2024 plays out.
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