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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
I wanted to like this book. I wanted to like it *so* *very* *badly*. On the outside it had everything I'd want! Conspiracies! Daring girls! Commentary on beauty labor! Princesses!
Unfortunately, it was *not* that book.
I think a bunch of other reviewers have covered it pretty well, so... To me, the writing was a bit grating, the plot felt like it was stretched rather thin, and the "bury your gays" was really just too much for me.
I can't, in good conscience, recommend this book. To anyone.
Unfortunately, it was *not* that book.
I think a bunch of other reviewers have covered it pretty well, so... To me, the writing was a bit grating, the plot felt like it was stretched rather thin, and the "bury your gays" was really just too much for me.
I can't, in good conscience, recommend this book. To anyone.
DNF @ 66%
I just found myself not really caring what happened here and after seeing this book contains certain tropes I’d prefer to just not read I’m calling it. However I did love the authors writing style so I might check out some of her short stories and whatever she comes out with next that isn’t part of this series.
I just found myself not really caring what happened here and after seeing this book contains certain tropes I’d prefer to just not read I’m calling it. However I did love the authors writing style so I might check out some of her short stories and whatever she comes out with next that isn’t part of this series.
There was a great deal of anticipation for The Belles. I remember around this time last year a chance to get an advanced reader copy at a panel on marginalized voices in YA featuring Dhonielle Clayton but lost out. Now that I've finally read it, I can't say it lived up to all the hype.
The real draw of The Belles is the setting, a gorgeous French-inspired fantasy land called Orléans, here an entire nation instead of a city. Beauty reigns supreme in Orléans, and magically gifted girls called the Belles can reshape your appearance to whatever you desire, albeit painfully so a painkilling tea is necessary. Without the Belles people will eventually fade into wizened gray wretches. Orléans is opulent and magical, full of inventive touches so gossip travels nearly as fast as it does in today's social media and the fantastic teacup pets, animals so small they fit comfortably into teacups. Naturally things are more rotten than they first look, but even then the worldbuilding's so good that you want to learn as much as possible.
It's a shame the characters come off so poorly. Orléans might be amazing but the people within it are drab, including protagonist Camille. The only ones who left any impression on me were plucky servant girl Bree and vile Princess Sophia, Bree for being a non-evil trans girl (a rarity in YA fantasy—or any fantasy, really—and Sophia for being so utterly twisted that her every action's fun to see. Bree's inclusion doesn't mean the novel's good with LGBT characters; quite the opposite actually. As far as I could tell, every lesbian/bisexual female died, one in a graphic and excruciating manner. In a book that supposedly had eight sensitivity readers involved and touted as highly inclusive, this is an astonishing failure. Add in a dismally boring romance and a grand conspiracy that only comes into view near the very end, and The Belles really just shoots itself in the foot. A lot could have been fixed if Camille fell for Bree since Orléans has a very casual attitude towards gay relationships and it would have fleshed both their characters out while still leaving Camille an ally to aid her in tight spots.
I didn't know until finishing that The Belles is the first book in a planned series. I can only hope that the sequels fix do better with the problems of this one. As it is, The Belles is much like Orléans itself: beautiful but with a rancid center that no Belle can cover up once seen.
The real draw of The Belles is the setting, a gorgeous French-inspired fantasy land called Orléans, here an entire nation instead of a city. Beauty reigns supreme in Orléans, and magically gifted girls called the Belles can reshape your appearance to whatever you desire, albeit painfully so a painkilling tea is necessary. Without the Belles people will eventually fade into wizened gray wretches. Orléans is opulent and magical, full of inventive touches so gossip travels nearly as fast as it does in today's social media and the fantastic teacup pets, animals so small they fit comfortably into teacups. Naturally things are more rotten than they first look, but even then the worldbuilding's so good that you want to learn as much as possible.
It's a shame the characters come off so poorly. Orléans might be amazing but the people within it are drab, including protagonist Camille. The only ones who left any impression on me were plucky servant girl Bree and vile Princess Sophia, Bree for being a non-evil trans girl (a rarity in YA fantasy—or any fantasy, really—and Sophia for being so utterly twisted that her every action's fun to see. Bree's inclusion doesn't mean the novel's good with LGBT characters; quite the opposite actually. As far as I could tell, every lesbian/bisexual female died, one in a graphic and excruciating manner. In a book that supposedly had eight sensitivity readers involved and touted as highly inclusive, this is an astonishing failure. Add in a dismally boring romance and a grand conspiracy that only comes into view near the very end, and The Belles really just shoots itself in the foot. A lot could have been fixed if Camille fell for Bree since Orléans has a very casual attitude towards gay relationships and it would have fleshed both their characters out while still leaving Camille an ally to aid her in tight spots.
I didn't know until finishing that The Belles is the first book in a planned series. I can only hope that the sequels fix do better with the problems of this one. As it is, The Belles is much like Orléans itself: beautiful but with a rancid center that no Belle can cover up once seen.
This book is a labyrinth that pulls you in deeper and deeper as you read. COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.
It felt like there was a LOT of storylines here. But it was sufficiently Extra enough to keep me entertained, and I'm super glad that it both A) didn't over-focus on the MC's Need for Romance and B) casually included queer relationships on the side like it ain't no big thing.
I like the concept and I think it has potential.
Allover this book felt a bit predictable and it was often slow.
I'll still read the second book in the trilogy to see if it takes off!
Allover this book felt a bit predictable and it was often slow.
I'll still read the second book in the trilogy to see if it takes off!
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I wanted to like this so much more than I did. I waited months for it. I was so excited, but the book was kind of a disappointment. Although this could be a result of my high expectations.
The concepts and ideas were so good in this book - a society that is so obsessed with beauty that it is practically their religion. The Belles are essentially priests of beauty. The magic system was completely novel. There are 3 aspects to the Belles magic. Each aura is responsible for changing a different part of a person whether it is their physical appearance (skin color, hair, bone structure) or their personality/temperament. The way the Belles alter people is neither pretty nor an easy process, and it can be very painful. In some scenes, we even witness the Belles scraping away bone and cartilage to reshape someone’s nose.
While the concepts were interesting, the execution was just average. The pacing was terrible. It was just so slow and nothing really happened until the last 100/150 pages. I kept waiting for the queen to ask something impossible of Camille, as was described in the dust jacket synopsis, but that didn’t happen until at least half way through.
The language was just too flowery. I'm sure this was intentional to reflect the Orleans society obsession with appearance, but it was just distracting and kind of annoying.
Camille was not a very intriguing protagonist. She almost was, but she was too wishy-washy and noncommittal. She wasn’t inquisitive or curious enough. At the beginning, she had all these questions about her new (potentially insidious) world and surroundings. But she quickly forgot about all her questions and the weird stuff that was going on.
The romance was very transparent and unbelievable. It verged on cringe-worthy at some points.
There was decent LGBTQ+ representation in the book. Two secondary characters were either bi or lesbian (they didn’t label themselves), and they had names and personalities. This could have been so great, except they both die. The queen’s death was expected because it was established early on that she was sick and dying. But Claudine, her death was completely out of nowhere. It was unnecessary, overly gruesome, and just awful. I had to put the book down and walk away for a little bit before I could finish that scene. It was just uncalled for, and it is suspicious that the only people who died in the book were queer.
The concepts and ideas were so good in this book - a society that is so obsessed with beauty that it is practically their religion. The Belles are essentially priests of beauty. The magic system was completely novel. There are 3 aspects to the Belles magic. Each aura is responsible for changing a different part of a person whether it is their physical appearance (skin color, hair, bone structure) or their personality/temperament. The way the Belles alter people is neither pretty nor an easy process, and it can be very painful. In some scenes, we even witness the Belles scraping away bone and cartilage to reshape someone’s nose.
While the concepts were interesting, the execution was just average. The pacing was terrible. It was just so slow and nothing really happened until the last 100/150 pages. I kept waiting for the queen to ask something impossible of Camille, as was described in the dust jacket synopsis, but that didn’t happen until at least half way through.
The language was just too flowery. I'm sure this was intentional to reflect the Orleans society obsession with appearance, but it was just distracting and kind of annoying.
Camille was not a very intriguing protagonist. She almost was, but she was too wishy-washy and noncommittal. She wasn’t inquisitive or curious enough. At the beginning, she had all these questions about her new (potentially insidious) world and surroundings. But she quickly forgot about all her questions and the weird stuff that was going on.
The romance was very transparent and unbelievable. It verged on cringe-worthy at some points.
There was decent LGBTQ+ representation in the book. Two secondary characters were either bi or lesbian (they didn’t label themselves), and they had names and personalities. This could have been so great, except they both die. The queen’s death was expected because it was established early on that she was sick and dying. But Claudine, her death was completely out of nowhere. It was unnecessary, overly gruesome, and just awful. I had to put the book down and walk away for a little bit before I could finish that scene. It was just uncalled for, and it is suspicious that the only people who died in the book were queer.
Clayton's writing was exceptional and her attention to detail magnificent. The world of Orlèans Clayton created, to use some overly familiar references, was a unique mix of magic à la Harry Potter and opulence à la Panem citizens (Hunger Games). I found her world wonderfully extravagant and a perfect backdrop to her commentary on beauty and what we will do to achieve an "accepted" beauty.
Clayton tackles a tough subject and I wish I had this book when I was in high school or even my twenties as I tried to figure out my own relationship to our society's beauty standard. I am grateful to Clayton for taking this on and providing readers a chance to wrestle with these question through this imaginative world.
I found her story compelling though I will most likely not finish her series for myself. I would highly recommend, it just wasn't my absolute cup of tea, and there are too many other books and worlds to explore, yet I am glad I took the time to dwell with Clayton in this one for a while.
Clayton tackles a tough subject and I wish I had this book when I was in high school or even my twenties as I tried to figure out my own relationship to our society's beauty standard. I am grateful to Clayton for taking this on and providing readers a chance to wrestle with these question through this imaginative world.
I found her story compelling though I will most likely not finish her series for myself. I would highly recommend, it just wasn't my absolute cup of tea, and there are too many other books and worlds to explore, yet I am glad I took the time to dwell with Clayton in this one for a while.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced