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kellyolives 's review for:
The Belles
by Dhonielle Clayton
In the fantastical land of Orleans, Camellia Beauregard is a Belle, one of a select few girls born with the ability to beautify the population. Without the intervention of a Belle, every person--even royalty--reverts to a natural "cursed" state of pale skin, grey hair and colorless eyes: the definition of ugly. Only the wealthy can afford regular Belle treatments-- painful procedures that must be repeated on a regular basis to maintain one's beauty.
Strong-willed Camellia is determined to outshine her Belle sisters to be hand-selected by the queen to serve as the official royal Belle, known as "the favorite." When she's named the runner-up, Camellia is devastated, believing she failed her mother who, herself, served as the favorite. When Amber, her Belle sister, mysteriously vanishes from the palace and Camellia is put in her place, Camellia doesn't know what to think. Should she be happy she realized her dream? Or fear for Amber's safety? Camellia soon realizes one of the royals is unstable and will destroy anyone--Belle or not-- who gets in the way of her plans to be queen. When the ailing queen approaches Camellia with a plea to use her Belle powers in an unconventional way, Camellia must decide if it's worth risking her own life.
This book made me weigh the value of beauty in our society and got me thinking about what lengths we are, as a society, willing to go to look beautiful. Will future governments put restrictions on what procedures we can and can't undergo to look a certain way? Or will advancements in genetics allow us to choose the way our children look? This is a great book to start discussion about the the concept of beauty and the pressure to look beautiful. The author also includes an interesting note at the end of the book about what sparked her idea for this story.
While this book gave me plenty to think about, I had some issues with plausibility. It was also tricky for me to buy into the world of Orleans. The world-building lacked some of the careful attention to detail I've seen in stories by Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black. This is the beginning of a series, and, while interesting, it didn't hold my interest enough to make me want to read the next book.
Strong-willed Camellia is determined to outshine her Belle sisters to be hand-selected by the queen to serve as the official royal Belle, known as "the favorite." When she's named the runner-up, Camellia is devastated, believing she failed her mother who, herself, served as the favorite. When Amber, her Belle sister, mysteriously vanishes from the palace and Camellia is put in her place, Camellia doesn't know what to think. Should she be happy she realized her dream? Or fear for Amber's safety? Camellia soon realizes one of the royals is unstable and will destroy anyone--Belle or not-- who gets in the way of her plans to be queen. When the ailing queen approaches Camellia with a plea to use her Belle powers in an unconventional way, Camellia must decide if it's worth risking her own life.
This book made me weigh the value of beauty in our society and got me thinking about what lengths we are, as a society, willing to go to look beautiful. Will future governments put restrictions on what procedures we can and can't undergo to look a certain way? Or will advancements in genetics allow us to choose the way our children look? This is a great book to start discussion about the the concept of beauty and the pressure to look beautiful. The author also includes an interesting note at the end of the book about what sparked her idea for this story.
While this book gave me plenty to think about, I had some issues with plausibility. It was also tricky for me to buy into the world of Orleans. The world-building lacked some of the careful attention to detail I've seen in stories by Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black. This is the beginning of a series, and, while interesting, it didn't hold my interest enough to make me want to read the next book.