The Beautiful Ones
In a world of etiquette and polite masks, no one is who they seem to be.
Antonina Beaulieu is in the glittering city of Loisail for her first Grand Season, where she will attend balls and mingle among high society. Under the tutelage of the beautiful but cold Valerie Beaulieu she hopes to find a suitable husband. However, the haphazard manifestations of Nina’s telekinetic powers make her the subject of malicious gossip.
Yet dazzling telekinetic performer and outsider Hector Auvray sees Nina’s powers as a gift, and he teaches her how to hone and control them. As they spend more and more time together, Nina falls in love and believes she’s found the great romance that she’s always dreamt of. But Hector’s courtship of Nina is deceptive.
Reviews
“This is the third novel I read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and I loved all of them in different ways: each in a different genre by a chameleon writer with incredible writing skills.”
“Moreno-Garcia fills her fantastic novel of manners with sumptuous language and plausible romantic complications in a setting that appears to be based on 19th-century France and is lightly garnished with minor magic […] Readers who enjoyed Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamourist Histories magical Regency series will be particularly enthralled by the genuine emotions evoked in the course of the unsustainable love triangle.”
“The telekinesis […] adds a fantastical spin to a story that would otherwise be a great fit for fans of the 18th-century French classic Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Valerie is an especially compelling character to watch […] [Moreno-Garcia] returns with a novel that is light on fantasy but overflowing with delicious melodrama.”
“THE BEAUTIFUL ONES is a hauntingly lovely book, romantic and crushing by turns, touched with magic on every level. Garcia-Moreno has crafted an utterly convincing world, populated with characters both wonderful and terrible — often with the same character.”
“THE BEAUTIFUL ONES demonstrates Moreno-Garcia’s smart and colorful writing, with descriptions both sensory and sumptuous, and characters you will root for, even in their worst moments.”
“The true strength of the novel of course lies in its characters and its depiction of an era when wealth and its correct show is all that matters […] It’s a slow-burn, stately novel about the magic of what it means to love, and love truly.”
“[T]he whole book is a magnificent tangle of unspoken words and feelings. Nothing is tepid; everything, even the absence of feelings, is charged with danger and heartache.”
“Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s THE BEAUTIFUL ONES is an elegantly paced novel that moves its characters into place with ease, with careful attention paid to ways a word or a moment can change an entire life.”
“If you’ve ever thought that what Dangerous Liaisons really needed was more Force Adepts, this may very well be the book you’ve been waiting for.”
“A lot of times, when you read a novel, there’s always a few flaws – character traits or incidents that just don’t make sense. THE BEAUTIFUL ONES had none of these. There wasn’t a single part of the book that made me pause; I read straight through with an insane amount of love and excitement for what I was reading.”
“THE BEAUTIFUL ONES completely won me over. If you love mannered, suspenseful, lushly written historical romances, pick this up.”
“Filled with gothic overtones and lush, vivid characters this is a story that captures the heart and imagination.”Heroes and Heartbreakers
“THE BEAUTIFUL ONES by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia lives up to its title – it’s beautifully written, both in the sentences themselves and the images they create [...] [R]eaders who enjoy light speculative elements, historical fantasy, romance, and beautiful prose will find a trove. Straddling several genres with elegant intelligence, THE BEAUTIFUL ONES is both an easy read and a fulfilling one.”
"Moreno-Garcia’s masterful writing elevated this trope and made reading The Beautiful Ones an emotional, meaningful experience."
"The Beautiful Ones is a beautiful gothic tale full of wonder and feels absolutely real. The characters are vividly complicated. I seriously loved everything about this from the gorgeous, lush prose, to the tiny intimate moments of heartbreak."Mary Robinette Kowal
“Truly one of the most beautiful books I’ve read in a long time. This sweeping tale of love lost and found is told with old-world elegance, grace and just the right touch of magic.”M.J. Rose, The New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Language of Stones
Awards & Accolades
USA
Chirp: "July 2022 Audiobook Pick"