The sample was really good which had me interested enough to purchase the full book and finish. It wasn't bad but Im not sure if it was up my alley.

It’s 1872, and Celine Rousseau has just arrived in New Orleans to start a new life. After fleeing Paris, she’s hoping she can keep afloat in a place where no one knows who she is or what she’s done. Unfortunately, there’s a supernatural entity hellbent on taking her life, and it’s throwing a wrench in her plans. The longer Celine toes the line in her new life, the more she wonders who cares if her past catches up if she turns up dead first.

I received a sampler from G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers through NetGalley, which had some of the early chapters. When I got to the last chapter in the sampler, I was already so drawn into the story that I went ahead and picked up the book. We follow four different characters through their rotating perspectives: Celine, Bastien, and two mystery characters. The chapters following the two mystery men were a bit confusing at first, but once I realized it was two different characters, it was easy to get into the story. After a while, I figured out who one of the people was, but the other one came out of left field. I liked that surprise!

The pacing was pretty slow, but it was worth it. I think part of the problem is that I couldn’t understand why we needed four perspectives instead of one. Celine’s perspective was the most well developed and it was clear she was the main protagonist from the start. Meanwhile, the longer we followed Bastien, the more we failed to learn a whole lot. La Cour des Lions is deeply shrouded in mystery and he never shows us why he’s mysterious and devilish. He’s constantly being described as being devilish and the Lucifer in town, but we never once see anything that makes him live up to that name. Even when he’s supposed to be showing us his entire hand of cards, there was never actually anything there.

That said, I did really enjoy the book. There’s a vampire murder mystery that surrounds Celine, but the mystery isn’t the core of the story. That’s just how she finds herself being pulled deeper and deeper into the supernatural world. From the way she seems to be a supernatural entity without having discovered it yet, I fully expect her to eventually discover that she has her own supernatural abilities. I mean, we already have vampires and werewolves! Otherwise, I don’t know how the overall series will hold together for me.

There’s also an excellent cast of characters. I particularly liked following Celine and Pippa. I really liked how Pippa was the only one who actually sees Celine as who she really is. She also knows that when she acts untouchable and unbothered, that’s Celine’s ego as well as a mask even to herself. Bastien could be a cool character, but he seems to be a mostly generic so-called bad boy, and his friendships alway appear to be out of a sense of duty to his uncle. His uncle is actually the most interesting character in the story, which makes me wish this was a series where we follow a different character in each book. There’s also the detective and his family, who I really liked and hope to see a lot more of. Nonna was the best, so it’d be great if we got to see her again.

Overall, this was a great read. It was pretty light on the paranormal front at times, but I enjoyed following Celine’s story. I do think that having four perspectives is a bit much, and the romance is built purely on lust, but the story has a lot going for it and I’m excited to check out the next book. I hope to see the other plotlines improve since it looked like the story wasn’t supposed to be Celine’s story with the occasional view from two different vampires and some of their background stories coming through. It seemed like Bastien and the other characters were supposed to be more significant rather than just players in Celine’s story, so I hope to see things on this front improve with the next book.

This is not a full book, it's a sampler.

It is well written and till what I read it made me quite invested in the story.

Definitely going to read the rest of it. Thus snippet had such a feel to it that it draws readers towards it. It has an eerie magical feel.

Thank you Netgalley and penguin group for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

I was offered the opportunity to read a sneak peak of the first book a bit ago. In 70 pages I was utterly captivated, and this has been immediately added to my Libby wait list.

This was a great sneak peek of The Beautiful . I had been interested in this book, so after reading this snippet, I can’t wait to read the rest of it. I love the setting, and it has such an eerie spooky feeling to it that really adds to it, as well. If you like vampires, and New Orleans settings, I think you’ll really like this book!

I really enjoyed this sneak peak of The Beautiful. I recently took a trip to New Orleans and enjoyed the history lessons and lores about the city, and this preview took me right back there. I enjoyed the characters and plot a lot. Truthfully, I am not the biggest fan of vampire books, but this sample is tempting me to rent it from the library to see where the story goes.

Thank you NetGalley, Renée Ahdieh, and Penguin Young Readers Group for the opportunity to read this sneak peek!

I still have yet to read the full book, and now the rest of the series has been released. The sneek peak was good when I read it but I dont think I can be bothered with this series unfortunately.

This was just a glimpse into the book and i really enjoyed it. it made me look forward to reading the whole book and am adding it to my want to read reading pile at the moment.

Within the first few chapters of Renée Ahdieh's "The Beautiful," we get a feel for her decadent 1870's New Orleans, and it's mysteries. This sample gave just enough to draw me in. I look forward to reading the full book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this title.

I really liked this sneak peek! It kept me interested and left me wanting more, which is exactly what the sample is for! I will be picking this one up to see how it goes!

A new life in New Orleans takes a sinister turn in "The Beautiful". Celine has only recently landed in the city, tasked with working at a convent until she can find a husband—and determined not to let slip the secret of why she had to flee Paris. But there's a darkness in the city, and if there's anything Celine is drawn to, it's the dark...

These sample chapters flew by. There's an extent to which this feels like Another Sexy Vampire Story, but I love the details of late-1800s New Orleans and the twist of Celine landing in a convent. There's a hint that all might not be quite as it seems at the convent, which pleases me, as it means that there may be more details of partial convent life forthcoming. Celine isn't one to shrink back into the shadows—she's one to dive headfirst into those shadows, fists at the ready. A book for readers who want a far deeper, bloodier part of the night than twilight. I could probably do without the shades of romance that are visible even early on (though I'm very curious about the convent-sanctioned husband-hunting), but this feels promisingly dramatic.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing this sample through NetGalley.

Thank you NetGalley and Putnam books for the opportunity to read the sneak peed of The Beautiful. The book was a great peak into Renee Adieh book about New Orleans and their longstanding mythical vampires. I love a good vampire book so this was right by up my ally. There was of course a great love and sex as well. I look forward to being able to read the whole book in the future.

This was just a sneak peek of the book, but what I read makes me want more!
I can't wait to read the entire book plus the rest of the series!

I loved this sample, I instantly added the book to my wishlist and I can't wait to get it and finish it. The characters are so likable and the story caught my attention immediately.

The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

Summary:
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 in the middle of the carnival season, Celine is quickly enraptured by the vibrant city, from its music to its fancy soirées and even its danger. She becomes embroiled in the city's 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 battles her attraction to Sébastien and suspicions about his guilt along with the shame of her own horrible secret.

After a third murder, New Orleans becomes gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose--one who has now set Celine in his sights. As the murderer stalks her, Celine finally takes matters into her own hands, only to find herself caught in the midst of an age-old feud between the darkest creatures of the night, where the price of forbidden love is her life.
Review: 3-star
The overall book is very well written, I just didn’t connect with it the way I like to connect so, it was easy to put down and walk away for days at a time. Not sure what the author could have done differently to make me connect. I think it was just me at the moment I was reading this book. I can say that the editing of the book was above my standards which is a great thing when I read so many that are riddled with errors.
I received this book for my honest review.

thank you to the penguin group young readers group for this great sneak peek .

I have not read the other books but have always been very intrigued by Renee books . i love the style of her writing i love how she has set the scene i feel a gothic feel which i love .

i thought it was a great start to the book, i feel i will be gripped to the story . i feel the darkness of the book already ,

I'm a bit unsure how to rate the book as I have not read all of the book say that I think for now i'm going to give it a 4 stunning stars i'm excited to read the rest .

I loved this book and am excited to read its sequels. The placement in NOLA made me excited as I briefly lived there. I loved Andeih’s writing style. Admittedly it has been some time since I first read this book so a re-read is definitely in order. I remember it being 5 stars, though.

I am slightly annoyed that this was only a partial book. If you want me to review an ARC, I feel like you should give me the entire thing so I can form a fully-voiced opinion. As it is, after a slow start, it was starting to form into a good story, but that's where my "Sneak Peek" ended. I will say that eventually I will probably go in and read the whole book, so that's a plus.

I’ve had The Beautiful on my TBR for a while, so getting a sneak peek helped me to prioritize it, and now that I’ve read the sneak peek, I am finishing it on audiobook! Celine is an interesting FMC with secrets in her past and I imagine an exciting series of events before her. This sneak peek gives just enough for the reader to know Celine struggles with the darkness inside her, and in that way she’s very relatable. Plus the mystery surrounding New Orleans and the intriguing cast of characters introduced does a great job of hooking the reader!

Celine Rousseau is headstrong, defiant and ambitious when she arrives from Europe at the age of 16, accompanied by six other orphaned girls, all to be raised in a convent by the Ursuline Sisters learning useful household skills, as well as etiquette, and proper social graces for launching them successfully as marriageable young ladies in Renee Ahdieh’s, “The Beautiful,” a young adult/children’s romantic historical thriller set in 1870s New Orleans.

The girls arrive in New Orleans at the beginning of Festival—a season of colorful parades, balls, and festivities leading up to the finale of Mardi Gras—that are all tempting, lurid and glitzy enticements for the naive newcomers—especially Celine.

While living in Paris, Celine was apprenticed to the workshop of an haute couture fashion designer. There she gained a sharp sense of style along with a delft and delicate hand at stitching. Upon arrival to New Orleans, Mother Superior tasked her to make handkerchiefs and sell them in Jackson Square to earn donations for the nunnery.

One fortuitous day, a mysterious woman stopped by the Convent’s booth and purchased all of Celine’s pocket squares, and then requested that Celine create her a ball gown. This was quite out of the ordinary. How was Celine going to convince the Sisters to let her do this project? Also the woman needed to be met in the evening at a specified location.

Celine wants to throw caution to the wind; however, she must be extremely careful not to make anyone uncomfortable or suspicious of her because she’s hiding a huge secret that can ruin her reputation and the possibility of her future happiness.

Remember, this is targeted at tweens, so the writing of “The Beautiful,” may not engage sophisticated audiences. For fans of Anne Rice’s vampire series, this is a fun little romp on the master’s home turf.

JoyReaderGirl1 graciously thanks NetGalley, Author Renee Adhieh, and Publisher G.P. Putnam and Sons Books for Young Readers for this advanced reader’s copy (ARC) for review.