This book was, in every way, nothing like my usual picks. I requested it because I loved both of the books I’ve read by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. And I adored this just as much. Everyone absolutely needs to read this, I loved the drama and the scandal and the glittering beauty of the season. It was incredible, and I had to tell everyone all about it while I was reading because I just couldn’t believe what was happening.

Rating: 4.5 stars!

Thanks to Jo Fletcher Books for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.

About the book:

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. 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.

What did I think?

Okay. I don’t usually read historical romance. I was swayed in by Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s name and the mention of telekinesis in the blurb and I’m so glad that I gave it a chance. This book was incredible, and I totally wouldn’t have picked it up normally. There’s a huge focus on society life, the socialites and the grand season and at several points I was literally breathless over the scandals and risk. I was genuinely worried about people finding out the truth about Hector and Nina, it was an emotional ride that I didn’t expect.

The book has all of Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s usual, beautiful writing. It’s lush and descriptive, making it so easy to read. The characters were nuanced and interesting, emotive and infuriating in equal measures, and I adore the way that Silvia Moreno-Garcia consistently creates worlds that I sink into whole-heartedly. I think because in my head I thought it was horror (it wasn’t, that was entirely me) I was expecting this to go a different way than it did. I guess I was expecting something that was more Carrie, and instead I got a heart punch instead. The way that this book looked at the difference between cruelty and kindness, and the value of choosing kindness. A lot of that was down to Nina. Nina was so weird and genuine and honest. It made it totally impossible not to love her. Especially when she was compared to Valerie, her cousin and the motivating factor for a lot of the dramatic tension in the story. It made for a gorgeously dramatic romance with a little telekinesis to add a fantasy element.

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Release Date: 27th April 2021

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