Book Review: “The Belles” (The Belles #1) by Dhonielle Clayton
“The Belles” (The Belles #1) by Dhonielle Clayton (2018)
Genre: YA, Fiction, Fantasy
Page Length: 434 pages (paperback edition)
Synopsis:
In the opulent world of Orléans, the people are born grey and damned, and only a Belle’s powers can make them beautiful.
Camellia Beauregard wants to be the favourite Belle – the one chosen by the queen to tend to the royal family.
But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favourite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that her powers may be far greater – and far darker – than she ever imagined.
When the queen asks Camellia to break the rules she lives by to save the ailing princess, she faces an impossible decision: protect herself and the way of the Belles, or risk her own life, and change the world forever. (description from Goodreads)
*This novel was a buddy read that I did with Zezee with Books*
Review:
The Belles is a dystopian YA fantasy novel that set in an alternate version/world of Orleans. The Belles control the beauty standards, fashion trends among the royals, and are highly revered for their immense power. Camellia and her sisters fight over the title of being the “favorite” and soon learns that things aren’t what they seem. People go missing, secrets of the past are revealed, and the demands of those in power are non-stop. Camellia learns that she is a pawn in their dangerous game and she has to be cautious all while choosing her fate.
The Belles felt very reminiscent of other dystopian novels in the YA genre, but it has its own uniqueness that makes it stand out. I liked the concepts of the Bells and the lore behind their mysterious powers, it’s amazing what they can do, but it also comes with a dangerous risk. It has strong messages about ideal beauty standards and the beauty in this story truly does run “skin deep”.
It was hard to get into this novel at first since the world building felt a bit jumbled and it was confusing to figure out what was happening at times. Once I was into a quarter way of the novel it was easier to digest. Though I liked the attention to detail in the world building in this first installment, I would have really liked to have know more about the other sisters and Isles that were mentioned. I did like the variety of characters and that the some of the narrative had villains in plain sight. But I felt the romance aspect felt a little flat?
While I feel this is a fantasy novel mainly, I also felt like it has some thriller aspects because of the very detailed beauty transformation processes (you’ll understand when you read it). The desires or ultimate beauty come with great consequences. It’s a story about being careful what you wish for. I’ll continue with this series since I want to see more exploration of the lore and the other destinations in the settings mentioned.
Final Verdict:
I agree on the thriller feel of it. I get that from the princess, which is why I liked her earlier in the book when the protagonist didn’t know if the princess is good (someone to trust) or bad.
I’m hoping the next book will have some thriller elements to it too!
I’ll be interested to see what you think of the rest of the series! I believe I DNFed this about a quarter of the way through, as I was having a hard time with various of the elements you identified, but I’d be willing to try again for sure if I heard good things about the remainder of the series.
I completely understand. There’s a lot to unpack in this novel. I’m hoping the next book will be a bit stronger with the elements of the first novel.