The Righteous by Renee Ahdieh - OPTIONAL

The Righteous (Beautiful, #3) by Renee Ahdieh, 415 pages. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin), 2021. $20. 

Language: R (17 swears; 4 ‘f’); Mature Content: R (On page sex, multiple sexual references); Violence: PG-13 (torture). 

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Pippa deeply misses her best friend Celine and believes that she can get to the bottom of Celine’s disappearance. Pippa quickly finds herself on a journey into the fey world, where everything has two meanings and Pippa is unsure if she can untangle the magic and fey mischief. Pippa’s pathway into the fey world was through a Vale that Arjun Desai, a half fey, has opened in his own quest to help his dear friend Odette from experiencing the final death. Arjun and Pippa cross paths and they have undeniable chemistry. 

Ahdieh writes great characters in amazing settings, and I have enjoyed the entire series. I felt like this storyline departs from the rest of the series and takes place in a new world with minor characters, making it feel a bit detached from the rest of the series. Once I accepted the new direction, I fell into the story with Pippa and Arjun. Their chemistry is a slow build with great adventure along the way. The content makes this optional, and this appeals to those who are already invested in the series, but if your readers have liked the other books, they will enjoy this one as well. 

Reviewer, C. Peterson.