The Damned

By: Renée Ahdieh

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo

Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Instant New York Times best-selling sequel to The Beautiful

Following the events of The Beautiful, Sébastien Saint Germain is now cursed and forever changed. The treaty between the Fallen and the Brotherhood has been broken, and war between the immortals seems imminent. The price of loving Celine was costly.

But Celine has also paid a high price for loving Bastien. 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 ready to learn.

Forces hiding in the shadows have been patiently waiting for this moment. And just as Bastien and Celine begin to uncover the danger around them, they learn their love could tear them apart.

The Damned, Renée's latest installment in The Beautiful series is just as decadent, thrilling, and mysterious as her last, as she continues her most potent fantasy series yet.

©2020 Renée Ahdieh (P)2020 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"Forbidden romance and harsh consequences set up this highly anticipated sequel that will leave you wanting so much more." (Seventeen.com)

"Expansive world building...romantic...steamy...Decadent escapism.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“Forbidden love, sultry romance, and clashing immortal factions fill this sequel...[and] will keep readers engaged...For fans of vampire love stories.” (School Library Journal)

Narrator got in my nerves

Thee narrator was terrible. I struggled to get through because of it. The story was great though and I look forward to the next part of the story!

Wonderful story, amazing reading!

The story was great! The reading by Lauren Enzo was amazing!!! She really brings books to life with different voices, accents, and tones! What a wonderful combination!

Not the worst

I bought this not realizing it was the second of the series. so I checked out and read the first one. I never got into the story. Everything felt a little glossed over for me. I was hoping the performance for the audiobook would have snagged me into the series, as there are some fun elements.
Nope. Made it worse. I did not care for the performers choices. Which pulled me out of what little depth I got into the story.
The story itself did get kind of interesting 3/4's of the way through this book.
I can't quite place my finger on what is missing from this book for me. As I mentioned, there are good elements. Just not enough depth.

A MUST read!

This story was FANTASTIC! The Beautiful, the first book in this series was slow moving and I admit I had to force myself to finish. But the author blew this book out of the water!!! I'm already planning on listening to it a second time I enjoyed it so much!
I cant wait for book 3!

Wow!

What an ending, did not disappoint. I can’t wait for the next one. And the narration was excellent.

Boring Story but GREAT Narrator

I found this book pretty boring. It got interesting once it went into a different world but most of the time it’s just the characters monologuing their sadness which wouldn’t be a bad thing but it goes on and on and I want it to move on. Nice book cover and great narrator but boring story

I Was Not Expecting What Happened

Damn, I was not expecting any of what just happened! From start to finish, I was on the edge of my seat. Getting the perspectives of everyone who has been around Celine has been helpful in understanding of the events after The Beautiful. Renée Ahdieh surely knows how to weave every twist and turn to keep a reader in anticipation of what will happen next. I loved every moment and can't wait for more.

Great voice!

I loved this book!!! The narrator had a great voice, I can’t wait to continue the series!

Unexpected

This was an unexpected book for me. I thought I had a handle on what to expect after book one but this threw me for a loop. It was a tough one. Firstly that the pacing shifted and second there was so much added to the world in quick succession I never fully found my ground. However the action scenes sucked me in and I couldn’t help but be intrigued about what’s to come next. I did think this would be the end book and that was disappointing but I am glad there’s more story to come once I get over that feeling. Also the audio is divine and the accents are so so on point.

I wanted a little.... more

Don’t get me wrong. This book is amazing. It surpassed the first by leaps and bounds, but there was a lot of pining versus actual love between the main pair, not enough of the characters that were left out of the little adventure a trio takes, and there wasn’t a eureka moment more of just suddenly overcoming the main issue in the book because, well, why not just suddenly get rid of the biggest plot in the book to wrap it up? All in all, still very good but the ending was a little more than frustrating in a not pleasant cliffhanging way and now I want the third book ASAP.
The positives are that it was amazing as usual from Renee Ahdieh, the characters were still pretty solid to how their personalities were originally along with deeper insight, lots of character development, and some great side plots.