A review by dedonohoe
The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

TL;DR: Did you watch Bridgerton on Netflix and love it? Craving more nineteenth century high society romance and intrigue? With a touch of magic? THEN READ IT. My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was a bit confused when I discovered this book, since it seems like a reprint of a book by Silvia Moreno-Garcia that was published in 2017. The new cover is gorgeous and immediately grabbed my attention. 

I was unsure about picking this one up for a couple of reasons though. One, the only book of Moreno-Garcia’s that I’d read to date was her 2019 release, Gods of Jade and Shadow. It was a very cool concept and an enjoyable read, but a solid 3/5 for me. And two, this seemed way heavier on the romance than the fantasy, and I am not a frequent romance genre reader. And yet, I am SO glad I read this book. It was light-hearted, sweet, and entertaining. The characters were worth getting invested in, with the villains just as delighting to read as the protagonists. 

Moreno-Garcia seems to be comfortable in many genres, and I’m all the more excited to read Mexican Gothic, for which she’s received a lot of acclaim, and Signal to Noise, which has been waiting on my kindle for at least a year.

I’m serious about the Bridgerton connection. If you loved the secret keeping, angst, and will-they-won’t-they dynamic between Daphne and Simon, you’ll have a blast with The Beautiful Ones. On the flip side, if you’re a hardcore fantasy fan, you’ll probably be let down. Both Hector and Nina are psychokinetic, but their powers are immaterial to the plot. It’s a fun, whimsical element in the story, but it’s only one of several reasons that Hector and Nina come together.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is how it depicts attraction. The description that the leading man, Hector, gives for his eventual love interest at the start of the novel is not exactly flattering. I know that in my own personal life there are some people I am immediately attracted to, and then there are those who become incredibly attractive to me the more I interact with them. It was quite fun and charming to see this evolution unfold in writing, as Hector looks beyond Nina’s failures of social grace and becomes more and more enamoured with her as a unique individual. In contrast, we see how the past object of Hector’s affections becomes uglier and uglier to him as she reveals her serious character flaws.

The dynamic between the two women in the story, Nina and Valerie, was also really compelling. Both brush up against the ways that their society limits the possibilities for women to find happiness, but they respond in very different ways. Valerie encapsulates the idea of a patriarchal bargain, strategizing within the constraints of society to lay claim to whatever power she can, even though it comes at the expense of other women, like Nina. Valerie feels personally affronted that Nina may ascend this hierarchy and find happiness without having to make the same sacrifices that she did. This dynamic makes Valerie an excellent villain, because while her attitude and actions are completely reprehensible, it is hard to deny the injustices of the context in which they develop.

That said, there were aspects of this love story that I found frustrating. Hector’s cowardice became tedious. It would be great to see more male romantic leads better able to communicate their feelings. That said, Nina’s tenacity more than makes up for it. She is unfailingly willing to make herself vulnerable in front of others. Other characters tried to dismiss this as youthfulness or stupidity, but really, it’s courage. The kind that is so, so hard to have when building intimate relationships.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for giving me advance access to this book in exchange for an honest review.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings