Amina 's Reviews > The Beautiful Ones

✰ 3.75 stars ✰

“Nothing matters more than money to us, the Beautiful Ones who walk down these city streets in pristine gloves and silk-lined garments. You can give yourself the luxury of love because you are not one of us.

That is why you are my friend: because despite everything, at heart you remain an innocent.”

I have had The Beautiful Ones on my list of books to read for so long, that when I finally read it over the weekend, I didn't recall anything about the blurb or why I chose to read it. But, for a cover as visually striking as this, I knew it would be worth reading.

And it was.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia's historical magical romance is the age old tale of lost love and unrequited love and what one does to hold onto it forever in your heart or allow your heart to beat for a second time. Told through the eyes of the three main characters' whose lives become intertwined on the path paved with folly and revenge, social inequalities and elusive nobility, greed for riches and greed for love, heartache and heartbreak, deceit and despair, and with the hint of magical glamor that would make a believer out of anyone.

At the tender ages of nineteen, tall, slim, and charged with a palpable magnetism' Hector Auvray and ' beautiful, sophisticated, captivating - the most devastating woman in the room' Valérie Beaulieu née Véries fell madly in love, while she was secretly engaged to another, Gaétan. Despite the promise of a plea of 'would you wait for me?' from her lover, in order to secure the family name from ruin, Valérie could not wait and was forced into the marriage.

Carrying the sting of bitterness and betrayal over not having the right to choose who she weds, even with the promises of riches galore, she carries a certain vengeful creed towards Gaétan's younger cousin, Antonina, one who could hardly be called a Lady or a Beautiful One with her wayward behavior and questionable talents, but still earns the affection of her husband. And to add insult to injury - upon her stage entrance into society, Antonina sets her enamored eyes on 'one of the great psychokinetics of our era' - Hector Auvray.

“I’m a decent performer,” he replied.

“Modest, too.”

She was a curious girl, and now he reassessed her again. Not an aristocrat and not a country rube and—what exactly?

He didn’t like it when he couldn’t classify people.”

Since I didn't quite recall what the story was going to be about, I'll admit: it took me awhile to get into the story. But, once Ms. Garcia introduced the players - as she shed light on each character's intentions, I was drawn into the story - each point of view displayed the pangs of not only love lost, but life lost, as well. It is those integral themes of having to make decisions based on family standings and social stature - that the Beautiful Ones are exemplified by their grand status of old nobility and grandeur - when they are anything but.

She may be a thorn in Valérie's path, but she is so much more. She is the challenge to the norm that begins with her honest behavior - how she defies those expectations, pursuing a brazenness with her frank candor talks with Hector, her unwillingness to shy away from her own hidden talents - it showed so very clearly that she is the defiance in their long-standing traditions and expectations. And it would be her love for Hector that would break apart their social structure. 🙏🏻🙏🏻

“How he’d managed this in ten scant years was explained rather easily. Hector had been possessed. He’d felt it necessary to show Valérie he could achieve what he’d said he would do. To amass the fortune, the prestige they had dreamed about.

Every step he took was inspired by the echo of that long-lost love. Even now, Hector knew he was still possessed. Perhaps even more than before.”

I felt for Hector - truly, I did. He starts out with ill-intentions, true; he hurts Nina, very much so - his love for Valérie was vicious that if to be swayed by Nina's affections for him was the only way to be close to her, then let it be - without thought or remorse to Nina's innocent feelings. And haunted by the notion that 'the pauper does not get the princess' his heart held onto the magic that is Valérie for so very long, that it was inconceivable to him that he could ever love again - an act of betrayal, if he 'allowed himself to feel passion for someone else.' But, what Ms.Garcia beautifully and tenderly crafted is the slow nature in which Nina slowly cracked open the armor and visors that had blinded him to anyone but Valérie - and he is adamantly, most ardently repentant.

With soft-drawn out moments, tender explorations of their own shared unique talents, they defy the system and fall in love - breaking family values and friends' expectations. 🤍🤍 I didn't quite know for sure if the magical elements of the story were necessary, but how the plot steadily leads up to an eventual confrontation of their relationship - it plays a vital role in determining which side would be the victor over Hector and Nina's chance for happiness. For there was no one person who could hate that more from happening than Valérie.

“Why should Antonina be granted happiness? Why should a single thought be spared for her feelings?

Hector was hers. He was always hers, and even if she wouldn’t have him, he should remain so.”

Ah, Valérie - is she the caricature of a villain or the one who represents the repressed and down-trodden state of a woman - drawn into a marriage she did not want, even with all the promise of riches and respect, when she simply wants to remember that feeling of true love's first kiss? I understood her rage - her vengeful motives and her deplorable manipulative schemes. All her scenes were highlighted with this primal urge of jealousy at the much younger Nina and the frivolous ways that her riches were already something of a privilege to her. 😠💔

Valérie would always have to work for it - prove her worth to demand that same sense of equality in her family's eyes. So to see her fiancé - the man who proved beyond reasonable doubt - that his heart would be for her, and her, alone - suddenly in the arms of another? Inconceivable and unthinkable and the driving force of her passion to ensure that their relationship would never see the light of day. And it made for some highly motivated villainy and jealousy that, surprisingly, was never redundant. I marveled at her formidable determination, as my heart steadfastly yearned that Hector and Nina would not fall victim to her machinations. 😟😟

“Would you wait for me?”

She hadn’t.
He had.

He’d wait forever, she thought. He must.
At least she had this satisfaction.

Had I been given her wealth, I would have done as I pleased, Valérie thought. I would have waited.”

As Valérie’s jealousy intensified - as she blindly, fervently schemed for absolution for Hector and Nina not to get the happy ending, she was so shamefully robbed off, I couldn't help but start to feel a distinct similarity to Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle - the book, not so much. Every instance she voiced her displeasure at Hector's heart yearning for another, Lauren Bacall echoed in my mind 'How's heart. Give it to me. His heart belongs to me.' 😅 The similarity in names Hector - Howl. Nina - a beautiful one who defied the norm from a loud, rambunctious family of older siblings, much like the less than beautiful Sophie Hatter - the whimsical fantasy world of Loisail, which resembled the fictional kingdom of Ingary. True, they aren't very noticeable similarities, and perhaps it was not intentional from the author, but once I picked up on these few points - it was a little hard for me not to see them. 🤔

Did it mar my overall enjoyment of the book?

Not in the slightest. For there were still so many things I appreciated about it. It was very easy to read - the pacing was so very solid and the writing flowed wand was fulfilling. It was rich with such beautiful prose and really - the fact that it never fared into a languorous state of being too wordy or too much was the charm of it's story. With a guiding hand that glided the characters across the page with such graceful attention, I was caught up in this tale - rich on revenge, retribution, and lost romance. The slow-burn romance slowly building itself to something more with each soft intimate instance of perpetual heartbreak or hidden desire. 👌🏻👌🏻

I enjoyed all the character dynamics - I loved the message of how love can triumph over all - how even with all the impending drama that seemed set to a fated doom - it resounded with a deep and hopeful ending that displayed the magic of love. The Beautiful Ones is that story that shows the ugliness that lies beneath the surface of all that beauty - that one should not judge truly by the cover, rather what's on the inside is where true beauty lies - regardless of social status or riches or fame. It was a fulfilling and entertaining read that explored themes of second chance at love, unexpected paths to second chances of love, revenge built on bitterness of family obligations, and the truest nature of true beauty and where it lies truly in the eyes of the beholder. 💫 🫶🏻