The Beautiful Ones

Back in 2021, The Beautiful Ones was only the third Silvia Moreno-Garcia book I’d read. It was another distinct departure in genre from both Gods of Jade and Shadow (fantasy) and Mexican Gothic (Gothic horror), lighter on fantasy and more a book of manners. It’s also one of her few books not set in Mexico, instead taking place in a fantasy world much like our own. The names are different, but it’s easy to imagine them as what we know here on Earth. Perhaps Levrene is like a Western European country, say England or France. Maybe Iblevad is the United States, or the Americas overall. Further, this book seems to go back farther in time, evidently the early 1900s.

As the author herself has described it, The Beautiful Ones is a book of manners. It plays out like a historical romance, but one that is more authentic to the time, even formal, as opposed to the steamy regency romances popular today. This writing style is perfectly crafted and intentional. It feels like it could have been written a century ago, not simply set in that time period. The language is precise and proper, it’s descriptive and detailed, and the third person narration never intrudes with emotion or judgment. We get an unbiased look at our three main characters, understanding their feelings and actions, but always kept just at arm’s length.

The Beautiful Ones follows three characters, each chapter focusing on one of them. First we meet Hector, a man who’s made his fortune performing his telekinesis skills in theaters around the world. He’s spent the last decade pining after his former fiancée, Valérie, and though she’s now married to another man, he hasn’t given up. He’s a serious and practical man, but he can be pathetic in matters of the heart. Nina is only 19 at the start of the book, a country girl who’s enthusiastic, curious, and bold. She’s an outsider in Loisail, and her uncontrolled telekinesis powers don’t help, but she’s a charmingly free spirit. Finally there’s Valérie: the wife of Nina’s cousin and Hector’s long-lost love. She’s calculating and controlling, and though she fits in perfectly with upper class society, there is little warmth in her heart.

The first third of this book was a bit slow for me. It wasn’t just due to the writing style, though that did take some getting used to. Rather, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. I liked Nina quite a bit, but Hector frustrated me and Valérie very much rubbed me the wrong way. Within this love triangle and web of lies, I could only see disaster coming.

However, the second two-thirds of The Beautiful Ones – including the latter portion of Part 1 and all of Part 2 – really picked up, and then I flew through the chapters. My, how the tables had turned! Finally, the stakes felt higher and more compelling to me. There was more action and it was more fun. And perhaps most important for me: There was noticeable character growth, mainly in Nina and Hector.

Valérie, on the other hand, only digs in her heels on who she’s become (or maybe always was). In all honesty, I disliked her more with each chapter, but she’s a character you love to hate. I hate-read her chapters, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy them. She’s that villain. Valérie becomes shockingly volatile as time passes, but I relished how things turned out by the end.

Final Thoughts

Although it took some time for me to get into The Beautiful Ones, I ended up really enjoying it. It offers strong character growth and subtle but effective world-building. The excitement really ramps up to the end, and as nerve-wracking as it could get, I love how everything played out. This was even more enjoyable on my second read.

Special thanks to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!

Get the Book

You can buy The Beautiful Ones here – it’s available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.

The Beautiful Ones by Author
Audience	Adult
Genre	Fantasy
Setting	Fantasy World: Loisail, Levrene
Number of Pages	304
Format I Read	Ebook (NetGalley ARC)
Original Publication Date	August 11, 2026 (Reprint); April 27, 2021 (reprint); October 24, 2017 (original)
Publisher	Bramble

Official Summary

From the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic comes a brand-new Bramble edition of this sweeping romance with a dash of magic

They are the Beautiful Ones, Loisail’s most notable socialites, and this spring is Nina’s chance to join their ranks, courtesy of her well-connected cousin and his calculating wife. But the Grand Season has just begun, and already Nina’s debut has gone disastrously awry. She has always struggled to control her telekinesis—neighbors call her the Witch of Oldhouse—and the haphazard manifestations of her powers make her the subject of malicious gossip.

When entertainer Hector Auvray arrives to town, Nina is dazzled. A telekinetic like her, he has traveled the world performing his talents for admiring audiences. He sees Nina not as a witch, but ripe with potential to master her power under his tutelage. With Hector’s help, Nina’s talent blossoms, as does her love for him.

But great romances are for fairytales, and Hector is hiding a truth from Nina—and himself—that threatens to end their courtship before it truly begins.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s The Beautiful Ones is a charming tale of love and betrayal, and the struggle between conformity and passion, set in a world where scandal is a razor-sharp weapon.