Set in the fictional world of Orléans, a small number of girls are born with the ability to use magic to create beautiful looks for a dull general population. Camellia and her sister, known as the Belles, have trained their entire lives to be chosen as the Queen’s favourite and responsible for keeping the royal family beautiful.

The world of Orléans is beautiful, a decadent society with a darker history. Everyone is born grey, and it’s the role of the Belles to bring beauty, but it comes with a price. This book is jam-packed with sweet descriptions of a seemly beautiful world until the ugliness leaks out as the story goes on. Clayton’s Orléans is unique and thrilling; while it took a while for it to grip me at first, the ending is where it gets horrific and exciting. A fantasy world means there’s a lot to set up, but once the significant event starts happening, the pace improved.

I enjoyed the cast of characters and how each band of them interacted with Camellia. Her sweet yet competitive relationship with her sisters, the other Belles, contrasted well with the interactions with the much colder and stricter higher authorities of Orléans. There are the beginnings of a kick-ass girl group in the makings here, but I would’ve loved more development on the other Belles with Camellia since they’re quietly placed out of the main storyline entirely very early on in the story. I guess Clayton intends to bring them back in the sequel, hopefully, more in the forefront of the plot. The antagonist in this is perfect, so dark and cruel, and I indeed hadn’t anticipated it would’ve been them at the beginning.

The weakest part of this whole book was the romance. It had a critical moment in the plot, but the rest of it didn’t feel very strong, in comparison to the rest of the novel. There wasn't really anything to root for, and I found myself wanting to skip their scenes to get to better and more interesting sections. And the beginning didn't entice me as much as I thought it would, but towards the end, I did find myself pulled in.

Overall, The Belles was an original story that was fun to read. If you need a dark fantasy novel to read, I can suggest this!

I was seeing this book everywhere, and of course being attracted by the beautiful cover, I requested it from NetGalley, and lucky me, I got it. Seeing mixed reviews, I started my journey with low expectations, but WOW it caught me off guard! Behind this pretty cover, there's a strong plot, interesting characters, and an important point of view!
This book definitely talked to my girly side with the world created. Detailed and impressive descriptions of dresses, environment, and the magic made me imagine purples, pinks, glitters fly all over my mind :) I had so much FUN reading it. It was soon enough, we discover the ugliness and evil hidden behind all this facade, but that's what made it so interesting as well. 
Our magical story takes place in Orléans, where a handful of selected girls, called the Belles, have the magical power to create beautiful looks for their clients, who pay for it. Our main character Camellia and her sisters are trained all their lives to take on this duty from the previous set of Belles. There's nothing more Camellia wants from life other than becoming the next FAVOURITE Belle, living in the royal palace and serving the royalty. However, things are not this simple, there's much more to explore behind closed doors. 
I thought the plot is built really well. The author is very good at creating suspense and unlocking the secrets in time. It starts a bit slow, setting up the world and the magic system. I didn't think it was slow enough to bore you, but I read some people found it too descriptive. But, once you get passed it, it gains a lot of pace. 
The descriptions are so detailed that you can picture this world before your eyes. It's impressive how the ugliness and evil are hidden behind this glittery atmosphere.The layers lifted slowly to reveal the hidden realities. I loved the switch from the world of beauty and magic to a corrupted and complicated world. It slowly made me tense, I got suspicious about many characters involved and got lost in the mystery. Before I knew it, I was turning the pages so fast and hearing my own heart beat!
It's the last 100 pages that crashes all this world, and the book reaches its crescendo. I absolutely loved it. 
And let's come to the biggest reason why I loved this book. The real concept of this book is society's obsession with beauty. All this story revolves around people's definition of what is beautiful, constant effort to be the prettiest. It's a world where every part of the body can be changed. Hair, skin, eyes, legs, you name it. And nobody is ever satisfied. Did it sound familiar? Yes, actually we live in a world full of media influence over us, defining what's beautiful or not. When I read Clayton's story at the end of the book, she says that this subject was in her mind since she was 12, and I really admire how she came up with a very original story to display this real problem of our days. I also think it's really important to tap on these subjects for the young as it's a source of anxiety for many boys and girls. 
My only criticism for the book is I wish she was a bit more focused about this point of view, exploiting and highlighting it better. I feel very strong about the pressure put on people by this visual world and social media, and I would love to see more books, movies, etc. seeding the right messages. 
All in all, The Belles exceeded my expectations massively. Enchanting and magical, turning into a darker, mysterious, absolute page turner story. I'm frustrated that I have to wait for the next book god knows until when! 
Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars.

Trigger Warning: This book features sexual assault.

I've been absolutely dying to read The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton. There has been so much buzz about it for months now, so I've been eagerly anticipating reading it myself. It was absolutely worth all the praise it's received - The Belles is incredible!

In a world where everyone is born with grey skin, grey hair the texture of straw, and red eyes, Camellia and her five sisters, are Belles; girls born with colour, and the magical ability to make others beautiful. Camellia desperately wants to be picked by the Queen as the favourite Belle, meaning she'll do the beauty work for the royal family and it's courtiers. But life as a Belle at court isn't what she expected. The courtiers are demanding, requesting extreme beauty work that leaves Camellia exhausted. But the work is only half of it; she is asked by the Queen to use her powers in ways they've never been used before, in an effort to try and save her older daughter, Princess Charlotte, who has been in a deep sleep for many years. She discovers there are secrets hidden in the palace, kept from the people and Belles alike. When she uncovers the truth about the Belles, she questions everything she's ever been taught. She has a choice: keep the secrets and protect herself, or try to save the princess, change the world, and risk her own life in the process.

I cannot tell you just how incredible The Belles is. It's not just about beauty, it is, itself, beautiful; with gorgeous, decadent writing and rich, lavish imagery painting the most stunning of pictures, the act of reading this book is a luxurious experience. It's so opulent, it begs to be read out loud. And Clayton has created such an incredible world. It's high fantasy, so there's court life and intrigue, but it also has a modern feel, with newspapers and gossip magazines, it's own version of paparazzi, and technology; cameras, blimps with screens, lights for every purpose, devices to make your voice travel, and to hear what's being said at a distance, a mail delivery service using balloons, and so much more.

On the surface, the work of the Belles seems harmless enough, something akin to paying for a makeover, in a world where beauty means more than anything else, a shallow and superficial world, maybe, but not too different from our own. But then you realise that beauty work is actually a lot more like cosmetic surgery; it's not enhancing your appearance with make-up, or making it seem as if you're beautiful through some kind of glamour, it's actually physically changing your body - skin, bones and muscle, as well as colour and texture - and it's excruciatingly painful. Sure, you're given Belle-rose tea, which acts as an anaesthetic, but it doesn't get rid of all the pain. And the beauty work never lasts, it all wears off eventually.

But the people of Orléans are obsessed with beauty because being beautiful is everything; it's a sign of wealth, because beauty work is expensive; it's a sign of status, because those who aren't important can't afford beauty work. Without the Belles, you're grey and shrivelled and ugly, the dregs of society, and the people of Orléans can't imagine anything worse. But it's not just about being beautiful, it's about being the right kind of beautiful. Hair colours, skin colours, eye colours, bone structures, body sizes and frames come in and out of fashion. You don't want to be unfashionable, but you also want to be seen to set the newest trend. Who cares about the expense or how much pain you have to go through?

I did feel it took a while to get going. As sumptuous as the descriptions are, at the beginning, I felt it slowed the story down a bit; absolutely everything seemed to be described in extensive detail, that I did get a little tired of it, and just wanted the story to actually begin, to go somewhere. But once it did, the pace picks up. At first, we're discovering the world and Camille's life at court; the people she meets, the relationships she develops, how her arcana - her magical ability - works. We learn more and more about the people of Orléans, and their desperation to be beautiful.

Camellia - or, as she prefers, Camille - is in constant demand. And despite the fact that she is the one with the power, her advice is often unheeded. There was one moment when a woman comes to Camille with her five-year-old daughter, wanting Camille to make her more beautiful. As far as Camille is concerned, she's already pretty enough, maybe just needs refreshing a little as the grey is starting to show through, but the girl's mother disagrees. She has a very specific look for her daughter in mind, and won't accept anything less. It's quite clear from talking to the little girl that she is never beautiful enough for her mother. The beauty work her mother demands is so painful, the little girl has to be forcibly held down by her mother and a servant while she's screaming in pain. It's so shocking to read. And although Camille doesn't think the little girl needed such work, she still thought she needed refreshing, which would also have been painful. It's one thing to pay to put yourself through pain to be beautiful, but to forcibly do it to a child was just horrifying. The Belles really makes you think about the beauty industry, how our patriarchal society puts so much value on a woman's looks, and how we strive to be beautiful, how far we'll go to try to reach those impossible beauty standards.

But along with the beauty work, there's so much else going on; voices screaming and crying out in the night; the Big Sisters - the last generation's Belles - who now wear veils for some unknown reason; the darker side to the Belles' power and what they never imagined they could do; the illness or condition that put Princess Charlotte into a deep sleep four years ago, from which she has never woken. Loyalties are tested, lines are drawn, and the power balance is at risk. We have a sadistic villain who will horrify you, but delight you with how brilliantly sinister and terrifying they are. I was reminded a lot of Queen Levana from Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles, particularly Fairest, Levana's own story.

Before I end my review, I think it's important to note that Camille is a Black woman. At I said at the beginning of my review, although everyone else is born grey, the Belles are born with colour - so Camille is born with golden brown skin. There are no races in The Belles, as everyone except the Belles are born the same, but you can choose your skin colour, by shade, and the people of Orléans change their skin colour like they change their clothes. Belles can't change anything about themselves, they stay as they are, like we do, so Camille has golden brown skin - a Black woman - throughout. Camille is beautiful, but not only because she has colour, she is particularly very beautiful. She can't change the way she looks, but nobody would think she needs to. And this is so very important. This is a high fantasy, with a Black woman as the protagonist, who is beautiful in the eyes of everyone. And this is rare. We're doing better when it comes to high fantasy with people of colour as protagonists, in YA and adult, but not well enough. Apart from a few books here and there, the protagonists tend to always be white. I think it's also important to note that Camille is in a position of power; she has this magical ability, and her abilities are sought after; she is popular and is of high standing. Who has her own servant. Again, a Black woman, in a high fantasy. This is practically unheard of, which makes this book not just a fantastic high fantasy novel, but an incredibly important story. For what it says about beauty, but also so teen readers - particularly Black teen girls - see a Black woman, of high standing, in a position of power, who is beautiful, in a high fantasy novel - with a beautiful Black woman on the cover, too. There's still so much more needed, but slowly but surely, teens of colour are being given books where they get to star in magical fantasy stories, too.

The Belles ends on such a cliffhanger, and I am so desperate to know where the story will go from here! It's captivating, exciting, and just incredible. Book two cannot come soon enough. The Belles is exquisite; a temptation that is impossible to resist.

Thank you to Gollancz via NetGalley for the eProof.

The Belles starts out slowly, introducing you to the world and how everything works gradually, reducing the need for clunky exposition. I personally quite liked this, as it made getting into the book easier for me, and the world was more than interesting enough to hold my attention. I can’t even begin to tell you how unique and vibrant the world is, with all sorts of fantastical details that make it stand out from the crowd.

The writing is very descriptive, in a way that matches the story perfectly, without being too long-winded. You can’t have a book that revolves around beauty without plenty of description to help you visualise the wonder, can you.

Camellia is a really interesting main character, and I enjoyed following her perspective. She’s a little bit different and adventurous, and therefore has a tendency to break tradition, and experiment. She loves what she does, she loves her powers and beauty, but she wants more say and control over her life and comes across a bit rebellious. It’s refreshing to have a main character that embraces her destiny, while challenging traditions that she doesn’t agree with.

The Belles is a book that slowly grows a builds up, and I personally liked this as the world itself enough to hold my attention early on. There’s so much to discover that I really appreciated that the world building came first. As the book progresses and we learn more, there are mysteries and many twists and turns that will definitely keep you glued to the page.

As I mentioned above in the content and trigger warnings, there is a scene where the main character is sexually assaulted. It is not overly graphic, but I wouldn’t want anyone taken by surprise by it. I will say that it is challenged in the text immediately, and the victim is believed without question.

The idea of what is beautiful and the value of appearances are explored at length throughout the novel. It was refreshing that the definitions were quite broad with many skin tones, facial features and body types being described as beautiful. However the size of a person’s waist (specifically the smallness of it) was brought up again and again as something desirable, with many characters wanting to be thinner. The main character challenges this, saying other body types are beautiful too, but is that enough? I feel like this could potentially be triggering for a variety of people.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I found it unique and refreshing, and I am definitely looking forward to the sequel.

trigger warning: bury your gays trope, body image, & sexual assault.

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle, and a Belle can control beauty. Camellia strives to be chosen the queen’s favourite, the most revered and important position a Belle can get. Not just that, but Beauty is an important commodity, and everyone strives to be beautiful above all. However, after her and her Belle sisters arrive at court and receive their positions, it is not clear to Camellia that being a Belle is not all she dreamed that it would be. Behind the beautiful royal family and the gilded palace walls, dark and terrible secrets are kept and Camellia discovers just how dangerous her powers are.

The Belles is a conflicting book for me. There were a lot of things I liked about but also some things that could have been improved on, or completely avoided.

One of my favourite things about The Belles is the lush, flowery, and extravagant writing. The worldbuilding is phenomenal, despite never really seeing beyond the castle walls. It is an imaginative and original world, and one of the best aspects of this book. The Belles is not a book that I would call body positive and I want to give a warning for readers going into this that if you have body image issues or anything like that then please tread with caution. While I don’t think Dhonielle intended for this, the whole concept of beauty being an important commodity, and the amount of societal pressure that is placed on, mainly women, being the most beautiful it is hard to avoid some potentially harmful content. This emphasis on beauty is also primarily still put on female beauty too & I would have enjoyed seeing more development into how these beauty expectations affect others.

I also really liked the magic system of the Belles, it was really interesting and unique. The ability to craft beauty and change people’s features and body is an interesting power and I enjoyed the exploration of it. I liked how near the end Camille starts to discover things about her powers and that it isn’t just about changing appearance or about beauty. The magic and power that flows through her veins can do much more, and can potentially be very dangerous.

*spoilers* My main problem with The Belles is the fact that the sapphic women in this book die. Claudine, one of the Princess Sophia’s ladies, is a trivial character who is barely in the book, until it is found out that she is in love with her female servant. She is then threatened with an engagement to a known serial rapist and then murdered (she’s basically tortured to death) soon after. While her death was not necessarily about her being sapphic it was used to further the story of Camellia and Amber, and it still was not handled well considering she was one of only three(?) sapphic characters, another being the queen (who also dies). The other is Princess Sophia who, in passing, was only speculated to have had affairs with her ladies, and is the main antagonist of this book. Claudine and the Queen are, in fact, the only characters to die in this book.*spoilers*

But, other than that, it is an important book and discusses some nuanced and complex topics. It discusses a lot of toxic femininity and it is a society that puts a lot of pressure on being ‘beautiful’ and it leads to a vicious cycle of oppression and self-harm, and discusses these in a nuanced and subtle way. It discusses class and privilege, but probably not as much as I would have hoped. It has a black m/c by an author of colour and it has an absolutely beautiful cover featuring a black model. And the story itself IS good, it’s compelling and it is full of lush and beautiful writing.

The Belles is an important and revolutionary book but I do feel like some readers need to tread with caution.

"I identify all the smaller pigments--the rich browns and tans and whites--that help make the hue bright and uniform. Maman used to make me tell her all the pigments that made up the deep red of an apple, or the brown of a peanut. It was her nightly test for me while I was studying skin transformations. While the other mothers forced my sisters to trace their cursive letters, I worked on shades and spectrums. The core of beauty is color, Maman used to remind me when I complained about her exercises.."
~Camellia, THE BELLES


I'm really excited to be on tour with Dhonielle Clayton's UK publisher Gollancz / Orion Publishing Group to celebrate this week's launch of THE BELLES, one of 2018's most-anticipated debuts. The book comes out this Tuesday, February 6th, in the US (via Freeform / Disney-Hyperion) and Thursday, February 8th in the UK. To celebrate, I thought I'd show you the slight differences between the US and UK covers...and throw in the really cool French cover as a bonus! (The French version launches February 22nd from Robert Laffont.)




Can you see all the subtle differences? From the tagline (Which uses a darker shade of pink in the UK edition) the fact that you see a little more of the image in the UK edition to the slightest difference in hue. And then the French edition? We see most of that gorgeous dress and the background is striking and white. The red of the title just pops! I really can't decide which cover I like the most; both backgrounds are a lot of fun. I do like the UK edition a little better than the US edition because the tag is more visible/readable (Though that may not be true once I see the US finished copy this week!) and I like the vibrancy of the hue the best. I also really love the French cover and all the white and red! I can't decide; I love them both!

THE BELLES is one of the most original novels I've read in quite a while. It unveils the ugly side of society and holds a mirror up to today's society and biases in the process. The Belles are "the descendants of the Goddess of Beauty, blessed with the arcana to enhance the world and rescue the people of Orléans." They can alter the way a person looks, from skin tone to hair color to height and weight, to the shape of one's nose or lips or even the amount of freckles they have. The people of Orléans hate the way they look and always strive to be more beautiful. There is a curse on them and they revert to the way they were born once a month. We learn about this curse before the book even begins:



The God of the Sky fell in love with the Goddess of Beauty after the world began. Sky showered Beauty with gifts of his loveliest objects--the sun, the moon, the clouds, the stars. She accepted his offer to be his wife, and together they had the children of Orléans. But Beauty loved her new children so much, she spent all her time with them. After she refused to return home, Sky sent rain and lightning and wind to drown the first humans. When Beauty protected the people from harm, Sky cursed them with skin the color of a sunless sky, eyes the shade of blood, hair the texture of rotten straw, and a deep sadness that quickly turned to madness. In return, Beauty sent the Belles to be roses growing out of the dark and ravaged soil, destined to bring beauty back to the damned world, as the sun brings light.

(pg. vii, UK e-ARC edition)



The people of Orléans revert back frequently, and must visit the Belles at the various imperial teahouses in which they are employed to maintain their looks. The Belles can even alter a person's demeanor to make them kinder. Likewise, if they choose, they can make a person "ugly" just as easily as they can "beautiful." Camellia and her sisters have been prepping for their turn to help Orléans their entire life. They each covet the role of Favorite, the Belle who transforms the royal family. Camellia thinks her time serving as a Belle will be perfect, but she has no clue what darkness is lying in wait for her and her sisters...

First, let's talk about the society! The citizens of Orléans remind me of the citizens of District One in THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins with how wild and elaborate their looks can be, and how extravagantly they spend their money on such things. Everyone is shining and sparkling and unique. But the price to look this way is so much higher than money. There is a lot of pain involved and the process is not a delicate one. Plus, you are trusting yourself fully to another human. What if they don't transform you as you wish? And what does it cost the Belles to use so much of their gift to constantly transform so many people? As the book progresses, Clayton digs deeper and explores what it means to be beautiful and the emphasis society places on it.

One of my favorite things about THE BELLES is the way Clayton describes everything. Her words are wrapped in cotton and sweetness and are so visual. Maybe it's in part due to the pastel hues of the cover, but I see so much of that color in her words as well. Just look at the opening hook I posted earlier, he way Camellia talks in terms of food and color. Then the way Clayton uses visual sentences such as "My fingertips leave fog teardrops on the paper-thin glass walls." These descriptions and sentences are peppered throughout the novel and are gorgeous to read and visualize. I really adored her writing style!

At first, I wasn't sure what direction the novel would take. Was this going to be dystopian? I hadn't been expecting that and wasn't in the reading mood for that. So that expectation tainted the beginning of my read in that sense just because I wasn't in the right frame of mind. But I continued to love the world and be intrigued by what was going on, and I'm so glad the book opened into a direction more reminiscent of THE SIN EATER'S DAUGHTER by Melinda Salisbury or THE RED QUEEN by Victoria Aveyard or AN EMBER IN THE ASHES by Sabaa Tahir, where so much of the world lies on the back of royalty in a way that can be deadly or dangerous for the main character. I loved that it went this direction and opened up THE BELLES in new directions. I'm already eager to read the sequel and see where Clayton takes us next! (I'm also highly intrigued by the fact that the US Imprint is Freeform, leading me to wonder if it is similar to Alloy and will lead us to a future TV series!)

THE BELLES definitely lives up to its hype and is one to pick up as soon as it arrives in bookstores this week!

3.5 of 5 stars
https://lynns-books.com/2018/02/12/the-belles-the-belles-1-by-dhonielle-clayton/
The Belles is a book set in a world obsessed with beauty. In one respect a social commentary on the lengths that people will go to in order to look beautiful on the outside but more than that a world that is far from beautiful when the surface is scratched,

For me this book was a surprise in more than one way. I think I surprised myself by choosing it because frankly I read less YA these days and books filled with descriptions about beauty, hair and dresses are not really my typical sort of read – that isn’t a judgement on others just a statement of fact. And yet, in spite of that I crumbled and requested a copy and here comes the final surprise – I enjoyed this more than I expected. It was a fast read and quite beautifully written and whilst I have a few niggles this was an undoubtedly and unexpectedly easy book to get along with. Just shows that maybe I need to sometimes be less hasty and reserve judgement until I’ve given a book a reasonable chance.

The book begins with a short history of Orléans. At the start of the world the God of Sky fell in love with the Goddess of Beauty and together they had the children of Orléans The Goddess of Beauty was so enamoured with her children that she forgot the God of Sky and in his anger he cursed their children. Their skin would be grey, their eyes red and their hair like dead straw (not really the worst curse imaginable, sounds a little like me after too much wine, anyway…) Unable to break the curse the Goddess of Beauty blessed the people of Orléans with the Belles. Beauties who would grow like roses in the dark and who would bring light to the people of the world.

We are then introduced to Camellia and the other five Belles who, having just turned sixteen, will perform their debuts before the Queen. Every three years a Beauté Carnaval is held and after competing against each other the Belles will be selected to reside at various Imperial Tea Houses. One of them will be given the coveted title of ‘Favourite’ and will serve only the Royal Family. Up until this point the Belles have led a privileged but sheltered position. They know little of the world that they are about to be thrust into and are about to discover that once alloted their various positions their lives will no longer resemble the first few years of the gilded bubble they previously enjoyed. Their days will be filled with appointments for nobles and wealthy court people. They will be at the demand of capricious clients whose whims to look fabulous are never ending and who change their appearance almost as often as they change their clothes. Put bluntly, they will be little more than slaves, chaperoned from A to B, watched at all times and kept locked within their rooms in the few moments of leisure that they have. But, more than that, they will begin to discover that their innocent upbringing serves more than one purpose. There are darker things afoot in Orléans. The Palace and Tea Rooms are riddled with intrigue and on top of that, other than the superficial beauty treatments that they undertake, the Belles don’t really have much idea about the real magic they possess.

I won’t go further into the plot as it will ruin the read for others. The real thrust of the story is one of courtly intrigue and whilst it wasn’t particularly groundbreaking it was intriguing nonetheless.

The world building is, I admit, a little skimpy, but, I believe that’s with good reason. Camilla knows no more of Orléans than we do. She was raised in the beauty school and the day of her debut is her, as well as the reader’s, first view of the world outside. For me the descriptions of the place and people put me in mind of the court of Marie Antoinette – here is beauty, adorned with jewels and lavished with every extravagance. At first I couldn’t quite come to terms with how they all lived such opulent lifestyles until I realised that we, again like the Belles, were only witnessing the tip of the iceberg – the elite of the world, not the ‘great unwashed’ masses. These are the people who can afford to spend decadently on their outward appearances. Not for them the grey skin or red eyes that the Sky God inflicted on his children. The great majority of the public cannot afford these cosmetic changes and in this story we don’t get to visit them and see what sort of lives they lead. I can only imagine there’s a great disparity and if it’s anything like the French court that it put me in mind of I suspect rebellion may be brewing outside the Palace’s gilded gates.

In terms of the characters. We follow Camellia. She’s certainly not a bad character although she doesn’t always make the wisest of decisions. She’s very ambitious and keen to please and this combination means that she sometimes rushes into things that might not necessarily be the best choice. I sometimes felt like I wanted to shake her but then I’d think – she’s sixteen, she’s led a protected life and isn’t familiar with the cut throat ways of a royal court where favour can be bestowed and removed in the blink of an eye.

So, criticisms. I don’t really think I’ve got a proper handle on the Belles or their magic. It seems to be something inherent in the blood, arcana, but I’m not going to try and explain further because I’ll just end up fudging things. I think the plot was a little easy to predict – but then I’m not the target audience – and there are a couple of romantic threads and, yes, they did make me roll my eyes a little. There are also a couple of scenes within the story, one an attempted assault and another that is tantamount to torture that I feel I should just point out. However, they’re not over the top, gratuitous or graphic and they help to display the particular unsavoury character traits of the antagonist of the piece.

All in all I found this a quick and easy read. The writing is lovely, if occasionally a little overly sweet, and I think there is a lot still to be further explored. In a world that is becoming increasingly obsessed with self image it explores the lengths that people will go to to look beautiful and, given the plot, the book gives particular meaning to the old saying that beauty is only skin deep. Like I said above, surprisingly easy to read given that my more recent experiences of YA have not always been good.

I received a copy courtesy of the publisher, through Netgalley, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

REVIEW
My thoughts approaching reading this book are that I'm not and never was a "girly-girl book reader" so not sure how I will like this one. Though the blurb makes me think though things may at first look good on the surface that other darker things are at work.

The cover made me think of The Selection Series by Kiera Cass and The Lone City Series by Amy Ewing. The Belles cover certainly caught my interest and held it long enough for me to want to know more about the female on it. It would make me pick it up from a book store shelf to read the blurb.

The genres that I have seen listed for this book are Sci-Fi and Fantasy which fit well but personally I would also add dystopian, and mythology to the list of genres. The part I would describe as dystopian is the alternate "different" world The Belles and the normal citizens live in. The part of the book I would classify as Mythology is all centered around the history of the Gods and Goddesses that created The Belles.

At the beginning of the book I became a little impatient as it was very detailed and descriptive about the God of the Sky and the Goddess of Beauty and I was impatient to learn more about the Belles and their gifts straight away. Though I describe the beginning of the book that it slow but very descriptive start it soon pulls you in as you learn more about each individual Belle. Having said all that you soon realise the early descriptive part is definitely needed and when certain things happen in the book you do remember it and refer back to it. I ended up enjoying the whole backstory, mythology of the Goddess and the God of the Sky etc etc. and appreciating it the further I got into the book. To tell you a little, (though it is told in much more detail and better than I can explain) the Goddess of Beauty ends up truly upsetting the God of the Sky and he curses the normal people making them ugly. However the Goddess of Beauty sends the Belles to help the people. I loved the section n the book where Belles are described as "Roses growing out of a dark ravaged soil"

Belles have a special gift, they can use something called their arcana to create different images for the normal citizens. They can give the citizens that pay for their services any colour skin, hair, eye colour if choice as well as body shape etc. However different ruling Queens have passed laws with the help of the Beauty Minister putting limits on certain things such as waist size.

This year there are just six new Belles, Edelweiss, Padma, Hana, Ambrosia, Valeria and Camellia. They all have their individual flowers to represent them twined in and around the carriages they are to be presented to the royal and the "common" citizens watching the parade. The Belles have been trained by Madam Du Barry, her family ancestors have held the same position for many years and she intends this to be a handed down position for many more years! The book then begins with the Beauté Carnaval, the festival that happens just once every three years. Though we discover further into the book that this festival was a more regular occurrence and usually had many more Belles taking part. There are the usual multitude of vendors selling sweet in honor of the Belles such as small mountains of shaved ice topped with strawberries the colour of the Belles lips, intricate teacakes shaped like the different Belles signature flowers, sweet puffs molded like the Belles hair buns and colourful strings of sugar pinwheeled around sticks to mirror our traditional waist sashes and dresses. There are Imperial guards that are in charge of pushing the crowds of people back so that the procession has space to pass through. The Belles are individually presented to the Royals, they are given a subject/person to make beautiful. The Belle that impresses the Royals the most will work at the Palace whilst the other Belles get to work in the different tea houses. Being the Queens favourite is all these young Belles have dreamed of. Camellia is convinced it will be her as her mother was a Queens favourite before she had her. To be honest you could say she does our perform the others but maybe the Queen has other requirements that perhaps Camellia doesn't suit. Who will be the Queen favourite and why?
I won't reveal who is the favourite as the "winner" should be revealed at the correct time in the book!

Quite naturally as Camellia is both one of main characters in this book and was also one that I loved the most. You do end up really rooting for her as she face many tests within the book that need to be overcome. When she is asked to use her arcana to do something that is forbidden her first reaction is to obey the rules. However when the person asking the favour is someone very important and her decision could affect the whole kingdom how long can she say no. . . The other Belle I instinctively adored was Edelweiss or Edel as her Belle sisters call her. Edel is rebellious and doesn't really care who knows it! I honestly wasn't sure of Ambrosia, she initially seemed to be caring but when she assumed she would win and her behaviour during the ceremony made me wary of her.

The character I enjoyed not liking was Princess Sophia, she is a brilliant brat! It's awful how power and the possibility of being the next Queen can go to someone's head. So sad and a shame that an outwardly beautiful person can be so ugly inside. Princess Sophia shows more care and affection to her teacup animals. You really see an evil side to Princess Sophia. Those in favour with Sophia have to agree with her all the time, as if they fall out with Sophia she can be a very dangerous enemy.

There is certainly a lot going on in this book such as the mystery of who is crying at night. Also why is the true heir to the crown Princess Charlotte in a deep coma like sleep? Then there are Princess Sophia's suitors. One in particular goes out of his way to befriend the Queens favourite Belle. What could he possibly want from a Belle?

The writing style and plot style reminded me of a couple of other series I have read some of. The society reminded me a little of Gennifer Albin's Crewel series (though I have read very little of the series.) The other book series the society and the upper class society attitudes towards the Belles was The Lone City Series by Amy Ewing. So if you have read and loved either of these books you need to read this book! Even if you haven't read those series this book seriously is a must read book!

I really loved some of the phrases within the book, such as "Beauty Is In The Blood" and the way the phrase "May You Always Find Beauty" is used in the book. In fact "May You Always Find Beauty" made me think about the Hunger Games and the whole "May the odds be in your favour"

My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were Wow! Absolutely amazing read. I highly recommend reading this one. Please tell me it's book one and there's lots more to come in this series?

My final thoughts on the book are that it was a fantastic read that kept me hooked really wanting to learn more all the way through. This book is a great start to a possibly brilliant series. I can't wait for the next book!! I would be reading it right now if I could.

Honestly I was sorely disappointed by this novel, I was really excited to get a review copy, and I couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately it just wasn't for me.
The idea/premise of the book is a great one; certain people being able to manipulate other people's appearance and as a result manipuate their beauty. This narrative allows for some great discussions about beauty standards in society today, and exactly what makes someone beautiful. In this respect, the novel does succeed, these points are discussed in the novel, and it definitely allows the reader, who predominantly will be young adults to think about these things.
However, the aspect of the novel which I think let it down, and led to me not enjoying it so much were the characters. In particular Camellia, the main character, who seemed to have very little personality or characteristics about her, but all the characters seemed like this. All the characters changed so much to suit what the plot needed that almost every move the characters made seemed out of character and ridiculous. I spent so much of the novel questioning whether a certain character would do X or Y that I wasn't able to enjoy the novel or take the plot seriously. Even the 'evil' characters personalities seemed so confused and unclear that I couldn't take it seriously. I don't mind when characters do things that appear out of character when it adds to our overall understanding of said character, or the reasoning becomes clear later in the novel, but this novel just read like a mess of decisions from loads of characters just to move the plot along, and further the narrative.
I am really disappointed by this because it is such an intriguing idea for a novel, and the world that the author built is well-crafted, imaginative and beautifully described in the novel. I would've loved to know more about the geography of the world, and to read about different places in the world.
Overall, I liked the idea of this novel, and the author has built an intriguing world but unfortunately the characters let the novel down.

In the world of Orléans, a unique mythological setting has the people reliant on the Belles, girls who are exempt from the curse of the Sky God (think Zeus-level terrible), to maintain a beautiful appearance. This is a plastic-surgery-gone-wild kind of world, where people will pay regularly to not only be cursed, but also be hooked on the concept of beauty. Just imagine the current beauty standards and make that times hundred, and that’s how the world is. Naturally, the Belles are highly sought after and Camille, from the newest generation of Belles, wants to the best and most sought after, aka, the favorite of the royal family.

There are many disturbing facets in the story, like the way the people ask the Belles to manipulate their natural shape and color (well, considering they are all born grey, it’s more like getting color), and even their temperament. The Belles control every facet of beauty but their power is still under the control of the royal family. Camille, who replaces her own sister as the favorite, at first is carried away by the glitz and glamor of the court, and practically forgets the tiny weird things that happened when she was first assigned to a secondary teahouse. But things in the court continue to get shadier, the people continue to get more controlling, and there is a tyrant waiting to take the throne that would probably bully even Caligula.

The world-building is a little steampunk-ish, with these messenger balloons, and telephone-like devices, arcana-meters, and their various cosmetic concoctions, but also firmly in magic and myth, with the existence of arcana itself. I am interested in how it ties in with what was revealed about the Belles in the end, and how the system itself came into place. And while most of this story takes place in a palace with every luxury available, I am also eager to find out how the regular folk live (is it like pre-Revolution France?).

Camille, as a protagonist, was not my favorite. She is naive, yes, but it is also that she is too naive. She is not aware of what is going on most of the time, and she forgets things very easily. I don’t know if it was for plot convenience, because her being a bit of an airhead is why things build up to that desperate level by the end. She ignores the weird ongoings in the teahouse when she gets to the palace, and doesn’t do much questioning about it besides sending some letters to her other sisters (who, presumably, wouldn’t have much more knowledge about it, only notes to share). When the Queen asks her decision about something and tells her she has eight days, she doesn’t dwell much on it, and is instead focused on a charming suitor (who was *Shady* from his first scene) of the princess. The Queen, for her part, doesn’t show much urgency either, like she reschedules a meeting with her (about Camille’s decision) like one day before things needed to be resolved! That had me so frustrated, because I don’t like plot convenience to drive a story like this.

About the other characters – I loved the complicated sibling love-rivalry going on, and how it affected the relationship between the characters. I also liked Bree very much, and hoped she had a bigger part (like say, the other love interest?) to play. Sophia was a terrifying villain and will drive you to rage, for sure. But her unchecked power also made me a bit skeptical about the plot, since she is basically only a second princess who very much has motives and yet flies under the radar. Even when Camille was trying to think the best of her (why are you so guileless, Camille) I was like, how can you not see what is in front of you?!

Lastly, a weird quirk I did not understand was describing so much with food. Like skin color described with the textures of pastries or such, which was making me very hungry, ya’ll. And I also felt like it was trying to make different arcs – like the thread about the other unofficial Belles, or the escaped Edel, or the ‘creation’ of the Belles (I totally called that one!) – but didn’t really try to resolve anything in this first book properly. I understand there is a sequel but this barely felt like a complete story, you know!

The Belles follows Camellia who is one of the few Belles – a group of girls with the ability to manipulate beauty. In a world where nothing is valued more than beauty, this gives Camellia power and brings her to the very heart of the palace. It doesn’t take long, however, before she is caught up in the politics of the royalty and nobility. Choices must be made and Camellia’s very life is on the line.

I enjoyed this book. It is beautifully written with a flowery manner of writing which really brings the world to life. Camellia is also an excellent lead – she is powerful but also stubborn and often makes mistakes. However, it did not quite live up to the hype for me and there were parts of this book that could have been improved, particularly with regards to the sense of mystery and threat. That being said, I am captivated enough by this world to be looking forward to the sequel and seeing where Clayton takes her characters next.

Oh gosh. THIS book. THAT ending. I can't live anymore.

This book definitely shows that there are varying perceptions of beauty, and tackles the issue of society's image of a person. Sometimes you can get lost in the world's ideals and that's what happens to Camellia. The Belle's are prized, they are needed, and sought after. And Camellia wants to be the esteemed favourite, basically working in the palace for the Queen and Princess Sophia. Her mother was the favourite and that has always been her goal, to follow in her mother's footsteps.

The competition brings out different sides of herself and her best friend Amber. But she doesn't like these aspects of herself, and at least we can see that. There is a lot of good in her, although there are certain bad influences around her.

She learns there are secrets surrounding the Belle's and everything isn't as glorious as it was made out to be.

This took me some time to read but only due to the fact that I wasn't in the mood for ebooks. But then half way through that's when it really picks up. I love all of the Belle's, I adore Rémy. Edel has to be one of my fave Belle's. And that ending, oh gosh, I just need to know what's going to happen because it is crazy! And (SPOILER.. )...........

Princess Sophia is a f'ing b****, Auguste is just.. I just didn't like him for Camille from the start tbh. Rémy all day, every day. And Edel, that rebel, she must be my spirit animal. Speaking of animals, aren't those teacup pets just adorable? Although I had a nightmare about a tiny elephant before so I'm not sure how I'd feel about that one.

You've all gotta read this! And read the Afterword too, to read the authors words and how she came up with this idea. This is not a shallow book in any way, it's just bringing up every day issues and the world's monsters that we have to contend with.

It is heartbreaking, emotional, disturbing, and beautifully written. There is a price to beauty, one that can be both terrible and dangerous.

I received a free e-ARC of The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton from NetGalley in return for review consideration. The Belles is a YA fantasy novel, Clayton’s debut, and is due to be published by Gollancz, an imprint of Orion, in the UK on 8th February 2018.

Below is the Goodreads synopsis of the book:

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie—that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision.

With the future of Orléans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide—save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles—or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.

I received a sampler of this book at Gollancz Fest last year, and saw a lot of hype about this book around the bookish parts of the internet, so I was psyched to be approved on NetGalley for the e-ARC. I was also a little apprehensive, as I always am when I pick up something I have such high expectations for. But The Belles did not disappoint. In fact, it brought so much more to the table than I was expecting.

Camellia, the main character is a brilliant protagonist. As she attends the Beauté Carnaval, and leaves the home where she’s grown up, we travel with her and experience a world that’s as new to her as it is to us. The expectations she has for her new life are soon shattered, and as she starts to learn the truth about Orléans and the Belles, the layers of her world are peeled back. She discovers who she can and can’t trust, and that Orléans is a more complicated place than than she could ever have imagined.

The central conceit, that beauty is a finite and carefully controlled commodity, is novel and inspired. As well as providing a strong concept around which to base the story, it allows Clayton to provide commentary on the nature of beauty in our world, and how fickle and changeable its parameters can be. Clayton talks at the end of the book about the inspiration behind the story – her own teenage obsession with beauty, fuelled by the myriad changing images in the media and the damaging way they encourage us to judge our bodies and those of others around us. The way that she’s transformed her own experience into such a fascinating book is incredibly impressive, particularly for a debut novel.

There’s a lot of food-related descriptive language used throughout the book. Colors are raspberry, nutmeg, and milk; perfumes and other scents remind Camellia of sweets and cakes. Aside from making me hungry, I enjoyed how consistent Clayton was with her use of these images, as it really brought Camellia’s character to life for me. I also liked the French language elements; again, it brought depth to the setting of Orléans, making it feel like a distinctive, fully-formed place with its own history and own traditions.

It’s also super important to talk about the fact that this is an #ownvoices book, and one in which diversity is tightly woven into every strand of the story. The Belles is a superb example of how much richer a fictional world is when a wider variety of experiences are represented, something which is sorely needed in all genres.

The Belles is a stunning debut, and well worth your time if you enjoy fascinating new worlds and concepts, insightful commentary on our own world, and a main character whose journey you’ll be desperate to follow into the sequel.

In Orleans, people are born with grey skin, red eyes and straw-like hair. The only people born with natural beauty are The Belles - a group of young women who have magical powers, and the ability to temporarily make others look whatever way they want. Camellia longs to be the Queen’s favourite but soon discovers that the court is not as beautiful as it first appears.

This was a really descriptive book full of flowery writing, and everything was just really indulgent, and over the top but in the best possible way. I immediately liked Camellia - she was fierce but unafraid, and wasn’t afraid of taking a risk or standing out from the crowd. There’s definitely something you can admire about her - she loves her sisters but at the same time allows herself to be selfish and to want things just for her.

This is definitely a very unnique book and I haven’t seen the concept anywhere else - the closest I can think of it Glitter by Aprilynne Pike because of the glamour of the courts and obsessive with fashion and make-up.

This book really takes a look at the world’s obsession with outward beauty, and particularly towards the women in society. Men do get beauty treatments in this book but the majority seen getting extreme treatments are women.

There were times during the story that Camellia did annoy me a good bit. I felt like she was pretty slow to everything, and could clearly see that Sophia was no good but did nothing. She left it SO late to try and help Charlotte, it was really frustrating. The relationship with Auguste also felt a little bit forced.

I did enjoy the ending though, and will definitely carry on and read the next book!

TW: rape attempt, animal abuse

This is not a completely spoilerfree review, but the plot is not being discussed.

Wow. It took me a while to be able to write this review. I was worried at first, I knew that it was a book about beauty and I worried that it would be superficial. And it was, at first. I was about halfway when I really didn't think I could continue, and then the intrigue started, and the betrayal and the excitement. It took a while for this book to start, but I ended up being really surprised. And while beauty is important, I mean, it's the main drive for some of the characters, it's also celebrated. There isn't a focus on one particular look, because beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

I was also really surprised by how easy it is for some writers to write gay characters. Because what Dhonielle does is not writing it as if it is something special. It's just something that's there. It was so refreshing, because I'm so tired that being gay is something special. I know representation is important, and as a bisexual woman I would love it if there was more representation, but write them like it's normal. I really loved that.

The Belles was a really good read and I am really looking forward to the next book.

The world building in this book is undeniably complex and, at least to me, something that I haven’t seen before (I mean there is an argument for it having similarities to The Handmaids Tale) and the magic in this world is completely about appearances. Kind of like the Capitol in The Hunger Games books but with a handful of people holding the reigns to the magic beauty parlour instead of incredibly deep pockets. Clayton’s writing style is very descriptive which, of course, lends itself to a book which at its core is about how pretty people are but I have to admit I grew tired of all the food similes. We get it, that person has hair atop of their head like freshly spun candy floss - I got the impression that the author was very hungry whilst writing but it only served to grate on me.

Aside from the world building, the rest of the book was kind of lack lustre for me. You get all the generic YA tropes - even if they take over half the book to reveal themselves as such. I am so done with the “kill your gays” trope (not just limited to YA, I know) and get genuinely pissed off the book for going down that road. Which is surprisingly to me as I didn’t think anything could annoy me more about this book than the title font on the cover could.

I don’t plan on reading any further in the series but can see that this will end up being a very popular book.

"Love is when hearts beat together"



A long time ago, when the world was first created, the God of the Sky fell in love with the Goddess of Beauty. Together they created beautiful children, but when the Goddess of Beauty spent more time with her beloved offspring, instead of with the God of the Sky, he brought destruction upon the world, and withdrew the beauty from their children. The Goddess of Beauty, so distraught at her lovers actions, worked to bring beauty back into the world, and so the Belles were born.

Camellia Beauregard has always longed to be the queens favourite, and she has worked her entire life to achieve this goal. And when, by some turn of events, she is allocated the position, her world is turned upside down in a way she never would have expected.



One of the most anticipated books of the year, I've heard nothing but good things about the Belles. A diverse cast of characters, with a black protagonist, this honestly makes it stand out from the crowd. Dhonielle has done a fantastic job with this fantasy world, creating a story that was both enchanting and terrifying all at once.

As long as anyone can remember there have been the Gris, and the Belles. The Gris are unfortunate, cursed with grey skin and blood read eyes. The Belles beautiful, elegant, and born with the ability to make the Gris look more human. Because of this, the Belles are brought up away from society, with their abilities tested and honed over the course of their childhood, until they come of age and take their place in society, working at tea houses for those lucky enough to afford their talents.

The most talented of the Belles is chosen to serve the royal family, and with that comes popularity and fame. This makes it the most prestigious role in society, and each of the Belles would kill to be chosen. Yet when Camellia finds herself in the favourites shoes, she realises maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be. Thrust into a world of political strategies and potential tyranny, Camellia is forced to make a decision that could either save the world, or break it.

Dhonielle's debut was incredible. Her writing was extremely descriptive and beautiful, even though at times I didn't fully understand the terms used to define skin tones, and there was never a dull moment, despite the story only picking up about halfway through the novel. All the characters were strong, and the plot was very driven, making this an absolute pleasure to read (minus the terrifying princess, and dystopian-esque world).

Camellia was flawed, yet strong, and incredibly well-written. She was realistic, with ambition I could picture people having in the real world, and the stubbornness to go with it. We're led to believe she has the ideal life, something she believes herself, until she realises just how much has been kept from her and her sisters. But with every thing that is thrown her way, Camellia continues to carry on, beating the odds and doing what she thinks is right. Even when faced with the tyranny of Sophia, Camellia doesn't lose faith in herself, and this made her one of my favourite female characters in young adult fiction today.

Speaking of Sophia, she was a truly terrifying villain. At times she almost seems sugary sweet, putting on a front to the public in order to gain their love and trust, but behind closed doors she is almost insane. Some of the things she does to those who cross her make her the most terrifying villain I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. Yet, despite her having the ability to suppress the anger building up inside her, she refuses to let it be tamed, instead choosing to punish Camellia for her attempts, and putting her in danger to try and prove a point.

But out of all the characters, the one I didn't like from the very start, was Auguste. This was not because he was poorly written, or because he's a character we aren't meant to like, but for me, he was a character I didn't entirely trust. I felt like he was misleading me, taking me down a path I knew he would eventually push me off. Ultimately, he was well written. I don't think we're ever meant to know what he really intends, and this played into his character extremely well.



Overall I adored this debut. It was a weird mix of The Cruel Prince meets The Handmaid's Tale, which ultimately made the perfect political young adult novel with enough of a fear factor for something that could eventually happen, albeit in a more surgical way. The Belles are meant to be perfect, something everyone wants to be, but in reality they're abused for their practice, and forced into work from a relatively young age. They're born/made for the sake of vanity, and the implications of this are well addressed throughout the book, making the concept even more terrifying.
I honestly think this is something everyone should read. We need more diverse fantasy fiction, and this fits the bill as not only is it incredibly diverse, it is also extremely well written.

There's been a lot of hype surrounding this book ever since its publication was announced a long while ago, so I was pretty curious to see for myself. And I'm happy to say there is a lot about this book that is hype-worthy. Some of it isn't even review stuff, but essay-type stuff. In all the buzz, I've never seen this book compared to Handmaid's Tale (which is the closest cousin of this novel to me, next to Scott Westerfeld's Uglies).

But first things first. The Belles takes some typical YA tropes (first-person narrator who is a talented girl thrown into unfamiliar royal surroundings and meeting boys, and competing against other girls) but distinguishes itself through very, very interesting dystopian worldbuilding. The Belles are girls granted with special magic powers of manipulating the bodies of the Gris - grey, colourless, hairy, red-eyed humans. All (almost all?) Gris want to be manipulated and turned pretty and colourful (there is one scene that suggests that may not necessarily be so, but it's minor and doesn't actually go anywhere). There's a lot to unpack here: the metaphor works for racism, of course, but also for beauty myth in general. Both women and men undergo painful beauty procedures (though women seem to be inclined to much more extensive beauty work). The extent of work you can (afford/be allowed to) get done depends on your social and financial status.

Skin colour, shape of one's body, musculature - all of them are plastic and manipulatable (though easier for some than others to maintain). Instead of being idyllic in terms of freeing identity of bodily contraints, this leads to something terrifying: a tyranny of fashion, a dystopia of beauty as obligatory and oppressive. An oppression that warps and harms and self-harms.

In short, the world was amazing (though a little [purposefully, I think] confusing: I'm curious to see how this world actually is supposed to work [or is it?] in the sequel, since the country has ministry of war but also a barrier that separates it from the outside world, it seems? And what's up with their economy? Is there trade? We know nothing, it doesn't seem to make sense - but then, Camille doesn't seem to care). I found the characters interesting though not terribly exciting: more of a vehicle for seeing the awful world. The plot was truly gripping: in turns scary and exciting, a true page-turner. Some of the twists are telegraphed clearly and could have used more subtlety perhaps, but that's a personal preference.

Unfortunately, for all that, the book had two drawbacks for me. One was the amount of description concerning beauty. I realise there's a reason for it, and that it served its function, but:

a) the food metaphors were, to me, the equivalent of catching a kid with a cigarette and having them smoke the whole pack to turn them off the habit for life. By now I think a lot of readers and writers are aware of the racist potential of comparing characters skin colour to food: this book does so very consciously, for all colours, to a point where it's in turns interesting (and cravings-inducing; they also eat a lot of pretty sweets there, you know) and nauseating. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to miss the next time I see the word caramel in a text used for anything but food.
b) there was too much of it. The descriptions of beauty transformations themselves could be quite dynamic and interesting, but all those lists of fabrics, styles, cosmetics, looks: my eyes glazed over and I began to skim. I'm not high femme enough for this, I suppose.

The second drawback concerns queer representation and is spoilery, so I'll refrain from putting it here.

In short: it's a strong and interesting and gripping young adult novel. It does some great work unpacking - well, I know this is more of a term used by MRAs for a different, anti-feminist purpose, but I'd call it toxic femininity? The way femininity is used to harm women and girls and to self-harm, the oppression and self-oppression of beauty requirements (and faux-empowerment beauty can be associated with). But all the same, I wasn't quite satisfied, and I felt a little disappointed by some narrative choices.

But I am still exceedingly curious to read volume two, particularly given who its main characters seem destined to be.

Holy pretty cover, batman.




Everybody knows, I think, that I love me a good dystopia. Seriously, it just never seems to get old for me, I am always here for all of the post-apocalyptic disaster stories. All the time. I’m not sure if The Belles, the first in a new series by Dhonielle Clayton and published tomorrow is classed as dystopian or whether it’s an alternative reality because I don’t think that’s ever explicitly stated, but it felt dystopian to me, so that’s what we’ll go with. Teen feminist dystopia. Is that a thing?

The premise is simple: in the opulent Orleans, everybody is born grey and plain; only the Belles, a group of young girls, with a mysterious set of powers can make a person beautiful. Belles have the ability to alter every single last thing about a person, to order. In Orleans everybody wants to be beautiful, beauty is valued higher than anything so the work of the Belles is expensive and in demand. (Think The Hunger Games district one here – that’s what Orleans and the people looked like in my head I was reading anyhow.)

Camellia is a Belle. Every few years the old set of Belles are retired and a new generation are brought forward, a group from one of which is chosen to be the favourite, to live at Court and to make the Royal Family beautiful. Camellia wants to be the favourite.

BUT GUESS WHAT.

LIFE AT COURT, LIFE AS A BELLE, IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS. Nothing, in fact, is what it seems.

(Also side note, the villains in this story were delicious: everybody loves a real bad baddy, right? This book has that.)

This book is fantastical and you need to suspend your belief entirely going in and – slightly problematically for me actually because I am all about the world-building – you’re kind of thrown in at the deep end with not much explanation given to the whys and the hows and there wherefores. That didn’t stop me guzzling this book down (although it doesn’t really get going until about a third of the way in) but I won’t lie: I would have loved it more had there been more background and more explanation; I’m always so greedy for that stuff – I need to understand it to believe it and whilst I loved the concept here, I couldn’t quite grasp how it would all work.

There’s a whole mythological element which I loved, and I’m really hoping that in the rest of the series, that’s explored in a little more detail too, I’d also like to see more of Orleans outside of the Royal Palace. Here’s hoping all my questions will be answered in the sequel if I’m patient. I have so many questions, none of which I am going to pose here because: spoilers.

On the whole that’s my overriding feeling I think; the ideas Clayton touches on in this book fascinated me and I would have loved for them to have been explored in more detail. It’s repetitive in places, and if I’m honest I did find it dragging and that bugged me because I was so intrigued – the whole idea of it, the world, the story, the characters, I was fascinated by it all and so when I found myself feeling like I was reading back over what I’d already read a couple of times I was frustrated: it didn’t quite reach its full potential for me, and it’s such a shame because it could have been amazing if it had just had a little more depth. That said, I’ll be keeping my little eyes peeled for the rest of the series because this is a book full of secrets and lies and deceit; real proof that beauty is so much more than skin deep, it’s message actually not that dissimilar to that of Scott Westerfield’s Uglies. It’s an interesting concept, and its cleverly told with so much of it familiar if extreme – it’s a really interesting study in what it means to be ‘beautiful,’ what ‘beautiful’ looks like and the values society places on that. Not just the desperation to be the latest version of beautiful, but how the Belles are seen as commodities rather than people, the way they are expected to give up everything about themselves for what they believe to be some Greater Good, although in reality that’s all smoke and mirrors and the reality is much more sinister. I loved it.


Most of all, I wish post balloons were a thing.

I meant to wait a little while until I was less angry about this book, but I don't see that happening anytime soon, to be quite honest. Actually, scratch angry. I'm fucking furious. I have never been gladder to have been spoiled a character death in my life.

This book is bury your gays. There we go. I said it. It's bury your gays.

In this book, there are two (potentially three) sapphic characters. One of them is in love with one of her attendants but, this being an inadvisable and socially wrong match, nothing can happen between them. That's already a tragic gay story, so excuse me if I'm not sympathetic to anything more.

Unfortunately, a lot more happens. The princess (cruel, slightly unstable, generally just horrible and sadistic) decides that Claudine has to marry a man. And this man is a gross attempted rapist. So that's bad enough. And great, we get to see (once again) that the princess is horrible and cruel and should not be allowed to rule.

But it doesn't stop there. Oh no. The princess decides that two Belles have to change Claudine's appearance, each three times, as a competition to find this gross fuck of a man's favourite look. And they push it so hard Claudine dies. There's plenty of comments earlier in the book about how painful the Belles' work is, so essentially Claudine is tortured to death. And this happens in front of everyone.

And the only point to this scene is so those Belles, Camille and Amber, can be accused of murder. That's it. It would have been so so so easy not to have had the character be Claudine, but no. Apparently, even in this fantasy universe, LGBT characters are not allowed anything near a happy ending. Instead, they get tortured to death for a cruel princess's power kick.

What we end up with is yet another gay character being murdered (1) for cishet pain, (2) to show how cruel the villain is (and note that she's already been shown to be cruel many times over), (3) for the tragedy, and (4) FOR NO FUCKING REASON.

I am so incredibly furious at this book. But I am also glad beyond belief that I went into the book having been spoiled for this character's death. Not how, but at least that it happens. Because it was fucking awful reading about it having known it was coming, I wouldn't wish anyone to read it without foreknowledge.

Besides that, I had some more mundane problems too. The plot was kind of boring for the best part of 450 pages. Honestly, if you're going to have a book that long, get things moving a bit quicker. There was the occasional hook to keep you interested, but I really just skimread most of it. Maybe it didn't help that I knew about the spoiler beforehand, but also I read one chapter and realised I didn't actually like the premise. So it wasn't an auspicious start. The writing was occasionally purple prosey, but overall pretty good. As for the characters, I only liked three of them and they hardly really appeared (and one of them died, so thanks for that).

All that might ordinarily have lead me to rate this book 2 stars, but then that happened and I was too angry to ever rate it higher than 1. Honestly, it doesn't even deserve that many.