Lush, exciting, and well-paced. Finished it in two days!

This book is good in that it the last 15% of the book is interesting. The first 45% dragged and could've been cut down considerably. The plot, once actually established, is good and makes me want to read the next book, but there is so much unnecessary description and world building that it bogs down the plot. This would've been a two-star rating if not for the last 5% of the book.

What a wonderful fantasy book about beauty and madness. Camellia is a Belle - a fantastical beauty expert that can alter appearances with magic. This sumptuous world is a joy to be in. The visuals conjured on the setting is just dazzling and luscious. Can’t wait for the sequel.

This was a wonderful and truly unique story. The world of the Belles is so unlike anything else I’ve read and I was surprised by how truly creepy this world was. Beauty is a unique commodity that is doled out by the Belles who have a special ability to shape people and control “beauty.” The way it was described was honestly frightening, the lengths people would go to in order to be beautiful and the indoctrinated mindsight of people to think it’s natural and okay. I loved this book so much more than I was expecting and the main character is an awesome woman of color who doesn’t sit back quietly and do what she’s told if she thinks something isn’t quite right. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series and see what is going to happen next. There was a lot left open, especially with the princesses and the queen and even the rest of the Belles. I am so excited to find out what’s really going on.

Clayton has excellent writing and worldbuilding, and I know there are a ton of people who will devour this book. I read the first page and desperately wanted a teacup sized elephant, after all, but Camellia's voice was heavy on the exposition and introspection and dragged at the pacing some. Personally, I'm still suffering from dystopian burn-out; this book hit on a bunch of tropes I am tired of, but Clayton weaves them well and many readers are probably going to find them refreshing. I was hoping for more growth from the cast of characters, and not just from Camellia, who starts out so incredibly self-absorbed that there's almost nothing for her to do but develop over the course of the book. It's a unique story that any collection will benefit from, but I just couldn't connect with it.

A large portion of the book is spent on building the world, the book's plot picks up more towards the end of the novel and all I can say is WOW! I can't wait to read more from Clayton and to see how the series develops in the future!

I was disappointed in this one. I just never felt connected to the characters, and I never felt like I fully understood the world in which they lived. Nevertheless, I know a few readers who will enjoy it, so I will purchase if I have enough funds.

I'm guessing this is going to be a series? And if so sign me up for the next book please. Great detail! Loved the New Orleans vibe. The cover didn't really attract me, but the story line sounded good so that's why I tried for a copy. Even though it's a long book, it was a quick read, and kept me interested until the end. I loved the characters so much!!!

I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book. It was so refreshing and I found myself not wanting to put it down! For sure going to be one of my top reads of 2018, along with a few more that is. I am going to be raving about this one for a while. The way that Clayton puts certain scenes, and the dialog is outstanding! I will be ordering for my YA section in my library for sure!

I read any advance reader copy of this book granted to me by the publisher on netgalley.

I don't feel I can leave a true review since it's my understanding changes are maybe being made... so I'll just say that as is right now I'd give it 2 stars. I'm unlikely to try reading this again when it actually comes out so my review is basically meaningless.

Book could've been edited down a little bit. Overall writing style/plot mirrored parts of different popular YA: Leigh Bardugo's Grisha that could augment beauty, Kiera Cass' The Selection, and the horribly written YA attempt by Tyra Banks, Model Land.
Good very ending, some characters not fleshed out. Put a lot into this book as a set up for a sequel, probably 2 books more. Motivation for characters didn't always make sense (no spoilers).
I hated the balloon posts and lantern references. Too much.

Overall enjoyed, gave 1 more star for the cliffhanger.

I think this book is basically what Tyra Banks was trying for when she wrote Modelland? And I applaud the work deconstructing beauty standards and think that'll be important for a lot of teens to read, especially related to skin color/social construction of race.

That said, I didn't love this? It has a lot of kind of steampunk-y trappings that just aren't my jam. (For example, measuring time in "hourglasses" but not specifying how long an hourglass is? You'd think an hour, since it has "hour" right in there...but it seemed inconsistent? This is a minor point but also something that consistently distracted me...) But also I'm never really into steampunk type situations, so again, this is the kind of thing that might be a draw for someone else.

Also the friendship between Camellia, the protagonist, and her best friend Amber, seemed a little strange to me? A lot was made about how they're ~best friends~ and tell each other everything...but also have secrets and also are very competitive?? I mean I guess as I type it out, that's pretty typical ~teen girl but it just felt very hollow as I was reading it.

I'm filing this under Things That Are Not My Personal Cup Of Tea But I'm Glad They Exist For Other Readers.

I asked for the ARC because the author is coming to our library in the spring and I wanted to be familiar with the title. Now I am hooked and can't wait for more in the series! I work primarily with our Adult book clubs, but I can really see promoting this as a great crossover read.

Loved this book! I totally bought in to the story and characters! Can't wait for more! Really like the mythology and world building. Bravo!

What an amazing, visually stunning, unique world Dhonielle has created. I fell in love with her world-building and stunning descriptions right off the bat, getting sucked into this story and unable to put the book down. It reflects how dangerous putting too much stock in beauty can be, and how sometimes all you have in life is your convictions. The characters were quick to grab ahold of you and wrench your heart out mid-scene. I absolutely cannot wait for the next installment of The Belles.

Will add my review to Amazon and BN as soon as they allow. (usually on sale date)

This was quite a great start to a new series, I was taken in enough to be on the look out for the next book! I think this first book could have been developed a little bit more but I also see the draw in having the reader need to keep reading!

The Belles pulled me in from the start, the writing is vivid and I could picture the people being described. I can’t wait for the next book.

Ibpivked this book because of its cover. I know....but it was not a disappointment. I highly recommend.

Camilla Beauregard is a 16-year-old girl in the fantasy archipelago nation of Orléania. She is a “Belle”, a taleneted arbiter and shaper of beauty, with the ability to control the idea of beauty. She has the power to use a system of arcane magic & gilded, pain-inducing tools to transform others' appearance and her own. A Belle may even aid the Beauty Minister in drafting beauty laws.

However, what beauty is changes frequently in this world. The people of Orleania pay dearly for treatments which alter their bodies to fit fickle beauty standards that change by season; it's an obsessive, expensive way to control the population. Without the work of the Belles, a small, select group with knowledge and power of magic, the people of Orleania all look the same: “with skin pallid, gray, and shriveled, eyes cherry-red, hair like straw”. As Camilla explains, “We can save them from a life of unbearable sameness” (Ch. 2.) But one must suffer to be beautiful, as my Great-Aunt Oneida used to say. The beauty transformations, the experiences of being carved and reshaped with arcane tools, are painful enough to make the beauty seekers scream in agony, but the mantra of the Belles is: “Beauty is in the blood”. And it is, but these transformation last only a month before those seeking beauty must pay and suffer again.
A proverb from the world built by Clayton for this thought-provoking YA novel states: “Beauty is a dying flower.”

Camilla is drawn into palace intrigue that makes her question herself and her own role in an attractive system of oppression. Realizing that the royals and nobles around her are using her in ways that harm others, she begins to break rules, and soon finds herself in danger. Beauty can be used to cover terrifying things.

I appreciated that way that the altered beauty standards included dark skin tones as well as light ones, but this story isn't specifically about colorism. In this world, Orleanians pay to alter their skin tones whenever the fashions set by the royal and dominant classes change. This is food for thought about how power and technology may be used for temporary, superficial benefit instead of the greater good. This is a world in which blimps prowl the sky displaying a princess' picture in a kind of beauty propaganda and people pull monocles and eyescopes from their pockets” to examine other people with invasive closeness.

Clayton’s writing is beautiful, rich with elegant phrasing that never turns into purple prose. The fantasy world of Orleania feels vivid and real from the first chapter. An example: “The Orleans archipelago is a string of islands stretching like a rose with a crooked stem out inot the warm sea. Most of them are connected by golden bridges or can be reached by lavish river coaches. We came from the very top – the bloom – and we've made a long journey to the heart of the stem to display our talents” (Ch. 1).

I thought The Belles to be one of the most engaging fantasy novels I've ever read. The landscape and physical elements of the world have elements of steampunk and L. Frank Baum's Oz. Expect to feel like you're in a half-dream state.

As a Librarian, I'd recommend The Belles to readers who may have avoided YA in favor of adult fiction. Although our protagonist is 16, and many of the characters driving the action are also young, author Clayton provides insights into human behavior that are meaningful beyond age.

I am obsessed with Dhonielle Clayton’s The Belles, and I know the world will be, too.

A quick summary: Set in Orléans (a city very much French regency meets old-school New Orleans), beauty is a limited commodity. Camellia Beauregard is a Belle, a class of magical women who can sculpt and perfect the mood and appearance of those around her. As trendsetters and practitioners, Belles have incredible power to shape the tastes of the day for the upper classes.

Only one Belle will be stationed at the palace, however. The book opens on a contest to judge the abilities of the Belles. Not all is well in Orléans, however. At the palace, a princess is asleep, a queen is sick, and the youngest princess seems, at best, a little flaky. Tricky politics and court uproar threaten to not only test Camellia’s moral mettle, but also her safety. In the aftermath of the Belle placements, Camellia and her sisters discover danger, deception, and more about the nature of Belles themselves.

If you’ve read Clayton’s Tiny Pretty Things or Shiny Broken Pieces (a collaboration between her and Sona Charaipotra), you know that Clayton knows how to weave a compelling, dramatic story. I found the characters in The Belles even more interesting. Cut free from the bounds of realism, Clayton’s magical realm still feels real. The idea of beauty magic and beauty as a commodity feels so applicable, especially to a YA audience– or to women in general. The wish to change ourselves is one of the most common, and Clayton doesn’t preach on body image or romanticize the painful process of beauty changes. The limits placed on magic in a world often set how real they feel to the reader, and Clayton’s execution of that magic and setting of its limitations is clear.

This book has all of the makings of a good series. Strong set up of internal and external complications, a few hints at romantic side plots, and funny and interesting secondary characters (loved the sister relationships, especially). I finished this book, sighed, and wished that the next was already out.

Add this one to your to-read list.