The Belles
Ratings37
Average rating3.7
Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orleans, 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 Orleans 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 Orleans 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. Dhonielle Clayton creates a rich, detailed, decadent world of excess and privilege, where beauty is not only skin-deep, but a complete mirage. Weaving deeper questions about the commodification of women's bodies, gender equality, racial identity, and vanity with high-stakes action and incredible imagery, The Belles is the must-read epic of the season.
Series
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3 primary booksThe Belles
The Belles is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 2018 with contributions by Dhonielle Clayton.
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The world created in THE BELLES is fascinating, and once I really started reading this, I couldn't put it down. I wanted more about how the society and the world worked - does absolutely everyone have to see a Belle to stay beautiful? What do commoners/non-wealthy people look like (or how can they afford to visit a Belle regularly)? Is the whole society matriarchal or just the royal line of succession? Do other countries in the world also have Belles? None of those questions really take away from the plot, but the world is so intriguing, I could read more about any of those. The plot is kind of your standard YA dystopia with a Chosen One and dark secrets and an honestly kind of unnecessary love triangle - at least, kind of? I absolutely could not stand Auguste throughout the book, and the twist seemed completely out of nowhere to me, though I wonder if there were clues I missed because I was reading so quickly. This is very much the first book in a series, so a lot of things are unresolved at the end - I'm excited to see how everything turns out!
(Edited to add: also, this cover is incredible and I love it.)
Lushly written fantasy on the costs of beauty and human cruelty. The world building is excellent, but building the world slows the pace down at the beginning. As more is revealed about what lurks under the surface of a beautiful society, the pace picks back up and speeds to a relative cliffhanger of an ending (this is the first of a series). Will definitely be booktalking this memorable story.
