The Beautiful Ones

The Beautiful Ones #0.5

by Lori Brighton

Some say we’re special, and that’s why we’re kept in seclusion. Beyond those walls evil lurks and innocent prey would be lost in minutes. Gone. Destroyed. Forgotten.
Others say the opposite: we’re locked away because there’s something wrong with us. If we roamed the outside world, we might taint the beautiful ones. A species so pure, that to merely be in their presence is a gift.

As for my beliefs…I’m not sure.

But I do know one thing: neither of those reasons explains why it is that they come for us only after we’ve passed the age of sixteen. Whether we want to go or not, we’re taken through those iron gates. Escorted away from the only home we’ve ever known, escorted to our destiny—whatever that destiny may be—never to be seen again.

The Beautiful Ones is a prequel intended to introduce Lori's newest Young Adult series. At around 21,000 words, this is a short story. This Young Adult Romance contains kissing, cursing and some violence. It is best for ages 14 and up.

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, Paranormal, Vampires, Romance, Short Stories

67 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 8, 2014

About the author

As a child, thoughts of far-off places and adventure consistently kept Lori up late at night. After graduating high school, she came to the conclusion that there was no better way to seek adventure and nourish her love of history than to become an archaeologist. She went on to receive a degree in anthropology, but digging in the dirt during humid Midwestern summers wasn’t exactly as fun as she thought it would be.

Instead, she went to work in an air conditioned museum where she spent her days surrounded by creepy Victorian animal mounts. Still, she wasn’t satisfied.

Deciding the people in her imagination were slightly more exciting than the dead things in a museum basement, she set out to write her first romance novel. That book was soundly rejected. As was the next. Years went by and she began to wonder if she’d ever see her dream fulfilled. Until one day she came up with an idea for a book that brought together her love of history and adventure: a book now titled Wild Heart. Since Wild Heart's release, Lori has written Historical Romance, Contemporary Paranormal Romance and Young Adult.

Lori currently resides in the Southern U.S., where she juggles her time between a husband, a son, a golden retriever, a cat and the many, many people in her imagination.

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short (67 page) free teaser (prequel).

Children and young adults are kept in seclusion, locked away from the rest of the world in communes.

'They were coming today. I knew this as a fact.
Rain, snow, wind, sun, every fourth Sunday of the month they came for us. The beautiful ones, as they’d been dubbed long before I had been born, would sweep into our fenced home and pick two, sometimes three of us. No one knew whom they would choose, or why, but most prayed it would be them.'

They want to be chosen, they want to escape captivity and leave their mundane lives behind and experience the world.
But what happens when they are chosen?
Is it everything they'd hoped and dreamed about?

This book is about Jane and it's told from her POV as she discovers what we already know, what the beautiful ones have in store for her.

I'm in two minds about continuing on with this series but part of me is curious so I'll probably give it a try.

[Hollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a 67 pages book I was impressed. There wasn't much time for much depth or character development but it was enough to leave me wanting more. I also like how it was offered as a freebie. Ill check out the next book. It's definitely peaked my interest.

[Jax O · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Beautiful Ones really sets the stage for this new series. If the quality of this prequel is any indication as to what is to come I am anxious to continue with the series. The world that this built up in this debut was one of extensive detail and creativity. The mystery of this world was closely concealed until the very end of the short story. At first glance the reader is just as mistified about the unfamiliar objects of this world. As the character studies each item in depth it is interesting to put them together, and finally understand what it is that the they have discovered. This is going to be a powerfully detailed and monumental adventure that looks to be created by a highly talented author. I look forward to checking out the first novel that is actually due this Spring. Be on the lookout for more details on The BookWhisperer.
~BookWhisperer Reviewer Jax~

[Mummy's Naughty Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this was a good start I am interested about the world. As it was a short story there wasn't too much but it does leave you wanting to read more. It paints the picture of a cruel and dark world to be in if your a child and then what happens when you turn 16?

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m really surprised with such a low rating and the bad reviews. I liked this book, and I was sad that it ended too soon. Well, I guess I’ll just read the next one in the series.

The book starts with the compound where some of the nation live, constantly waiting for the Beautiful ones to come, choose some of the people and take with them. To where? The people have no idea – they’ve never been anywhere outside the compound. I enjoyed this mystery. What is out there? For what reasons do the Beautiful ones take these people? What will they do to them?

It was predictable that the main character Jane was among the chosen. She gets to the mansion with the others, but it’s only her who asks questions and being suspicious. I like her for that, and the others seem to be not very smart.
And soon they pay for their naïveté. I enjoyed thriller-bloody scene that ensued. It was scary.

The escape part of the book was a little bit illogical. If there are people who want you dead, wouldn’t you get to some safe place first, ask questions later? But no! Jane are mad at the man who is her savior and keep attacking him with questions, not making this easy for him to help her escape.

[Jenna Loesch · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a prequel, this was way too long. I feel it either should have been shortened or put at the beginning of the first book. I do, however, understand why it's necessary to the plot. It's just too freaking long. As far as the prequel--or rather novella--itself, I feel that the writing was stronger than in Brighton's Mind Readers. I have a sinking suspicion, though, that Thanatos is going to become the love interest in Chosen Ones and I am just very against that. He may be smoking hot, but that's just never an excuse to be an ass. He better clean his shit up because douche bag is not an attractive look for anyone. Also, I feel that Jane has the potential to be a really strong female lead after what's happened to her, so I hope she quits with that woe is me shit. Keep being suspicious, though, and question everything (within reason). That fucking saved your ass back there.

Okay, rant over.

[Duane Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, another vampire story. But vampire stories have been around a long time and will continue long into the future. What distinguishes any given story is it's uniqueness, it's originality. The "devil is in the details" so to speak. From what I can tell in this prequel novella, Brighton has done a devilish good job of setting the stage for this series. Lori Brighton is a damn good writer, so if you like dystopian/vampire stories you will like this one. It's also free, hard to beat that.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very written book, I couldn't put the book down this is definitely a scary horror stories and can't wait to read more of her work.

[Vivi · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars!

This is a very quick read that is a Prequel to book #1 of this Series - The Chosen Ones - but I REALLY think you HAVE to read this before reading book #1! I think you'd be losing out without it.

AND do yourself a favour... Run away from Spoilers! You'll enjoy this book a Lot more if you don't know what is going on.

So, what can I tell you about the story here?

Jane is a 17 year old girl who lives inside a compound with 51 other people... All locked away behind an iron fence.

No one goes behind the fence or leaves the compound...except for 'the Chosen Ones' .

Once a month 'the Beautiful Ones' come and choose 2 or 3 people (ages 16 or up) from the compound to take with them.

But, where exactly do these people go to? What happens to them?

As Jane is chosen by one of 'the Beautiful Ones' she will soon find out...

*******************************

I enjoyed the plot of this book... Mainly because I did NOT Spoiler myself by reading the synopses of the other books of the Series or many reviews. I'd suggest you do the same.

This isn't the first book I've read with this kind of initial setting, but the not knowing what was going on AND trying to figure it out was so fun to me!

Initially, I thought it could go at least in 2 different ways - similar to Never Let Me Go or to The Promised Neverland, Vol. 1.

Then, I thought: maybe it could even be like some sort of The Girl With All the Gifts plot (who knows?!)

Afterwards, I even considered some type of Batchelor style plot (similar to The Selection) to pick a mate or something...

Well, this book ended up having a pretty simplistic plot; one the reader will quickly guess... But my imagination did run wild with the possibilities there for a minute 😁

Still, I truly enjoyed this book. It was well written; it gives the reader a very good insight on the compound people's mindset and expectations; it gave me the feels (a little bit); and I loved that Jane, because of being an reader, had a curious mind and somehow knew better to question things, instead of just going with the flow and accepting everything thrown at her.

Overall, I enjoyed this book quite a bit; AND I still have lots of questions about everything here... Like Why is Tom where he is?! What happens now with Jane?!... SO, of course, I plan on reading the other books of the series!

[Chloey Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this series.

Okay. So, I was absolutely satisfied with the hook. You know, the beginning of the story. It was once I delved more into that I started questioning whether it was too... Predictable or not. Jane has common sense in the book, apparently, while the other ones do not. That's not the problem. The problem is that I think that the author implies a little too much that something bad is going to happen. Besides that, this book is a great start to an original, and amazing series! A MUST READ!!!😀😓😂

[GypsyLace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this several years ago. It is very well written.
I appreciated the mystery of the story. It is heartbreaking, disturbing, and completely addictive. This is just the beginning of a great series. Enjoy!

[Mehsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am still not sure what to think of this, it was mostly quite confusing. What happened to the world? Why are there vampires (or blood-sucking creatures), why are people in compounds, why? Why?
The book also reminded me quite a lot of The Farm by Emily Mckay (the compounds/feeding/escaping part) and of the blurb of A Shade of Vampire (the whole females (but in this one also males) who get selected/taken away from everyone to be eaten). Which is a bit of a shame. :(

Other than that, Jane was a so-so character, I liked her at times, but some times I just wanted to smack her for what she does. She seems to have a big problem with listening to people, even to people who want to save her life. Other than that, I liked that she loved to read, even in a world where it seems books about topics other than Agriculture and such are hard to be found.

Thanatos was a mysterious character, I kind of liked him, he was different from his fellow vampires/blood suckers. I would still like to know why he saved her exactly. He mentions something, but I can't believe that is the only reason. Why would you save food? Why not eat her?

I probably will try out the next book, since I am curious about the world, what happened to it. But also want to know how Jane will fight. Maybe it is better to phrase it as this: Will she fight?

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS SO GOOD. I honestly had no clue what was going to happen and I loved how the beginning slowly shifted into a creepier feeling. I don't want to say a lot because I really wouldn't want to spoil a thing for anyway. Finding out what was happening alongside the main character was what made it such a fun read. It didn't even feel like a novella, it felt like a full-fleshed book and I can't wait to read the next one.

Jane was an easy character to like and root for and I genuinely cared what happened to her. I liked Tom and Thanatos too and look forward to finding out more about them. I thought the ending was a little bit abrupt, but it is a prequel, so I understand how it works as a set up for the next book's setting (at least for the beginning).

If you have any doubts about it...just stop. It's free. It's so short. JUST TRY IT!

Looking forward to reading more books by Lori Brighton!

[Amie · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I am annoyed at how many unanswered questions Lori Brighton left in this prequel, she did her job in ensuring that at least some of The Beautiful Ones readers will be reading the rest of this series to find out what happens and why the world is the way it is.

When I found out it was vampires, I was a bit disappointed because there are really only so many ways a vampire story can go. But what is strange though, before I realized this was a vampire story I was picturing Thanatos as Jamie Campbell Bower (Caius from the Twilight series).

I don't expect this series to be groundbreaking by any means, but I imagine they will be decent beach or office reads.

[Leah Reise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brighton had me at the Mind Readers Series, so I'm already bias, but I truly enjoyed the world she created in The Chosen Ones Series so far. I really like Jane. Her character is honest and fresh. It's easy to feel like you are part of the story, experiencing this strange broken world with her. Brighton's poetic and descriptive writing lets you imagine an apocalyptic-like world with past human wars and the chaos that came from its rubble. I can't wait to continue the journey with The Chosen Ones.

[Stephfafahh · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Your words are too big, too strange. It’s those damn books.”

This was pretty standard as far as prequels go, but it wasn’t unique or compelling enough to make me want to read the series. We spent the majority of the time running or being pushed around, without the main character’s questions being answered.

[A. Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could have recorded my own face to see the reactions as I read this book. It would mostly just be a series of shocked and wide-eyed emojis for the most part. With one annoyed face because vampires had to come along; I hate vampires. But then I still kept reading and continued with the shocked-face emojis. So, yeah, I guess I liked it.

[Mignon Supnet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes me want to read the next book

Nice prequel. It definitely does its job and makes me want to read the next book. On to the Chosen Ones.

What happened to Thanatos? I need to find out.

[Phoenix Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Creepy cult, check.
Teenaged girl trying to figure out what is happening, check
Upper class people abusing power, check
All in all an interesting short story to a young adult novel I now need to read.

[Riley Ashby · Rating 5 out of 5]

GAAAAH I AM SO READY FOR THIS SERIES

[Tiera McMillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no idea what’s going on, but I’m hooked! So many questions left unanswered!

[Kristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesmerizing

I read the mind read series and loved them so I have now started the chosen series. Love being taken into another world.

[Dawn Cavenee · Rating 3 out of 5]

52 people in her ‘settlement’ and every Sunday the Beautiful ones come to take 1-2 people away. Yes these people reproduce, but at this rate of 1-2 each week, the camp would be empty in less than a year. Most of the story didn’t work for me. It had a good foundation, but there was no building up of the story to even make sense. I realize this is a prequel, but I want nothing to do with this series.

[Christina A. Marley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I did enjoy this novella, but in all honesty I found myself rolling my eyes a lot. Mostly because it was yet another dystopian novel that seems to be popping up everywhere, but that didn’t impair my judgement. There are really no original ideas but what makes a novel stand out from the rest is how it’s presented really. Lori Brighton really did a good job with this book here. A bit too much imagery in the beginning for me but it didn’t bring the book down. I was actually grateful for it this time so that way the story could move forward without the needless interruption of the narrator. (It happens a lot in novels today. Just because I see it all the time doesn’t mean that it’s good or that I personally like it.) One thing I liked about this novel was the driving question of ‘Who are the beautiful ones?’ (Although I questioned the compound in which the character lived but I did not dwell on it too much because it’s so commonplace in many dystopian novels that I’ve just come to accept it as fact.) The beautiful ones seem to all have Greek names; I rolled my eyes at that. (Reminded me too much of something else.) I like how Jane (the protagonist) doesn’t passively accept everything. Well, not too much anyway. She questions everything and when the time comes she has a strong, fighting spirit.
I have two complaints. My first: the unfortunate implications. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php...) Jane described the beautiful ones as pale and, well, beautiful. As well as wealthy and powerful. All while describing others and herself as tanned. Keep in mind Jane and people like her comes from squalor. I looked around the internet and from what I’ve read I believe that the author did not do this intentionally. But I feel the need to point it out so that she will be able to avoid such implications in the future. The author seems like a nice enough person. I just think that when writing the story she was so focused on the small details that this one thing slipped by her radar. I know that when I am writing anything that the very same thing happens to me. That’s why I think it’s important to take a step back and analyse what the situation or overall big picture means and will it be interpreted differently by different groups of people, and, if so, will that implication be offensive to them. Like I keep saying, I don’t think Brighton did it purposefully, but she must be made aware of it so as to avoid it in the future. My other complaint is that with prequel novellas like this usually the first book (or more) is already out and prequels just serve as background information. I like that this could stand on its own, but at the same time I want to be able to purchase the first book immediately. (As with most series on Amazon.) I guess because this was free, I expected the first book to already be out on Amazon somewhere. (Like most book series on Amazon.) On a final note, I would most definitely recommend it. It was free and for a novella it was pretty fast paced and the ending didn’t seem rushed like in so many novellas.

[JWinter · Rating 2 out of 5]

An intriguing prequel!

[Julianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps some spoilers:
While there wasn't much new here, after getting past the questions of "why a compound?" And the still to be answered "who was leaving the books", I'd figured out early in that we were dealing with vampires. It seems that the new norm in the YA vampire world is that the female protagonist just loves the smell of those vampires. We also have the possible canine protectors in the woods, the paleness, and the ok to be out in the day just west a hood (or a ring, or have a spell).
As a prequel, it does stand alone rather well.

A few points that made me either laugh or want to slap someone:
Maids used as very obvious plot exposition... Insulting. They just SAY it!
Jane, if someone is saving your life, stop asking so many questions and just GO!
Lori, thank you for 101 descriptions of how our palms feel when helping us up from the ground (cramming into soft earth, pushing up from dusty ground, feeling the sting of pebbles...)
And in the end, the saber rattling declaration was a bit much.

I am going to read a few other things before I consider checking out the first book in the series. I'd like to see what happens amongst our Greek named vamps and simple agriculture educated compound folk.
It's really not half bad, it's just not terribly unique. Have we covered all that vampires have to offer, that putting them in a dystopian world still brings us back to Volterra?

[R.A. White · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The beautiful Ones' (The Chosen Ones), by Lori Brighton
This was just a prequel to the series, which I now will have to read someday, but it was a good read all on its own. The foreshadowing was strong enough throughout that I can't say I was surprised by anything, but somehow that didn't take away the creepiness factor. Like in movies when I know something is about to grab the hero, and I jump even worse than if I'd been surprised. I get made fun of for that, but I don't care. It's the suspense that does it.
This is definitely scary in a vampire/demon kind of way, and although many questions were answered in just the short story, I have more that I look forward to investigating. The writing/editing is clean, the story moves along quickly without rushing, and the heroine is easy to get along with.
5 stars.
Language: The blurb says there is some foul language, but I can't remember any.
Sexual Content: None.
Violence: Yeah, it's a little gruesome in one part, and my guess is that there's plenty more to come in the following series.
Over-all Message/Plot: Not a message story. I found no continuity errors or plot holes, and the plot was pretty straightforward: escape or die. But I don't want to make it sound boring--it was anything but boring. Great read for a night when you want something creepy without straight on horror.
Check out other reviews on my blog, rawhitebooksandmore.weebly.com.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up because I read the blurb for the chosen ones and was curious. It sounded like a strong protagonist who is fighting back and so I started with this prequel. And in all truthfulness, I can't totally fault this book because a large part of my dissapointment isn't because it wasn't good, but simply that it was so much like a dozen other books I've already read. I'm tired of vampires, I'm tired of the future always leading to compounds and breeding programs. I just kept thinking, oh, another one of those books. If this had been a full book I probably wouldn't have continued but since it was so short I decided to go ahead and finish it up. While the protagonist was wary and questioned everything, she really didn't do anything except keep asking why and then get saved by someone else. She spent the whole rescue being carried or pushed along. And when she meets the other chosen ones she is at first wary, which is good, and then she breaks down and has a nice cry on the shoulder of a man she doesn't know while she's surrounded by people with weapons. Now, maybe these mistakes are what make her that much stronger in the actual book...who knows...but so far, I just wasn't impressed by the characters.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a prequel to the young adult series The Chosen Ones. It's pretty short but it made me want to read on in the series.

I won't describe the plot too much because I think it's best to read this prequel without knowing anything. The main character Jane doesn't know what is going on either and because this is a prequel it was really fast paced. Because of this, I was hooked after reading half of the first page and couldn't stop reading after that.

Jane is the only one in her small town who doesn't blindly trust the beautiful ones, a mysterious species no one really knows anything about. Her curiosity and boldness makes her stand out from everyone else. Even though these definitely aren't new character traits they did work well here and I am looking forward to see how her character will develop in the first book in the actual series.

I do think this is a great prequel and I'll read the next book in the series for sure.
Also this prequel is available for free download on iBooks and both the prequel and The Chosen Ones only cost one Euro on amazon so if one of these options are available to you and this prequel sounds interesting to you I would definitely recommend checking it out.

[Halston Seabolt · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, I found this novella on my Nook for free! Secondly,I know a lot of people when they start to read this are probably like "here we go again another dystopian themed series." and while that is true of this book, it doesn't make it any less intriguing. This prequel is only 66 pages, but I could not stop reading it! I devoured it and I definitely want more! I want to know what happens to Jane and the people who live in the ruins of a destroyed city, who find her. Who is Thanatos and why is he different from the other "Beautiful Ones"? And also why have the "Beautiful Ones" reverted back to an age of castles and motes? This novella leaves me with more questions than answers, but I find that to be oddly exhilarating! I unfortunately couldn't find The Chosen Ones on my Nook. It says it is supposed to be out Spring of 2014, but here it is summer and it's still not out. I really want (need) the next book in my life! I will definitely update you all if and when it comes out! By the way if you didn't catch from my review you really need to read this prequel!lol