The Beautiful Ones

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a sweeping historical romance, perfect for everyone who wishes Bridgerton had just a dash of magic...

'Whenever I want to read a book I know will be good, I go to Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Her genres are ever changing, her ability to take on a wild story each time is incredible' Taylor Jenkins-Reid, author of Daisy Jones and the Six

They are the Beautiful Ones, Loisail's most notable socialites, and this spring is Nina's chance to join their ranks, courtesy of her well-connected cousin and his calculating wife. But the Grand Season has just begun and already Nina's debut has gone disastrously awry. She has always struggled to control her telekinesis, which has made her the subject of malicious gossip.

But Nina's life is about to change. Tthere is a new arrival in town: Hector Auvray, the renowned entertainer, who has used his own telekinetic talent to perform for admiring audiences around the world. Nina is dazzled by Hector, who seems to understand her potential. Under his tutelage, Nina's talent blossoms - as do her feelings for him.

But great romances are for fairy-tales, and Hector is hiding a secret bitter truth from Nina - and himself - that threatens their love.

The Beautiful Ones is a glittering tale of love, power, charm and manners, set in a world where scandal is a razor-sharp weapon.

• ISBN10: 1529416108
• ISBN13: 9781529416107
• Publish Date: 27 April 2021 (first published 24 October 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Arcadia Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[RoXXie]

The Beautiful Ones ♦ Silvia Moreno-Garcia | Review

The Beautiful Ones is my first book of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and I was left delighted afterwards. In all honesty, I don’t believe Silvia Moreno-Garcia is capable of producing a subpar book. I have read multiple other reviews of other books she already published. And lucky for me, I already have three more of her books here patiently waiting.

The Beautiful Ones ♦ Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Opinion

The story of The Beautiful Ones revolves around two telekinetic characters named Hector Auvrey and Nina Beaulieu. Although Nina has spent her entire life in the country, her cousin, Gaétan Beaulieu and his wife, Valérie Beaulieu, bring her to the city, so she can mingle with the socialites also known as The Beautiful Ones. Hector, who also happens to be the wife’s betrayed boyfriend, uses Nina’s quest to learn more about her abilities as a chance to rekindle his relationship with Valérie.

I’m not sure how to express how much I adored this book. In a fascinating unique style, it combines different genre — and it made me fall in love with this mix of historical fantasy romance. Silvia Moreno-Garcia also does a fantastic job of bringing this universe to life. The setting is very intriguing, and I nearly felt as though I was right there with the characters. Which are flawless, as well as her world building.
 

»The world remained and there was something remarkably comforting about this thought, since heartbreak often invoked images of cataclysms that would devour every speck of ground beneath one’s feet.«

― Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Beautiful Ones, p. 134

 

There was also the romance between Nina and Hector, and I could feel all those emotions. The age difference did bother me a little, because it was hard to tell Hector’s age. The author never revealed that about him. Therefore, I just hoped both were just a decade apart. Besides that, I adored them to pieces. With all the drama and the second chances, and Hector ultimately learning to live in the here and now and to leave the past behind, it just hit all the perfect notes for me. Even now, pondering that I want to reread should say a lot about this book.

 

"You are beautiful, Valérie. I don’t think you’ll ever cease to be beautiful, and you’ll continue to drive men crazy with your beauty. But there is no goodness in you, just poison, and a desire to wound", he said without malice, as if he were explaining a difficult arithmetic operation.

― Silvia Moreno-Garcia, The Beautiful Ones, p. 219

 

Valérie’s lack of depth as a villain is probably the only thing I have to criticize. Not that I cared much for this character, but there were occasions when a tiny feeling of pity rose up inside of me for her. But every next move or word of her extinguished this little flame over and over again. Honestly, it’s a very odd situation I hardly find myself in while reading a book. But Valérie’s character gave me mixed emotions of feeling sadly sympathetic with her, but also hating her to the core. There was simply no kindness from her in the midst of everything, which is what I was hoping for. Nevertheless, her character didn’t ruin the book for me. But on the contrary, it gave the whole plot and pace the right spice, which made me cheer for Nina and Hector even more and to see Valérie go down and swallow her own poison.

 

Conclusion

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Beautiful Ones is basically a passionate, fast-paced romance with the magic of telekinesis peppered throughout. It just works, and I’m not sure how. Just don’t ask. But believe me, when I say: Silvia Moreno-Garcia is that gifted as a writer.

 

This review was first published at The Art of Reading.

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

The Beautiful Ones is a genre-crossing atmospheric YA romance with elements of magical realism by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Released 27th April 2021 by Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 304 pages and is available in most formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a very well written but slowly developing narrative about family, love, loyalty, social constraints and expectations with magic. The author is quite adept at her craft and her command of narrative prose is exceptional and impressive. Despite that, I found my interest flagging at several points. It took much longer to finish reading than it should have and my overall impressions were no doubt negatively impacted by having picked it up and put it down over a period of months (I generally finish books in one or two sittings).

There is an overarching grand theatrical feeling to the work which, although unquestionably original, called to mind Wuthering Heights, Pride & Prejudice, and with a shading of tortured Russian grand literature. My difficulty with the reading was at least partly due to the antipathy I felt toward the deeply unhappy character Valerie.

Beautifully well written. It didn't enthrall me. Three and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Quirky Cat]

I received an advanced copy of the Beautiful Ones from Net Galley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Beautiful Ones is a fantasy and romance novel, all in one, blending Pride and Prejudice and the Illusionist (the movie) into an intriguing character driven story. Add a dash of betrayal and revenge and you’ve got a good understanding of the feel of this novel. It is described as a fantasy novel, but in truth it is more of a romance novel, so be sure to be expecting that when you start reading.



I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting when I began this novel (perhaps a retelling of some sort), but it certainly isn’t what I got. While the tones reminded me of many different things, it still managed to stand alone and be its own element.
The Beautiful Ones is a bit lighter on the fantasy than I anticipated, and readers who are not fans of a slow buildup style story will probably find this too dawdling. I personally greatly enjoyed the time spent on character and plot development. Though I’ll admit some disappointment about the minimal use of telekinesis in the story - while brought up frequently, it skirts the line between fantasy and magic tricks. The ability comes into play once during a pivotal moment, but otherwise is relegated to background status.
The characters were minimal in number, but great in depth and development. All were very human, a fact that is especially evident whenever one of them would make a mistake. While I didn’t agree with all the decisions the characters made, it was hard not to sympathize with their reasoning (with the exception of Valerie that is. No sympathy for her). Though Hector blatantly using Nina was a bit tough to swallow – especially when you see just how innocent Nina really is (I was worried that this would permanently alter her outlook, but thankfully she’s stronger than that).
I quickly grew to love despising Valerie, while cheering for Hector to get his life back on track (ideally with Nina). She was the ideal villain for the novel – being the antithesis to Nina in every way while still actively trying to stand in Hector’s way (her inability to share a person with any other being shows how truly conceited she is). I know I should probably have felt compassion for Valerie, being that her predicament is truly just commentary on women in the 19th century (where they were not allowed to make choices for themselves) but her bitter air and complete unwillingness to make changes that would better her life left a bad taste in my mouth. Add in the fact that she was more than willing to set Nina to the same fate and it becomes very difficult to overlook.
Hector is a very complicated character, and while he invariably makes choices the reader won’t agree with, I still found myself hoping he’d find his way. Having his heart utterly broken when he was young turned him into a paradoxical man. On the one hand he was still a hopeless romantic, believing that Valerie would run away with him the moment she had the chance. The other side of him is jaded, not seeing much of a point in trying to find new friends or new love. Watching his character grow and learn was truly a beautiful (if slightly slow) sight to see, and I’m glad it was included (as opposed to a sudden transition).
While I hadn’t been intending on delving into a romance novel this week, I find myself shocked to admit that I did greatly enjoy it. I still wish it had been described more accurately, but it is what it is. It was a nice change of pace, all things considered, and I’m glad I took the time to read it.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks