The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

“A sea roared inside her and made demands, but she waded it, she bobbed up, took a breath, and opened her eyes to the cold winter morning. Then she rose because the day was there, the world was there, and she wanted to be part of it.”

Antonina Beaulieau is in the midst of her first Grand Season. During this time, her life is to be filled with parties where she will ideally find a suitor and cement a place in high society. But Antonina is not a typical young lady. Her telekinetic powers had always made her somewhat of an outcast, but more than that, she does not particularly care or adhere to “proper” lady behaviour. When she meets Hector Auvray, a famous telekinetic performer, she is intrigued by his abilities and more and more flattered by his attention. Hector, however, has a hidden motive that lies behind his interest in Antonina; his quest to recapture a long lost love. What unfolds is a tale of love and duplicity, with a touch of the supernatural.

After reading Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s latest novel, Gods of Jade & Shadow, I was inspired to pick up The Beautiful Ones, which was the only novel of hers that I hadn’t read. Quite simply, I loved this book. I feel that this was a case of the right story at the right time, and I found myself completely glued to each page and unable to put it down. Moreno-Garcia is an exceptional writer, and in The Beautiful Ones she creates characters that are compelling and three-dimensional. There was depth and reason, a driving force, behind their actions that I found intriguing. While there is a fantasy aspect to this novel it is mainly a historical romance. The use of telekinesis is sprinkled throughout but does not play a key role. So if you enjoy a good historical romance, this is a great option. It completely hit the mark for me, and deserves five stars for the sheer enjoyment it brought me, and the fact that I could not put it down. Oh how I love when that happens. 🙂