[Review is scheduled to post on April 14, 2021]

I don't read a lot of romance: I picked this book up solely because it's written by Silvia Moreno-Garcia... and I think I want/need more romance in my life now???

The Beautiful Ones is a beautiful story of love and betrayal, of innocence and depravity, of conformity and passion, of youth and adulthood, of privilege and entitlement. Fast paced and instantly engaging, this book is told in the third perspective of three main characters who are inextricably linked and made me feel so many varying emotions while reading it.

"She existed and colored the city for him, lit it brighter than the elegant iron lampposts."

The book may be titled The Beautiful Ones, but the story highlights how insidiously ugly a world of privilege is. The rules and regulations of the Beautiful Ones are always top-of-mind for our characters. Class, privilege, and status are all at the forefront; each character's place within society and how the adhere to the rules are an undercurrent for all of their actions.

"In Loisail, certain things were not said out loud. Secrets were written in the movement of a fan or the gestures with a glove. Innocent words hid the sharpness of knives."

This is primarily a romance novel; the fantasy elements are important to the characters and the way society sees them, but the magic is not the main focus or driver of the story. This is a great book for readers who are hesitant to fantasy as it's light on the worldbuilding as it's similar to a tangible part of history. I liked that Loisail and the world in general largely feels like our world about 100 years ago; the motorcar and camera are recent inventions and in many ways the technological advances mirrors the telekinetic abilities developed. (It makes me think of "Heroes" and how humanity could just be evolving.)

Believe me when I say that I've never been so fully invested in a cast of POV characters with such an array of emotions. The way my feelings changed for each of them as the book continued? That's the mark of amazing character arcs and development. I could pen countless paragraphs about Nina, Hector, and Valérie but I think this is a book where it's best to go in as blind as possible so I'm keeping it spoiler-free. (I might have to write a spoiler essay about this one, friends!) But I absolutely love how every action each character makes is informed by a thousand tiny bits of their personality; each character is three-dimensional and as real as you or me.
"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."

One of the things I love so much about this book is it captures the unique and all-encompassing feeling of first love and shows different perspectives on it through time. How it shapes the characters and how that youthful innocence can be lost if we succumb to the pressures of society to conform. There's sadness in it, but there's also a lot of hope that passion can be found again once we let go of the echoes.

"Desire was not passion and passion was not love."

I am not a well-read romance reader, but The Beautiful Ones makes me want to become one. This book captures the high society romance hijinks of regency romance (courting and escorts and debuts) and tore at my heartstrings. I screamed, I scolded, and I cried. Oh, how I cried... I spent the last 15% of the book with terrified tears leaking from my eyes and me wondering what happened to me. Not only do I highly recommend reading The Beautiful Ones, but also all of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's work. Everything she writes is different yet so inherently hers; she is a master of genre and emotion, and is an insta-buy author for me.

Content warnings: age gap (unsure of Hector's age but my guess is mid-late 20s), betrayal, suicidal thoughts referenced

eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley for review. This does not impact my opinion or content of my review. Quotations are from an unfinished proof and subject to change upon final publication.

This is my first book by this author and not the last!

I loved that the story took us back to a historical time and she explained the traditions and culture so beautifully you became a part of them.

The story itself has different points of view because it’s more than just Nina’s and Hector’s story. It’s also Valeries! We learn that Hector and Valerie have a history that Nina might not be able to overcome! Especially when Valerie will stop at nothing to gain for herself and her family!

I will say justice is served beautifully at the end and the true hero in my eyes because of his patience and love of family is Nina’s cousin Gaetan!

There are many different secondary characters in the book but none shine brighter than Nina and her authentic outlook on life. She truly is herself and though she tries to blend in she is just her and it’s that natural beauty and curiosity that draws Hector to her!

A very lovely story! Thank you to Thank you to Tor (via NetGalley) for the ARC in return for my honest review!

This is the third book I've read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I must say she does not disappoint! This one is different from the other two that I've read (Gods of Jade and Shadow and Mexican Gothic) but still had the author's signature style. This was definitely less dark than Mexican Gothic but not quite as fantastical as Gods of Jade and Shadow. The best way I could describe it was "Jane Austen with telekinesis." It was an intriguing love story with great characters. Admittedly, this is a slow paced books and if you aren't a fan of Jane Austen or other regency romance books you may not like this. It's a bit of a slow burn, but after about the first quarter of the book, I could not put it down. There's also some veiled references to women's place in this society and what happens when they break the rules (or don't) and some criticism of social hierarchy. Definitely worth a read if you are more of a character than plot kind of person, though I did enjoy the plot as well.

You will be absorbed into the uniqueness of The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Each page fills you with palpable emotion and grandeur. Your heart soars for Nina, our main character, and her light-heartedness. Thrust into the Grand season to find a suitable husband. She wants more than anything to find the love she reads of in romance books. She desires for a gentleman to whisk her off her feet, and they live happily ever after. She thinks she finds this romance in the irritable Hector when she bumps into him at a party. The two share a unique ability to move objects with their minds. This extraordinary ability is helpful for Hector because he is not a part of The Beautiful Ones. He was not born with prestige and money. So, he used his gift and worked his way up in society to be a leading man—a performer and entertainer, using his telekinesis to build a fortune and a reputation. Nina, on the other hand, has money and her family name. However, her special ability irritates most people—especially her cousin-in-law Valerie. Valerie is mostly irritated by everyone, though. Valerie is of high standing and stature and did not find the love she wanted but settled for Gaetan Beaulieu to bring her family out of financial disparity. She gave up on love, and it just so happened to be Hector's love. Now seeing Hector with Nina, Valerie will do anything to keep them separated. Since Valerie didn't marry Hector, she refuses to let Nina have the love she wants no matter the cost.
With intense scenes and brilliant prose Moreno-Garcia puts together an impeccable story. With more profound messages of hope, regret, and how to hold onto love no matter how hard it can be. While reading, one can only wish for more magic, more scandal, and of course, more romance!

Thank you to Tor (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

4.5 stars

I first want to note that I LOVE the cover of this book. I am trying to find out who illustrated and designed it, but I have had no luck so far. Will report back if I do!

If you are coming into this book as a fan of Moreno-Garcia's super popular MEXICAN GOTHIC, be warned, this is very different. The author has said herself, she doesn't tend to stick to the same genre across her novels, and that is definitely exemplified in this novel. This is a re-release of a book that was originally published in 2017 and is being reprinted because of the popularity of MEXICAN GOTHIC. I'm glad her older novels are getting more attention because of that book, but I'm also slightly worried people will be disappointed because they are so different.

Personally, I really really enjoyed this book. It is very much character-driven and doesn't have much in the way of plot except that Nina (arguably the main character) has come to Losail from the country to find a husband during the Grand Season. The story is set in a fictional world that is probably-maybe based on early 1900's France that happens to have a little bit of magic thrown in: both Nina and Hector, the love interest, are telekinetic. And while that's not considered unusual in this world, it's definitely not socially acceptable to flaunt one's abilities. Nina's ability becomes a point of contention between herself and the more "respectable" people in society. She even grew up being teased for it and called a witch by her family. She finds a friend and confidant in Hector who has made a career of his ability, performing across the world for audiences as a sort of magician. The main conflict comes from Valérie, the wife of Nina's cousin Gaetan. Valérie is obsessed with image and appearance and has been tasked with finding Nina a suitable husband from the Beautiful Ones of Losail's high society. But she disapproves of almost everything about Nina: she is too plain, too careless about how she acts and definitely not refined enough to be considered a proper lady. Tensions increase when Nina is drawn to Hector because, although Valérie is married, she has not let go of a summer romance she had with Hector ten years prior and cannot bear anyone else claiming him, especially not this unrefined girl who came flitting in from the country. The fact that Nina is unaware of this past relationship just adds to the drama.

The book is written from 3 POVs: Nina, Hector, and Valérie. This is done exceptionally well, in my opinion. I've read books with multiple POVs where I was confused as to whose chapter I was reading and the narrative voices were so similar that they would run together in my head. That is not the case here. Each character has a very distinct voice, and even without an explicit label at the beginning of each chapter as to whose POV it is, it is almost immediately clear whose perspective we seeing.

Because the book is so character driven, it does move somewhat slowly. It took me longer to read this book than I would usually take for a novel of this length, but I'm not sure that was a bad thing. It gave me time to delve deep into the characterizations and spend time with the perspectives of each person. It was really fascinating to see how each main character viewed the side characters as well, given that they all had different relationships with them. For example, Gaetan. To Nina, he is a beloved cousin, almost a father figure. But to Valérie he is a loathsome figure, someone to be tolerated (barely) because marrying him was her only hope of a "successful" life (which for Valérie means a life of wealth and access to the best people in Losail's society).

Now on to the characters: One thing that was really interesting to me was that I didn't particularly like any of the three main characters, but I still really enjoyed the book. Nina is naïve, but still the most likable of the three. Hector is stuck in the past and obsessed with his one-summer fling with Valérie ten years ago. And Valérie is just outright awful to both of them (although in a very underhanded and secretly manipulative way) while seeing herself as the victim of everything that happens in her life. But Moreno-Garcia does such an excellent job of writing each of their perspectives that I found myself sympathizing with all of them at certain points (much less so with Valérie because she is just plain cruel, but there were a few moments!).

Like I said before, this was very different from MEXICAN GOTHIC, as well as her fantasy-adventure GODS OF JADE AND SHADOW. I have two more ARCs of hers to read, which are both supposed to be very different again, so I'm excited to see what's in store for those. I love when authors don't restrict themselves to a single genre because it lets readers really see the the range of their talents, and I'm glad that readers will get to discover some of Moreno-Garcia's older writings because of her recent popularity. This will be re-released on April 27th, so definitely check it out!

Once I started this book I couldn’t put it down. With most romance novels I can predict the ending after the first chapter or two, but with this one I couldn’t figure out how it would end and was hooked from the start. I love the main character, Nina, and how she stays true to herself throughout the story, even if society wouldn’t approve of her and her lack of “manners”. The addition of fantasy, with her and Hector’s telekinetic talents, felt natural and its importance was clear by the end.

Sylvia Moreno-Garcia is an excellent writer. I loved the characters and how they developed throughout the story. Sylvia is an expert at writing in a way that makes you feel like you are there witnessing the story first hand. I will happily read anything she writes!

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the fin de siècle fantasy I never knew was missing from my heart. Representation matters, and it brings me to tears to read these gorgeous novels by Moreno-Garcia that are so full of magic, horror, romance, and drama, but that are also a vibe while giving me Latinx or Hispanic representation. Like it's as if House of Spirits had a gothic baby and gave us Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Just read her novels.

This book follows our main character Nina as she enters society to find a husband. During her first party she meets Hector a talented performer who previously was involved with Nina's cousin's wife Valerie. I really enjoyed the characters in this book and the plot, but I found myself struggling to really enjoy the reading experience for this book.

When Silvia Moreno-Garcia gets down to business she means it. This is evident through her beautiful style of writing, world building and narration. The author has constantly delivered through her writing no matter the genre and The Beautiful Ones is no different.

The story follows Antonina Beaulieu and her adventures with the socialites, the high life and her telekinesis. This book felt like a Jane Austen novel with the romance and the drama. The atmosphere and the world is so well defined that the reader can't help but feel like their a part of the story. The story itself is beautiful and very interesting to read with the highs and the lows of familial and societal expectations is brought out really well. The character arc various characters go through also feels very complete and justified.

Any amount of praises for the author's writing is not enough. Though slow, it seamlessly manages to drag the read into the world and helps experience Antonina's life first hand.
Overall I loved this book and would highly recommend it.

This is my second book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and I fell in love with it right from the beginning. It's the Grand Season in Loisail, and it's time for Nina's debut. In Loisail, there are the Beautiful Ones, the wealthy and stunning members of high society. Nina is not considered one of them. Although she is wealthy, she hasn't been able to control her telekinesis, causing many whispers in Losail. When entertainer Hector Auvray comes to town, Nina is immediately drawn to him; he also has telekinesis powers. Hector begins courting Nina, but he has other intentions. Hector has come to Loisail to reconnect with his long-lost love, who happens to be married to Nina's cousin. Now Nina is unknowingly caught in a love triangle. The book captures jealousy, love, and fantasy in such a beautiful setting with unforgettable characters. This book is perfect for those wanting to venture into the world of fantasy. I would definitely recommend this one!! Thank you, NetGalley

Trigger warnings: Gas lighting, manipulation, bullying
Tropes: Enemies to lovers, slow burn friends to lovers, arranged marriage(s), regency romance
Rating: 5 Stars

Originally published in 2017, this reprint is absolutely gorgeous inside and out. The story introduces us to Antonina Beaulieu, who is making her entrance into society, and her cousin Gaetan and his wife Valerie. Antonina, or ‘Nina,’ for short, is a sort of odd duck out from the rest of the beautiful socialites. She meets a telekinetic performer, Hector Auvray, which sets the both of them off on an intense of hurt and healing. Hector’s secrets come to light, and the pair of them struggle to navigate the limits of friendship and love. Antonina struggles to master her own telekinetic abilities and learns more lessons in life than just strength of mind.

After an all-night binge reading session that lasted into the next day, I can confidently say that Silvia Moreno-Garcia is an accomplished and amazingly talented author. While I initially heard of her name connected to other tales such as Mexican Gothic, this was the first novel of hers that I have read. And I will certainly be reading anything else that she pens to paper from this point on.

The Beautiful Ones is a mix of regency romance and magical fantasy, meshed on a colorful cultural backdrop, and spell-binding scenery. So basically, it was one of the best books ever.

Moreno-Garcia manages to combine an enemy to lovers trope, and a slow burn friendship to lovers. Don’t ask me how, I’m still trying to figure that out myself. Just know that it was fantastically and masterfully done.

Many thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book was amazing and phenomenal and had me HOOKED from the first page until the last. It had romance, revenge, angst, heartbreak, heartache, and a little bit of magic.

The pace of the novel is what got me. It enveloped me into the story while sprinkles of words of magic and whispers of love kept me flipping the pages eager for more.

This novel is a historical fantasy romance novel. Those who enjoy Bridgeton and possibly a touch of A Night Circus or A Discovery of Witches mashed together would enjoy this novel. I found this novel unique as it spans multiple genres.

I fell in love with The character of Nina. She lived life without care for what was proper of the time and of her age. If she wasn’t placed under the care of her cousin’s wife, I believe the story would not have unfolded the way it had. Instead, I believe, the first encounter with Hector would have been less demure and each one thereafter even less than the first. She spoke her mind often. I find that she spoke her mind less when others were in her ear about what to do and not to do.

The romance between Hector and Nina was a slow burn that I loved and hated at the same time. In part one I was anti Hector. He was the villain of the story. In part two I noticed that the season changed and as the season changed my villain changed as well. This leads me to believe that Silvia has the writing ability of a goddess because I usually stick my feet in the mud about character traits but my mind changed with her written words.

I love that the novel depicts socialites as The Beautiful Ones, ones lower classes look up to and gossip about. The novel is set in a time Where woman marry wealthy Noble men of royal status and do everything they can do to keep that status. Rules are created to avoid scandals and old hens are around every corner waiting for someone to break the rules so a scandal can be gossiped about.

I was given an ARC from NetGalley and TorBooks for an honest review.

*Thank you to the publisher, Tor/Forge, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book before its release on April 27, 2021.*

This was a beautiful blend of historical fiction, fantasy, and a romantic triangle. The writing style made it read like a Austen or Bronte novel. The touch of magic gave it a personality of its own. The story tells three points of view- Hector, Nina, and Valerie. It was slow burn and very character driven but in this novel it worked. In the world this author has created some people have telekinetic powers. Hector is a renowned performer of this art. Nina also has the talent but is expected to hide it as it is considered in appropriate for ladies. Valerie was engaged to Hector years ago but married someone else. She can't have him but doesn't want anyone else to. This was a story of love, betrayal, and non-conformity that will have you rooting for a happy ending.

The range of Silvia Moreno-Garcia as a writer is amazing. From her Gods of Jade and Sorrow to this "newest" offering, you never know what's coming next out of her pen.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It read like a mashup of a gothic romance (Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre) with a little bit of Austen sprinkled in. It's hard to describe, but Moreno-Garcia's world building in incredible. It starts of slow, but once you hit a certain part of the story, you'll be flying through the pages. What a surprising, enjoyable, atmospheric read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the arc.

Seamlessly blending a complex romance with worldbuilding that is magical in more ways than one, The Beautiful Ones is compelling and dramatic.

Hector and Nina, both telekinetics, both in search of love, arrive in the fictional city of Loisail just in time for the Grand Season of parties to commence. Hector seeks to reconnect with his former fiancée Valerie, who vanished from his life to marry someone else a decade ago. Instead, he meets Nina, whose social graces leave much to be desired. When he learns that the man Valerie married is Nina's cousin, he decides to court Nina as a way to get close to Valerie.

As always, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's worldbuilding is masterful. She weaves a rich tapestry of details that bring the universe to life. One example of this is that the use of telekinetic abilities is seen as vulgar and base. This develops in the story as Nina attempts to control her abilities, with instruction from Hector, who is a professional telekinetic performer. The descriptions of places in this novel are vivid and and immersive.

In the first part of this book, I was so anxious that the resolution wouldn't be satisfying. The web of lies and manipulations seemed too much for the characters' relationship to bear! I've read too many romance novels where they wrap up all betrayals and put a bow on the relationship so close to the end of the book. Allow me to reassure you that this is not the case for this story. Over half of the book involves repairing any damage to the relationships in question. The tension between characters serves to make their relationships feel real and adds to the drama.

I was immensely glad that much of the book is from Nina's perspective, since Nina is my favorite, I related to her lack of social graces, inability to control her reactions, and deep love of insects and interest in the natural sciences.

I'd recommend this book to fans of Jane Austen and The Greatest Showman.

A beautiful historical romance w/ lots of supernatural twists. I also love how different this one is from Mexican Gothic. What a lovely chameleon Silvia Moreno-Garcia is!

I was so incredibly excited to read The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. With fantasy and historical romance being my two favorite genres it seemed like it could do no wrong. In the end, my feelings about this book were split down the middle. This book was just, alright. The whole time I didn't feel particularly invested in the characters, which is hard when it is a very character-driven story. I found that Nina was the only person I was rooting for and the others were unlikeable to the point where it ruined a lot of the story for me. The only thing that kept me reading was just the constant drama that was happening. If there is one thing that will keep me hooked throughout a book it is rich people drama, and this book had plenty of that. I really wish that this story had touched more on the "fantasy" elements in this world. Although I know that was not the main focus of the book I was very interested in it and left the book disappointed that we did not get more.
Overall this book was a true 3⭐️ read. I think if you are looking for a historical romance with a little twist then give it a shot, but go in with low expectations.

When I say I devoured this book, I mean I read it within 24 hours and went to sleep late knowing fully well I’d regret it in the morning. This novel is dramatic and beautiful. It’s about imperfect love and scorn, innocence and heartbreak. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has a way with words and once again she gifts us with a wonderful story of two people drawn together by tumultuous forces. In a fictional world where telekinesis exists and pedigree and wealth are key to success, fantastic elements slide into the background as we delve deeper into characters’ intricate stories.

A beautiful romance novel with a touch of fantasy. The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia follows Loisail’s most notable socialites. This is a character-driven story and, for me, it lacked world building. A quick and lovely read for everyone who enjoys a good romance.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia gives us a beautifully written, atmospheric romance with a touch of the fantastic with the two main characters' ability to perform telekinesis. This story is slow-moving but never boring, as her writing carries us through this character-driven romance. I love that Moreno-Garcia never writes the same book twice. She is as versatile and surprising as an author can get. This is different from both Mexican Gothic and The Gods of Jade and Shadow. I have enjoyed her writing journey with each new release.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher, Tor/Forge, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book before its release on April 27, 2021.