The Belles (The Belles, 1)

A flavor of New Orleans runs through the royal city of Orleans in The Belles. There's intrigue, mystery, a touch of romance, and dangers around every corner. To be a Belle is to be blessed and cursed as you will see. The Belles have the power to transform people's appearance (including skin color) & their character, but only temporarily. There are those who want to make the changes permanent and those who are willing to break a Belle to be beautiful. This story has deep layers and loads of fun.Camellia is headstrong and gifted, which places her in danger. If you like strong female leads and if you like magic with a blend of science, this book is for you. Do you read the Mercy Thompson series? Did you like the Red Queen, or Mortal Instruments or any series with a dangerous world & magic? Then you'll like this book. Camilla is 14, and there is a lot of description at the beginning. Be patient. The pace will pick up, and it won't stop. Happy reading.

The beginning of this book wants you to think it's another YA parade of pretty girls wearing a variety of lush dresses and being treated like princesses because they're so special and unique. It WANTS you to lower your guard because this book is a send-up of all those various tropes and cliches, turning in into a wonderfully good thriller and unique fantasy novel. Not for the faint of heart, even for just the very vivid descriptions of body modification, this is definitely a five star book from a very promising debut author!In my opinion, this book is really about the princess, and Camellia the viewpoint character, is her victim. But the princess is who steals the show. I might be reading into the book, but it seems to be implied that the princess has a personality disorder of some sort (and that her mother might also be mentally ill, but is undergoing a kind of treatment for it), and in that case her portrayal isn't anything remarkable in terms of neurodiversity. BUT... she makes an amazing villain. What I loved about this book was Camellia is entering a world she doesn't understand, and unfortunately other people can't explain it to her because they're all caught up in the webs of the princess. I haven't read a book with such an exciting, intelligent and capable villain since the earlier installments of the Red Rising series. So many times in YA books, the villains are either 1) distant, 2) over-the-top evil or 3) a set piece. The princess is none of those things. She runs the show in this book, so don't underestimate her!Anyways, if you love fantasy thrillers, and you love subverted expectations, this is a book for you!!!

Dhonielle Clayton paints an enchanting and dark world in her latest novel The Belles. Camellia Beauregard was born a Belle. In a world where beauty has been stripped from its people, Belles are the only ones who can manipulate and transform them into something beautiful. Camellia and her sisters have been training for years for their debut, hoping to be chosen by the queen of Orléans to be the crown’s favorite, the ultimate form of validation for all their hard work. But being the favorite comes with consequences none of the girls could have prepared for and soon Camellia finds herself caught between royals that not only expect her to be the best, but demand it of her. Not obeying has dire consequence for Camellia, her sisters, and the entire kingdom.Clayton’s writing takes you through a whirlwind of sensations. She captivates readers from the very first page, tapping into each of our senses with such ease. I not only saw Orléans, I felt it, heard it, smelled and tasted it. One of the things I loved about Clayton’s use of beauty is that it is all-encompassing in this world. It isn’t limited to the rich social spheres of Orléans. It is not just the people who must be beautiful, it is the homes, the teahouses, the fashion. Clayton’s descriptions are vivid and delectable; at times, it felt like I was devouring the words instead of reading them. Beauty has become the only way of life for those in Orléans, and for many this has become an obsession. There are some very ugly and terrifying characters in this one who make very chilling villains. They are willing to do anything to be beautiful and to control those who can wield such power. Inevitably, envy and jealousy are byproducts of a world that demands perfection. Though Camellia is the heroine of our story, she is not immune to these more ugly attributes. When one’s value is defined by how beautiful one is, morality takes a back seat and even Camellia find herself giving in when she knows she shouldn’t.It’s clear from very early on that Camellia and the other Belles have been purposefully isolated from society. There is an undeniable innocence to them and they are told that vices like passion and even love can throw off the balance of their arcana, the essence of which makes them able to work their transformations. Whether this is true or not is yet to be determined, but I could not help but draw a parallel to how we as a society define beauty in girls. From doe-eyed models to lipsticks named Lolita, it sends the message that innocence is alluring and sexy, and any tainting of this especially with sexual experience, poisons the whole apple. This comes to a head when Camellia is attacked by one of her customers later on in the story. There is a particularly unnerving scene where Camellia is tasked with altering a woman’s body and with a writing instrument, marks the places that need to be improved. It was a jarring reminder of the stories I used to hear growing up of girls marking each other’s bodies with permanent marker, circling the parts they viewed as flaws.I do wish we had the opportunity to get more acquainted with the other Belles. Though I do understand why they are kept separate from Camellia. Still, we are first introduced to these young women together and though some of them were driven by ambition and others by defiance, they form Camellia’s family and helped her become the person she is. We get a more complete glimpse of Camellia’s relationship with her sister Amber and though I wanted to worry over her like Camellia did, her unquestioned obedience and jealousy didn’t exactly endear her to me. I am much more interested in the rebellious Edel who I hope we get to see more of in the sequel. Another issue I had was the romance. While I can’t complain of the pacing as it feeds into the inexperience of Camellia, I fully admit I wasn’t moved personally by the allure of the love interest. I’ve always preferred the slow burn, so I’m awaiting the development of Camellia’s relationship with someone else.Clayton’s writing is delicious, her story unique, and her commentary on beauty poignant. If you haven’t picked up The Belles yet, I encourage you to do so.

This book was a pleasure to read from beginning to end, even when what was happening was horrific. Not only that, it was a lot more subversive than I think it will get credit for. It's not only about how the worship of beauty creates both literal and figurative monsters, but the way in which we are all susceptible to becoming inured to everyday atrocities. Like all of the best stories, The Belles imitates what it criticizes: a terrifying premise that's easy to miss when you're lured and soothed by the beautiful window dressings, the sensuous luxury, and the minutiae of everyday ambitions, excitement, luxury, schedules, details, and rivalries. Sure, this book is about How The Sausage Gets Made, but it's also about the ugly, cringing part of ourselves that sees behind the curtain and minimizes, dismisses, or tries to justify it. Now that's a mirror a lot of people aren't fond of looking into, and I think this narrative packs a wallop in a very pretty package covered in rosettes and glitter.

This is the first book in the series, also called The Belles, and is a YA fantasy. This follows Camellia, a beautiful Belle of Orléans. As a Belle, Camellia can bestow beauty on the ordinary folk, known as the Greys, but Camellia wants more. She wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps, be a favourite of the Queen, and the serve the royal household. Once she arrives at the glittering court however, she learns things aren’t always what they seem… I was pleasantly surprised with this book. While the premise isn’t entirely new to YA fiction, the concept is so interesting. The setting is this combination of historical and yet futuristic-dystopian New Orleans, and I loved it. I definitely think this helps with the writing style – at times it’s flowery, but sweet and dangerous. The pacing was a little slow to start, but I think it was sometimes necessary to build the world. The world itself is interesting but stifling – while there is no real concept of race and sexuality, the concept of beauty and appearances is dominant. I felt a little triggered, as there is so much about myself I’d change, and I became anxious. Additionally, trigger warnings for sexual assault – this came out of nowhere, and definitely bordered on the reality of contemporary society. Further potential trigger warnings for the bury your gays trope (an LGBT character dying to serve plot points). This could be problematic for some readers, but there was something about it that was well written and almost new. The defining points are its characters – Camellia grew into someone I loved! Her magic, and the magic system in general, is new and innovative, and I found it interesting, although a little challenging to understand at first. The villain is glorious – I love to hate this character and the horrific motives (think Joffrey in Game of Thrones)! I didn’t like the romance aspect though – it felt off from the start, and I couldn’t get behind it. All in all, I did enjoy this and I’d like to continue the series.

Reading this book made me feel like I was thrown back into the world of one of my all-time favourite quartet, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld.This book was beautifully written with interesting characters. I was hooked from the start. Dhionelle Clayton has done extremely well with her world building, through informing without it cutting across the overall plot.Her characters have many dimensions and have a lot of development to undergo. Camellia was very interesting in the way that she internally warred with herself over wanting to be the best, and wanting to escape the life she was forced to live. I loved her character - although, not as much as I adored the rebellious Edelweiss.I expected this book to be quite laid back in the way that it was all about making people beautiful, but it was full of politics and drama and plot-twists that were so unexpected that I had to put the book down for a few moments to relay the shock.I recommend that anyone should read this book and it's interesting take on dystopia. Definitely one of the best books I have read this year, and I will be looking forward to the sequel.

You could almost taste this book, Dhonielle Clayton uses such vivid and fresh description!I really liked the characters, even though some of them made me uncomfortable and I hated others, I loved how real it all felt.I was a little unsure about the world of the book. At times it seems technologically advanced but there also seems to be some sort of magic there too. Even then, with this world being set very far away from ours, parts of it ring very true indeed. Fascination with beauty and the onslaught of media everywhere are key parts of our world.Very thought provoking and rely enjoyable!!

I am so happy that I waited for the second book to come out before diving int this series. From the start of the book I was instantly hooked, I found the storyline to be well paced and always kept you guessing at what would happen next. The story is very unique and I like how everything is explained along the way.The story focuses on Camellia, a Belle with the ability to alter peoples appearances and make them beautiful, through her eye we see what she has to go through in court and the lengths people will go to to be beautiful. While she is navigating her way through court life she is trying to understand what is going on with her sister belles working across the kingdom. I like how the story shows the negative effects of always craving to be the best or most beautiful.I would recommend that you buy both books together as the ending in the first book leaves you racing to start the second. I am also happy to say that I could never quite tell where the story would take me next.

This is a great book. Extremely colourful and heavily descripted world, sometimes - too much description. It's hard to keep track of anything or anyone. There are twists and good plot points but some can be seen a mile off and I find it annoying that the character didn't see that. Overall though, intriguing, inventive and well written.

After reading some reviews I went in thinking this book may bore me, but I'm glad I gave it a read! I didn't want to put it down once I picked it up and so read it in a couple of days. Some reviewers have said its overly descriptive, but it had to be descriptive so you can see it properly in the minds eye. I thought it was excellent,the characters are enjoyable and we'll thought out. This book is very unique, I only wish I could hire a Belle to sort me out haha.Enjoyable read, the only downside is that I have to wait until March for book 2.

I chose to read this because all the reviews raved about it and honestly I was very disappointed. I most definitely could put it down, and did so multiple times, and I felt that the universe this story takes place is was never fleshed out enough to make it a truly enjoyable read.I was also not aware that there was a sequel so was very disappointed with the ending; perhaps I will try to read the sequel too to see if it improves my view of this book.But overall, I found this book way over-hyped for what was actually within it.

The whole society explored in The Belles is abhorrent but it's so intriguing as a story you just have to keep reading.

I loved it. The pace slowed a little in the middle but then it picked up again. Such an interesting idea and clever execution, every detail was so beautifully done, I want to read more!

Fantastic and gripping book. It can get a little confusing with the ammount of names but it's such a great story. There's a lot of effort in the story telling aswell as the world building and I couldn't put it down.One of my favourite books of the year

Well written and an interesting concept. I am interested in the characters and I want to know more about the world this book is set in. Would love to read more books by this author

OMG how could it end like that?!! I was so ready for a conclusion but my breath is tight in my throat and I'm here in bed, heart racing, wondering what is going to happen to the belles!

Nota verdadeira: 3,5.Para quem acompanha minhas resenhas, já deve ter ficado claro que eu amo fantasia. Amo. Amo, amo, amo. Sempre que passo uns três livros lendo outro gênero, sinto falta e preciso voltar para fantasia. Gosto até das fantasias com enredos batidos, mas fico bem feliz quando encontro uma como The Belles, com uma proposta tão única.Quero deixar claro, antes de mais nada, que eu recomendo a leitura desse livro, que ele vale a pena e que espero coisas maravilhosas do segundo. Dito isso, vou ter que admitir que esperava mais e os problemas que encontrei aqui poderiam ter sido facilmente resolvidos. Isso é um pouco triste, mas eu realmente acho que o segundo livro será melhor, primeiro porque o universo em que se passa a história já estará mais estabelecido e também porque eu já saberei o que esperar.A escrita da autora não é nada ruim, mas minha primeira crítica é para ela. Tem metáforas demais. É um mundo onde coisas impossíveis do nosso acontecem, então muitas vezes me peguei tendo que parar e pensar para decidir se o que a autora tinha falado era mesmo uma metáfora ou algo que literalmente era daquele jeito. Isso aconteceu mais no começo do que no fim, mas aconteceu demais. Outra coisa que ela fez foi inventar criaturas e termos desnecessários, em uma tentativa de criar ambientação, claramente, mas que me confundiu bem também.A ambientação do livro é maravilhosa e não tem como você não se sentir nesse universo completamente, mas eu tenho outra crítica: ela descreve tudo demais. No começo, é necessário, mas quando o livro já está em sua rota final e o leitor já está familiarizado com a cultura desse país, não tem pra que ficar descrevendo todas as comidas em cima da mesa do cômodo em que a protagonista entrou. Ela faz isso até o último capítulo, com várias coisas irrelevantes para as cenas, listas enormes de detalhes que eu comecei a ler por cima para chegar no que realmente importava.Além disso, tive um problema com o enredo. Nas primeiras cem páginas mais ou menos, ele é um enrolação enorme de cenas praticamente inúteis, mas o pior é como tudo acontece rápido demais, de uma cena a outra sem muito desenvolvimento. Todo o enredo é assim, apressado, com acontecimentos que deveriam ser enormes e ter um peso grande acontecendo rápido demais, indo de um a outro sem tempo para absorver tudo. Sim, isso significa que a história acaba pegando um ritmo acelerado e corre rápido, mas não foi muito do meu gosto.E o romance, infelizmente, desaponta e muito. Primeiro, que nem deveria ter romance. Nem tem espaço para ele, dá para ver que sua presença foi forçada. Segundo, que, se fosse para ter romance, eu votaria no par da protagonista ser a Amber, porque elas têm muito mais química do que a Camellia com qualquer um dos carinhas - que, sim, provavelmente vão formar um triângulo amoroso insosso. O desenvolvimento do romance desde o começo foi sem graça, seu final nada surpreendente e segue sendo a única coisa pela qual não estou animada no segundo livro.Ainda tenho duas outras coisas para criticar. A próxima é a Camellia, que é até bem okay para protagonista, não tem nada de muito errado nela. Ela só é bem ingênua e sem atitude. Sabe que não pode confiar em todo mundo, mas não desconfia realmente de ninguém e nem suspeita de nada. Isso foi um pouco irritante, mas, pior, só os buracos enormes no enredo sobre como são as vidas das Belles, qual sua verdadeira história de vida. Na verdade, tem vários pequenos buracos no livro todo, mas eu costumo perdoar esse tipo de coisa até a série acabar. Difícil é só perdoar erros mesmo, mas todos aqui são minúsculos.Posso falar do que eu gosto no livro agora? E de por que eu acho que vale muito a pena ler essa história? A crítica ao que é considerado bonito e à obsessão das pessoas em sempre serem as mais bonitas e especiais foi ótima. Era absolutamente necessária e fiquei mega feliz de ver que a autora não decepcionou nesse quesito.Também amei que, apesar desse mundo ser tão brilhante e perfeito por fora, tem várias coisas terríveis nele que aparecem desde o começo do livro. O lado podre e doentio de uma sociedade que prefere gastar dinheiro em beleza do que em comida fica bem claro pela vida da corte. Gostei muito também da explicação de como funciona esse "poder" delas de modificar alguém e de todas as cenas em que a Camille o usava.E eu estou louca para ver o que vai acontecer no segundo livro, para rever Camille e suas irmãs e para ver que revolução elas vão criar. Dá para ver o potencial dessa duologia e eu estou louca para descobrir como termina. Apesar de todas as minhas críticas, ainda acho que vale muito a pena ler esse livro!

EDIT - Trigger warning: there is an attempted sexual assaultI admit that when I first heard about this book I wasn’t sure that I would be interested in it. But after hearing so much buzz I decided to get into it and am so happy I did!- a fantastic and original concept- the mix of historical and futuristic world building that created a world that was so cool to dive into- the MC Cameilla was fantastic. She was someone you rooted for but she was also flawed, she had selfish moments and moments where you wanted to shake her for being so tnaive- I loved all the sisters and their relationships together. They weren’t perfect which is true to life- all the SECRETS, I loved it and loved guessing and trying to figure everything out. I found some things predictable but I don’t think that’s bad. And I’ve read so much YA that I suspect things I guess are not as obvious to others- and of course, I loved that there was a black MC- finally, I really enjoyed how this book challenged how we think about beauty, our obsession with it, and what it really means to be beautifulOverall, I thought it was a fantastic book and can’t wait to read what comes next in the series. I would love to see the other sisters get a bit more screen time as well. Definitely a must read!

I assumed this book was going to be over-hyped purely because the hype was RIDICULOUS.tl;dr Eggs and bacon I was mistaken.The writing is as delicious as the villain is genuinely upsetting. That statement deserves to be expanded upon: The writing is freaking EDIBLE. It is abundant with metaphorical dessert descriptions to the point where I should warn you not to read this hungry. The villain is unbearably awful – possibly because at her core she is almost identical to our heroine.I happen to think that beauty on a human being is as pointless as a hat on a rat. This is the line that let me know I was in good hands with Dhonielle Clayton:“I want to make the people of Orléans love themselves.”Ivy continues down the hall. “You are here to make things beautiful,” she says.ANYWAY I liked this book a lot and am immediately ready to read more from this world.