What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hinton Family #1
The Beautiful Ones
In a sequel to Unforgettable, successful businesswoman Ophelia Missler never had time to look for Mr. Right--much less find him. Now she's engaged to a wealthy entrepreneur and about to experience the wedding of her dreams. But for some reason, she can't stop thinking about her longtime best friend Solomon Bassett. She never suspected that Solomon has secretly adored her for years, and has been unable to tell her how he really feels. Now, with their friendship and future in the balance, Solomon and Ophelia will have to listen to their hearts and dare to follow, if they are ever going to discover an everlasting love.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2005
18 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
Adrianne Byrd
60 books280 followersNational Best-selling author Adrianne Byrd has always preferred to live within the realms of her imagination where all the men are gorgeous and the women are worth whatever trouble they manage to get into. As an army brat, she traveled throughout Europe and learned to appreciate and value different cultures. Now she calls Georgia home.
Looking back, Adrianne believes her passion for writing began at the ripe old age of thirteen. It was also the age when she was introduced to romance novels by a most unlikely source: her fifteen-year old brother. The book was probably given to keep her out her brother’s hair, but it was a gift that changed her life.
In books, Adrianne found a way out of her awkward teenage years and into a world of fictional friends that would stay with her for a lifetime. It wasn’t long before her imagination took flight and she was writing her own love stories. Within a year, she completed her first book, which she vowed would never see the light of day.
Writing remained a hobby until 1994 when a co-worker approached her with an article on Romance Writers of America. Who knew there was an organization of women just like her? By 1996 she sold her first novel, Defenseless, to Kensington Publishing.
Her first release received rave reviews by Romantic Times and fans. Her other novels were consistently selected as the Magazine’s Top Pick. In 2001 Slam Jam nominated, Say You Love Me, for best romance. Her 2003 release Comfort of a Man won Romantic Times Best Multicultural Romance, Romance in Color’s Readers Choice Awards for Favorite Book, Favorite Hero, and Favorite Heroine; Shades of Romance’s Best/Arabesque Romance Book; Slam Jams Emma Award for Favorite Traditional Romance; Romance in Color’s Reviewer’s Choice Award for Author of the Year, Book of the Year and Best BET/Arabesque Book. And lastly Comfort of a Man was a 2003 Georgia Romance Writers Maggie finalist for best Contemporary. In 2004 she released her first romantic suspense novel, If You Dare, with HarperCollins. In 2006 her novel Measure of a Man was nominated for Best Multicultural Romance while her Harper Torch novel Deadly Double was nominated for an Emma. In 2007 she won an eharlequin.com Joey Award.
In 2006 Adrianne along with fellow writer Niobia Bryant penned her first Urban Novel, DESPERATE HOODWIVES, writing as De'nesha Diamond. The book is set for release February 2008 from Simon and Schuster. For more information, visit http://www.deneshadiamond.com.
Ms. Byrd has been featured in many national publications, including Today’s Black Woman, Upscale, and Heart and Soul. She has also won local awards for screenwriting. For the future, she looks forward to continue creating characters that make people smile, laugh, and fall in love.
Looking back, Adrianne believes her passion for writing began at the ripe old age of thirteen. It was also the age when she was introduced to romance novels by a most unlikely source: her fifteen-year old brother. The book was probably given to keep her out her brother’s hair, but it was a gift that changed her life.
In books, Adrianne found a way out of her awkward teenage years and into a world of fictional friends that would stay with her for a lifetime. It wasn’t long before her imagination took flight and she was writing her own love stories. Within a year, she completed her first book, which she vowed would never see the light of day.
Writing remained a hobby until 1994 when a co-worker approached her with an article on Romance Writers of America. Who knew there was an organization of women just like her? By 1996 she sold her first novel, Defenseless, to Kensington Publishing.
Her first release received rave reviews by Romantic Times and fans. Her other novels were consistently selected as the Magazine’s Top Pick. In 2001 Slam Jam nominated, Say You Love Me, for best romance. Her 2003 release Comfort of a Man won Romantic Times Best Multicultural Romance, Romance in Color’s Readers Choice Awards for Favorite Book, Favorite Hero, and Favorite Heroine; Shades of Romance’s Best/Arabesque Romance Book; Slam Jams Emma Award for Favorite Traditional Romance; Romance in Color’s Reviewer’s Choice Award for Author of the Year, Book of the Year and Best BET/Arabesque Book. And lastly Comfort of a Man was a 2003 Georgia Romance Writers Maggie finalist for best Contemporary. In 2004 she released her first romantic suspense novel, If You Dare, with HarperCollins. In 2006 her novel Measure of a Man was nominated for Best Multicultural Romance while her Harper Torch novel Deadly Double was nominated for an Emma. In 2007 she won an eharlequin.com Joey Award.
In 2006 Adrianne along with fellow writer Niobia Bryant penned her first Urban Novel, DESPERATE HOODWIVES, writing as De'nesha Diamond. The book is set for release February 2008 from Simon and Schuster. For more information, visit http://www.deneshadiamond.com.
Ms. Byrd has been featured in many national publications, including Today’s Black Woman, Upscale, and Heart and Soul. She has also won local awards for screenwriting. For the future, she looks forward to continue creating characters that make people smile, laugh, and fall in love.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
January 5, 2016
A really good series....
May 13, 2021
When you love someone all there lives..dreams do come true. Solomon loved Ophelia after she threw a better fastball. He tried to get with other Women, he’ll he was a multi-billionaire. All the way to the wedding alter. Miss Ms. Byrd. Loved her stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2007
A Beautiful Love Story
Ms. Byrd has done it, AGAIN! "The Beautiful Ones" is a brilliantly written sequel to "Unforgettable". I can't believe Solomon loved Ophelia for 25 years and she NEVER knew how he felt, talk about an unrequited love! Solomon learns of Ophelia's engagement to Jonas Hilton, another wonderful man, but is he the "Right Man"?!!!. As her lifelong friend, Solomon should be happy for her, but, how can he be happy when the ONLY woman he's ever loved is marrying another? Solomon wishes desperately that he had revealed his feelings for Ophelia long ago, but now he fears it is too late. And Ophelia should be thrilled, she is engaged to a wonderful man. So, why can't she stop thinking about Solomon? Does his feelings for her run deeper than friendship? More importantly, does hers? I thought Jonas was a good man and he was truly in love with Ophelia, but could he compete with her so-called best friend, Solomon?!!!! A wonderful love story.
Ms. Byrd has done it, AGAIN! "The Beautiful Ones" is a brilliantly written sequel to "Unforgettable". I can't believe Solomon loved Ophelia for 25 years and she NEVER knew how he felt, talk about an unrequited love! Solomon learns of Ophelia's engagement to Jonas Hilton, another wonderful man, but is he the "Right Man"?!!!. As her lifelong friend, Solomon should be happy for her, but, how can he be happy when the ONLY woman he's ever loved is marrying another? Solomon wishes desperately that he had revealed his feelings for Ophelia long ago, but now he fears it is too late. And Ophelia should be thrilled, she is engaged to a wonderful man. So, why can't she stop thinking about Solomon? Does his feelings for her run deeper than friendship? More importantly, does hers? I thought Jonas was a good man and he was truly in love with Ophelia, but could he compete with her so-called best friend, Solomon?!!!! A wonderful love story.
August 13, 2025
I DARE SAY...
This is my favorite book of all time. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this is written so well. Solomon and Ophelia's story takes us on a journey of friendship, love, almost losing, and eventual triumphs. The parallels of Solomon and Ophelia throughout the story and how their feelings mirror each other was truly a chef's kiss. I read this book many, many years ago and it has remained a book that I have wanted to read over and over again. This book is the epitome of closed mouths not getting fed and how complacency can cause you to almost lose the love of your life. I would recommend this book over and over again.
This is my favorite book of all time. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes and this is written so well. Solomon and Ophelia's story takes us on a journey of friendship, love, almost losing, and eventual triumphs. The parallels of Solomon and Ophelia throughout the story and how their feelings mirror each other was truly a chef's kiss. I read this book many, many years ago and it has remained a book that I have wanted to read over and over again. This book is the epitome of closed mouths not getting fed and how complacency can cause you to almost lose the love of your life. I would recommend this book over and over again.
January 16, 2013
3.5 stars. I loved the flashback structure and that it was being told from Jonas's point of view. Nice twist at the end. Also liked that Jonas wasn't made into a bad guy vs. a perfect Solomon. Both were flawed and I believe Ophelia loved them both, but in different ways. A few little things - sentence structure, word choice mostly - bothered me some, but not enough that it took me out of the narrative much. Also loved the set-up for Jonas's happy ending with his Ms. WRight...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 10, 2012
Awwwww. What a pleasant surprise! The structure of this book reminded me of a movie or a TV show: a woman meets a man in an airport lounge and invites him to pour his heart out about the one who got away. A childhood crush, a perfect fiancee, and a beautiful woman. I wouldn't think that would work so well in print, but Ms. Byrd did a fantastic job developing a romance in flashback format. A breezy summer read and now I HAVE to look up the Hinton series and follow the brothers.
June 29, 2012
Loved how this story was told. The surprise for me was the end.
June 10, 2012
This was a beautiful love story, a page turner to say the least. I enjoyed the characters and loved reading a little about Marcel and Diana from the first book. I would recommend it...:-))
May 6, 2014
So this review will be full of spoilers....
This book had a great twist in at the end that took me by surprise. Overall I had to take a star away from the book, because there wasn't a lot of interaction between the love interests, although the flash backs were really cute. Also I just don't get why the characters couldn't be honest with each other for 25 years...seems very extreme and I feel bad they wasted so much of their lives.
I did like this authors writing though, and will look forward to reading other books that hopefully have a better plot.
This book had a great twist in at the end that took me by surprise. Overall I had to take a star away from the book, because there wasn't a lot of interaction between the love interests, although the flash backs were really cute. Also I just don't get why the characters couldn't be honest with each other for 25 years...seems very extreme and I feel bad they wasted so much of their lives.
I did like this authors writing though, and will look forward to reading other books that hopefully have a better plot.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2013
I enjoyed the Ophelia and Solomon's story. I was happy that Solomon and Ophelia ended up together. Even though I felt bad for Jonas. I have always been a fan of true love. Their love was a true love story even though the had not always openly admitted it to each other. Everyone around them was aware of their love. I thought it was a sweet love story. I am a fan of Adrianne' storytelling's style. I love love all of her books!!!
July 28, 2013
This was a beautiful and most rewarding love story. Although I felt a little sorry for Jonas, I was still secretly rooting for Ophelia and Solomon to get together because their love was 25 years in the making and to me the made the better couple. Now in the next installment of the Unforgettable series, I hope that sassy Toni Wright and Jonas find true love...they both deserve and need it. Awesome read!!!!
March 2, 2013
I really enjoyed this book. It asked the basic question, do best friends make the best lovers. Jonas Hinton was a good man who believed himself to be in love with Mrs Right. Yet, I think deep down somewhere he knew that the relationship between Ophelia & Solomon was more than just friends. Their friendship ended up being love everlasting.
January 12, 2014
I went back for this one...in August '12 it was 2 ☆..."Will they, won't they? By page 120, who cares! Just wanted to get to the end and call it done!"
Got to say now, I really liked this book on the second read!
Got to say now, I really liked this book on the second read!
November 14, 2015
So, they've been best friends for 25 years, but she has never even heard of a couple that he knows well enough to be godfather to their three sons? That's ridiculous. She may have somehow managed to never meet them, but to never even have heard of them in seven years?
February 7, 2016
I love it
Still good to the very last word!!!!! I love this series and I'm glad Solomon got it right and got his love story!!!! But this is not the end but the beginning of the Hinton Series!!!!!
Still good to the very last word!!!!! I love this series and I'm glad Solomon got it right and got his love story!!!! But this is not the end but the beginning of the Hinton Series!!!!!
April 22, 2011
Another great romance from Adrianne Byrd.
Read
March 11, 2017Miniseries: Hinton Bros.
Read
August 10, 2012I love this book Solomon was to die for Ophelia had to be crazy not to notice him Jonas wasn't all that to me he was to possessive for me!
October 30, 2012
Loved it
October 25, 2012
Wow! Where in the hell is the 10 button when you need one. Absolutely a great read.
Read
February 2, 2013Awesome
February 14, 2013
I really enjoyed this book it was a great story!!!!! I was happy that Ophelia & Soloman finally followed their hearts!!!!
May 13, 2013
I really liked this story. It was sweet and endearing and I found myself rooting for them to get together. I definitely enjoy Byrd's books and I look forward to the King's series.
June 30, 2014
I truly enjoy this author's writing, however, this one fell a little short for me. It was an enjoyable and quick read, but it was also a predictable read.
October 7, 2014
Another great book
this is book is another great writing! This is a must pick up and read. with good characters and beautiful romance.
this is book is another great writing! This is a must pick up and read. with good characters and beautiful romance.
December 23, 2015
25 years to say I love you "
This was a good book I'm glade Jonas took it pretty good in the end. And sol got his girl.
This was a good book I'm glade Jonas took it pretty good in the end. And sol got his girl.
December 15, 2016
I loved the book...but it was just so much back and forth. She basically had to break another man's heart just to realize she loved her best friend.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews