The Beautiful Ones

As far as I remember, the advance copy of this book was one of the earliest copies I ever received on Netgalley, during my initial days of blogging in 2017. But I was also overwhelmed by the many arcs I had gotten due to my enthusiastic and impulsive requesting, and I quickly lost interest in this one. I never expected to encounter this book again, with a new cover and rerelease and more importantly, the now popular name of the author behind the book. I was also lucky enough to receive this one as a gift recently, so I was finally interested to see what it was all about.

As someone who is very rare in my picks of historical fiction, it was nice to delve into a new fantasy world, albeit with very similar societal structures and expectations to that of the various romances I have encountered with dukes and viscounts. That's why this world felt very familiar and easy to get into, just with a tad bit of magic (or is it science?) added into it. I have always felt the author excels in writing lush and vibrant descriptions, and I think that was very evident in this type of story and definitely made it more richer. It was so easy to get lost when the author wove enchanting tales about the billowing dresses, the opulence of the city, the rustic country and more importantly, the raw and gritty emotions that drive people to do hurtful things. The pacing was also just right, always enticing me through some new crumb, whenever I felt my interest lagging.

And what fascinating characters the author has managed to create. I really loved Nina for her sweetness and innocence, but also for trying her best to be herself in a world that wanted to mould into a box she couldn't fit in. Her enthusiasm for her beetles and butterflies, the easy way she could give her affections without expecting much, her desire to be able to want more than just a proper marriage - it all dug deep into my heart and I know she'll remain quite a memorable character for me. On the other hand, Hector wasn't easy to like to start with but I enjoyed getting to know him better and slowly fall for him as well. It was so easy for him to be perceived as a bad guy after the first half of the book, but the author deftly captures the turmoil within him and takes us on a journey with him, where he pieces back together his broken heart and embarks on a new but scarier phase of his life - to try and love again. Nina and Hector's relationship starts off with lies but it truly develops into something full of love and understanding and particularly, respect, which I absolutely adored.

Valerie is a character who I suppose some readers might feel sympathetic towards because of the circumstances of her upbringing and the insurmountable expectations on her shoulders placed by her family, and maybe there was some goodness in her when she was younger - but in the present, I only found her to be spiteful and obsessive and vindictive, who just couldn't tolerate anyone else's happiness because she wasn't happy herself. I'm not usually prone to hating characters, but my mom has been subjecting me to a daily Hindi tv show where there is a very similarly vindictive woman whom I hate and I suppose I may have projected all that loathing onto Valerie's character as well. But I don't think I'm wrong in this case.

There were also a good number of side characters, but only a few make a significant impression. I was indifferent towards Etienne in the beginning but it was nice to see him value his friendships, across social classes. I still don't know how I feel about Luc, probably more pity than anything but I definitely can't say I like him. Nina's family as a whole seemed to be a good support to her and it was nice to see that.

Overall, this was quite an entertaining fantasy of manners, with gorgeous descriptions, very in-depth characters, a boatload of angst, and a delicious slow burn romance that made the experience worth it. The author does a singularly good job of evoking all kinds of emotions in the reader, and I really appreciated that. This probably has to be my favorite book by Garcia, but I have one more arc to go and I really hope Certain Dark Things will give me all the vampire content I want.