Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for giving me this book to review.

I enjoyed The Belles as it has a good concept with the magic and world. It was described really well, especially the ambiance of how opulent and shallow the world is while telling you that not all is as it seems. While I liked the world, it would have been nice to see what it was like for those who are unable to afford the Belles treatment. However, the book seemed to go on a long time with not much happening and the book could be cut much shorter without anything important missing.

Camilla is ambitious and a perfectionist, but I didn’t connect with her much even though she is a good person. While I liked the other Belles, apart from Edel, they all seemed two-faced and more frenemies to each other and not sisters. I wanted more from the villain as they seemed evil just for evil sake and I wanted more depth.

While this book is not perfect I am interested to see what happens next in this story. I would recommend The Belles to fans of unique YA fantasy.

The cover of this book is absolutely incredible and eye-catching. There is no way I wouldn't have picked this up and when I saw it on Twitter I instantly wanted to know more. Reading the blurb and the hype was so infectious it made me want this book too. So, I had a look at the blurb and then requested it on NetGalley. I never expected to actually get approved - but I did.

I am very conflicted about this story. The character development was great, it had a diabolical villain and awesome plot twists. However, the pacing was super slow, and the world building could have been a lot better.

Although we have a great overview of the world and how the Arcana works, there's very little structure which allowed for fragmented imagery in my mind. Some of the descriptions were overly reptitive too.

Overall this was a good book which gave me mixed feelings and and didn't blow me away.

When I started Dhonielle Clayton’s ‘The Belles’ I was worried. A few pages in and I was feeling overwhelmed and really anxious that it wasn’t going to be a good fit for me. A book with so much hype I wanted to love it so bad, and not having an insta-love moment with the story gave me some serious doubts.

But I shouldn’t have let my worries get the better of me because after sticking with it some more I began to get more and more hooked.

This is the problem with books that get ALL THE HYPE, I feel. You go in with a different filter than if you’d casually picked it up on a whim. There’s all that expectations and the idea of a book not meeting that is scary, as a reader.

Why was I so apprehensive? I found the writing style in the opening pages a massive contrast to what I had been recently reading. It just seemed a little extra.

WELL DUH. That was the whole point, methinks. Because these girls had been raised for the sake of beauty. Their whole world was seen through a beautified lens.

So it didn’t take long for that perspective to be challenged by the experiences and scenarios the main character found herself in.

I’m going to wield that SF descriptor again but I think you could argue this is a piece of SF fiction. So imma call it that. Thanks.

The plot grows more complex and intricate as the pages turn, and even though I kinda knew there was something about THAT GUY (no spoilers here, but if you’ve read it, you’ll know who I mean) I enjoyed watching it all unravel.

For me, ‘The Belles’ has that same something that I love about series’ such as ‘Poison Study’ by Maria V. Snyder and more recently ‘Forest of a Thousand Lanterns’. It also put me in mind of ‘Under My Skin’ by Shawntelle Madison.

‘The Belles’ questions everything that is “beautiful” and what the word means to each of us as an individual. The lengths someone will go to be “perfect” and “flawless”. It weaves a classic fairytale vibe with a fresh and exciting perspective.

There is so much I could say about it, but mostly, I NEED book two now. And everyone should go read it. You won’t be disappointed.

The characters and world are fantastic and completely engaging. The plot is strong enough to keep you hooked the entire time. However I personally found the author's style of prose too flowery which has lowered my overall experience.

Intriguing world and story!

I got attached to this cute cover and picked it up straight away. The world is very unique that people put beauty in centre of their lives and only the Belles have power to alter people’s appearance.

Belle’s ability is peculiar. Controlling beauty! It sounds elegant but it causes crucial pain during the process. That description is too good that I felt like I can feel that pain as mine.
I have never read like this story before. What is beauty. How far people will dedicate to their appearance.

The story was slow pace a little, though it’s interesting to know about Belle’s abilities and how the main character, Camellia discover the secret at court and fight to villains. How she learn that she has to do right things and start to see the truth about things surrounding her.
Although I like most characters, sometimes I get lost my feeling to Camellia of her obedience and got annoyed a little.

I’ve kept my question whole the way through and still I don’t understand why people doesn’t stand up to fight with that villain. All the people are passive, trying to look away and even join the crucial acts. That doesn’t sound right to me...no one?...even queen...?

I enjoyed its creative world and attractive characters, however, I have a mixed feeling about its story.
I give this book 3.8 stars

It didn’t blow me away as I wished but it’s a good first book of its series. I’ll definitely check its sequels that I want to know how this world is going to be.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This was a very readable book (or at least it starts off that way) but ultimately I didn't like it. Part of the issue is me. I find endless descriptions of make-up and dresses (why the hell do all the female characters HAVE to wear dresses? Apparently same sex marriage is okay in this universe, suggesting that it's forward thinking and progressive in some respects, so why are traditional gender roles and appearances being so ruthlessly enforced?) and body modifications to fit beauty standards so boring I could cry. And I'm not a crier. To be fair I find them duller than Vogon poetry irl so they had no chance of capturing my attention in a fairly competent but not much out of the common way fantasy novel. I acknowledge the very real problem that the pursuit of 'beauty' and the commodification of the female body plays in today's society. I'm not completely immune but I have never cared anywhere near as much as the characters in this book do. It's beyond disturbing. Beneath the fair facades none of them have enough wit to realise that they are unbelievably ugly because they are depthless, self involved, unkind and often outright cruel. The sort of people I would despise and have nothing to do with in real life, so reading a whole book where even the 'good' characters were like that was something of a trial.

What I did like about this book was the way in which Clayton made Race a non issue. That was clever. It's essentially a book about slavery - a gilded cage is still a cage after all, and all of Orleans society is enslaved to expectations of beauty that repeated painful procedures must be undergone on a monthly basis in order to effect. The price of beauty is even steeper as you find out further into the novel. While not the most original or clever of plot twists, it showed that not all the physical slaves of that society lived in gilded cages. To me it read as much like sex trafficking as it did slavery, except in this instance the girls talents were being sold rather than their bodies. Although there is at least one entitled male arsehole who believes that anything he wants should be his - unfortunately that scene really shows up where the author has shied away at the last moment and the flimsy character construction is all too apparent there. This is part of the problem with using sexual assault to make a point in YA (indeed in all fiction). The weight of it makes the entire scene, and occasionally the book, about that issue or at least makes that issue co-morbid with whatever else is going on, so if you're going to go there, you need to have the stones to do it properly.

This is probably another me thing but there was just one, single character in this book I liked. (Remy, sort of.) Not necessarily a deal breaker - I don't HAVE to like a character to want to follow them. But for me, they weren't given enough to do and they weren't developed enough. I know the Belles were conditioned to be obedient and not ask questions but you can't have a MC you constantly say colours outside the lines, and then not support it with actions. Camelia is self involved, cowardly and unbelievably stupid a lot of the time. I actively disliked Auguste, the supposed love interest, who had no development at all. It was so obvious what he was doing and I know Camelia was naive and sheltered but come on! Princess Sophia - equal parts Countess Bathory and the wicked queen from Snow White - was a moustache twirling villain. Which leads us on to bugbear number three, please don't put four (possibly five because I read Edel as bi at least) queer characters in your book and then kill two if not three of them. Especially don't kill the one your audience is most likely to engage with for a contrived reason - ie to show have Eee-VILLL your villain is. Just don't, ok? (And really don't then take to twitter complaining that your book has been misunderstood...)

Ok, ranty pants aside, I think this is a good book, irrespective of whether I like it or not. I am fed up of LGBTQA+ characters being turned into defacto 'girls in refrigerators' to provide motivation to flagging protagonists, but I think this book does a good job of what it set out to do - hold up a dark mirror to our own obsession with appearance and its price.

There weren't many surprises in the plot for me but that is again probably me and my naturally suspicious mind. The tea cup pets were on one level adorable and on the other incredibly disturbingly symptomatic of human desire to conquer and control the natural world. (As well as being a huge red flag as to who the Belles really were.) Also, while the subject matter didn't really interest me, the story was quite smooth, the style was engaging and the writing itself was beautiful. (I just wish it wasn't endless descriptions of dresses and make up...) Low key curious about the next book.

While it was fast paced and definitely didn't lag for actions which is good as it's a long book. However i saw so many of the twists coming and the story just didn't seem to hold together towards the end. I would have liked the characters to have more depth as well

Just like the beauty described within, The Belles is beautiful yet ultimately flawed.

Camellia is a Belle, blessed by the Goddess of beauty with the gift to change the appearance of the people of Orleans, who have been cursed to be born grey and without colour, on a whim. Trained from birth along with her sisters, Camellia sees it as her duty to offer such an important service and wants nothing more than to be picked by the queen as the favourite, honoured with the role of beautifying the royal family. But things don’t always go to plan

I’ll start with the positives. The descriptions of the environment, the girls and their beauty treatments are lush, detailed and full of colour (although very food orientated at times, especially in relation to skin colours). It’s also a well thought out and reasonably well developed world. There are hints of Japanese teahouses and rich carnivals that help to define the world and ground it in a sense of its own reality. The glimpses we see of the wider world outside of the palace were often the highlights for me, as they were so vibrant and intriguing. I would have liked more time here.

The pacing is slow, especially in the first half of the book as nothing really seems to happen other than meeting a large number of characters that seem to serve little purpose. However, the mysteries and intrigues encountered by Camellia on her journey had me hooked. I wanted to know the various ins and outs and why’s desperately, and this had me reading on even with the slow pace. I did start to worry at about 80% of the way through as not all of my questions had been answered, however most of them were resolved by the end - although not necessarily to their full extent, and the finale felt rather rushed. It felt like I’d been dealt half a pack of cards, with the author holding back a few intrigues for a second book. Which I admit, did irritate me.

The main characters, for the most part, are interesting. Camilla as the main protagonist is the standard YA heroine. Special gifts, but with a rebellious heart and a need to bend the rules. Naive, yet a good egg. She was likeable enough to carry the story, but a bit bland. There was no bite and no feistiness. No depth to her character. Her sisters all follow a similar vein, although we rarely see them, which was a shame. There was potential here to develop a strong bond of female characters that was wasted. Sophia was the main draw here, as she makes a great antagonist. Unpredictable, lashing out when you least expect it, and coming up with some devious and often awful deeds to make others suffer. She’s also harbours an obsession that runs as an undercurrent throughout the whole population. With the Belles, their power and most importantly their beauty. As with most of the inhabitants of Orleans she’s beautiful, but wants to be the most beautiful. She’s insecure and this manifests as a deep rooted, all consuming desire to control everything and everyone.

The secondary characters, unfortunately, are the main downfall here. They seem to be thrown under the bus on multiple occasions just for the sake of the plot, instead of being properly developed. Several times I thought there was potential to really drive a plot with a unique and underplayed character in YA (such as the queen and her female lover, or Cornelia and her secret love affair with her female servant) only for them to trail off into nothing. Or be used as a pointless plot device. It was deeply disappointing.

I think by the end, this was my final impression of the Belles. It was pretty, but without any real substance.

Having read Dhonielle's previous work, we thought we'd like this book. We expected it to be dark and luscious, full of deception and exceptional imagery. And the imagery was exceptional, but we were mostly bored.

The main villain seemed like much of a stereotype and The Belle's themselves were so horribly naive that we couldn't grasp enough interest to marvel at revelations made over the course of this book.

While we loved the idea of teacup animals and appreciated the subtle weaving of politics from our world into this fictional one, we wouldn't recommend this book to someone else.

It's likely that when the sequel comes round, we'll read it upon release or request it beforehand in the hope of something clicking with us as has happened before with other series, but we are doubtful.

All in all, The Belles was a letdown for us even as it is praised by so many of the reading community.

I was so hyped for this book as I've seen it everywhere recently and i think that was part of my problem with it. I went into it expecting to be blown away and unfortunately, i was not. I did like the voice of the main character and the early characterisation but i felt as the book progressed, she become slightly irritating and juvenile. The world building was interesting and i liked how Clayton built up the world which is one reason i tried to finish it.

I love the idea behind this book, how harming constant pursue of beauty, beauty that was defined by someone else, can be. The Belles touches on a lot of important subjects about self-love and beauty culture. It can be quite scary at some points. However, no matter how much I love the idea, I'm not a fan of execution. It was so hard for me to read this book... There were moments when things were picking up and I got my hopes up that I'll finally get hooked on this book, but then they slowed downed again. I think there were many unnecessary scenes that were too long, and some more important scenes were cut short.

I'm disappointed with how Camellia's relationship with Auguste was presented. At the end he had such a big impact on her life but in the story he was showing sporadically and in my opinion in quite uneventful way. He was teasing her, she was fascinated by him but I wish there was more to it considering his impact. I also think that o overall there was too little action for such a long book. We get a lot of descriptions of beauty, Belles' procedures. But no serious action that make your heart race. I had troubles with staying invested in the story because of that.

Sadly I didn't develop any setting feelings for any of the characters. They were all just a bit meh. Camellia is not interesting at all, she's sure if her strong Belles abilities and she's wants to be the favourite. She's incomprehensibly opposed to following any rules, which sometimes was annoying. Sophia is cartoonishly evil, without any explanation why (maybe we'll get it in next book). Other Belles are just a personification of one characteristic. One is totally over the whole Belles thong and doesn't care much, one is obsessed with boys, one is extremely competitive and jealous. They very one-dimensional.

Tell me if you had the same problem as me with this book - there were some plot gaps, people appearing in different place even though they just were somewhere else without explanation. What someone said and how things look changed. It could be just my inattentive reading, or issue with ARC or both.

I do love the word of Belles' though, the twist at the end made me crave the next book in the series. I want to know how it all will end, will they accept they natural beauty and they won't alter it anymore? Will they all magically became beautiful again? I'm interested in reading the next book, and because of that I'm giving it 3 stars.

The Belles is everything that I thought it would be … and more. It is full of lavish descriptions of the Belle world, its plot twists and turns and its characters are full of secrets. The writing is gorgeous and there are so many beautifully detailed descriptions that this book was really brought to life. I could easily imagine the gorgeous dresses, the mouth watering food and the glamorous life of the court (well on the outside, anyway). I have to admit that it did take me a little while to get into this book but I think that is mainly down to me needing to take the time to carefully sit and read about the world and to let myself become fully immersed but once I was in, I was IN. This book has pretty much everything I love about a YA book: a host of interesting characters, an excellent ‘villain’, twisty turny plot, deception, sisters and a good element of mystery.

Camellia and her sisters are the newest Belles in Orléans and the story opens with them competing to become the favourite to the Queen. I loved that one of the main concepts of this book was simply that everything is not what it seems and in this book, being the favourite certainly isn’t everything that she had hoped for. The world of the Belles is a cruel one to say the very least and, actually, there is nothing at all glamorous about being a Belle, in reality they are more like beauty servants, having to bend their knee to their appointees and complete all sorts of different enhancements and modifications, despite what they think about it.

Camellia herself was a breath of fresh air because she isn’t one to sit back and simply do as she is told. From the very first few chapters we see her more independent and rebellious streak and I LIVED for that so much. Her loyalty to her sisters was something else that I really valued about her and it really helped me to make a connection with her. She is compassionate and, my favourite of all, she has flaws (yay!). I love that we get to see Camellia struggle with her new life as a Belle and I could really sympathise with her at times, especially when she was being forced to do things she really didn’t want to do.

As for the other characters, I didn’t really feel much of a connection with them but I did LOVE Sophia despite how terrifying she was and how uncomfortable quite a lot of her actions made me. There were scenes with her that literally turned my stomach but it was also a great representation of the damage that those in positions of power can be allowed to cause simply because of who they are and not because of what is right or wrong.

I love, love, loved the concept of this book. How beauty was brought so much to the forefront and so could be explored as a necessity; something that I think is SO relevant to society today. Beauty is literally everything in the world of the Belles and throughout the book you see the lengths that some people will go to just to look a certain way. The idea behind the Belles’ power was really thought provoking and I couldn’t help but wonder how a power like that in the real world would affect all of our choices when it came to our appearance.

The Belles is a thought provoking read set in a rich and luxurious world which will have you questioning just how far you would go to achieve ‘beautiful’.

The Belles is a book that is completely up my street - it’s a thrilling court fantasy, with mystery and intrigue at every corner. I absolutely devoured this book - the language and writing is deliciously moreish, with vibrant descriptions unfurling the world of the Belles.

The Belles is the story of Camellia, one of six sisters who bring beauty to the fantasy kingdom of Orleans (based on New Orleans). The citizens of Orleans are born grey, and the Belles have the job of carrying out beauty treatments, changing the appearance and temperament of the citizens of Orleans at will. At the beginning of the book, the sisters are assigned a location where they will tend to the citizens - and Camellia is desperate to be favourite, assigned to the Royal family.

I raced through this book, desperate to know more about the Belles - I had (and have!) so many questions and can’t wait for the next book in the series. There are so many mysteries set up in this first book, and yet I still found the ending satisfying and unexpected.

This book wasn’t without its faults though - I’ll let other reviews talk about the treatment of queer characters in this book - and for me some of the characters were a little one-dimensional. For me, I didn’t find the flowery language too much, although other readers may find it a little grating. I must say I’m not the biggest fan of the cover design - I love the cover image and the design inside, but the back cover and title font feel a little childish to me. The blurb also contained spoilers for events that happen quite a way into the book.

If you’re looking for an exciting new court fantasy reminiscent of Red Queen or Everless, this is one for you. If you’re not, you should probably pick it up anyway.

My feelings on this are quite mixed. I liked aspects, but disliked others, was intrigued and excited at times, but also bored at others.

The Good:
POC main character, interesting world, diabolical villain, beautiful descriptions
I liked Camille, and her character growth through the book
There were a fair few plot twists that were great too

The Bad:
The pacing wasn't the best in my opinion, as I said above. i got bored at points
I also think the world building could've been a bit more structured. Like we did get a good overview of the world and how the Arcana works, but it didn't feel quite as structured as I would've liked it to be.
Also the descriptions were a little over descriptive too, as well as a bit repetitive

Overall this was an okay first book in a series, but it didn't blow me away

The Belles is a novel based on a very unique plot. The novel revolves around a section of society which involves human who can control beauty. The main character Camellia wants to become the court's favorite and longs for this position but was denied initially the honour. Later on when she was able to become the chosen one, she realizes that all is not what it seems. Her blood is not only used to enhance beauty but also for malice and politics. She became tired of the ever increasing demands of beauty treatments and decided to stand up for a better cause. Though the plot is refreshing, I found that the novel became monotonous and over-descriptive very quickly and also it ended on a cliff hanger. It is overall an okay read. I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley for my honest review.

*I was provided a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

Lets talk about the cover first off…I mean just look at it, it’s beautiful! I am not always a fan of people on the cover but the colours, the flowers and the typography makes this cover just everything. It’s not just the cover that is beautiful the story inside is too 🙂

In Orleans the people have been cursed, they are born grey and drab with bloodred eyes devoid of all beauty, it’s only help from a Belle that they can become beautiful.They pay highly for their desired looks and for the belles magic. Camelia Beuregard is a Belle and her time has come, the day that herand her sisters have been training for….The Beaute Carnaval! Camelia and her sisters get to show off their talents and then get put into either a teahouse or the royal palace. For Camelia she has to be the best belle, she has to follow in her mothers footsteps thisis what all the training has been for…she has to be ‘The favorite’. The favorite serves the royal family and close relatives..it will all be so grand and delicious. The problem is when Camelia gets what she wants in becoming favorite, the royal palace is not what it seems, there seems to be screaming and crying in the middle of the night and who are these people?, there is scheming, lies,cruelty and a desire to be the most beautiful that it could ruin Camelia and her talents.

I really enjoyed this book, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I am not much of a fantasy reader but that cover and the synopsis was just too damn enticing for me to not read it. I have not read from this author before and I hadn’t read up on any reviews so I didn’t really have any expectations I was just going in solely from the blurb. The writing from this author is just amazing, it is rich with description and creating an atmosphere. The world building was phenomenal and I could really picture the surroundings. The writing was brilliant throughout. I liked the characters in this book, we had the belles, Camelia and Amber are the main belles that we see the most of and the others are introduced at the start of the book but once they have gone their seperate ways we don’t hear too much about them. Each of the belles have their own character which is reflected through the writing. We have Madam Du Barry which is the belles teacher (which I envisaged as the Beauxbaxtons headmistress from Harry Potter). We also have Princess Sofia,the next in line to be crowned as queen, her thirst to be the most beautiful woman in Orleans cannot be quenched for she will forever want more and push the belles to their limits.

I liked that politics was incorporated into the book but it wasn’t too heavy, such as beauty treatment laws, a society that is obsessed and built on beauty and belles who are not to reveal all their secrets

There was something that stopped me from rating this a five star read and that was it wasn’t explained how you identified someone after they had their beauty treatments, they could change their looks quite drastically from hair, skin, eye colour, body contouring, breast enlargement/reduction and many more and with this being done could change someone to be unrecognizable so how did you know who they really were.

I doesn’t matter how beautiful you are on the outside you can still be ugly on the inside!

I rated this 4.5 out of 5 stars

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.