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Beautiful Creatures
Apr. 25th, 2025 11:53 amI picked up Beautiful Creatures by Lulu Taylor in a charity shop because the style of the cover reminded my of the Penny Vincenzi books I've been devouring for the last few months. Then, it turned out, I've read one of her before - The Winter Secret - which I mostly enjoyed.
This one took my by surprised because the cover picture and the blurb on the back made me think it was going to be historical - and then it was set in 2008. It's about twin sisters, Octavia and Flora, who have been kept away from the world until receiving their obscenely huge inheritance at 21 - and are then launched into society at a very lavish party. It then follows them each trying to find their way in the world, and the various trials and tribulations they face as young women with little experience and vast amounts of money.
It's largely a fun ride. I liked Flora immediately, though Octavia fluctuated in my estimations throughout the book, since her character and actions were less easily likeable. It was all very ridiculous and over-the-top, given their status, wealth and the opportunities (and pitfalls) open to them because of that.
Things took a very dark turn just after the halfway mark, but very much picked up again by the end, though I wasn't wholly satisfied by the ending. It felt like both sisters got into trouble because they entrusted their affairs entirely to various men, and then it looked like they were both going to solve all of their problems by entrusting their affairs entirely to various men... However, they did take control of their own destinies to a certain extent (and had active help from several other awesome women along the way), so it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. Things did seem to get wrapped up rather easily, though, and I wished they'd explored their independence a bit more, rather than leaping into more romance.
Still, a very enjoyable read overall.
This one took my by surprised because the cover picture and the blurb on the back made me think it was going to be historical - and then it was set in 2008. It's about twin sisters, Octavia and Flora, who have been kept away from the world until receiving their obscenely huge inheritance at 21 - and are then launched into society at a very lavish party. It then follows them each trying to find their way in the world, and the various trials and tribulations they face as young women with little experience and vast amounts of money.
It's largely a fun ride. I liked Flora immediately, though Octavia fluctuated in my estimations throughout the book, since her character and actions were less easily likeable. It was all very ridiculous and over-the-top, given their status, wealth and the opportunities (and pitfalls) open to them because of that.
Things took a very dark turn just after the halfway mark, but very much picked up again by the end, though I wasn't wholly satisfied by the ending. It felt like both sisters got into trouble because they entrusted their affairs entirely to various men, and then it looked like they were both going to solve all of their problems by entrusting their affairs entirely to various men... However, they did take control of their own destinies to a certain extent (and had active help from several other awesome women along the way), so it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. Things did seem to get wrapped up rather easily, though, and I wished they'd explored their independence a bit more, rather than leaping into more romance.
Still, a very enjoyable read overall.
