The Beautiful

By: Renée Ahdieh

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo

Now in paperback, the first book--an instant bestseller--in the sumptuous, sultry, and romantic YA vampire series from New York Times bestselling author Renee Ahdieh.

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.

Critic reviews

Praise for The Beautiful:

“The Beautiful, which kicks off a new series, returns the vampire novel to popular form, evoking the style of Anne Rice and breathing fresh life into the genre.” —Entertainment Weekly

“It's true: Vampires are back, and they're more seductive than ever.” —Bustle

“Ahdieh brings New Orleans vibrantly to life, particularly when exploring the complicated racial and gender restrictions of high society through main and supporting characters of mixed-race origin. Sure to please fans of the author and of the vampire-romance genre.” —Kirkus

“The first in a series, this mystery novel shines when it focuses on Celine and her struggle to fit into society while trying to be true to herself.” —School Library Journal

“An action-packed third act and a final reveal will have readers grasping for the sequel. . . Vampires never stay dead for long, and best-selling Ahdieh's approach—part homage to the classics, part fresh-eyed revitalization—will intrigue all but the most committed skeptics.” —Booklist

“Darkly glamorous . . . Compelling.” —The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Ahdieh’s New Orleans is lushly atmospheric, permeating this series opener with an undercurrent of violence within a seductive underworld around Mardi Gras. . . Readers will champion Celine’s wit and incredible grit—even surrounded by powerful, supernatural protectors, Celine fights for herself and those she loves. . . Fans will clamor for the continuation to this captivating volume.” —Publishers Weekly

“An incredibly ornate, lush New Orleans; characters who imprint themselves on your memory forever; a story that is nail-biting and swoony and satisfying and tense ALL AT THE SAME TIME. And of course . . . VAMPIRES.” —Sabaa Tahir, New York Times bestselling author of An Ember in the Ashes

“It's intoxicating. The Beautiful has that decadent, slow-moving horror that feels like a dream slipping to nightmare. It's like walking alone down a twilight street and feeling the snap of a branch behind you and that acidic heart-in-your-throat rush of knowing that you're being followed. Stalked.” —Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Gilded Wolves

Lyrical, dark and rich in details

Lots of detail setting the scene, a little slow to get going but worth it

Beautiful

I’ve enjoyed other books by this author. This one was “eh”. The story just kind of dragged on, in my opinion. Most of the narration was excellent. The creepy voice didn’t work so well, at least for me. The story wasn’t riveting. Maybe I’m wrong.

Powerful performance

The Beautiful brought together some of my favorite reading aspects old New Orleans, vampires, romance, mystery, and action. While the storyline alone is entertaining and the descriptions vivid, some of the romantic aspects aren't as believable.

However, the audible performance by Lauren Ezzo is phenomenal and brought the story to an entirely new level. Her voice performance is so emotional and powerful that she fully brings you into the heat of New Orleans, the horror of murder scenes, and the heart crushing emotions of romance.

I would recommend this book, especially the audiobook version.

Decent October Read

Overall, really enjoyed this book. I read it in like two days xD. It's a strong start to a duology and I'm hopeful that the second book will live up to all the build up of the first. I'm reserving judgment on the overall story until The Damned comes out, but I have to say, the book held my interest the whole way through and I honestly had no idea how close I was to being done because I got so caught up in the story. The mythology wasn't /really/ explored as much as I would have liked, but maybe the next one with delve a little deeper. There were a couple of reveals I was actually a little surprised by, and I really loved the whole atmosphere of the book, creepy and spooky combined with 1800's New Orleans is always a winner.
All in all, it's a pretty solid October read.

That Voice

I enjoyed the story, I can’t wait to read the sequel. I just can’t understand for the life of me why the narrator decided to do that scratchy throat thing with her voice, I cringed every time. It was like scratching the blackboard.