iheartfictionalpeople's review against another edition
3.0
Review originally posted on my blog: I Heart Fictional People
INITIAL THOUGHTS
I was drawn to that beautiful cover! I had to see what this one was about. And when I read the book blurb, I was intrigued by beauty being a currency and valued so highly. Doesn’t sound like the most ideal place to live, but I had to see what happens!
WHAT I LIKED
The premise. These girls live their whole lives striving to be chosen, to be selected as a Beautiful One. They don’t exactly know what awaits them if chosen, but they know that they will no longer live a life of poverty. They will live in the Glittering City and never have to worry about barely surviving. I was instantly reminded of Uglies and The Hunger Games, two of my favorite series, and the movie The Island, which I loved. So, I was really excited to see where this went.
The camaraderie. What I loved was that Kelendra is thrown into this brand new world, and she has no idea what to expect. But she meets a couple people along the way, and even though they are strangers, they instantly bond and have each other’s backs. Instead of feeling alone, they grasp onto each other, heads held high, and face this fascinating yet scary world together.
Kept me intrigued the whole time. I just kept reading and reading. I had to know what happened. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. However…
WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME
Disappointing plot. I was waiting and waiting for something to happen…and it never did. When something happened toward the end, I was like, that’s it?? It was a lot of buildup for nothing, in my opinion. Now, I do think that the next book will probably be more exciting. BUT, I feel like this book should have had a lot more action and excitement to keep me wanting to read the rest of the series. To be honest, I feel a little cheated. I was so invested in this book, and then it just ended with not much happening. In a series, each book should be equally exciting with almost a new plot for each book. But this one seemed to be a whole lot of buildup for the second book.
The purpose of the Beautiful Ones. So, their purpose is to get married and have babies? That’s it?? Kinda disappointing. I thought it would be more exciting or mysterious.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
On one hand, I’m thinking okay, interesting concept, let’s see what happens. On the other hand, I’m thinking what did I just read? Nothing much happened. The whole book was just buildup, a little excitement at the end, but then nothing. I had such high hopes for this book, but I was ultimately disappointed. However, since I became so invested, I am curious about the second book, so I may have to pick that one up. I just know it’ll be better than this one. So, overall, interesting idea with memorable characters and relationships but kind of poorly executed.
*I received an eBook copy of this book from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review*
INITIAL THOUGHTS
I was drawn to that beautiful cover! I had to see what this one was about. And when I read the book blurb, I was intrigued by beauty being a currency and valued so highly. Doesn’t sound like the most ideal place to live, but I had to see what happens!
WHAT I LIKED
The premise. These girls live their whole lives striving to be chosen, to be selected as a Beautiful One. They don’t exactly know what awaits them if chosen, but they know that they will no longer live a life of poverty. They will live in the Glittering City and never have to worry about barely surviving. I was instantly reminded of Uglies and The Hunger Games, two of my favorite series, and the movie The Island, which I loved. So, I was really excited to see where this went.
The camaraderie. What I loved was that Kelendra is thrown into this brand new world, and she has no idea what to expect. But she meets a couple people along the way, and even though they are strangers, they instantly bond and have each other’s backs. Instead of feeling alone, they grasp onto each other, heads held high, and face this fascinating yet scary world together.
Kept me intrigued the whole time. I just kept reading and reading. I had to know what happened. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. However…
WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME
Disappointing plot. I was waiting and waiting for something to happen…and it never did. When something happened toward the end, I was like, that’s it?? It was a lot of buildup for nothing, in my opinion. Now, I do think that the next book will probably be more exciting. BUT, I feel like this book should have had a lot more action and excitement to keep me wanting to read the rest of the series. To be honest, I feel a little cheated. I was so invested in this book, and then it just ended with not much happening. In a series, each book should be equally exciting with almost a new plot for each book. But this one seemed to be a whole lot of buildup for the second book.
The purpose of the Beautiful Ones. So, their purpose is to get married and have babies? That’s it?? Kinda disappointing. I thought it would be more exciting or mysterious.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
On one hand, I’m thinking okay, interesting concept, let’s see what happens. On the other hand, I’m thinking what did I just read? Nothing much happened. The whole book was just buildup, a little excitement at the end, but then nothing. I had such high hopes for this book, but I was ultimately disappointed. However, since I became so invested, I am curious about the second book, so I may have to pick that one up. I just know it’ll be better than this one. So, overall, interesting idea with memorable characters and relationships but kind of poorly executed.
*I received an eBook copy of this book from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review*
jacks623's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
pixiejazz's review
3.0
The Beautiful Ones is the first book in a series, and it introduces us to Kelendra Byron, a 16 year old girl who dreams of being chosen as a Beautiful One. She lives in poverty, but if chosen, she will get to move to the Glittering City and have everything her heart could ever desire. Thankfully, Kelendra knows she's beautiful, since she's been told that all her life. And, thankfully, she is chosen to move to the City. Unfortunately, being beautiful isn't all it's cracked up to be, and Kelendra slowly starts to realize that maybe she's not quite ready to give up her free will.
I have to say, I was fascinated by the synopsis when I first read it. The cover also drew me in. I'm a sucker for YA dystopian novels, and this one gave off Hunger Games meets Uglies meets Chemical Garden (trilogy) vibes. I was curious to see how using beauty as a currency would play out.
I'll admit, I wasn't quite sold on the story, although it was a good read, and I'd be keen to read the other books in the trilogy to see where Kelendra's journey takes her. I was a bit annoyed by the whole "beauty is the most important thing ever" vibe, mostly because that's how society has always seemed to be. Nowadays, if you're stick-thin, big-chested, blonde, etc, you're deemed beautiful. Doesn't matter if you have no personality or intelligence. As long as you're beautiful, that's all that matters. Can we say ugh? It made sense for the story (although Kelendra doesn't seem to be big-chested or dumb; just a bit naive, which makes sense), but it also irked me. Give me average (or what society would consider below average) beauty with brains and a good personality over someone shallow and empty-headed any day.
Anyway... the idea behind the story was intriguing, but I felt it could have been a bit more fleshed out. Same goes for the world building. I would have liked to know more about what started the War. Why was it still ongoing? Why is beauty the most important (other than needing to keep the gene pool "perfect") thing ever? What makes someone more beautiful than someone else (especially if all of the girls have been striving for the same goal)? How did the people in the City (who are already there) come to be there, and why are they considered better than the people who live on farms or the outskirts of the desert? And why are the Rebels so against the Procession? I assume some of those questions are answered in the sequels, but I would have liked a little more in this book, to sort of set a better tone. Maybe that's just me, though.
I also noticed there were a small handful of grammatical errors within the pages, but nothing major to detract from the story itself.
Overall, I did like the story, and I would consider continuing the series. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, but they were all written well enough for me not to hate any of them. Except maybe the Countess and her husband, even though we don't really get to know them all that much in this book.
If you're a fan of YA dystopian novels, check out The Beautiful Ones.
3.5 stars from me.
I have to say, I was fascinated by the synopsis when I first read it. The cover also drew me in. I'm a sucker for YA dystopian novels, and this one gave off Hunger Games meets Uglies meets Chemical Garden (trilogy) vibes. I was curious to see how using beauty as a currency would play out.
I'll admit, I wasn't quite sold on the story, although it was a good read, and I'd be keen to read the other books in the trilogy to see where Kelendra's journey takes her. I was a bit annoyed by the whole "beauty is the most important thing ever" vibe, mostly because that's how society has always seemed to be. Nowadays, if you're stick-thin, big-chested, blonde, etc, you're deemed beautiful. Doesn't matter if you have no personality or intelligence. As long as you're beautiful, that's all that matters. Can we say ugh? It made sense for the story (although Kelendra doesn't seem to be big-chested or dumb; just a bit naive, which makes sense), but it also irked me. Give me average (or what society would consider below average) beauty with brains and a good personality over someone shallow and empty-headed any day.
Anyway... the idea behind the story was intriguing, but I felt it could have been a bit more fleshed out. Same goes for the world building. I would have liked to know more about what started the War. Why was it still ongoing? Why is beauty the most important (other than needing to keep the gene pool "perfect") thing ever? What makes someone more beautiful than someone else (especially if all of the girls have been striving for the same goal)? How did the people in the City (who are already there) come to be there, and why are they considered better than the people who live on farms or the outskirts of the desert? And why are the Rebels so against the Procession? I assume some of those questions are answered in the sequels, but I would have liked a little more in this book, to sort of set a better tone. Maybe that's just me, though.
I also noticed there were a small handful of grammatical errors within the pages, but nothing major to detract from the story itself.
Overall, I did like the story, and I would consider continuing the series. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, but they were all written well enough for me not to hate any of them. Except maybe the Countess and her husband, even though we don't really get to know them all that much in this book.
If you're a fan of YA dystopian novels, check out The Beautiful Ones.
3.5 stars from me.
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