Synopsis

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.
Review
4 stars
It had every ingredient to be amazing and impressive character growth yet …there was something missing for me to give it more than 4 stars.
Months ago, when I had finished The Beautiful, I collaborated with Julia from @acourtofwordsandpages and in one of our posts, I wrote my own version or fanfic for the sequel.
You can find it here:
Now, after having finished The damned….I was quite close!
With the Damned, you will find a completely different world from The Beautiful.
The supernatural creatures are now known from the reader and we don’t have the mystery we had in book one. This weakened the tension and suspense we had in book one that had me on the edge of my seat all the time!
Another difference, the book won’t happen only in New Orleans but also …elsewhere. That made me miss the unique and mysterious atmosphere of the New Orleans. I liked the world building but it stole some of the “mood” I found in the Beautiful.
What you’ll find here is character’s growth. Less fire from them, more restraint as they’ve been marked by life.
If it was the logical choice seeing the events they went through and if I usually love seeing these changes in characters, I missed Céline ‘s fire. In the first book, she was bold, independent, sassy, curious.
She is still independent but I found that her sassiness was more subdued. Yes I understood that her ordeal and her not remembering altered her character but … I missed her fire.
Céline indeed had a secret and if I was not totally right in my fanfic, I was not so far from the truth.
Bastien changed tremendously and I dare say that he changed for the better.
Not because he is now a vampire but rather because he acts less like a spoiled child. He reflects on his life and past actions. He’ll struggle with what’s happened to him as he never wanted to become a monster. But in the end, what makes a monster?
He is more mature.
Another thing I missed was the tension between Céline and Bastien, the intensity and the mystery. There is some tension but this is less “cat and mouse” game than in the first book.
I would say that this was an enjoyable read, with many creative elements and logical choices but that didn’t engross me like the Beautiful did.
Recommend it? Yes if you have read the Beautiful! You might even love it more than I did.
Have you read it?
Thanks for reading!
I still haven’t read the beautiful but I totally get what you mean about a book being really good but just not quite hitting the five star mark!
Aww snap! Sorry to hear that it couldn’t reach that full 5 stars but it still sounds pretty good. Awesome review as always, Sophie. 😉
I’ve had The Beautiful waiting on my Kindle for months, but I’m soooo far behind on reading, I have no idea when I’ll get to it.
Well when you’ll do I’ll be very curious to read your thoughts Teri!
This sounds like a very promising read but too bad about it missing that “pizazz” like you saw in the first book.
Lovely review.
Thank you Renee!
I am so happy you reviewed this, I loved reading your thoughts. I will be starting this in audio real soon so here’s hoping I’ll enjoy it but I’ll definitely be prepared for it not being as strong as book one!
And I will be very curious to read your thoughst Mogsy!!!
I still haven’t read The Beautiful (although I have a copy and I’m dying to read it!). Sorry this didn’t quite hit the mark, but I am still curious to read both books:-)
I hope they’ll be amazing for you Tammy!