Author: Dhonielle Clayton
Genre: Fantasy/Young Adult
Release Date: February 2018
Rating: 5/5 stars
The Belles is a rich, engrossing fantasy story set in a French-inspired nation called Orléans, where Beauty is a goddess to be worshipped and blessed beings known as the Belles bestow her beauty amongst the rest of society. In the creation myth of this world, humans were cursed after Beauty was accused of caring for them too much, and they were turned into the Gris, with gray skin and devoid of traditional marks of beauty. The story follows Camellia, who is just graduating from her Belle upbringing to begin working to make people beautiful. Camellia is a sort of over-achiever, and longs to be the favorite of the royal family and be stationed as the official palace Belle. However, she finds that life at court is not what she thought it would be, and she's faced with choosing between following the strict rules of society and being an agreeable Belle, or finding what she truly believes in and standing up for herself.
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| How I pictured the world, except with less white people |
What I loved about this book was definitely the beautifully imagined world that Dhonielle Clayton created. Every detail is richly described, and I was immediately transported into the world. The world-building was excellent, and the magic system, known as the Belle's arcana, was unique and well-done. The Belles is not a particularly short book, but it's highly addictive and definitely draws the reader in with its' beautifully rendered world, high-stakes drama, and strong, kind heroine, Camellia, as well as the supportive side characters such as her sister Belles and her servant, Bree. There are a lot of complicated women in this story, which makes it even more interesting. At times I thought that the villain was a little much (think Marie Antoinette meets Joffrey from Game of Thrones), but her actions didn't hinder the storytelling at all. Overall, an excellent start to the series and I can't wait to see how these characters evolve as the story continues!
Note: I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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