The Beautiful Ones

Nina arrives in Loisail for her first Grand Season, sponsored by her cousin and his wife. She’s long had difficulties fitting in, what with her uncontrolled telekinesis powers causing her considerable difficulty. She might have hoped for things to be better in the city but she feels more an outsider than ever and the attempts by her cousin’s wife Valerie to mold her into a Beautiful One cause her more misery than ever.

It’s at a party that she meets the famous Hector Auvray, an entertainer with powers like hers. She recognizes him from a photograph and immediately forms an attachment, Hector, however, is only there to see Valerie, who abandoned an engagement formed between them ten years ago to marry Nina’s cousin. He uses his new connection with Nina in order to get closer to Valerie. Meanwhile, there’s Valerie working behind the scenes to manipulate those around her to her satisfaction. With time, some harsh truths emerge, causing pain and sadness for those involved.

I wasn’t initially taken with the story, perhaps while I was orienting myself in the universe created. There’s an historic European feel to the place with a slight magical element creating the fantasy part. But the magic doesn’t seem to be the focus here. It’s more about being an outsider and being forced or trying to fit in.

I did eventually get quite involved in the story and enjoyed it thoroughly. What stood out by the end was how the story seemed to be more about Valerie and the woman she became after being forced to marry in order to save her family. One can sympathize with her on that part, but she is shown to have turned into a cruel and hateful monster of a person, well beyond any wrongs done towards her.

Nina is both naive and knowing at the same time. By virtue of her special ability, she matured into a smart young woman and understands the world quite well in a very academic way. But she is quite naive about some of the finer social points, particularly as they relate to men. Her knowledge has been gleaned from the romance novels she has read, which don’t seem to provide much useful guidance for her situation.

Meanwhile, Hector has idolized Valerie for such a long time that he fails to acknowledge she is flawed and this leads him to grow old and bitter before his time. His interactions with Nina do bring some pleasure to his life although he doesn’t appreciate it for what it is.

As I mentioned above, this was a really good read and I recommend it to anyone with an interest in character-driven stories. I give this a solid four stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Jo Fletcher books for sharing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.