The Beautiful Ones, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy

I really wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but it sounded so intriguing I wanted to read it - and what a gorgeous treat it was.

Its kind of curious world setting, one that feels historical with its emphasis on The Season, Elegance and Society, but which also accepts that some people have magical powers, although its supposed to be scientifically explained...
I'm not sure if there are other types of magic in this world, we only meet her and Hector who also is telekinetic.
I'd have liked a little more background about the world setting and the magics within it. 

Anyway, Antonina (Nina) is staying with her cousin and his wife for her first Season. Telekinesis is not something one does in polite society, and poor Nina struggles to control her telekinesis. She's got no one to guide her, and back home was called names and ridiculed for it, but when she's emotional it flames out of her control. She's not really suited for society life anyway, she's intelligent, asks questions where Ladies should be silent, doesn't like frills and fripperies, dressing up, wasting time on tea parties when she could be out collecting beetles and butterflies, reading science papers etc.

Valerie, her cousins wife is quite the cold b itch. She's very much a person of Society, very much admired as the most beautiful woman in the city. She likes being admired, being rich, likes the power it gives her, likes her position in society. She's very calculating.
She's bitter, acts the loving wife but secretly despises Gaelan having married him for money and position, she resents the close relationship he has with his family.
She's not happy at Nina staying with them, at the money being spent on her, the attention paid to her and takes every opportunity to politely belittle her, under the guise of helping, instructing her in the ways of Society. 

Then Nina meets Hector. She's a sweet girl, he enjoys her company and conversation, and is teaching her about her telekinesis.
Nina of course assumes he's someone that accepts her for what she is, and not like the rest of society who ridicule her, call her names, and aren't lining up to marry her despite her rich dowry. Of course she can't help falling in love, Hector is a good-looking, charming and a courteous man. She thinks her feelings may be reciprocated, as he's happy to converse with her about nature, science, and of course the telekinesis that others want her to keep hidden, spends time with her and gives every appearance of being interested in her. There are other things at play though, things from the past she doesn't know about and all is not as it seems.

I love Nina, such a genuine, kind and intelligent girl. When things went wrong between her and Hector I so felt for her, convinced they were a good match, that Hector felt more than he would admit, even to himself. I wanted them back together but then someone else comes into the picture.....has Hector left it too late? 

Its a fun read, I would have likes to know more about the world setting and the magics in it. The supernatural part is very much Nina and Hector only, we don't meet anyone else even though clearly there are more people. Do they all only have telekinesis or are there other types of magic? How do people get it? Is it some kind of genetic link or just random. There's no talk of Nina's family having anyone else who could do things ( that I recall) but Hector had been performing in a troupe as a child, presumably with his parents who must have had some abilities to work in the group. I'd like to have those sort of questions answered. 
 
Stars: Four, its an enjoyable read, a little light escapism for a few hours. I don't think its one I'll reread, but is one that will appeal to younger and older readers. Some book suit all ages and this is one. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers

The Beautiful Ones is the first novel I have read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia but I'm really glad I decided to give it a try.

Hauntingly beautiful this novel tells the story of unrequited love from the perspective of the lover and the loved.


Set in what is presumably based on historical France (although the time period isn't clear). Antonina (Nina) is a naive girl from the countryside taking part in her first grand season in the city of Loisail. Nina is staying with her favourite cousin and his wife who seems to inexplicably dislike her. Nina is used to dislike though, her telekinetic powers are why she couldn't find a suitable husband at home and her less than perfect manners and lack of ability to be ladylike in public just seem to make things worse.


But Nina's attention and affection are captured by the enigmatic if slightly distracted Hector Auvray a telekinetic performer, as they become closer she is certain that a marriage proposal is imminent but there are other things at play that Nina knows nothing about. She has become a bit player in a game that goes back more than a decade.


I found this book to be very engaging. It was an interesting take on a historical novel with the addition of the characters telekinetic powers. It sssms to be more of a play on the usual historical novel, while some things remain true to the times, others show a decided change. Valérie's spite and malice make her an excellent villain against the naive and yet lovable Nina. This novel highlights the saying 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder'.


I really liked the characters of both Nina and Hector and I was rooting for them the whole way through, I won't say if they had a happy ending though, as always I won't give any spoilers!

I'll definitely look into reading more from this author in the future!

Damn, I knew I was right to be excited about this book. It wasn't what I expected at all, but I was utterly enchanted, like, reading-on-the-subway-with-a-stupid-smile-on-my-face enchanted. I actually read half of this book in one day, reading into the night, so enamored I was. Moreno-Garcia has created captivating, vibrant characters in a novel written with grace and elegance.

Immediately upon beginning this book, I felt like I was reading a Jane Austen novel (well...I've only ever read a single Jane Austen novel, Pride & Prejudice, but you get the idea). This is fitting, considering the author, on her blog, describes this book as a novel of manners. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, a novel of manners is "work of fiction that re-creates a social world, conveying with finely detailed observation the customs, values, and mores of a highly developed and complex society. The conventions of the society dominate the story, and characters are differentiated by the degree to which they measure up to the uniform standard, or ideal, of behaviour or fall below it."

To that end, the story is told from the perspectives of three very different characters: Hector, Nina, and Valerie. Hector is a telekinetic "talent" who has clawed his way out of poverty by becoming a stage performer. He is also, despite his aloof exterior, a shy romantic who has spent a decade pining for his first love, Valerie, who left him for a wealthier man. Valerie, the antagonist of the novel, is a bitter, jealous woman, shaped by her upbringing as the daughter of a family that has lost its former glory. Essentially guilted into marriage to a wealthy man who could uplift her family, Valerie is utterly resentful of Nina, who has a world of choices ahead of her. Nina, Valerie's cousin by marriage, is a budding entomologist who seems to have little regard for the social mores of the world she lives in. She is honest and straightforward, naive and somewhat impulsive, and she is, like Hector, a telekinetic who resents being told her powers are not "ladylike."

The story begins with Hector and Nina, in what I'm tempted to call a "meet cute." Soon after, Hector realizes that Nina is related to the woman he is still pining over, and he begins courting Nina as an excuse to see Valerie. However, eventually, in a beautifully written-slow burn romance, Hector begins to fall for Nina instead. With excellent craft and technique, Moreno-Garcia traces significant character development for all three of her main characters. Hector comes to see the error of his ways as he slowly opens up and allows himself to care for someone again. Nina sheds some of her gullibility and youth, yet retains the open-eyed wonder of an ingenue. Valerie grows more bitter and cruel by the chapter, yet the reader is not totally unsympathetic towards her fall from grace as she elucidates her disappointment with the turn her life has taken (she reminds me quite a bit of Cersei Lannister, actually...make of that what you will).

As I said, this novel was not what I expected. I thought I was going to read something heavy on the fantasy, and I was definitely left wanting in that arena. I would have liked more emphasis on world-building; it's not super clear whether this is meant to be a straight-up second world fantasy or some kind of alternate European country. In that same vein, I wish the existence of powers in this society had been expounded upon more, because for me it was fascinating to see telekinetics existing openly in a society that very closely resembled a mixture of early 20th century England and France. However, I do think that none of that was really the "point" of the novel; it's a story about love and relationships, with a touch of the fantasy element to add some color. I was reminded, in a way, of the film Another Earth, in which the fantastical (or sci-fi, in that case) elements were really only window-dressing to the overarching story of love, regret, and redemption.

Despite its underdevelopment, the touch of the fantastical definitely added to the story. Nina is made even more of an outsider because of it, having grown up under the epithet of "the Witch of Oldehouse." It has certainly shaped her character, perhaps even spurring her various acts of rebellion. In Hector I think she meets a kindred soul, a fellow telekinetic who has made something of himself because of his talent and not despite it. It is significant that Hector, I think, is the only person who never admonishes Nina for using her talent in public and being "unladylike." For all his flaws (and there are many, which is what makes him such a fascinating and likable character!), he respects Nina's autonomy and he loves her for who she is: an excitable, enthusiastic, and forthright young woman.

Minor characters were similarly endearing. Etienne, Hector's only friend, somehow manages to read him like a book, commenting wryly on Hector's various subtle changes of emotion throughout. Nina's sister, Marlena, is only around in a few scenes, but her love for her sister in those moments is clear and shining. Luc, Etienne's younger brother and would-be suitor for Nina at one point, is capricious and impetuous, but also childish in his innocence. Gaetan, Valerie's husband and Nina's beloved cousin, is seen as weak-willed and pathetic in his wife Valerie's eyes, but is shown to be a kind, indulgent, and forgiving man. Garcia-Moreno brings all of these characters to life in a narrative style that straddles third-person limited and third-person omniscient.

If it hasn't been clear amidst all this ebullient praise, I absolutely loved this book. I can see it as the kind of book to be read in schools one day as a classic, and I will definitely be recommending it for my library. More importantly, it has also inspired me as a writer. The vibrant characters, the deftly elegant writing style, the simple yet engaging plot - it has made me want to write my own novel of manners someday, in homage to this lovely book. 4.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book! (less)

It's a well written story. However, I was disappointed there wasn't more telekinesis in it.