The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

The Beautiful Book 1

New York Times bestselling author Renée Ahdieh returns with a sumptuous, sultry and romantic new series set in 19th century New Orleans where vampires hide in plain sight.

In 1872, New Orleans is a city ruled by the dead. But to seventeen-year-old Celine Rousseau, New Orleans provides her a refuge after she's forced to flee her life as a dressmaker in Paris. Taken in by the sisters of the Ursuline convent along with six other girls, Celine quickly becomes enamored with 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.

When more bodies are discovered, each crime more gruesome than the last, Celine and New Orleans become gripped by the terror of a serial killer on the loose—one Celine is sure has set her in his sights . . . and who may even be the young man who has stolen her heart. 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.

At once a sultry romance and a thrilling murder mystery, master storyteller Renée Ahdieh embarks on her most potent fantasy series yet: The Beautiful. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42265183-the-beautiful

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My Review: 5/5 Stars

What can be better than reading a story that takes place in New Orleans? Where you are guaranteed to read about the paranormal and all it entails. I love Renée Ahdieh's books and now she was taken her amazing writing skills and brought us to the Crescent City where vampires dwell. We follow Celine Rousseau as she flees from Paris and arrives in New Orleans to start again. Her timing isn't that great however. Young women are being murdered by some creature in the night and soon Celine finds herself being hunted as well. And if that isn't enough she finds herself attracted to the leader of the La Cour des Lions. Bastien does what he can to scare away Celine, but he can't deny the attraction he feels for Celine anymore than she can. Her wit, her strength, and her willingness to never back down to him makes her a worthy equal. But even has they fall in love, there is still a murderer stalking New Orleans and Celine will not become prey. She is determined to find the truth, no matter the cost. Really great book! Looking forward to the next one in this series. And I'm super glad I had a chance to get my hands on an early copy of this one! If you like Renée Ahdieh's other books, this one will not let you down! 

I received an ARC.