Spoiler-Free Blog

I loved Mexican Gothic so I wanted to give The Beautiful Ones by the same author a shot. While it fell short for me, there is definitely potential for this book as a comfort read.

What’s it about? 

Nina is a young woman making her debut in the fictional city of Loisail, in an era reminiscent of the 1800s or early 1900s both in style and propriety. But Nina also struggles to control her telekinetic powers, earning her the moniker “the witch of Oldhouse” – until she meets Hector, a telekinetic like her who uses his powers to perform on stage. She begins to fall for him, but Hector has a secret.

This story had the right elements, but not the right execution.

I was initially hooked. The concept of telekinetic powers existing in the prim and proper world of socialites is a unique premise. Not to mention that Nina makes for an interesting character already as someone who doesn’t take particular interest in being a “Beautiful One” – the name given to the elites of their world. 

However, I realized about 50 or 60 pages in that the story itself was going to be fairly predictable. After that, I was no longer hooked. 

I have several critiques: 

• First – I think more could have been done with the fantasy setting to make it actually stand out. Aside from the telekinetic powers, the name Loisail is the only fantastical element of the setting. It easily could’ve been London or Paris, and the fact that it wasn’t truly its own place feels like so much wasted potential. 
• Second – the story itself often felt more like a soap opera or telenovela. It was dramatic – which I know is often the point with some historical romances. But here it truly felt like a character was either good or bad. There wasn’t much nuance. They were either an innocent, or out for blood.
• And third – I didn’t much like the love interest, nor was I invested in his success. I might have liked him better if we didn’t have to read his POV. The story would’ve been much improved, in my opinion, if we mostly stayed in Nina’s head. But Hector just struck me as weak, pathetic, and oftentimes just silly – not romantic. Nina could do better. 

I will say that this could be a good read if you enjoy historical romance and are looking to read something that is familiar, but puts its own spin on it.

Should you read The Beautiful Ones? 

This one is for you if you enjoy drama, historical romance, and super light fantasy – or if you’re looking for an easy comfort read. You might like it if you enjoyed The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. 

Check out some of my other recent blogs:

• The Heart of the World (Book 2): A bit slow
• The Will of the Many (Hierarchy 1): A top read
• Everything I read, watched, listened to, or played in October 2024
• The Death of Jane Lawrence: Strange and speculative
• She Started It: Mean girls and murder