A review by iheartfictionalpeople
The Beautiful Ones by Kody Boye
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*