The Belles Book Review

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

From  Goodreads: 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.

Okay, so I just finished reading The Belles last night and now there is very little I would not give up to get hold of a copy of book two like RIGHT NOW.

This book was just so unique and interesting, and the whole concept behind it raised some really interesting debates about how we see beauty in our society, and issues such as how people see themselves and their self-esteem through their appearances. Also there is SO MUCH ambition in this novel. It literally radiates off the page.

Mostly though, I have to talk about the worldbuilding. Clayton adds a touch of France to her fantasy novel, with certain terms for beauty products and words such as ‘Belles’ having roots in French. There’s also little hints at this in food and clothing styles. Considering my love for all things Parisian, this was a definite bonus for me. I loved the luxurious feeling of it, and once I was finished reading, I was about ready to duck out to my local Patisserie and order a box of macarons. This worldbuilding is seriously impressive and I can’t wait to experience more of it in the next book.

The characters were also sufficiently complex, making the plot twists that more tricky to guess. The sometimes strained relationship between Camille and Amber was perhaps my favourite thing about The Belles because it was concentrated so highly on their ambition and their similarities. It’s that uncomfortable recognition that sometimes you can be the polar opposite of a friend, and yet too similar too. It also relates to a lot of female friendships I’ve had in the past, and I really like that unnerving honesty that lurks behind their flaws. Perhaps most well-developed of all is Princess Sofia. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but wow. Just wow. Dhonielle Clayton really knows how to make you love or hate a character. With every action and word spoken, it seemed like there was a motive behind it, and I’m very interested to see how this develops later in the series, and I have a feeling it could turn into a brilliant discussion.

The only drawback I could find in this book was the pacing. I’m not sure if it was just because I’ve been balancing reading with uni work and with planning things for next month, but it seemed as though not much was happening for a lot of the time. The build-up at the start prior to the announcement of the favourite is pretty riveting, but it feels a little like when talent shows draaaaaaaaag out the dramatic music and wait as long as possible to tell you who won. 70 pages in, and still nothing. I liked it, but it was a touch annoying all the same. Then there’s not much happening for the majority of the book, although somehow it continued to hold my interest with a lot of intrigue and mystery, but again I felt like the build-up could have done with being just a touch shorter. I loved the ending of The Belles and I am very much eager for book two, but I am aware that I read this one pretty slowly.

I’m going to give The Belles:

The story was utterly unique and riveting, and the characters all sparked to life so quickly, but personally, I think the pacing could have done with some refinement.

You can buy The Belles at Waterstones here, Amazon UK here, and Book Depository here. UK readers might be excited to know that Dhonielle will be speaking and signing books at YALC in London at the end of July. If you want to meet her, you should definitely buy a ticket.

Has anyone else read this book? What did you all think? Let me know if you agree or disagree with my review in the comment section 😀