Member Review

Cover Image: The Beautiful Ones

The Beautiful Ones

Pub Date:

Review by

Nicole M, Reviewer

Take a regency style romance, bring in a fantasy twist and combine with a coming of age story, threaded through with the angst of one's self identity in society whilst ever being questioned and you have a novel that is both an enthralling escape of a read, and yet strangely relatable on many levels.

Antonia ‘Nina’ is a young woman from the country, sent to the big city to stay with her cousin and his wife, Valerie, to finish her training as a lady. Valerie is tasked with teaching Nina city etiquette - the who’s who of society, how to dress, when not to speak (most of the time according to Valerie), and a long list of must not’s besides. But all Nina is concerned with is her bugs and reading, and she is quick to speak her intelligent and enquiring mind, has a quick temper - all things that don’t make for a fine lady. To top this off, when her temper arises, so do objects around her, as he has poor control of her telekinetic abilities. This is a further embarrassment as a lady in Valerie’s eyes. Powers are for street performers and low class people, not the rich, and certainly not ladies. The sooner Nina can be married off and out of her house, the better in her eyes.

But then along comes telekinetic performer Hector Auvray. A chance meeting at a party sends Nina’s world into a spin. He has majestic control over his powers, and quickly charms Nina. But all is not as it seems. There is a sour past with Valerie that he keeps hidden. This secret can only end in tears. But for who?

While I loved the twist of the supernatural powers in this book, I would have liked to have seen maybe more of them. However it still did keep me gripped through the development of the characters. At first I feared it would be a predictable love story. Yet the book kept me enthralled, just as the magic tricks did, even though only written. The visual imagery was beautiful when describing them, and this added another layer to the story.

A story of love, passion, magic tricks and self discovery. I felt like I was really brought along on the journey, sailing on a flying mirror, and I wanted to send message to Nina, to shout at Hector, to slap Valerie! It has been a long time since I have felt that invested in characters in a book. Perhaps I discovered a little about myself along the way too….
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