#sébastien saint germain

[teragames]

El Paris Saint-Germain se asocia con el juego blockchain Brilliantcrypto

Brilliantcrypto, la empresa de videojuegos de blockchain del grupo COLOPL, ha firmado un contrato de asociación global que durará hasta junio de 2025 con el club de fútbol de primera categoría @PSG_Inside.

Brilliantcrypto se ha asociado con el club de fútbol internacional Paris Saint-Germain como ‘Socio Premium Oficial‘. Comenta Sébastien Wasels, director general del Paris Saint-Germain en Asia-Pacífico: “Estamos encantados de recibir a Brilliantcrypto como nuevo Socio Premium del Paris Saint-Germain. Esta asociación representa el duodécimo acuerdo firmado por la oficina del club en Asia-Pacífico…

[flowerish-cherry-blue]

book review: the beautiful by renée ahdieh | 2019

summary:

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.

my opinion:

wow, it may have taken me a little while to read it, but geez, that was good. the author's style and language surprised me, all the descriptions, the intrigue... It was something.

i didn't immediately realize where this book was supposed to be about vampires, as that part was revealed almost at the end. and overall I started reading because it was in top rated for vampires. gosh, and that raft twist about the killer － i know that so many authors who write about that time use that trick, kind of making the killer look like jack the ripper. and even though it sounds fullish, I like it a lot, it adds a kind of detective flavor that i sometimes miss in books.

as i noted above, i enjoyed the language and writing style of renée ahdieh, for those who are non-native speakers like me, I think this is a great opportunity to improve vocabulary, honestly.

by the way, i want to note that before this, i did not come across books with a setting in new orleans - i think it's a pity that i read the story about this city so late. as someone who is obsessed with french culture and writing stories about it, i was incredibly happy to get a taste of how french culture permeated this city, which seemed to me to be a direct embodiment of melting pot.

perhaps i should point out the following, because books always have two sides, just like coins:

• as i said, i liked the author's language, it will help those who are learning the language. but at the same time, that was the problem. as a non-native speaker, it was sometimes very difficult to wade through the pages of descriptions. just imagine, four pages, of descriptions of some closet. !not literally!

• the plot, this is going to sound strange, but it was a little primitive. just a little bit. and i don't see anything wrong with that in this case. but literally from the introduction chapter of the killer, i knew it was a jack the ripper protégé. when celine and bastien crossed paths, i understood who is with whom, and i also get who pippa will be with, literally one meeting of the four was enough for me.

• again, i really liked the new orleans setting - how many times have i read about london, paris and new york? it was something new to me that i really enjoyed and i can't wait to read more about the history of this city.

• i was a little disappointed in the choice of character who turned out to be a murderer. i swear i thought detective grimaldi or nico saint germain was the killer: michael is bastien's nemesis, nicodemus － why not. I was saddened by the introduction of an unknown character as the killer, and certainly his puppet didn't seem like a good choice at all.

• you can kill me all you want, but nicodemus saint germain is not a pleasant character. i was waiting for him to show up after the description odette provided, but here he is and the first thing he does is threaten celine, trying to intimidate her. then he refuses to save his own nephew, literally the whole court of the lions was built to protect sébastien and here, he twirls his nose, saying that if he helps, all his efforts will go to waste. oh man, i thought better of you and now, are you kidding me?

finishing, i highly recommend reading this book. seriously, I haven't read such a good vampire book for a long, well except for the coldest girl in coldtown, that's the number one favorite, but we'll talk about it next time maybe. this book has everything i love, from enemies to lovers, vampires, magic, and most importantly humor, it was really entertaining to read this book.

my rating:

4.4/5

«a snake?» pippa squeaked, looking for all the world as if she wanted to melt into the paneled wall at her back. «what kind of person has a pet snake?»

«lucifer,» celine said in a flat voice. «lucifer would have a pet snake.»

[pedroccitti]

Angers sporting club Saïd Chabane Gérald Baticle, Bordeaux Football Club des Girondins Gérard Lopez Vladimir Petkovic, Brest Stade brestois Denis Le Saint Michel Der Zakarian, Clermont-Ferrand Clermont Foot Ahmet Schaefer Pascal Gastien, Lens Racing Club Joseph Oughourlian Franck Haise, Lille LOSC Olivier Létang Jocelyn Gourvennec, Lorient Loïc Féry Christophe Pélissier, Lyon OL Olympique lyonnais Jean-Michel Aulas Peter Bosz, Olympique de Marseille OM Pablo Longoria Jorge Sampaoli, Metz Football Club Bernard Serin Frédéric Antonetti, Monaco AS Association sportive Monaco FC Dmitri Rybolovlev Niko Kovac, Montpellier-Herault Sport Club Laurent Nicollin Olivier Dall'Oglio, Nantes Football Club Waldemar Kita Antoine Kombouare, Nice OGC Jean-Pierre Rivère Christophe Galtier, Paris PSG Nasser Al-Khelaifi Mauricio Pochettino Kylian Mbappé Lionel Messi Neymar da Silva, Reims Stade de Reims Jean-Pierre Caillot Oscar Garcia, Rennes Stade rennais Football Club Nicolas Holveck Bruno Genesio, Saint-Étienne ASSE Association sportive Roland Romeyer Bernard Caïazzo Claude Puel, Strasbourg Racing Club de Strasbourd Alsace Marc Keller Julien Stephan, Troyes Simon Cliff Laurent Battles Ajaccio AC Athletic Club Ajaccien Christian Lecat Olivier Pantaloni, Amiens Sporting Club Football bernard Joannin Philippe Hinschberger, Auxerre James Zhou Jean-Marc Furlan, Bastia SC Sporting Club Claude Ferrandi Mathieu Chabert, Caen Stade Malherbe Olivier Pickeu Stéphane Moulin, Dunkerque Union Sportive du Littoral Jean-Pierre Scouarnec Romain Revelli, Dijon Football Côte-d'Or Olivier Delcourt David Linares, Grenoble Foot 38 Stéphane Rosnoblet Maurizio Jacobacci, Guingamp En Avant Fred Legrand Stéphane Dumont, Le Havre Athletic Club Football Vincent Volpe Paul Le Guen, Nancy Association Sportive Nancy-Lorraine Jacques Rousselot Daniel Stendel, Nîmes Olympique Rani Assaf Pascal Plancque, Niort Chamois Niortais Football Club Guy Cotret Sébastien Desabre, Paris FC Pierre Ferracci Thierry Laurey, Pau Football Club Bernard Laporte-Fray Didier Tholot, Quevilly-Rouen Union Sportive Michel Mallet Bruno Irles, Rodez Aveyron Football Club Pierre-Olivier Murat Laurent Peyrelade, Sochaux Football Club Frankie Yau Omar Daf, Toulouse Football Club Damien Comolli Philippe Montanier, Valenciennes Football Club Eddy Zdziech Olivier Guegan 24h du Mans Alice Pérésan-Roudil Amazon Avatar Barbie Batman Beyonce Black Mirror Bordeaux Boulevard Voltaire Cannes Champion League Chargé de création graphique Chat GPT Château Circuit Bugatti Coupe du Monde Damien Bridonneau Didier Deschamps Didier Raoult Disney Dua Lipa Elon Musk Emmanuel Macron Eurovision Fasting Féminicide Football Gérald Darmanin Gérard Depardieu Gilbert Bordes Guillaume Musso Incendie Inflation Instagram Jean-Luc Mélenchon Jeux olympiques Johnny Depp Jordan Bardella Justine Triet Keto diet Ligue 1 Liverpool Lizzo Margo Robbie Marine Le Pen Marseille Marvel Mediapart Monster energy Mylène Farmer Netflix Nicolas Sarkozy Novak Djokovic NUPES Olivier Dussopt Olivier Véran Olympic games Olympics Olympique de Marseille OMAD Paris Paris 2024 Paris Saint-Germain PSG Qatar Rodez Roman Polanski Retraites Russia Russie Sandrine Rousseau Sécheresse Star Wars Succession Taylor Swift The Office Tik Tok Ukraine Union Unionizing Virginie Grimaldi Woke Wokiste

[freelance-informatique]

Kolo Muani à Manchester : Les Red Devils prêt à mettre 120M € !

Le jeune attaquant français est en train d'attirer l'attention des cadors européens. Randal Kolo Muani ne cesse d'impressionner, si bien que Manchester United serait prêt à investir énormément sur le joueur. On parle d'une offre formelle qui sera transmise dans les prochains jours. Une offre de 120M € pour attirer le joueur à Manchester United L'Eintracht a confirmé que Muani avait changé de conseiller, ce qui a suscité des spéculations sur son avenir au club. Le dernier rapport sur le sujet provient du journal allemand "Bild". Manchester United serait en train de préparer une offre considérable pour le jeune attaquant français de 24 ans. Il est actuellement le meilleur buteur du SGE. Si les responsables du club allemand décidaient de le vendre, cela pourrait constituer un montant record. Lire aussi : Mercato de Manchester : Ten Hag veut se séparer de 6 joueurs ! D'après ces sources, Manchester United serait en train de préparer une offre extrêmement lucrative de 120 millions d'euros pour le transfert de Randal Kolo Muani. Bien que certains rapports indiquent qu'un montant de plus de 100 millions d'euros suffirait à persuader le club allemand de céder le joueur. Le directeur sportif Markus Krösche avait déjà déclaré en janvier de cette année qu'il refuserait également une offre de 100 millions. Une des plus grosses ventes potentielles en Bundesliga Bien que Manchester United soit en pourparlers pour faire une offre pour Randal Kolo Muani, d'autres cadors sont par ailleurs intéressés par le joueur. Le Paris Saint-Germain, par exemple, aurait envisagé de faire une offre pour Kolo Muani. Il qui est sous contrat avec l'Eintracht Frankfurt jusqu'en 2027 après son transfert gratuit l'année dernière. Il a fait partie de la belle aventure de l'Équipe de France en Coupe du Monde et son talent a attiré l'attention des clubs du monde entier. Ce qui rend incertain son avenir à Francfort. Lire aussi : Manchester United à fond sur Victor Osimhen et Gonçalo Ramos ! Il convient de noter que si la vente de Randal Kolo Muani à Manchester United pour un montant de 120 millions d'euros était conclue, cela serait l'une des plus grosses ventes de l'histoire de la Bundesliga. Mais ne serait pas la plus chère à ce jour. Actuellement, l'ancien joueur de Dortmund, Ousmane Dembélé, détient ce titre avec un montant total de 140 millions d'euros. Ce montant comprend des versements supplémentaires liés à des performances à payer au fil des ans. Cependant, si l'on ne prend en compte que les frais de transfert initiaux de 105 millions d'euros à l'époque, ceux-ci dépasseraient encore la proposition actuelle de Manchester United pour Randal Kolo Muani. Les ventes les plus chères de l'histoire de Francfort Bastien Oczipka à Schalke | Frais de transfert : 4,5 millions d'euros Marius Wolf au BVB | Frais de transfert : 5 millions d'euros Ante Rebic à l'AC Milan | Frais de transfert : 6,7 millions d'euros Carlos Salcedo des Tigres de l'UANL : 8,8 millions. € Kévin Trapp  au PSG | Frais de transfert : 9,5 millions d'euros Filip Kostic à la Juventus | Frais de transfert : 13 millions d'euros André Silva au RB Leipzig | Frais de transfert : 23 millions d'euros Sébastien Haller à West Ham | Frais de transfert : 50 millions d'euros Luka Jović au Real Madrid | Frais de transfert : 63 millions d'euros Lire aussi : Quel est l'avenir de l'équipe de France après la finale perdue ? ________ Pour retrouver toute l'actu foot, rendez-vous sur notre site web ou sur notre page Twitter. Read the full article

[mot-hesbian]

Y'all, The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh really is just Twilight with more horror based vampires, murder mystery, and lots of queer coding.

It is quite literally the gayest thing I've ever read.

Also, poc and proper representation galore!!!

[smallville88]

#TheBeautiful

Monday June 29th let’s read or re-read The Beautiful!! Let’s get ready for #TheDamned 🌹🌹!!!

[shewholovesvillains]

Just read The beautiful by Renée Ahdieh and I am officially in love with odette.

[splendidenolwenn]

TOURNEE | “Gemme Tour” - Saint-Germain-en-Laye

Un 28 septembre inoubliable à l’image de celle qui transforme chaque instant en souvenir impérissable...

De toutes les dates du Gemme Tour, celle-ci était certainement la plus incontournable et la plus attendue. Une soirée à l’ambiance unique et particulière où l’amour du public était plus fort que jamais...

C’est ainsi que Nolwenn, émue et épanouie, a pu fêter ce jour entourée de tous ces cœurs venus lui chanter à l’unisson un “Joyeux anniversaire”. 🎂💋

Une pluie de gemmes et de sourires pour célébrer celle qui nous unit depuis déjà seize années... Celle qui nous livre chaque jour sa plus belle histoire...

Sans oublier la présence exceptionnelle de son équipe dont l’enthousiasme, le talent et la générosité se ressent sur scène chaque soir. Et dont la bienveillance à l’égard de Nolwenn nous rassure et nous inspire confiance. Une Dream Team des plus rares... 🤘🎶

Happy Birthday à notre “Rebel Rebel”... ✨💎💜

[poleteli]

Департамент Париж, Иль-де-Франс, Франция 

Себастьен Поллак | Фотография | Карта

На нашем сайте есть дешёвые авиабилеты в Париж из Москвы и других городов.

[rockislandadultreads]

Books that aren’t Twilight but you’ll still love: a list

Crave by Tracy Wolff

My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me. Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me. Which could spell death for us all. Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Welcome to Mexico City, an oasis in a sea of vampires. Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting street kid, is just trying to survive its heavily policed streets when a jaded vampire on the run swoops into his life. Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers, is smart, beautiful, and dangerous. Domingo is mesmerized. Atl needs to quickly escape the city, far from the rival narco-vampire clan relentlessly pursuing her. Her plan doesn't include Domingo, but little by little, Atl finds herself warming up to the scrappy young man and his undeniable charm. As the trail of corpses stretches behind her, local cops and crime bosses both start closing in. Vampires, humans, cops, and criminals collide in the dark streets of Mexico City. Do Atl and Domingo even stand a chance of making it out alive? Or will the city devour them all?

The Gilda Stories by Jewelle L. Gómez

This remarkable novel begins in 1850s Louisiana, where Gilda escapes slavery and learns about freedom while working in a brothel. After being initiated into eternal life as one who "shares the blood" by two women there, Gilda spends the next two hundred years searching for a place to call home. An instant lesbian classic when it was first published in 1991, The Gilda Stories has endured as an auspiciously prescient book in its explorations of blackness, radical ecology, re-definitions of family, and yes, the erotic potential of the vampire story.

The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh

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.

[fieldofproses]

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The Beautiful by 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 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.

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

[thebookshelfmonster]

🦁La Cour des Lions. Rawrr.🦁 From Lestat de Lioncourt in Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire to Sébastien Saint Germain’s la cour des lions in Renée Adieh’s The Beautiful, New Orleans’s fictional vampires seem to have a long literary history of leonine associations. Did you catch the gorgeous lion engraving on the clothbound hardcover of The Beautiful? #neworleans #neworleanshomes #neworleansbooks #frenchquarter #frenchquartervampires #thebeautiful #annerice #reneeahdieh #annericebooks #thevampirelestat #interviewwiththevampire #vampirebooks #vampireromance #romancebooks #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booklover #booklove #booknerd #annericefan #gothicliterature #vampireliterature #darkfantasy #bookclub #bookcommunity #bookishcoven #bookblogger (at FrenchQuarter NewOrleans) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTJEmfbLdgk/?utm_medium=tumblr

[etiennedaho]

Sébastien Monod, auteur et à l’origine du groupe Pop Zone sur Facebook, consacre à Livre à Étienne Daho à paraître en novembre chez Chicmédias Éditions et Médiapop Éditions. Ce livre est plus particulièrement centré sur les citations artistiques qui parsèment son œuvre. Tout au long de sa carrière, en plus de la musique, ED s’est inspiré du cinéma, de la littérature, de la peinture ou de la photo pour enrichir ses chansons et donner une couleur particulière à ses pochettes de disques ou à ses clips. Voilà pourquoi j’ai choisi d’intituler cet ouvrage Dahovision(s). Car au fil des années, Étienne a dévoilé plusieurs aspects de sa personnalité, plein de petites étincelles qui, comme une boule à facettes, irradient le monde de la pop depuis 40 ans.En près de 400 pages, Dahovision(s) s’attarde sur ces quatre décennies : album après album, il raconte le parcours de celui qui n’a cessé de creuser son sillon musical, avec passion et authenticité. Sur ce sillon sont gravées des chansons, mais aussi des collaborations. J’ai décidé de donner la parole à celles et ceux qui ont croisé sa route, chanteuses, chanteurs, musiciens, réalisateurs, comédiens... Étienne lui-même a eu la gentillesse de m’accorder un peu de son temps pour éclairer certaines de mes interrogations et agrémenter mon propos. Son interview est reproduite en fin d’ouvrage.Cet ouvrage contient un portfolio de 14 pages comprenant quelques-unes des superbes photographies prises par Nicolas Comment, en juin dernier à La Louisiane, hôtel situé à Saint-Germain-des-Prés et chanté dans Hôtel des infidèles. Il me faut aussi évoquer le très beau travail de Christophe Lavergne qui m’a confié les illustrations réalisées pour une série de cartes postales vendues durant le Blitz Tour. Il a bien voulu en créer deux nouvelles, celle du best of Singles et de Surf.Dahovision(s) s’achève avec le compte rendu de la master class qui s’est tenue cet été lors du Festival International de Films de Fribourg, présenté comme un carnet de route et contenant la quasi-totalité de l’intervention d’Étienne.Ce livre sera disponible le 19 novembre prochain en librairie et sur Internet au prix de 32,00 €, il est néanmoins possible de l’obtenir avant grâce à un système de précommandes mises en place par les éditeurs dès aujourd’hui. Cela vous permettra de découvrir Dahovision(s) deux semaines avant tout le monde, et en plus les frais de port vous seront offerts ! Rendez-vous sans plus tarder sur l’un ou l’autre des sites ci-dessous, l’offre ayant une durée limitée :

- https://shop.chicmedias.com/.../dahovisions-sebastien.../

- https://mediapop-editions.fr/catalogue/dahovisions/ N’hésitez pas à en parler autour de vous et à partager cette annonce !

[richincolor]

We have five books on our radar this week! Are any of them on your TBR list?

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert Disney-Hyperion

Marva Sheridan was born ready for this day. She’s always been driven to make a difference in the world, and what better way than to vote in her first election?

Duke Crenshaw is so done with this election. He just wants to get voting over with so he can prepare for his band’s first paying gig tonight.

Only problem? Duke can’t vote.

When Marva sees Duke turned away from their polling place, she takes it upon herself to make sure his vote is counted. She hasn’t spent months doorbelling and registering voters just to see someone denied their right. And that’s how their whirlwind day begins, rushing from precinct to precinct, cutting school, waiting in endless lines, turned away time and again, trying to do one simple thing: vote. They may have started out as strangers, but as Duke and Marva team up to beat a rigged system (and find Marva’s missing cat), it’s clear that there’s more to their connection than a shared mission for democracy.

Romantic and triumphant, The Voting Booth is proof that you can’t sit around waiting for the world to change--but some things are just meant to be.

Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars #2) by Elizabeth Lim Knopf

The thrilling sequel to SPIN THE DAWN, a magical series steeped in Chinese culture.

Maia Tamarin’s journey to sew the dresses of the sun, the moon and the stars has taken a grievous toll. She returns to a kingdom on the brink of war. The boy she loves is gone, and she is forced to don the dress of the sun and assume the place of the emperor’s bride-to-be to keep the peace.

But the war raging around Maia is nothing compared to the battle within. Ever since she was touched by the demon Bandur, she has been changing . . . glancing in the mirror to see her own eyes glowing red, losing control of her magic, her body, her mind. It’s only a matter of time before Maia loses herself completely, but she will stop at nothing to find Edan, protect her family, and bring lasting peace to her country.

YA fantasy readers will love the sizzling forbidden romance, mystery, and intrigue of UNRAVEL THE DUSK.

The Damned (The Beautiful #2) by Renée Ahdieh G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

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 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.

All These Monsters (Monsters #1) by Amy Tintera HMH Books for Young Readers

Seventeen-year-old Clara is ready to fight back. Fight back against her abusive father, fight back against the only life she’s ever known, and most of all, fight back against scrabs, the earth-dwelling monsters that are currently ravaging the world. So when an opportunity arises for Clara to join an international monster-fighting squad, she jumps at the chance.

When Clara starts training with her teammates, however, she realizes what fighting monsters really means: sore muscles, exhaustion, and worst of all, death. Scrabs are unpredictable, violent, and terrifying. But as Clara gains confidence in her battle skills, she starts to realize scrabs might not be the biggest evil. The true monsters are the ones you least expect.

Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron Bloomsbury YA

It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.

Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew . . .

This fresh take on a classic story will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the constructs of the world around them.

[buryme-makeoutcreek]

Book Review:

Rating: 2.5/5

Title: The Beautiful.

Author: Renee Ahdieh

Pages: 448

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton.

Summary:

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.

Okay, can we just make it a rule that YA characters can’t quote Shakespeare anymore? I picked up this book because of it’s lovely cover and because I haven’t been able to read any of Ahdieh’s other books yet. And I was super pumped, a historical fiction book set in New Orleans with forbidden love and vampires?? Great! But unfortunately while Ahdieh delivered on all those aspects of the story the plot and dialogue felt tired out and like I’d read them a hundred times before. How many times do we have to use corsets as a symbol of female oppression??? 

Beyond that while I found the characters to be well developed and interesting on their own, their relationships and chemistry with each other just felt off. I’m not a fan of reading forbidden romances where I don’t actually care if the couple is together. And the love triangle that was teased throughout felt too forced.

I did like the prose writing of Ahdieh and would like to check out another of her books to give a fair assessment of her writing. Another thing I also really liked was how diverse the cast of characters were, which is sadly all too rare in YA historical fiction. Another things that I also liked is the massive plot twist that happened in the end that I won’t spoil here, it definitely made me gasp.

Overall, while this book might not have been for me I think it would be good for someone who is into vampire stories or “bad boy” main characters.

[bookloveravenue]

The Beautiful series (book 2): The Damned by Renée Ahdieh

New York Times bestselling author Renée Ahdieh returns with the second installment of her new sumptuous, sultry and romantic series, 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 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.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53131137-the-damned

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July 10, 2020

My Review: 5/5 Stars

So I have to start off by saying that I highly recommend you read the first book or re-read the first book before you open this one. I meant to re-read The Beautiful and I didn't and I regret it because I could only recall certain bits and pieces of it. It slowly came back as I was reading, but I know I could have benefited from a re-read. With that said, this book was still great! Picking up shortly from the last book, this book doesn't just follow Celine, it follows multiple characters in the series. We actually don't hear from Celine for a while. A lot of the story comes from Bastien, who is struggling with his new life as an immortal. He doesn't wish to be one and all he wants is to be with Celine, but even that has been taken away. Celine can't recall what actually happened to her. How she gained all these injuries. And when it comes down to it, that is all she wants to know. The truth. Because she is tired of the bits and pieces and really tired of everyone lying to her. The story covers a lot of ground on the supernatural. Lots of revelations. Lots of points of views from different characters and their roles. And after everything went down and what happened, there is just one big question for me. Is there more coming to this series? Honestly, there has to be. The story ended with a somewhat cliffhanger. And when I say that, I mean more like there were still a lot of unanswered questions. Not just about what next for Celine and Bastien, but for the other characters as well. Stories still to be told. I'm taking that as there is more to come and I honestly can't wait.