Review | The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Beautiful Ones

by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

My Rating: 

Antonina Beaulieu is in the glittering city of Loisail for her first Grand Season, where she will attend balls and mingle among high society in hopes of landing a suitable husband. But Antonina is telekinetic, and strange events in her past have made her the subject of malicious gossip and hardly a sought-after bride. Now, under the tutelage of her cousin’s wife, she is finally ready to shed the past and learn the proper ways of society.

Antonina, who prefers her family's country home to the glamorous ballrooms of the wealthy, finds it increasingly difficult to conform to society’s ideals for women, especially when she falls under the spell of the dazzling telekinetic performer Hector Auvray. As their romance blossoms, and he teaches her how to hone and control her telekinetic gift, she can't help but feel a marriage proposal is imminent.

Little does Antonina know that Hector and those closest to her are hiding a devastating secret that will crush her world and force her to confront who she really is and what she's willing to sacrifice.

Amazon | The Book Depository | Wordery | Thomas Dunne Books

I received an eARC of The Beautiful Ones from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Check out my reviews of Signal to Noise and Certain Dark Things here and here!

Those of you who've been following my blog for a while know by now that I will read anything Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes after her debut novel, Signal to Noise, became one of my favourite novels of all time. The big lover of historical fiction that I am, you can imagine my excitement when I realised Moreno-Garcia's latest novel would be returning to a time of calling cards and ballgowns.

I'll admit that it took me a while to get into this one, and I think that's because this isn't quite the book I was expecting it to be. With the mention of our heroine's telekinetic powers and her being taught to hone them by a man who also has this skill, I thought more of the novel was going to be taken up by lessons and that Nina was going to end up assisting Hector with his performances. Instead this Fantasy of Manners has more to do with the manners than the fantasy, like a Georgette Heyer or Jane Austen novel with a splash of telekinesis thrown in, which isn't a bad thing at all, it just wasn't what I expected when I read the blurb.

I was also a little unsure of the setting. I couldn't work out if this was France with a dash of magic thrown in, or if this was an alternate France in an alternate world a little different from ours. It didn't throw me too much, and in all honesty this isn't the kind of book that needed a lore dump, but I would have liked to know a little more about the world and more about how society functioned outside of these wealthy families.

Ultimately this was more of a character-driven novel than anything else, and while I always choose character over plot I would have liked a wider plot outside of these characters that I could sink my teeth into. Having said that, the characters and the character development were fantastic. Perhaps it says something about me that my favourite character in this book was the villainous Valérie, who was so deliciously messed up. I'm not the biggest fan of villain stories because I don't like it when authors try to excuse villainy with a tragic past, but what I loved about Valérie is that while Moreno-Garcia tells us why she is the way she is, she never uses it to excuse her actions which, by the end of the book, are downright evil.

It's also a testament to Moreno-Garcia's skill as an author that I initially disliked Hector and the way he used Nina, only to later root for him once we'd learned more about him. He's a character that grew on me, much like Nina grew on him.

If you're in the mood for a Fantasy of Manners/Romance novel, then this is the novel you should pick up. It's a story written with such affection and while it isn't my favourite of Moreno-Garcia's, I still think it's worth checking out.

Review | Soulless by Gail Carriger

Soulless

by Gail Carriger

My Rating: 

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. 

First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire--and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

Gail Carriger's one of those authors who's been on my TBR for quite a few years now. I've read very few fantasy of manners books, but considering I love historical fiction, and particularly subgenres such as historical fantasy and historical magical realism, I'd certainly like to read more of them, especially now having read Soulless.

Soulless is set in an alternate Victorian London where vampires, werewolves and ghosts are known and integrated into society. Vampires keep to their hives and werewolves to their packs, and there are certain rules in place to ensure that everyone lives together as harmoniously as they possibly can given the circumstances. Our protagonist, Alexia Tarabotti, is a spinster who only really attends parties for the food (I'm the same, to be honest) and also happens to have no soul. This isn't exactly common, in fact it's so rare even her own family don't know about it, but in this world she can use it to her advantage, for if she touches someone supernatural they revert to a human state for however long she happens to be touching them, making it practically impossible for supernatural creatures to attack her. And even when they try she has her trusty parasol to bat them off with.

Friends with a flamboyant vampire and frustrated with a particularly handsome werewolf, Alexia is no stranger to the supernatural. At the beginning of Soulless she's attacked by a vampire who, oddly, doesn't appear to know what she is; those born without souls used to hunt vampires, and so any new vampires are warned of their existence. Throughout the country werewolves and vampires are going missing, and when an eerie figure with a horrid grin begins pursuing Alexia she realises whoever's taking the supernatural creatures is after her too, and she's determined to find out why.

From the beginning Soulless is fun and fast-paced. It's not exactly heavy on the action, as a fantasy of manners book much of the conflict is conveyed through witty dialogue and social encounters rather than fist fights or shoot outs in the middle of the street, but I was never bored. In fact I flew through this, and would have finished it much faster than I did if I hadn't left it at work over the weekend. That was frustrating.

Alexia's a very entertaining heroine. Historical fiction is full of women, usually spinsters, who are 'ahead of their time' to the point where they can become interchangeable, but in a way it's almost as though Carriger is aware that Alexia is something of a trope, and because of that self-awareness it works. She's also not the usual spinster who's declared the 19th century equivalent of 'I don't need no man', but a woman who's lucky enough to come from a fairly wealthy family which means she doesn't need to get married to advance her family's position in society or bring in extra money. She's comfortable as she is, so she stays as she is.

Then we have Lord Conall Maccon, the Scottish werewolf who plays the part of our love interest in this book. I have to be honest, I liked him a lot. Call me shallow but I have a thing for older men in fiction, particularly of the gruff variety. Moody and self-pitying I don't like, but a man who knows how to take control while also showing women respect? Yes. Yes please.

The book is populated by a colourful cast of other characters, from Alexia's Mrs. Bennet-esque mother to her loyal butler Floote, and altogether they're such fun to read. That's the best word I can think of to describe this book: fun.

Soulless isn't to be taken too seriously. Amidst all the flirting and tea there are moments where Carriger uses the supernatural as a way to comment on society, on the way we treat people we view as 'other', and while it's nothing ground-breakingly new I still appreciated it being there, but if you're looking for a serious historical fantasy I don't think Soulless is what you're looking for. At times it borders on the silly - particularly during the times when the romance overtakes the plot - but it's harmless and, there's that word again, fun.

I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of this series, and checking out more of Carriger's work.