I'm DNF @ 27%.

Maybe this is going to be one of those novels that I just don't get. I have absolutely no urge to read any more than what I already have. Why? Because the plot is going absolutely nowhere.

The summary is basic enough. Young Antonina Beaulieu is in the big city for her first Grand Season, where she'll mingle and find a husband under the watchful eye of her cousin's wife. The wife, Valérie Beaulieu, is a bit cold, but she's got her connections and usefulness. And lo and behind, a man is interested in young Nina - the handsome, telekinetic performer, Hector Auvray. The more time she spends with him, the more she's in love (she's got a telekinetic talent too & he's intriguing). The problem? Hector's got a big secret that will most definitely get in the way of their courtship.

We find out the secret in the first 30% of the book because the novel is narrated mostly by Hector. He tells us Valérie's back story (and why she's bitter, cold, and heartless). He tells us his own. He doesn't tell us Nina's, but it's as if the author has already put her in backseat since the first page. This story isn't about Nina, the poor thing's sort of caught in the middle of everything. A lot of people are comparing this to a Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte love story. If those kind of stories are your cup of tea, maybe you'll read more than I did.

Main qualm? This story is slow & predictable. If it had been in Nina's perspective, we could have wondered a little more about character motivations. Seen hints and clues through her eyes as to what this secret is. I already see how Nina, Valérie, and even Hector will grow, and to be honest, do not care. Maybe a big problem is the way the book's marketed. If The Beautiful Ones is a slow, love story driven by character development, don't make the summary sound like a big scandal.

In the end, I just didn't care enough about the characters, the plot, or anything to invest more of my time.

The Beautiful Ones is a very character-driven book which causes it to have a slower pace than I'd normally like. Because of the beautiful descriptions, the clear insights you get in the characters and the overall story, I completely fell in love with this book anyway.

Even though I usually like a faster pace, I completely lost myself in the story of Nina, Valérie and Hector once I got myself to accept the slower progress of the story.
By the end of the book, I really did feel like I might have known all three characters myself. Their thoughts, characteristics and passions are shared in such a way that you can easily imagine them being real.

When it comes to the characters, Nina is obviously my favorite. She's a bit rebellious - being raised outside of the city and haven't had the "proper education" when it comes to lady etiquette - and a little nerd as well, since she loves collecting beetles! Nina won my heart early on because of her hopes and dreams when it came to love, her eagerness to actually fall in love and even her naivety when it actually happened. Being naive at first, you really do notice the progress she makes as she's maturing along the way.
I didn't really like Hector at first because of his lack of honesty. Yet, in the end, I start to respect him more and more. We all know it isn't easy to even think about giving up certain dreams and passions - which is exactly what Hector needs to learn.
As for Valérie? Let's just say I wouldn't mind pushing her off a bridge.

If I have to name one thing about this novel that I... Well, I didn't dislike it, I just expected the fantasy-aspect to have a bigger place in the story. Yes, the telekinetic powers are essential since it's Hector's profession and Nina's struggle, but I had hoped it would have an even more profound presence in the story, a bigger impact.
Honestly, though, that's just me and my fantasy-addiction speaking!

I really did enjoy this book, so for this, I'm giving The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia a 4 / 5.

If you like beautifully descriptive, character-driven historic novel with a little dash of fantasy, I'd definitely say you have to read this book!

Kathy

I received this book through NetGalley. All opinions are entirely my own. I'm not being compensated for my review in any way.

“In a world of etiquette and polite masks, no one is who they seem to be.”

The Beautiful Ones reads like a classic novel with a paranormal twist.

This beautifully written story is all about Hector Auvrey and Nina Beaulieu. Hector is out to exact revenge on the woman who broke his heart. Nina is a socially awkward young girl, who unwittingly falls in love in Hector only to find out that she was being deceived.

The story is told from the perspectives of three very different characters: Hector, Nina, and Valerie. Hector is a telekinetic "talent", previously impoverished, now a wealthy well-known stage performer. He has spent a decade pining for his first love. Valerie, the antagonist of the novel, is a bitter, jealous woman, who was guilted into marriage to a wealthy man by her family. Valerie resents Nina, her cousin by marriage, who has the social freedom she never had. She is naive and somewhat impulsive. Nina, like Hector, is telekinetic, and her uncontrolled displays have rendered her a social nuisance.

I don’t want to spoil the story for you. What I can say is that you won’t regret reading this fascinating book. I was enchanted by this elegantly written novel filled with vibrant, captivating characters. I found the tension between the characters gripping and authentic. I didn’t want this story to end!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with this ARC.

5The Beautiful Ones is categorizes as a fantasy book, but I would have put it in the romance/ drama genre because the book is about Nina Beaulieu and her struggle with a renaissance-ish society she must be part of. At the beginning of the season, she is to attend all the important balls and soirees and therefore comes to the beautiful and high-up city of Loisal and is to stay with her uncle and his wife. Nina actually lives on the country but alas, her strange, uncontrollable talent has kept away any suitors there. She, as many others, can manipulate and move objects with their minds but such actions are not befit a lady.

This is where the story begins… it is basically a love story with the usual love-triangle that seems to be so popular at the moment. At least I meet it all the time. Even though the plot could barely surprise most of the time, I have to say that enjoyed this book immensely.



As so of you might know, for me characters and world-building, and the creating of a ‘realistic’ world are much more important than the actual plot since, let’s be honest, there are not so many original ones around. Almost everything has been told in one way or another.

Nina, Hector, Valerie and a few side characters really sucked me into this story with their cold charm, their melancholic realism and with their sweet naivité that gave me as a reader a refreshing start.



They player together wonderfully, even though the plot was mostly predictable. I enjoyed the world-building, the cultural notes the author made and the lessons of Etiquette a lot. I enjoyed the dialogues between characters and the strolls through town they took, partly because the time really fascinates me. It is the time just when cars begin to emerge and women walk through town in pretty petticoats and carriages.



As I said, the book is mainly about a certain love triangle between the three main characters so I don’t want to tell you any more about that because anything I could tell you would be spoiling the fun. This is a read you should definitely mark as ‘to read’ on Goodreads if you want to have some light reading material this autumn ;)

This was an interesting book. It was not at all what I expected, but I was satisfied when I finished. The character development was good and the story was intriguing. I do feel as though the world building could have been a little better, because I did not have a great understanding of the geography, belief system, or cultural foundations of their society. This book reminded me of an episode of Masterpiece Theater with a little magic thrown in as an afterthought. If that sounds good to you, then I would recommend this book. If you are looking for a YA Fantasy read, I would look elsewhere.

The beautiful ones was beautiful. I've been dying to check this book out for a while now and thanks to netgalley, I was able to.

This book was amazing. Honestly. I couldn't put it down, it was attention grabbing, and there wasn't a moment I wasn't bored - which is always a HUGE plus. Definitely recommend

I read the blurb for this book and completely misunderstood the premise. I was expecting a book full of magic, threats against those with magical abilities and general intrigue.

This book is actually a beautifully written exploration of love, desire, infatuation and machiavellian plots. The triangle of characters that are at the centre of the book are Nina (Antonia), Hector and Valerie. The Beautiful Ones of the title are the monied, titled men and women of society who seem to wield all the power, and play games with those less sophisticated for selfish entertainment and as a means to gain power and influence.

Valerie is one of these women. She is at the pinnacle of society and relishes her power whilst resenting everyone and everything around her. She is expertly brought to life. Even though she is unbelievably cruel and selfish, I still felt pity for her. She is a product of society and has been used herself by her family and husband for their own ends. She is as much a victim of society and Nina is, but where Nina rises to the challenge and cleaves her own path, Valerie becomes consumed by resentment and fury and the bitterness eats away at her.

For me this felt like a modern day Jane Austen novel, and I absolutely loved it. The characters are so well drawn (they are flawed, infuriating, intriguing, funny and brave) that now that I have finished the book I feel bereft, as though I have had friends come to visit me and now they have left.

Thanks go to the publishers St. Martin's Press and net galley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

DNF @ 30%.

There's really nothing wrong with this book, but it's just not what I expected and not what I need right now. I went into this expecting an exciting paranormal/historical story (based on what I'd read in the blurb), but from what I've read so far it's really more of an old-fashioned historical romance. It's well-written, and the characters' schemes have the potential to get really interesting. It's definitely pretty slow-paced, though, and there are other books I want to focus on at the moment.

I admit to being a little bit surprised by Moreno-Garcia's latest--it feels a little more conventional, a little more Western European, than her previous two novels (Signal to Noise and Certain Dark Things). It's set in what seems to be a historical Western Europe analogue, in a world where some people have telekinetic powers--including two of our main characters, a man who makes his living performing magic tricks (but like, actual magic) on stage, and a naive young woman who is interested in the natural sciences--and in him. The third point of this triangle is the performer's first love, a bitter woman who was forced to marry for money--to the naive girl's cousin. I read parts of this with dread because I honestly couldn't tell if it was the kind of book where things were going to work out or not, and I really liked the young girl character and worried about her. This was an enjoyable read, but it didn't feel that different from other books I've read (which means it will probably appeal to fans of like Mary Robinette Kowal). B+.

Not my type of book, I tried to start it but just couldn't get into anything about this book!

This book had quite a slow start to begin with. A lot of time spent building up to what would be a grand ending I suppose. Though along the way I did find it often predictable. But the predictability out played the twists that actually surprised me. If it wasn't as long winded as it was this would easily be a five star read. It took me quite awhile to read this, and I didn't "get into it" quite like I would have liked too. Never the less, the story within was a good one.

I have mixed feelings about this. It wasn't face paced, but I didn't want to stop reading either. The writing was good enough that I still liked it despite being aggravated at some of the things going on. The first half was so good. I wanted to know what would happen next because it was obvious whatever goal Hector was trying to achieve was going to blow up in his face. Nina was so innocent. I felt bad for her. I didn't like what Hector was doing, but I understood it.

Things changed about halfway through. I liked Nina and Hector much better then. They both grew and matured. The amount of drama that ensued was too much. It was frustrating and not in a good way. The one thing this story had not needed was another love triangle thrown in in the second half especially since it was obvious Nina did not have feelings for the other guy. Nina's behavior was aggravating at times and seemed somewhat out of character compared to the earlier part of the novel. She had always been the type to do what she wanted regardless of whether or not others approved. Some of that defiance disappeared. Most of the truly dramatic parts towards the end could have been completely avoided if Nina would have been honest with herself and spoke her mind. The end was satisfying, but I wish there had been less angst in the process of getting there.

I received an e-arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher!

5 stars

I would like to start with that fact that this is not a fantasy novel – it has some fantastic in it but it is mainly a romance. A gorgeous Pride and Prejudice meets Downton Abbey romance. It centers around a young woman, Nina, who comes to the city of Loisail for the Season to meet an eligible match with the help of her cousin’s wife. Nina is very wealthy but she is a free spirit and not what you would call a conventional lady. Not only is Nina a free spirit, but she is also telekinetic and interested in telekinesis – something that is frowned upon in the high society of the Beautiful Ones. At her first soiree Nina meets Hector, a recently arrived famous telekinetic performer. Their meeting is best described like that of Mr. Darcy and Lizzy’s meeting. However, Hector soon learns that Nina’s cousin is married to Valerie – the love of Hector’s life. Feeling betrayed and spurned after Valeirie broke off an engagement in their youth – Hector starts courting Nina to exact revenge upon Valerie.

I could not put down the book. While it is not a fast-paced book – the emotions of each character are written so well that I just couldn’t tear myself away. Miss Moreno-Garcia writes emotions and motivations extremely realistic and I honestly could relate to a lot of them. Even Valerie, who is one of the cruelest characters I have encountered can be understood when reading her POV. Furthermore – the character grown in this novel is palpable and so gratifying – there is nothing I hate more than no character growth, and Miss Moreno-Garcia does not limit this to just her main characters.

Furthermore, Miss Moreno-Garcia examines some extremely poignant social issues – such as what is the worth of a woman, what role does a family play and how love can be measured. All of which make this novel, not just a pretty tale, but an important examination of women’s social status. Miss Moreno-Garcia is clearly asking some very fundamental questions and expects her readers to dwell on them.

If you like gorgeously written romance, with loads of drama, women’s issues do yourself a favor and read this gorgeous book!

It's a 4.5 for me because I have to take in the transitions that lagged a bit for me, but otherwise, I fell on the right side of the star rating. I loved this so much, I'm surprised. I was expecting to fall for the fact that they knew about and somewhat encouraged mental talents in the ballgowns-and-carriages era, but instead I fell for the romance that failed and the romance that survived. When I first started this, I wasn't sure where it was going because I'd forgotten about the blurb. It was a nice surprise, then, when the first young woman I was introduced to ended up being the outsider. I loved how the story changed to the different POVs, how each character saw the other in such a different light. It was heady. And disheartening. And often times maddening when it came to a certain viper. The drama and romance and the changes of the human heart were fascinating and had transfixed the whole way. I stayed up til four in the morning, I was that hooked.

The writing style was very simple and I liked that. A little hard to get into at first with their different speech-thought patterns, but it wasn't hard to love it. The three characters were different for me; a venomous woman who chose left, a man who chose to follow, and a young woman who'd yet to move. I don't want to spoil anything so all I will say on them is that they were very complex, one more than others, and I also appreciated the supporting characters in their life. The whole thing was an unusual obsession for me. Where I usually fawn over dragons and magic, I ended up crying and laughing and crying (I was mostly crying, alright?) over three people who'd been blessed and cursed with knowing what love was. It's an absolute recommend.

I like the story this book was telling, but it was quite slow. It was hard for me to get into it. I wanted more excitement, but it didn't get me there. The story do have a lot of potential, but it just turned out as an ok book.

My apologies but I am unable to complete this book and have abandoned it at 40 per cent. I find that there is no plot and all but one of the characters are unlikeable. I hoped, based on the title and the author's previous work, that this would have a stronger fantasy element. Instead it reads more like a period piece which I am not finding very entertaining. I compare this to "These Ruthless Deeds" which I found more enjoyable.

Thank your for granting my request. Given that I have not finished the book my review will not be posted online.

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"All we ultimately have to do is believe. We focus our mind on one single point, one single purpose, and we push. We grasp. We manipulate wood and glass and iron. However, the greatest trick is the belief. Belief is what makes it real."
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This was a surprisingly delicate story, woven out of what seemed at first to be somewhat uneven fibers. It started out strong, then wobbled a bit and almost lost me... Fortunately, I persevered, because it turned out to be quite a lovely tale of love, revenge, and hope - but without falling into the sappy or hackneyed traps that all-too-often accompany those particular descriptors. There's a Victorian sensibility to the tale, with its formal relationships and male-female interactions. There's an undercurrent of magic/supernatural ability. There's a thundering love story full of passionate, violent, over-brimming emotion and the towering highs and devastating lows that so often accompany that type of overwhelming feeling. There are tremendously well-developed characters, full of flaws and talents and endearing frailty. Each of those pieces offers promise, but it is the threads that tie them all together that set the story apart...

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"I am glad of who I am now. You don't know that when you begin a journey, and looking back the picture is not always pretty, but I wouldn't take any of it back."
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The narrative is woven together in a way that alternates between tension and ease, teasing the reader into thinking they can see where the relationships are going, then suddenly taking a subtle twist or turn that winds up throwing everything into chaos. It's a delicate dance, marvelously managed, and it makes for a very enjoyable and engaging read!

Moreno-Garcia, Sylvia The Beautiful Ones, 336 pages. Thomas Dunne Books, 2017. Language: PG-13 (29 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (alluded); Violence: G.

For ten years, Valeria has been living the life of a Beautiful One in the sparkling city of Loisail, after she was forced to void her engagement to the love of her life and marry for the sake of her family. Now she is shepherding her husband’s young cousin through her first season and the girl, Antonina, is just annoying, with her country ways and unsophisticated manners. When Hector returns to town, however, and pays some attention to Nina, Valerie’s jealousy raises its ugly head and she will do anything she can to destroy anyone else’s happiness.

While this book is set in an imaginary land and contains a little bit of magic, there is very little actual fantasy within the book. The magic is like an afterthought to make this look like a fantasy. The story line is fairly predictable, but reads easily, like a beach read.

ADULTS – OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library Teacher

Wow! This book was not at all what I expected. There was a lot more romance than magic (both Hector and Nina are telekinetics). It reminded me of reading a Edith Wharton book with a bit of magic mixed in, complete with naive protagonists, scheming cousin-in-laws (the vicious Valerie) and bumbling suitors. The writing is beautiful, and although the pacing was sometimes slow, I was 100% invested in these characters.

Valerie is the perfect villainous. She has had a sour life, denied a marriage to the man she loved, pouting as her husband (a perfectly nice man, by the way) throws jewels her way. She has made almost no choices in her own life (which is a sad commentary on the rigid gender roles in the 19th-ish century - I write 'ish' because it really isn't clear when this novel takes place), and she's determined that young Nina suffer through the same fate.

I will stop here, as I want to keep this review spoiler-free. But it was an impressive, accomplished novel, and I highly recommend it.