Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Beautiful Ones

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The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

5 reviews

esme_may's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Such a good read! Not without its flaws (a little slow paced at first) but the author can really write a good sentence. Found myself underlining things all over the place! Going to read more from her for sure. The more I think about this book the more I like it

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Silvia Moreno-Garcia captured the attention of the online book community at large with Mexican Gothic in 2020, but her brilliance didn’t start there. While not her debut, The Beautiful Ones is a book of particular note, managing to both entice and disgust in easy flourishes. This book has one of the best crafted villains I’ve ever read, and an ending I didn’t expect.

The Beautiful Ones is more magical realism than fantasy. It is a bit of romance and a bit of the unusual, but the cold steel heart of it is an examination of social structure and elitism and it is harsh. Harsh in the best way possible. Subjects such as old money vs. new money, decorum, family responsibility, and honor are all on bright display here. I love being able to fall into step with the characters, but also the ability to detach and watch the storylines play out to their own nefarious ends. I savored The Beautiful Ones in a way I did not expect.

All the characters are intriguing, although the contrast between Nina and Valerie was my favorite. Valerie was a surprise – not mentioned in the book’s description but a constant presence in its pages. What a good foil they are to one another! I think, in its depths, this is more Valerie’s book than Nina’s. I generally find the description misleading, as it is much less about Nina’s ability and more about the twisted relationships between various parties.

Without specifics, the scene at Clocktower Hill and leading up to it was my absolute favorite. I was so, so certain there would be a different outcome. No idea what I’m talking about? You’ll have to read the book to see.

The Beautiful Ones is an easy recommendation, particularly for those who enjoy period romances without too much steam and with a great deal of manipulation. I would read it again, and I have placed it on my long list of books I want to purchase in hardcopy.

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ameliabee33's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have always loved Silvia Moreno-Garcia's work, and this book just reestablishes her ability to write in any genre. This is a romantic story, which has balls, rich aristocracy, lost and fraught love, magical powers, insects. Nina is instantly a loveable character, who just wants to find love in Hector. However, as will any dramatic, romantic tale, Hector has an ulterior motive. His ulterior motive is Valerie, his childhood love, which also happens to be Nina's cousin's wife. A complicated web is weaved! There is even a duel! The story really sucks you in and you want to finish to see how the love between Nina and Hector plays out. Also to see if the bitch Valerie gets what she deserves- what a beautifully written terrible character.

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claudiamacpherson's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Beautiful Ones is a Bridgerton-esque high society historical drama with romantic entanglements a la The Great Gatsby or The Age of Innocence. Add in some telekinetic powers, and you’ve got a recipe for scandal!

Like most other girls who enjoy reading, I am a sucker for a stubborn, opinionated woman who doesn’t care for social rules and boundaries (Elizabeth Bennet and Jo March, I’m looking at you). Nina Beaulieu is a worthy addition to these ranks. As a former scientist myself, I really love that her passion is for entomology and the natural world (while I also love my history and literature ladies, it’s refreshing to see one that’s interested in science!). Nina’s innocence was sometimes frustrating, but I was never annoyed at her, only the society that put her in those positions.

I’m a big fan of worldbuilding, so I was a bit disappointed not to get more in this book. The setting is ambiguously European, with French sounding names and English culture, but there were mentions of the other countries and continents, but very little detail. While more background wasn’t necessary or relevant to the story, the details that were included distracted me from the main plot with curiosity about various passing details. I also wish there had been more expansion on the magic system. We get a fair amount of detail about Nina and Hector’s abilities, but next to nothing about the other powers that people have. It would be interesting to explore the interaction between power and social class further. I kept wondering if maybe Vivien had powers that she hid for propriety’s sake, that could come out if she got angry or upset enough…alas.

Let’s talk about the love triangle. I don’t care for love triangles, and this was actually more of a love..square? diamond? whatever it’s called when there’s four people involved. While I’ve always preferred love triangles with a clear correct choice (otherwise I just feel bad for whoever gets their heart broken), this one went almost too far in the other direction; two and a half of the point of the love quadrilateral were insufferable

(the half is Hector because he could be so infuriatingly dumb sometimes.)

Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the general vibe of the ending):

Happy, though not entirely satisfying. It felt a bit rushed and didn’t tie up everything as neatly as I would’ve liked.

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kachina's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

definitely a stray from SMG’s previous two titles in many ways, yet maintains her signature sense of impending doom. A darkly complicated romance, the plot runs aside those historical classic greats such as the Bröntes and Austen’s, yet stands out in the rich complexity of each character—and of course, in that sense of encroaching danger that vibrates along the edges of all three of SMG’s releases.

I will admit the “two act” format of this book was a little jarring as an audio listener, and I do feel it created a sense of a lag in the middle (though this was slightly off-putting to me at the time, now finding myself at the end I do think it greatly contributes to SMG’s air of mystery by shifting pace mid-tale.

4/5 stars

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