The Beautiful Ones
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The Beautiful Ones Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

Kody Boye (Author, Publisher), Jessica Hazard (Narrator)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 185 ratings
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My mother once said that only the Beautiful Ones survive. This is because in the war-torn Great South, beauty is a currency, and to have it means you will never have to worry about a thing. The only problem is: Beauty is judged by our capital’s Gentlewomen, and there is no guarantee we will pass their test.

Every year, the Gentlewomen of the capital leave the Glittering City to oversee the annual Procession. They travel settlement to settlement selecting girls, aged 16 and older, to become Beautiful Ones. If chosen, we will be lifted into a life of luxury, but the cost is our free will.

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  1. Listening Length
    7 hours and 56 minutes
  2. Author
    Kody Boye
  3. Narrator
    Jessica Hazard
  4. Audible release date
    February 2, 2019
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Kody Boye
  7. ASIN
    B07N8HFY9R
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 7 hours and 56 minutes
Author Kody Boye
Narrator Jessica Hazard
Whispersync for Voice Ready
Audible.com Release Date February 02, 2019
Publisher Kody Boye
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B07N8HFY9R
Best Sellers Rank #382,590 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#2,239 in Science Fiction Romance (Audible Books & Originals)
#3,498 in Romance for Teens
#5,420 in Teen & Young Adult Science Fiction & Dystopian Romance

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
185 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Nancy Allen (The Avid Reader)
5.0 out of 5 stars a very new and interesting take on the dystopian world
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2019
Verified Purchase
All her life Kelendra has been taught that beauty is everything. If you have beauty then you will want for nothing and you will be rich. Well that is if you are one of the chosen ones.

Each year girls sixteen and older are to participate in the annual Procession and if chosen will then be taken to the Glittering City to live, marry and raise a family of their own.

This is Kelendra’s lucky year as she is sixteen but will she be one of the chosen. Is Kelendra beautiful enough for the Gentlewomen the ladies who are in control of Glittering City? If she is chosen what awaits Kelendra on the other side? Will a life in Glittering City be the luxury she has been lead to believe?

I have really and truly enjoyed reading about this world that the author has created for The Beautiful Ones and can’t wait to see what is around the next corner for Kelendra and her new life and to see what she will do with it.

The Beautiful Ones caught my attention from the summary and never let it go until I had read the last page but even now I am still thinking about it and wanting more. I can’t wait to see where Kelendra’s journey takes her and how it will turn out. While I loved seeing things from the Beautiful Ones point of view I would also like to see things from the Handsome Ones point of view as well to see what their lives are like and to the go through the same process as the ladies. How are the men chosen to be a Handsome One?

The Beautiful Ones is a very new and interesting take on the dystopian world it is filled with beauty of course to hold your interest right up until the end. The Beautiful Ones is a great introduction into this new dystopian world one in which I would love to see more of. I agree with the reviews of others who are comparing The Beautiful Ones to The Hunger Games and The Handmaids Tale.

If you have seen or read either of these two books or TV shows, The Hunger Games or The Handmaids Tale and like them both then I am sure that you will love The Beautiful Ones. So I would like to suggest that you one click yourself a copy today to start on this beautiful journey with The Beautiful Ones.
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Cranky TBC
4.0 out of 5 stars Imagine if your beauty decided your fate
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2020
4.5 Cranky Stars

Imagine if you will a world where being beautiful got you everything you ever dreamed of. A safe secure place to live, people doing your bidding at every whim and the like. That is what this book is about yet it’s much more sinister. I hate to compare it to the Hunger Games but in a way it’s like that instead of going off to fight in some competition there is a competition where your area is judging young girls on their beauty except if you are chosen you are to leave your life behind for the Glittering City. This is the story of Kalendra.

Kalendra was told from a time when she was little that being a Beautiful One was a great honor. Her and her mother scrape to get by while her dad is off fighting in a great war. When her time comes up to be judged she is nervous and filled with trepidation. She doesn’t want to leave her life behind, but she has been raised for this moment. When she finds herself in the capitol, she finds it increasingly harder to keep her mouth shut and her eyes down when she learns her true purpose. She is to marry Daniel Cross a fellow Handsome One despite not knowing him at all and they suddenly become targets for the rebel army. Her life is spiraling out of control and she doesn’t know who to trust anymore.

I’m not going to lie this book was different. It’s been a while since I read a dystopian novel so it took me a bit to get into the swing of it. I liked that Kalendra knew her cause and what she wanted to fight for. I can’t wait to watch her grow as the books go on. I like that Daniel is actually a good person at his core so at least she has a friend in him. I just hope Ceyonne comes around though. All in all a good start to a dystopian world where being beautiful has its advantages and it’s price.
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Jasmine
3.0 out of 5 stars A decent read
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2020
Verified Purchase
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.
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Top reviews from other countries

Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely different.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 22, 2020
Verified Purchase
I was asked by family to read this book to see if I thought it was suitable for a 14yr old to read. A family with a very conservative non conformist faith.

I was delighted with the book. It's we'll written, the characters are totally believable and the storyline makes sense. I had no idea what was going to happen next and just had to keep reading, read it all in one go and then went back and read it again. If anything I enjoyed it more the second time.

I thoroughly recommend this to anyone. I was amazed to see that it's a Y A novel. It deals with many themes some of which are complex and challenging to an adult let alone a teenager.

It's ages since I enjoyed a book that I was asked to read as much as this one. No offensive language, no sex, just a brilliantly constructed world which contains thought provoking ideas and leaves you wanting more.
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Ashdust
1.0 out of 5 stars Just don't get it, sorry.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 31, 2021
Verified Purchase
Not quite sure what to say about this book. It sounded really interesting but I have some serious issues with it.
First the writing style, it's not had as such but I just don't feel any connection to the characters, only way I can explain it is that I don't know how the main character feels by her words or actions, more I know how she feels because I am told she's upset or angry etc.
But the main issue I have though is the whole hypothesis that not only are the leaders only interested in preserving beauty, but that the population not only accepts this, but is complicit in it.
Kelendra spends her whole life staying out of the sun, avoiding carbs, not frowning in case she gets lines...for what? So she can at age 16 be taken away from her friends and family, her whole life to live in luxury in the Glittering City. I would understand it more if her family got some benefit from this, but as far as I can see they don't. I get that they aren't rich and the life they live is hard but really, at least she is loved and looked after.
It seems a thoroughly selfish concept that the young girls would try so hard to be beautiful just so they can be dragged away from their family to be pampered. Then when they get everything they want they seem surprised that there is a cost to pay for it.
I've read a lot of this genre of book, but generally I feel empathy for the protaganist as they are pushed into impossible situations by forces out of their control or to protect their family...in this case I must admit I kind of think it serves them right.
One other thing that has really put me off reading any more is the last few pages. The last conversation with Kelendra and Ceyonne really disturbed me, not giving any spoilers, but given this is sold as Teen and YA one thing Ceyonne said there was totally inappropriate.
Sorry but I'm not going to read any more in the series.
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