Publication Date: February 6, 2018
Publisher: Freeform
Series: The Belles #1
Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent
world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a
commodity coveted above all else. In Orleans, the people are born gray, they
are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they
transform and be made beautiful.
But it's not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite, the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orleans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land.
But it's not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite, the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orleans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land.
But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at
court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always
dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and
Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie, that her
powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined.
And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing
princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an
impossible decision.
With the future of Orleans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide: save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles, or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.
With the future of Orleans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide: save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles, or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.
Camellia was the perfect protagonist to lead me
through this story. I got to experience this world just as she did. She was
learning to adapt to the new world around her and I felt as if her perspective
was very true to what it would be were this actually reality. She is conflicted
at times between what she knows is right and wrong, which shows anyone’s true
nature. Her character is easy to fall in love with and you will find yourself
rooting for her success at court amongst all the deception and intrigue.
I also loved the relationship Camellia describes
between her and her sister Belles. She seems to be the strongest of her
sisters, but her love and admiration for them is endearing and one of the only
picture perfect things about this treacherous new world that Camellia is
immersed in. A lot of the other Belles lack in all things compared to Camellia.
I loved learning about them, but ultimately I was only concerned with Camellia
and her thoughts, actions, and feelings. She was an amazing main character and I
look forward to reading more from her voice.
This is the first of Dhonielle Clayton’s novels to
dawn my shelves. Her writing was easy to follow and the four hundred plus pages
took me no time at all to get through. Her descriptions were out of this world and
made me long for my next meal. The palace came to life and jumped off the page
as I read. I could picture everything so easily, and this has to be my favorite
thing about this book. This world leaped off the page, immaculate, eloquent,
pretentious and all other word that you think a palace full of beautiful people
would be!
“Be the best without trying to be better than the
others.”
“You have to decide for yourself. It is you who
must live with the outcome.”
“You can never be clean enough, pretty enough, or
smart enough.”
“Dreams remind us of who we are and how we feel
about the things around us.”
Very rarely do I read books that I know are in a
series and that I have to wait a year for the next one to be released. However,
this is the exception to my rule. I cannot wait until the next book is released
and I will be reading it as soon as it comes out. I gave this book a five out
of five stars on Goodreads and I will not hesitate to recommend it to anyone
who shows interest.
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