2.5ish stars.

Unfortunately somewhat of a letdown after her highly enjoyable Certain Dark Things. I find that I don't connect well with the author's prose and find it amateurish. Her selling point is her ideas and creativity which is not necessarily lacking here, just not enough for me to truly enjoy the book.

Sylvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Beautiful Ones offers readers a kaleidoscope of nostalgic trimmings – a splash of Austen, a dash or two of the Bronte Sisters, with an early modernist garnish. Set in a fantasy (alt history?) version of post-industrial France but dealing mainly with an aristocratic class resembling the landed gentry of the British, The novel’s plot centers around a nouveau riche entertainer, Hector Auvray, who returns home after many years abroad to rekindle an old flame, by way of the beautiful Valerie Beaulieu, who years before had broken off their secret engagement so she could marry into a wealthy family. In the present, Hector pretends to court Valerie’s cousin by marriage, Nina Beaulieu, but only as an excuse to be close to Valerie.
The magical wrinkle in all of this is that a small number of people in this society have telekinetic powers, Hector and Nina among them. High society considers telekinesis a vulgar subject, but Hector’s male privilege permits him to hone his natural talents into skills that make him a successful stage performer, who is then generally accepted by the upper class because of his wealth and fame. Nina is not so lucky. Her family regards her telekinetic abilities as a shameful nuisance, so therefore her skills remain unrefined, her powers asserting themselves only at the most inconvenient times. As a result, she is a bit of an outcast at a time (19 years old) when she is supposed to be “entering” society, but she manages to stay in good enough graces thanks to the indulgence of her rich cousin, Valerie’s husband Gaetan.
The Beautiful Ones is very successful as a straightforward genre exercise. While the story doesn’t shy away from Bronte-esque melodrama, it does so through the lens of Austen-esque psychological realism. This is especially welcome when the novel is dealing with the fantastical element of the story, which is presented in a grounded and ordinary way. The novel is perfectly plotted, and the shifting points-of-view offer the reader a rounded perspective of the main actors as the drama unfolds.
There is a kind of purity to Moreno-Garcia’s approach that works against the novel, an unwillingness to contaminate the proceedings with anything resembling a direct political or social commentary. The novel’s alternaFrance has motorcars and other novelties of the early industrialized world, so it is beyond me why, in some respects (such as the fact that the heroes have the luxury of not worrying about their finances while the villains are motivated by their lack of access to capital), the author seems unwilling to deconstruct “polite” society in the vein of the early modernists.
Despite some thematic ambiguities, The Beautiful Ones is exceptional in form, careful in its study of character and buoyed by Moreno-Garcia’s expressive prose and tightly managed storytelling. I don’t think it’s possible to read the book without rooting for its lovers to unite, or without being charmed by the elegant world the author has created.

Unfortunately I went into this book expecting a different thing than I got, I expected Latin American characters like those in Silvia Moreno Garcia's two previous books but instead I got a trope filled, relatively run of the mill fantasy of manners. I will link my review video when it is live.

Nina Beaulieu is in beautiful Loisail for her first Grand Season, where she’ll try to snag a husband with the help of her cousin, Valérie. She rebuffs most of her suitors, but when she meets telekinetic Hector Auvray, he becomes her favoured suitor. But Hector and Valérie were once engaged, and he has returned to exact some kind of retribution for her faithlessness.

Now, The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is promoted as a fantasy and a romance, but leans far far far toward romance. In this alternate history, some people are born with psychic abilities; two of our heroes have the power to move objects with their mind. Nina lacks control; it is frowned upon for women to display these powers, and she is labeled a witch. Disappointingly, that is as far as it goes. The focus is on the romance; while Hector helps teach Nina to control herself, and it serves her well in the end, it ultimately is window dressing for a romance novel.

That isn't to disparage the book for being a romance. I’m not a huge fan of the genre because it is often formulaic and I feel like if I read one, I’ve read all of them. The set up for The Beautiful Ones is very interesting, and I was hoping it would break the formula. The first half felt like it would, but in the end I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping that after finding out about Hector and Valérie, Nina would strike out on her own as a telekinetic performer and break barriers down for psychic women. Maybe she’d reconnect with Hector later, maybe Valérie would leave her husband for Hector and renounce the strict expectations that forced her into marriage. When another suitor for Nina shows up, I was hoping he was actually conspiring to fix everything up for poor Nina and then bow out.

Alas, it was not to be. The second half becomes your bog standard romance. Valérie is cold but not completely unsympathetic in the first half, but in the second half she becomes a psychotic villain. Nina is a pure virgin, whereas Valérie is not afraid to use her sexuality to get what she wants. Hector stops being any sort of agent of his own; whatever happens, is because Valérie drives the plot with her mad schemes and Nina decides either not to put up with it, or acts rashly for maximum melodramatics.

In Moreno-Garcia’s favour, Nina is very much like a Jane Austen heroine. She doesn’t sit idly by, and once she knows what she wants she goes for it. I just wish Valérie was more than just your standard romance novel harpy villain, and that the story moved in a more subversive way. At first I found myself comparing it to Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier; both Hector and Maxim de Winter are haunted by their past and unable to let go, and Nina and Mrs. de Winter are standing the shadow of more beautiful, more refined women who are no longer in their love interest’s lives. But wherea Rebecca took an unexpected turn, The Beautiful Ones went down Romance Tropes Lane and took no more turns after that. Nina might have been fairly progressive for a heroine if this was published a hundred years ago, but for the most part in the end, gender norms and conventions were slightly bent but never broken, and justice is meted out in nothing but predictable ways.

I will also say Moreno-Garcia’s prose is wonderful as always. Often with books set over a hundred years ago, there is a temptation for the writer to try to mimic the prose of Austen or other classical writers, and it usually always comes up short. Moreno-Garcia’s narration and dialogue avoid this entirely, and stands on its own. There are no cheap imitations here, at least.

If you are a fan of romance, you might like it better than I did. While I couldn’t put it down, ultimately it ran too long for me and I was disappointed in the end. I’m very picky with romance, however, and you can do much worse in the genre. If you’re just looking for a romance that doesn’t challenge, The Beautiful Ones may be for you.

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia will be published on October 24, 2017 by St Martin's Press and can be preordered wherever fine books are sold.

I went into this book expecting a paranormal fantasy with some romance, but it was a romance book with some fantasy. There's nothing wrong with that, but it really wasn't my style and I couldn't finish it because I was a little... bored. I'm sorry. There are plenty of other positive reviews of this book, though, and I'm sure someone more interested in romance would love it. Give it a shot.

Exactly the type of tender and sweet romance novel that I needed after recent horrible current events. The story has exquisite world building that had me enthralled and a gentle romance between Hector and Nina. I particularly enjoyed the author's ability to layer the characters with depth that made them so very believable, particularly the "antagonist" of the story Valerie, whom I could never truly dislike. With elements of magical realism injected throughout, this was a very enjoyable novel to escape into.

2.5 stars. A slow-paced historical romance, with beautiful description and interesting world-building. This is very different from the author's other books, and the summary misleadingly emphasizes the telekinetic aspects of the plot. The book's focus is on its three entangled characters and their relationships, and the fantasy elements only briefly have an effect on the plot. I personally was not invested in the romance, though its unconventional arc is interesting, and found the characters to be somewhat superficial. The writing is lovely and lyrical, so though this particular story was not entirely to my tastes, I recommend it for those interested in slow-burning romances and fantasy of manners style historicals.

Antonina “Nina” Beaulieu has arrived in the city of Loisail for her first Grand Season with the hopes of finding the love of her life to marry. She’s been sent to live with Valérie Beaulieu who will oversee Nina as she attends balls and mingles among the high society. Nina coming from wealth should have no problem finding a husband with one exception, she has telekinetic powers that she hasn’t been able to control leaving her the subject of gossip.

When Nina meets Hector Auvray who happens to be a telekinetic performer she is immediately drawn to him with the two sharing their ability. Hector doesn’t shun Nina but instead sees her powers as a gift and begins to help her hone her skills and learn to control them. As the two spend more and more time together Nina thinks she may have found the love she had been looking for but Hector hasn’t let Nina the whole truth about himself.

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is mainly a historical romance story that has the added element of the two main characters in the story being telekinetic. I think those looking for more of the fantasy side involving telekinetic powers will be a bit disappointed in this one as it’s a very very small detail that doesn’t really get expanded on very much at all with the romance being the vast majority of the story. And a warning for those looking for romance the story I hope not to be too spoilery with this but it is a bit of a triangle that at one point becomes a love square so just be warned if those elements are something that you totally dislike before picking up this book.

For myself I thought the story was one that was just on the OK side since it is a rather slow moving book and I’m more of a fan of the faster pace reads. I probably would have enjoyed it a bit more myself had the author done more with the telekinesis too but I’m not sure that would have really moved it along any faster though. The story stretched over quite a bit of time and it just didn’t seem to actually have much depth to the plot other than eventually making Nina and Hector a pair so while I didn’t dislike it I wasn’t a huge fan either.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this romance. This isn't what I was expecting from Moreno-Garcia after I read Certain Dark Things last year. Yet I'm quite surprised how much I loved this historical fiction romance that was sprinkled with magic. Read you'll adore our sweetheart heroine Nina.

I really enjoyed Silvia Moreno-Garcia's previous two novels, but I have to admit to having my doubts about this one. On first look, it appears to be a historical romance slash costume drama inspired by nineteenth century English fiction. Exactly the sort of thing that sends me diving for my headphones and some industrial metal when my wife wants to watch the BBC adaptation on a Sunday evening, in other words. And, by and large, that's what it is. There is an element of magic involved, but it's not central, and it wouldn't have taken a fundamental rewrite to dispense with it all together. Essentially, it's a (sort of) love triangle, set against a background of strong social rules and manners. Let's be honest, I'm going to take ultraviolent psychopathic Mexican vampire drug lords over ruffs and fretting about etiquette any day, but I can still acknowledge that Ms Moreno-Garcia has turned in another good one here. There's a good sense of location, some sharp dialogue and by the end I was genuinely invested in what happened to the characters (and really hated Valerie). An away win, and one which shows that this author can handle some very different settings. I'll be looking for her next one.

(Link will go live Oct. 4, 2017)

Like my recent review of "The Goblins of Bellwater," I think this book is another example of a poorly written book description. Unlike "Goblins" which read more as contemporary romance, the more true genre focus (historical romance) of this book happens to be one that I enjoy and was particularly in the mood for, thus coloring my reaction to this initial misdirection. Like in that case, however, I do think both of these books would be better received had they been marketed more appropriately to the groups of readers who are true fans of these types of books.

I know that "fantasy" is kind of going through a boom right now, but targeting every book towards that community when there may only be the barest hint of actual fantasy elements in your book, is unlikely to be met with a positive reaction. This book, for example, is presented as if it is going to be a "fantasy apprenticeship" type book, leading the reader to assume much of the book is about Nina learning to navigate her own abilities. Not so. This is much more closely aligned with historical romance fiction with a brief dash of fantasy.

Getting off that soap box and on to the review itself! As I mentioned above, "The Beautiful Ones" ticked many boxes for me, and the fact I was surprised by the story I was getting almost added to my personal enjoyment. Nina is has come to the city to experience her first Grand Season. Under the tutelage of her glittering and popular married cousin Valerie, she soon comes to realize that she does not fit the typical mold of a debutante. Luckily, she meets Hector Auvrey, a performer who has leveraged his own telekinetic powers to raise himself to position and influence. But Hector and Valerie have a history of their own.

The story is told from the perspectives of all three characters, something that I was initially skeptical of (my own personal preference is always to follow one main character), but I quickly grew to love this format. Nina, Valerie, and Hector all have distinct voices and are fully realized characters of their own, each with strengths, weaknesses, and their own agendas. Valerie, in particular, is the type of villainous character who you simply love to hate. And Hector is the perfect example of a flawed hero. Nina, on the other hand, may have read as a bit too perfect, but her naivete and the growth she goes through, particularly in the last half of the story, are enough to keep her from falling into a "special snowflake" category. Further, with Valerie and Hector being as frustrating as they were at times, Nina's chapters proved a bit of a relief.

We all know my feelings on instalove plot lines (recently I DNF'd "Juliet Immortal" for committing this sin in the most blatant way, choosing to not even review the book on this blog out of sheer and utter frustration). "The Beautiful Ones" seems to be Moreno-Garcia's answer to this trend. It serves as a perfect rebuttal to all the things that are wrong with an instalove storyline. Not only is the main romance a slow burn story, based on many interactions, and taking place over a full year, but the failures of previous romances that followed the instalove equation are fully explored and the repercussions are serious.

This book is almost completely character driven. There is little action (other than balls and visits to the country side). The fantasy elements of this story are very minimal. You could remove them all together, honestly, and not much would change in this story. There are many scenes of characters simply talking to each other. In this way, it is a slow read, and yet, loving this genre as I do, I blew through it in a day. If you enjoy historical romances, ala Jane Austen, this is the perfect book for you!

To be honest, I expected more of a plot driven fantasy novel with telekinesis playing a larger role in this book than it did. The Beautiful Ones is a purely character driven novel about the relationships between Nina & Hector and Hector & Valerie. It is still a beautifully written book that gives wonderful insight into being our true selves and seeing others for who they really are. My only complaint was that I spent the entire book wanting to know more about what Hector was thinking. Even the chapters in his perspective left me wanting to understand how he was thinking and feeling.

This is an interesting love story. There is a light touch of paranormal because the two main protagonists have telekinetic abilities. I would have loved to see more use of these gifts in the book. The plot and romance are slow developing and well-written, which make it all the more sweeter.

I honestly wasn't a big fan of Hector through most of the book, but he grew on me with the way the author had me understanding his point of view. Antonina, or Nina as she likes to be called, is just lovely and optimistic about everything. Throughout the book, I found myself saying, please let Nina get her happily ever after. All readers will root for her. This is a gentle romance for those who enjoy the build-up without all the sex. I'd like to see what this author will create next.

Reviewed by Janet of the GothicMoms Review Team

This is a wonderfully written book. Tale as old as time: people who are beautiful on the outside may not always be as lovely inside. Hector Auvray will learn this the hard way. The love of his life, Valerie, is perfectly beautiful. She is, however, married to another man. When he meets Nina, he doesn't think she is specially beautiful, but as he gets to know her, he realizes that she is a radiant creature. Even if she probably won't ever make him forget Valerie. Hector is a famous telekinetic performer who can walk on mirrors. Nina also happens to have the telekinetic abilities, but in her case it's viewed as a shameful secret. The comings and goings of these three characters, and many others who get involved in this triangle, are the meat of this novel. The language is beautiful, and the events described so lovingly that it's like being there, in that fictitious world. But it's Nina that shines more than anything. Like a golden beetle, she may be strange, but once you look, she is more beautiful than everyone else. This book made me gasp and cheer out loud. I would just add that this is not a SciFi novel. It is a romance with some fantastic elements. This is about self-discovery and the nature of love - how it's based on friendship and not looks, and how selfish people are ugly.

I wasn't a huge fan of Moreno-Garcia's Signal to Noise, though I liked it well enough, but I wanted to give more of her work a try. I wasn't disappointed! The Beautiful Ones is a sort of Heyer-esque romance, only with magic as well -- maybe Austen. You get the vague idea. It's alternate universe, but there's enough parallels that I just sort of nodded and accepted it as our-world-but-with-different-names. I'd have loved more world building about that, but it might have taken away from the character study and the romance, so I'm not too disappointed.

The characters, well. I spent a fair amount of time wanting to shake them into being sensible and communicating properly, but I enjoyed them and rooted for them -- except of course for Valerie, who I didn't quite hate (Moreno-Garcia does a reasonably good job of pointing out why she is the way she is), but who definitely isn't a character to love. I found the lengths she ended up going to a bit unconvincing and unpleasant -- sucks that it's a guy who at the end decides to do the decent thing and come clean, and Valerie ends up being pretty irredeemable.

If you don't like romance and novels of manners, this probably won't appeal; if you do, then I recommend it. Even if you're not so much into fantasy, really; that aspect is relatively slight.

This little gem was unexpectedly heart wrenching! Written in the vein of Georgette Heyer and other historical romance writers, the story takes place in a sort of alternate London by a different name. We follow a ridiculously wealthy couple who cares for a young female relative who is a bit of a black sheep with uncontrolled telekinetic powers. As the young girl discovers love, and then heartbreak, we see her learn to control her powers and blossom into a strong, courageous woman. In contrast, we also discover the nasty scheming and jealousies that can hide beneath a beautiful face and impeccable manners. While the story could lag in some places, overall I enjoyed it very much and hope there may be a sequel.

An interesting nook about high society in an alternate past where some people are telekinetic. It is strangely not really central to most of the novel. Instead, the focus is on individuals and how society expectations and family obligations can shape us. Some portions moved very slowly for me but overall a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press Thomas Dunne Books for this digital ARC.

This is going to be a short review. This book is romance first, fantasy somewhere way in the distance. I had not expected that. According to one blurb I read it is supposed to take place in the Belle Epoque era, but if so it would have to be toward the end - 1914ish - since there is one mention of new wonders such as the motorcar and photographic camera. But it actually doesn't matter what time period it took place in because it has all the trappings of any other historical romance you've ever read. This is the dreaded triangle with one man and two women. Sweet country bumpkin girl goes to the big city to stay with beautiful, rich, relative by marriage who will make the proper match for her. (Substitute the upper crust English ton for these French sounding Beautiful Ones.) Enter commoner who has loved beautiful, rich witch (with a 'b') for over a decade but can't have her because she's still married, so he goes for the other one in a revenge kind of way. Done it, read it all before, never have liked it regardless of whether it had a fantasy element or not.

The aforementioned fantasy element is that man and sweet, naïve bumpkin both have telekinetic powers. Don't get excited, it only comes in handy once. And the girl wasn't even a bumpkin, just honest and natural but that went against all the rules of society.

If those things I've described aren't a problem for you then you will probably enjoy this book. However, be prepared for slooow. Or creeping. Or crawling. Hmm, which to choose, which to choose.

This book is not my cup of tea. I've had to dnf it.

A tale of lost loves, newfound loves (and beetles!), The Beautiful Ones is definitely on my top 10 list of favorites for 2017.

In a city ruled by manners and etiquette, country girl Nina doesn't quite fit in with the elite and Beautiful Ones of Loisail. Sent to the city to partake in the balls of the Grand Season in hopes of finding a husband, Nina knows that she's not like everyone else. She'd rather be catching butterflies on her family's country estate, or studying beetles, or reading books, anything else but trussed up for display by her wretched cousin, Valérie. Add to that, she's also telekinetic, harboring the ability to move things about with her mind, powers she has no control over. Her powers are the equivalent of a red flag in high-society, and she's labeled a freak and an outcast by most everyone. Urged to keep her powers locked away, Nina still harbors a desire to use them and control them, much like the performers she reads about in various publications. The only bright spot of being in a stuffy city like Loisail is the fact that one of the most famous performers holds, a man named Hector Auvray, holds his show in a theater in town. Hector immediately recognizes Nina as a fellow telekinetic, and he agrees to help her with her gifts.

The Beautiful Ones begins as a story of deception, and slowly and painfully morphs into something truly beautiful. I'll admit, I didn't harbor any sort of goodwill towards Hector in the beginning, but I definitely changed my mind quickly after recognizing exactly what he endured. The love-lost part of the equation was essentially more of a grand manipulation, and it took dear Hector quite a long time to understand that. Although poor Nina had to suffer through his exceptionally slow period of recognition, but better late than never.

The characters were definitely one of the highlights of The Beautiful Ones, second only to the love story. I adore main characters who aren't afraid to go against the grain, and that's exactly who Nina was. In a world where reputation is the only thing women truly have, Nina was not afraid to tarnish hers in order to obtain happiness, truly recognizing that reputation and self-worth have ultimately very little to do with one another. Of course, society definitely isn't as progressive as Nina, so she still bore the taint and the stares and the gossip that comes along with a less-than-sterling rep.

Moreno-Garcia truly isn't afraid to rip readers' hearts out, and she did that on several occasions over the course of this story (you read that right - several). Her ability to convey and evoke such emotion from the pages is truly remarkable, and I loved this story simply for that. My heart broke alongside Nina's, my heart ached right alongside Hector's, and my temper flared right alongside Valérie, although my ire was aimed at her directly. The characters, the incredible love story, and the sheer emotion I felt from the first page is what rocketed this book to my favorite shelf so quickly, and I'm sure it'll remain there for quite some time.

Bottom line - highly recommended for anyone that likes a good love story combined with plenty of emotional, angsty moments. The Beautiful Ones was truly beautiful, and I'll be waiting with bated breath for the next love story Moreno-Garcia graces readers with.