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.
This is the first of the Vampire Book Club picks that I've gotten to from before I joined. That's right, it's time I catch up on some of the prior club picks...so I can read the current club pick, the sequel to this book! I swear, I'll get to more of the previous club books (I'm especially interested in A Discovery of Witches), but this makes as good excuse as any, right? Honestly didn't know anything going in other than the cover was pretty, it has vampires, and the first line of the summary places it in the 1800s. What have I got to lose?
I think the best way to describe this book is Twilight* meets Romeo & Juliet, set in late-19th-century New Orleans, and infused with 500% more female empowerment.
Yeah, I know comparing a YA vampire romance to Twilight is pretty cliché at this point, but hear me out. The main character girl just moved to town and has most of the cast fawning over her; there's a love triangle between said girl and two boys; the romance plot uses hot & cold waffling, including the mysterious guy not wanting to show the girl his dark reality, telling her to stay away from him; the vampires all seem to have one unique ability apiece; and a villainous vampire takes aim at main girl, resulting in a climactic showdown. Sounds pretty familiar, right? Well, trust me that it was executed a LOT better.
This improvement was mostly accomplished by the main girl actually having a personality. Celine was complex, headstrong, witty, and ahead of her time. Constantly struggling with her want of freedom vs society's expectations of her, when she finds herself on the cusp of a world filled with danger she both fears and relishes it. A lot of her character arc revolves around self-discovery, healing and moving on from her past trauma, and figuring out what her goals are, both romantically and for life in general. Combine that with her intelligence and snark (which she often fights and fails to suppress) and I was in love.
For a penniless woman in the late 1800s, Celine wields a surprising amount of power. She's not on Wonder Woman's level, but that girl knows how to get things done. There are a couple times she attempts to use her feminine wiles, but when that method of persuasion falls flat she's often able to re-think her way through the situation. I mentioned in my Twilight comparison that the cast fawns over her, but that isn't entirely fair. Though her looks are striking, she usually earns the respect and admiration, and often agreement of others through her conversations with them. Whether you want to attribute her success to stubbornness, bravery, or just being a master of persuasion, she does have a knack for getting her way...
Which I'm hoping doesn't turn out to be supernatural. While there's no obvious tell that Celine has supernatural abilities, there are a couple implications of it. First off, Celine's mother, who is from Eastern Asia, is kept mostly secret, both from Celine, the rest of the world, and the reader. The in-world reasons are because mixed-marriages are extremely taboo during the time, and Celine passing as white instead of Asian is largely beneficial to her in society. But, knowing common YA tropes, her mother's early disappearance and father's secrecy about it could also stem from there being supernatural forces at play. I posit this due to one of the vampires statements about Celine being, “Her blood sings an unusual melody” [pg 393]. I mean, it's not that I'd hate her having some sort of supernatural power, it's just that it's been done before (*cough* Twilight *cough*) and I think it'd be WAY more impressive if Celine accomplished everything as an underdog (an intelligent, mixed-race woman in a time & society which values none of her), not as a super-powered being. But I guess we'll see in the future.
Something I am looking forward to having explored more are the vampires. Since this story is mostly from Celine's viewpoint, we don't get much information on the vampires and supernatural underground, with them only being glimpsed in the few chapters we get from Bastien or the unnamed antagonist who pops in every now and again. I always love learning the lore and politics behind these supernatural societies, what their governing looks like, how these beings originate or procreate, and though we don't many solid facts so far, I'm intrigued by the prospects that have been hinted at. I mentioned the similarities with Twilight in their uniquely powered individuals, but how their powers actually work and how they factor in to the world as a whole has yet to be fully explained. And since the next book seems to promise more action in this supernatural world, I'm excited to see what we get next.
The romance was admittedly a bit lackluster, showing a lot of its inspirations, but still worked for me. I think the main draw was its slow burn, the lack of toxicity and co-dependence, and the fact that all the players were sufficiently fleshed out. Sure, there was instant attraction to each-other's looks, but it was their actions and thoughts that eventually established their relationships. Yes, plural, because both halves of the love triangle are equally tantalizing, both for Celine and the reader. One offers the allure of mystery and freedom, while the other promises more security and societal acceptance, but both men seem to truly appreciate and respect Celine for her mind, and neither seems eager to stifle her. So while the narrative definitely shows a bias toward one of the suitors, I wouldn't be too surprised to see Celine (and readers) choosing the other.
But the loverboys aren't the only supporting characters for our lead, as Celine is also blessed with some awesome gal pals. Pippa, who accompanied Celine on her journey South to New Orleans, is a fantastic girlfriend to her: commiserating about their underprivileged status, sharing in her jokes, and stating her unwavering support and forgiveness for any past sins, even when Celine isn't ready to divulge all her secrets yet, aiming to ever be a shoulder she can fall back on. Odette, on the other hand, shows her support of Celine's future endeavors, aiming to be a financial backer and opener of doors into a new life in New Orleans. Being a renegade of sorts herself, she's quick to nurture the kindred spirit of adventure and freedom that Celine fights to keep in check, and I loved every minute she was present. Even when Celine has issues isolating her from each of the girls, she always seems to find their friendship a constant she can trust. And since that isn't something I can always expect in romances, this story definitely earned some brownie points in my book.
With Odette also comes representation, specifically the large variety of minorities in the main cast: Celine is Caucasian/Asian; Bastien seems to be Hispanic/Black; Michael Grimaldi, the detective in charge of the murders is Italian; many of Bastien's crew are non-white; and Odette is lesbian. Race and prejudice isn't a main subject in this story, but that's largely because the primary cast are all white- or straight-passing. Celine has been taught from as far back as she can remember not to reveal her mother's heritage, that doing so would rob her of the few opportunities she still has. Bastien is described as "bronzed", but otherwise has to reveal his lineage himself, as he does when a prospective business partner is about to spout a racial slur. Odette is seen as merely eccentric in her social circles, what with her penchant for wearing pants, but gossip seems to have her paired with Bastien.
The only true racial tension or commentary comes following the murder of the convent girl when Arjun, one of Bastien's crew, offers to serve as Celine and Pippa's legal help:
“I know the law inside and out, even if I’m not permitted to practice it.”It's unfortunately a kind of blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but it did strike me nonetheless. It's one of those things that it's nice to see mentioned, even when the story doesn't necessarily center around it, because it makes it that much more real and seen. It reminds me of a conversation about one of the Dragon Age games, where one person was stating how much they appreciated racism and sexism was addressed in the game, and the other person was confused because they hadn't seen any of it—that second person had chosen a male human avatar, whereas the first had chosen a female of a non-human race (I want to say dwarf or elf), and thus their stories were inherently different because one was of the dominant gender and race, while the other was a minority. In a lot of these stories, you see only what you expect to see: a white male character can go around doing whatever he wants because every opportunity is open to him; whereas a female or minority character is immediately beset with extra hurdles blocking their goals, if they're even attainable at all.
A quizzical expression passed across Pippa’s features. “I don’t understand.”
“More’s the pity.” Another punishing grin took shape on his face. “My skin is not the right color, Miss Montrose, nor is my parentage. Surely you of all people understand that.”
“Excuse me?” She blinked, consternation clouding her gaze.
“Based on your accent, I’d wager you’re from Yorkshire. A proper English girl, through and through.”
Color flooded Pippa’s cheeks. “Yes, I’m from Yorkshire.”
“Then you’re no doubt well aware that a scraper from East India would never be permitted to work as a barrister in any circle of significance.” Tucking his bowler hat beneath his arm, Arjun stored the coriander cutting inside the breast pocket of his grey frock coat. “That’s by design, in case you didn’t know.” He laughed to himself.
“Not all of us believe in such notions,” Pippa said softly.
“That may be true,” he said, “but all of you definitely benefit from it.” [pg 161]
I guess all of this is to say, I really appreciated the visibility given to the struggles women faced during that time, all the etiquette they were forced to follow and bullshit they had to wade through just to achieve the freedom and mobility that men seemed to take for granted. And having a white-passing minority character also allowed for the same visibility and insight into more issues of prejudice and inequality, though only as a bystander. I'm hoping, once again, that more will be explored along these lines in the future, especially if Celine's heritage comes to play a larger part. At the same time, I do have to resign myself to historical accuracy—in other words, I can't expect society as a whole to suddenly renounce racism or sexism just because these characters are awesome and deserve it. But who knows?
Overall, this book blew me away. Sure, the comparison wasn't exactly a high bar to clear, but the characters and the themes all just seemed to hit me just right to make me love this book. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA, historical fiction in the 19th century, paranormal romance, gothic horror, and especially strong female characters. So, with my heart full of hope and high expectations, I now turn to the sequel which, even if it weren't this month's club pick, I don't think I could bare to wait for.
*I know the sequel, New Moon actually drew inspiration from Romeo & Juliet, and that it also technically introduced the love triangle, but since the first book shares more plot elements, I stand by my statement.
Read by Lauren Ezzo
Unabridged Length: 13.2 Hours
Listened at 2x Speed
Unabridged Length: 13.2 Hours
Listened at 2x Speed
Phew, was I glad to have someone who knew French reading this, cause there was no way I would have been able to pronounce a good chunk of this book. Well, I probably still can't, but at least I know how all the names are pronounced. Between having a French main character and a historical New Orleans being the setting, it's no wonder that there was a ton of French language and accents throughout.
Speaking of accents, Ms. Ezzo had quite a lot to grapple with here. I'm sure it must have been a bit daunting to be thrown into a book with six girls from five different countries all in the first chapter, but I thought the accents all sounded distinct and well-executed. I do think Pippa's English accent and Anabel's Scottish one started to blend a bit, but not enough that I was ever confused (though that was also helped by Anabel's verbosity). But unique accent or no, each character was masterfully brought to life. I especially loved the mad-sounding hissing whispers given to the nameless antagonist during their chapters.
Overall, I have no complaints. A stellar narration, nailing tons of accents and emotions, was enough to put this production in my recommendations, to say nothing of its value as a pronunciation guide. With the emoting, especially in horror and action scenes, the volume and speed of reading does go up a bit, so that's something to keep in mind if you're not reading along, or at an increased playback speed. But if you're looking for an audio that offers a solid voice performance, this one should definitely be on your short list.
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