I've read some interesting reviews about this book and so my thoughts on it are kind of up and down. I did really enjoy it as it was a unique story that was on my most anticipated list of the year. It did not disappoint, for sure. The visual imagery was spectacular and Dhonielle Clayton certainly has a way with words. I'm definitely interested in reading more by the author and would love to have more books in the world of The Belles!

A fantasy novel featuring a young woman of color, great characterization and lovely style of prose. Yes please.

Beautiful book and fantastic plot! I enjoyed this even more than I thought I would going into it.
Absolutely recommend!

I ended up DNF'ing this book simply because it honestly wasn't really my cup of tea. I wanted to give it a chance because the idea of it seemed really awesome. I made it about 20% of the way through this book before I decided it wasn't really my thing. I definitely think it's more for people that sort of like the fairy tale/competitive aspect of it.

A very unique and creative book about what people would give and take for beauty. The story follows Camellia and her path and responsibilities of being a Belle. In the world of Orleans, people are born grey and Belles add color to them as well as change their body types, hair, makeup and even make them younger looking. Camellia and her sisters are taken to the palace to compete for the spot of being the royals "favorite" but they soon find out that being a "favorite" isn't what it is cracked up to be. I have to say that Camellia has a lot of growing up to do and hope to see it in the next book. The writing in this book is beautiful and I just loved the world building. It was breath taking to say the least. I want a teacup animal and would love to live in a world of post balloons. I can not wait for the next book in the series and would recommend it to everyone.

Started off slow for me but it got more compelling as it went on. Would recommend.

This book was a mixed bag. The world building was really interesting, and it was an easy read. But... nothing happened for most of the book. It took 3/4 of the book to get to the plot that was mentioned in the summary blurb, and I nearly DNF'ed so many times before then. There were hints throughout that something wasn't right in the palace, but without something concrete until that late in the book, I wasn't really interested.

Also, when I wasn't actively reading the book, I forgot all about it. Which explains why it took me three months to finish.

The last quarter of the book was interesting, though, and it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. I may decide to continue with book 2; I might not. This didn't leave much of an impression on me, so it's anyone's guess if I'll even remember the plot whenever book 2 comes out.

In The Belles the God of the Sky in the opulent world of Orleans becomes jealous of the Goddess of Beauty's love for their children, so he curses them with ugliness. She in retaliation creates the Belles, who have magical powers allowing them to transform people's ugliness. Camellia and her 5 sisters are Belles who have just finished their training and are about to enter society. A contest is held to determine which one will get to serve in the royal household. Although not chosen at first, Camellia ultimately ends up in the palace, where she finds the crown princess in a coma and her younger sister obsessed with power. As Camellia struggles to unravel the political plot, she uncovers the secret to the Belle's origin in a culture obsess with beauty. This novel challenges readers to think about their own ideas of beauty and what women go through financially and physically to attain it. The Belles, as well as the other two novels reviewed, are most appropriate for mature readers.

From the moment I read the synopsis, I knew I was going to be hooked in by the world of The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton, and I was correct. Clayton's writing is so beautiful, and the fantasy world version of New Orleans she creates is both lush and terrible (in the best way). The descriptions are so well written, and the society she builds is one with many different levels--not at all two dimensional like I find some fantasy worlds to be. On the outside the world looks beautiful with all of the exquisite dresses and pretty ladies, but on the inside there lies darks secrets that our main character, Camellia, will discover. I found the pacing to be a bit slow in the beginning, but as the book went on, it began to speed up. By the last one hundred pages I found myself unable to put the book down, and THE ENDING!! WHY!! My head was spinning for a good few days after finishing the novel hahaha.
Overall, I liked Camellia as a main character: she is strong, kind, and couragoeus, but I feel like Clayton missed out on breathing more life into the other Belles, and that having more of them present throughout the story would add more to it as a whole. I particularly liked the villain--oh my god THEY (I don't wanna say their name because spoilers) WERE RUTHLESS! I loved how they developed throughout the story, and I found the parts they were in to be some of my favorite scene in the entire novel.
In conclusion, I give The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton four out of five stars for being entertaining, having possibly one of my new favorite villains, and an overall fantastic writing style. I recommend this for fantasy lovers everywhere, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did if you decide to pick it up.

A beautifully written book with lush descriptions that will leave you craving more of Clayton's words with a side of sugary desert.

I ended up buying it and reading it on my own. It was really enjoyable and lived up to the hype.

Riveting story with enchanting world building that has me excited for the next book in the series!

Book: The Belles
Author: Dhonielle Clayton
Series: The Belles, #1
Genre: High Fantasy
My Rating: 2.25/5 Stars

“No one is a prisoner. Even you have the power to make your own choices.”

*I was sent an e-ARC of The Belles by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

Taken aback by the rich and vivid writing that Dhonielle Clayton weaved together in order to produce this story about beauty and what it means to a society obsessed with it, I was slowed down in my progress as I was getting used to the intense descriptions and imagery that Orléans had to offer.

In a society where people are grey, The Belles are a blessing to all as they are able to physically alter that fate and make people beautiful. Camellia Beauregard, one of six Belles from her generation, is vying for the position of a lifetime; the opportunity to be chosen as the Queen’s favourite. When her expectations are shattered, her talents gone unnoticed by the people who matter, Camellia feels a lifetime of preparation for that one moment was taken from her. She deserves to be on top. But there’s an eerie secret that has been going on without Camellia’s knowledge. A chorus of crying through the night, a sadistic princess, a cursed heir to the throne. It all begins to unravel as time goes on.

This book is about beauty, but it turned into something darker than I expected. It was contrasted with the innocence of the Belles, who only wanted to spread beauty to the people. Camellia grew throughout this book from an innocent giggling girl who danced in circles with her sisters, to a Belle who constantly had to deal with and discover evil at court.

In terms of my thoughts on this book, I quickly realized how much I was not a fan of this concept and obsession of beauty. In the physical sense at least. I was horrified at the mention of infants changing their appearances, at a little girl forced to endure the pain of change because her mother was desperate for her to be the most beautiful. It was hard to read about what people went through in order to portray and live up to their standard of “beauty.”

There was a chock-full of characters that contributed so much to the build-up and pacing of the story. My favourite being Rémy. I was not expecting him to have such a significant role in this story, which I was pleasantly surprised with. As the story went on, that was more and more apparent.

Then there’s Sophia, who surprised me in an unpleasant way. She added that creepy tone to the story, the kind that was chilling, unsettling, and difficult to read about. Her actions were manipulating, abusive, and just outright terrifying. But I must admit, it actually gave the story some substance, something that motivated me to want to turn the pages in order to see what happened.

Camellia, as I’ve said before, was motivated to grow into a less childish character as a weight of responsibility was put on her. She discovered the darkness hiding behind the flowers, Belle products, hair textures, fancy dresses, and overall creation of beauty. She was forced to perform acts that were wrong, forced to see the impurity behind her passion, forced to endure questionable relationships. Her development allowed me to like her character more, but she was honestly not the best protagonist I’ve read from. I feel as though she lived in a bubble until it was too late. I needed more action from her, so did the characters who relied on her.

Overall, this book was not for me, but at the same time I’m happy I read it because it still moved me. Beauty is not something that is significant in my life. I rarely wear makeup, I rarely style my hair, I rarely buy new clothes. That doesn’t mean I don’t have days where the way I look on the outside doesn’t affect me. Beauty is valued in one form or another to each individual person, we define it differently. And it’s scary to think about the lengths these characters went through to transform into their perfect look and how without it they were nothing, they were not valued. Their desperation was absolutely chilling.

I was interested in reading this only after hearing so many great reviews, and an interview where the author said she wanted to talk about slavery without talking about slavery. The book lived up to all my expectations. Poignant and thought provoking but also fun.

I really love this book. I've read an interview with the author in which she talks about creating the world first, and it is evident in its lushness. This is going to be a big hit and one I can't wait to place in the hands of fans of both dystopias (especially Uglies) and the Selection.

This book ended up being a little strange for me. I absolutely loved it and hated it at the same time. The idea of being obsessed with beauty and how that can warp things is fascinating.

The world building is really well done. The descriptions were vivid with sights and smells and textures. I really appreciated all the care taken with the textiles because that is important when dealing with fabric. I did love that it was kinda steam punk/Victorian but not. And I definitely want a teacup dragon.

I found the characters interesting. I particularly can't wait for more about Edel and Remy. Camellia was interesting because most of the time I liked her and the rest of the time I wanted to hit her. She can be incredibly naive and it comes back to bite her.

I liked the villain. The evilness and obsessions is awesome. I do worry that in the next book it will just be a rapid descent into crazy madness. Part of the fun of this book is that the villain isn't stupid. Also I hated the love interest. I know he's like the first guy that has ever talked to Camellia like a person but ugh.

I did wish the pacing was a bit faster. The plot gently unfurls and things dragged as Camellia strove to become the favorite. I wish that it had moved faster earlier.

So overall I liked this book a lot and look forward to the sequel.

Thank you for sending me a copy of The Belles for review! This review was originally posted on my blog, Annie Likes Words (annielikeswords.com):

Many moons ago, I found an image of The Belles cover on NetGalley and was obsessed. The jewel-toned colors and strikingly beautiful cover model drew me into this book instantly, and after reading the synopsis, I was utterly enthralled. A twisted perspective on beauty, a young girl with the power to change it all, and a princess? Now that’s a book I want to read.

Unfortunately, my expectations were misguided. While I was anticipating royal intrigue and a delightfully lush atmosphere, The Belles was full of overbeaten descriptions and lackluster plot. I was so disappointed in this book, and here’s why.

First of all, the descriptions of the kingdom of Orléans irritated me from the first page to the last page. The elaborate explanations were plenty fanciful, but they stood in the way of my understanding of the world. Rather than describing the moods evoked while looking at certain aspects of the culture, I felt like Clayton was spoon-feeding me descriptions by outlining every detail, no matter how trivial. I spent too much brainpower deciphering what the world looked like when all I needed to know was that the architecture was grandiose.

This excessive worldbuilding also stunted the opportunities for human expression of emotion and thoughts. Rather than describing the pain of missing her late mother, Camellia says “I miss Maman.” Instead of sharing how fear rattled in her chest, she says “I was scared of this person.” Camellia’s emotions are laid out for us to see in plain light with labels that say “Camellia is feeling this exact emotion at this exact time.” The poetic interpretation and flowery language that I like in a story were scarce if present at all.

Here’s my most prominent question about the world: one of the central tenets of Orléans is the appreciation of continually changing one’s features to create a new face. If people are changing how they look every day, how does one distinguish themselves from every other citizen of Orléans? Shouldn’t identity theft be a significant problem? Vocal recognition and mannerisms can carry identity, but we are visual creatures who know how to recognize faces from infancy. This question of how people differentiate themselves in a world of changing faces was wholly overlooked and might have added some much-needed richness to the world, had it been addressed.

The characters, while unique as individuals, served purposes in the plot that were somewhat typical and riddled with tropes. There’s the beautiful “chosen one” who’s afraid of the world she thought she would love, the mysterious and charming boy who swoops in from nowhere, the kind servant girl with the kind heart, the flamboyant and ignorant team of stylists, the jaded personal guard who’s actually a big softie once you crack his hard exterior. Diverse characters are fantastic, but I felt that what the characters had in diversity, they lacked in personality.

This carried over into the romantic subplot between Camellia and one of our dashing male characters. After saying three and a half words to him, she believes she’s in love. I find this somewhat difficult to believe, mainly because one of the rules of being a Belle is never speaking to men outside of a treatment setting. She’s never kissed a boy or been touched by a boy, and I’m supposed to believe she knows how to have a relationship, let alone fall in love? I don’t buy it.

Overall, I was thoroughly disappointed by The Belles. While I was looking for a richness of character and an exciting and unique plot, what I read was anything but stellar.

**Review at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ **

"May you always find beauty."


In a word where everyone is gray and dull, completely the same, and lacking in beauty, are the Belles- girls who were descendants of the Goddess Beauty, who have the revered ability to change people's images, to bring them color and life. All the Belles desire to be the Chosen Belle, the Belle that gets to stay at the palace, a place of honor and prestige. When it comes time for the new generation of trained Belles to perform for the Royal Family for assignments, Camellia and the other five girls perform, but Camellia went outside of her instructions and caused an uproar. What happens when strict rules and Beauty don't always go hand in hand...

​This book was gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous and vivid with imagery, be it their costumes, hair, treatments, world or the delicious sounding treats always served that increased my sweet-tooth to outrageous levels. Dhonielle was able to create vivid imagery to lure me in, but not so verbose that she lost track of the the plot and characters, which was just the perfect balance to hook me. ​But underneath the beautiful world Dhonielle created was absolute horror, danger, mystery and harsh truths. I am so in love with the complexities of this story, I just want to fangirl and hug the book to my chest. There was a comment made in the book that really stuck with me- How do you quantify beauty? And that my friend is a great question that Dhonielle focuses on.

"​You can never be clean enough, pretty enough, or smart enough."

​This was just as much a mystery as it was an intricately created fantasy. Camellia has been taught the world was one way, full of tradition, honor and beauty, but really Camellia was mislead, the world has so much more to it, full of dark secrets and lies that are just waiting for someone to discover. I will admit that I picked up a total Hunger Games vibe with the elaborate (aka crazy and always shifting) overindulgence of the wealthy people (cough cough District 1) as well as the phrases used​ such as "May You Always Find Beauty" which seemed a lot like "May the odds be ever in your favor" that was thrown around in Hunger Games.

It was a little too overused how the characters all were just so sweaty, all the time! I think the author used the character with a sweaty brow as a way for the characters to emote- but I really feel like you wouldn't know someone else was sweating unless you were super close to them or they were sweating profusely. Just saying (and me being picky, really one of my only complaints).

​As a very important side note, I really, really need a tea cup animal! They were so amazing and tiny, and came in all types of animals, be it monkey to elephant and all the people of "importance" had one, usually on their person and they accessorized well with the animal. It was such a cool, tiny element that really enhanced the fantastical of the world and I need one. So, just in case you stumble over a teacup elephant, dragon or tiger, please contact me, asap.

​I don't want to give away anything and ruin the story for the next reader, but this was a really good, complex story with some sharp edges that I never saw coming. I can't wait for whatever will come next for the Belles and it is a guarantee that I will read more from Dhonielle, be it in the Belles world or elsewhere! Oh, and be prepared to crave sweets as a side effect of this story.

I absolutely loved this book - was hooked. Can't wait for the sequel!

I have a lot to say about this book; but let me start by saying that nothing I am going to say here is an endorsement of the behaviour seen here in Tweets (https://twitter.com/brownbookworm/status/968614017790021635?s=20) by this author.
Let's break this down and talk about good vs not so good things in The Belles.

The Good
- This is a very readable book. It has a quick pace and for the most part keeps you turning the pages (even if it's only because you can't believe some things are happening!)
- The concept of 'grey' people who are obsessed with making themselves colourful and beautiful is an interesting take on self image.
- There is a lot here if you are someone who struggles with body image. It's clear that desiring to be or look like someone you are not is desired in this society to the point of disaster.
- From light to dark, white to black and all the colours of the spectrum people in this world choose their skin tone. And it's clear that no one skin tone is better or worse than any other. They are all beautiful in their own way.
- Without a doubt the Belles (which our main gal is one of) are captive slaves. While they may get lots of food, lush accommodations and other perks, they do not get to do what they want, select anything they desire or even visit or talk to people they wish to. If nothing else The Belles makes a wonderful point of ensuring you understand that the Belles while coveted by everyone are slaves to the court, society and even to themselves in some ways. This is probably the best message and fullest portrayal of any concept in this book.
- Cute teacup animals! I seriously want a mini dragon that I carry around with me everywhere. I also want a snake, beluga whale ((I'll make a portable water tank) and white tiger in minature form as my best buddies that go everywhere with me.

The Not So Good
- The people of this world have been cursed to be devoid of colour. They are all grey (literally every part of them including hair, eyes, etc.). While I am not going to say I agree or disagree; I will say that I can see how someone who is albino might being a bit offended by this.
- I have been told a hundred times over by those of colour that comparing skin tones to food is offensive. And yet for pages upon pages of the introduction to The Belles Dhonielle Clayton uses food to describe skin colour. This made me very uncomfortable and was odd given that Clayton is a person of colour.
- Love at first sight is used in this book. At first I was totally okay with the possible romantic interests and even how their engagements with our lead gal were going. Right up until one of them says that he knew from the moment he saw her that he loved her. Was the perfect way to ruin all the good romance and tension up to that point and destroyed any good opinion I may have had of the character.
- Everyone seems to be evil in some way shape or form. Now, I adore morally gray anti-heroes (as I believe there is a capacity for a little evil in everyone) but Belles took this to a level that just felt awful. Everytime you thought someone was good or bad they flipped sides and vice versa. It made it almost impossible to like any character a lot and that includes our lead gal.
- I will elaborate on each of these items below but they are still part of the not so good list to me: the plot, diversity representation and character motivation.

The Plot
This belongs as a bullet under the bad but deserves it's own little rant alone. There is at times too little, and then too much plot in The Belles. It's like Clayton couldn't decide if this was a coming of age, political or emotional story. Now a really good book is all three. Unfortunately The Belles is not a really good book in this manner. The political intrigue confused me at times and I never felt invested in it. I just didn't care. I think this is because it came so much later than the individual character plots. Additionally I felt like the individual character plots that were started off at the beginning were of almost no relevance by the end. The story needed a single driving plot with side stories attached; and for that the single driving plot (in this case political/royal) it needed to be apparent in the first few chapters not 25-30% into the book.

Diversity Representation
Seeing as how this author is one of the leading authors involved in the push to have more diverse books I was really disappointed to see that our only LGTBQ character was very insignificant. She was clearly dropped into the story in order to check a box off. Ironically she may seem important by the end but really she's just a pawn in the overall game being played at court and her sexuality is of no relevance. I had hoped for a bit more. I'd really liked to have seen one or two of the Belle girls to be attracted to women in some way (be that bi or lesbian). I believe it could have easily been done without changing much of the plot and it would make so much sense given these girls are raised together and don't even encounter boys until much later in life.
There can't really be much else for diversity representation here as everyone can change their skin colour. Which I think is an awesome way to take the race card out of the book. This is very well done. There are obvious divisions of people still (of course) with other issues (ie: slavery, class distinction, etc.) but it was nice to not have this book centered around the colour of anyone's skin (except to comment on how beautiful all the colours are or what colour skin someone was getting in a beauty treatment; but none were good or bad which I enjoyed).

Character Motivation
I'm sorry but 'because Maman (mother) told me so' is just not a good enough motivation for me. Neither is 'because everyone covets the favourite'. I really wish there had been more motivation for our lead gal. Maybe more drive and push to be the best Belle possible because she wants people to be as beautiful as possible? The introductory chapters seem to have this but it's quickly replaced by the drive to make her Maman happy. It was just not enough for me. That said, our characters do finally get some motivation near the end of the book but for me by then it's too little too late.

Moving forward as a Series
This is obviously a first book in a series as it has a cliffhanger ending and the last few chapters set-up a lot of future possibilities for plot. Unfortunately I'm not sure our lead gal and her buddies are strong enough to carry a whole series (however long) as, to date, they are just not that interesting or complex.

Overall
So the reality is this: the writing is good, the idea is interesting, the teacup animals are adorable but the language choices, characters, representation and overall plot are very disappointing. I can see how many people would really like The Belles as it is readable and while I didn't necessarily want to DNF it, I'm not really sure I was motivated to keep reading it the way I would be a 4 or 5 star book.

I won't lie knowing the opinions of the author certainly tainted my reading of the novel. And I definitely thought twice about making good on my commitment to review this book given that I'm just a 'white girl' whose opinion (apparently) isn't important to Clayton.
At the end of the day I can think of dozens of other young adult books, with similar themes that I'm far more likely to recommend to someone.

Will I read the second book?
I honestly don't know but right now it's doubtful I would bother. I definitely know I would not be comfortable (at this time) putting money into the pocket of this author given her many opinions on 'white girls'.