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lisaesmee's review against another edition
4.0
This is a typical YA book: entertaining, predictable and awareness rising. I really enjoyed it. The story is fascinating and I instantly understood the underlying message the author wanted to portray. Books like these are why YA is an impotent genre and why I love reading it.
I can’t review it because I’m exhausted and I can’t form my thoughts. It’s a good book with an interesting story.
I can’t review it because I’m exhausted and I can’t form my thoughts. It’s a good book with an interesting story.
memereadslove4's review against another edition
5.0
This story rings true on so many levels. It's sad to say how far people got to be beautiful and are never satisfied.
This creative dystopian world snuck up on me it took me somewhere I never would have expected, I can't even count how many times my jaw dropped. Seriously mind blown with this one. What a fantastic story this was, I tell you this authors imagination is beautiful the detailed descriptions were perfect in every way. The characters each and every one of them were so in depth from the heroine to the hero to the villain and everyone in between. I literally can not with this book, I'm so in awe of how magnificent this was dark though but still magnificent. I recommend for 16 and up... I also highly recommend that you listen to this on Audio this narrator was so good she truly brought this book to life way better than I could do by reading on my iPad.
Happy Reading loves
serrendipity's review against another edition
2.0
I fully recognize that I'm writing this review after just finishing the book -- so maybe my rating will change with time. Maybe. Warning: what follows is most definitely a rant and nothing at all resembling a structured review.
I wanted to love this book, I really did. And the premise is *so* unique -- as is the commentary it offers on beauty and beauty ideals and the lengths women go to in order to conform to them. And that part of the book IS good.
But the execution? Oh, the execution.
*Spoilers Below*
From the beginning, my main problem with the story is that I didn't understand the world. After all, this is a fantasy book and the rules of the fantasy world need to be clear to the reader. Especially when there's magic involved. If there are no rules, or the rules aren't clear, then the fantasy world falls apart. It's why there's always so much emphasis on world-building and exposition in fantasy. My best example is Disney's Aladdin. It's a quasi-historical place, that *could* be real -- but things like genies and magic lamps and wishes are real. And Genie makes a point to tell Aladdin that he can grant him anything he wishes for except (1) he can't kill anyone; (2) he can't make people fall in love; and (3) he can't bring people back from the dead: in other words, magic can't trump natural processes. There are similar, albeit much more complicated and developed, rules in Harry Potter -- hence the reason for education at magic school.
But in this fantasy world? I had so. many. questions. From the beginning:
The world clearly resembles New Orleans -- is it a dystopian future? is it just coincidence? Is it an alternate reality? This in and of itself isn't a deal breaker, but there are so many other questions.
There are mention of the gods -- but what is the religion like?
How does the government work? There's a queen and a king, but who has the power? What business do they do? How does the kingdom make money? Are there other countries nearby? [We eventually learn that it's a matriarchy, but again -- this just raises more questions.]
Why do they all eat sweets? Why are all the animals "teacup" animals? If they don't have "normal sized" animals, would there even be a need to call them teacup versions?
Where do the Belles come from? We get this answer -- but only after 400 pages. Why do they have Mamans? Why can't they fall in love? How do the arcana work? Why are there only three levels? Why do the leeches purify them? How often are they "replaced" at court? Their older "sisters" don't seem that much older than them. How are they chosen? Are they raised at the Mansion?
The only thing I was able to figure out is that....there's something to do with blood proteins. And leeches "purify" the blood...and balance the proteins, I think? Somehow?
And here's the thing: I kept waiting for these questions to be answered. Because even if, as I suspected, things weren't really what they seemed, the Belles themselves HAD to be told/taught something about their existence. They had to believe something. So even if the reader is duped through the protagonist being duped, the Belles still HAD to know something. But that never gets conveyed. And there were SO many opportunities when it could have been: any time that we flashed back to Camellia's childhood or when she talked with Sophia or Arabella or the Queen or when she talked with Auguste.
And that's perhaps the most frustrating thing: the whole ending of the book hinges on the fact that Camellia told Auguste ALL the Belle secrets and Auguste relayed them back to Sophia, enabling her to grow her own Belles. BUT (1) the fact that Sophia was growing Belles (however disgusting it was) wasn't as much of a shock as I think it was supposed to be because it didn't contradict anything I already (thought I) knew -- all I thought was, "Oh! So that's where they come from" -- so the plot-twist wasn't so much of a twist has a straightforward thing and (2) CAMELLIA DIDN'T TELL AUGUSTE ANYTHING. The only thing she told him was that the arcana live inside the blood. That's the ONLY thing she tells him -- that does NOT amount, in any sense of the word, to telling "all the Belle secrets." She also says they're not magical, but....WTF. If they're not magical, then they're biological, and there's a scientific explanation for everything -- except...that they're supposed to be gifts from gods. So...? What? Are the gods real? Is it just an elaborate hoax to explain why people are "ugly"? And if it IS scientific, then there's an even greater need for the explanation. What's the deal with blood proteins? And why do they keep referring to the "arcana"? How can Camellia know enough to say they're not magical abilities, but not know enough to have a clue about what Sophia is doing?
Also frustrating: I get that the Queen is "sick" -- but she seems pretty okay for most of the book. Why does she do NOTHING to rein in Sophia? Clearly, everyone else in the palace knows what's going on.
Also--why does Camellia take SO LONG to decide what to do?!?! She's clearly gets that Sophia is unhinged and is warned multiple times but yet, the first time after the Queen asks for her helps, she waffles and wavers. And then, of course, conveniently, it's too late. Plot conveniences are only effective if they seem genuine -- like if Camellia wasn't convinced that Sophia was a deranged sociopath, but OMG, the number of times she internally said "I have to stop her" was proof enough that she knew what was at stake.
So much promise. So disappointing. And so frustrating.
*****
Update #1 - 02/14/18
A beautifully written and descriptive story so far. So many adjectives conjuring up such beautiful images, I'm finding myself re-reading passages to fully absorb and see the world she's building.
That being said...I have questions about this world. Maybe (hopefully) they'll get answered, but I'm finding it a little jarring to not know the answers at this point:
Q: There's repeated reference to the Belles being "sisters" and they each seem to have a "Maman." Are they biologically related at all (aside from being related to the Goddess, that is) -- are they really sisters? Or just symbolically? Is Maman really their mother? Or, again, is it just symbolic? If so, how are the Belles born? Where do they come from? If they're not the offspring of their Maman, how are they found? That is, if being a Belle isn't determined by a direct familial link, how do they know who's a Belle? (I would think it would be obvious at birth, but I'd like answers.)
Q: What is the "arcana"? Specifically? I get that it's what they draw from to work their beauty-magic, but again, I like concrete answers. Why does it have different levels?
Q: What is "spintria"? It seems to be a kind of currency but it's an unfamiliar word to be used so casually.
Q: Is there a significance to the rest of the islands and the other Houses? There's reference made to families and houses and emblems, but it isn't explained.
I can see what Clayton is doing in terms of beauty and beauty standards and beauty norms -- challenging how we commodify women's appearances and how we take white, blonde, blue-eyed beauty as the standard and ideal -- which I fully approve of and appreciate. But...it's still set in a fantasy world and I need to know the rules. I'm the type of reader who likes those rules/answers up-front because I get easily annoyed when I don't follow something that's probably very clear in the author's headspace.
I wanted to love this book, I really did. And the premise is *so* unique -- as is the commentary it offers on beauty and beauty ideals and the lengths women go to in order to conform to them. And that part of the book IS good.
But the execution? Oh, the execution.
*Spoilers Below*
From the beginning, my main problem with the story is that I didn't understand the world. After all, this is a fantasy book and the rules of the fantasy world need to be clear to the reader. Especially when there's magic involved. If there are no rules, or the rules aren't clear, then the fantasy world falls apart. It's why there's always so much emphasis on world-building and exposition in fantasy. My best example is Disney's Aladdin. It's a quasi-historical place, that *could* be real -- but things like genies and magic lamps and wishes are real. And Genie makes a point to tell Aladdin that he can grant him anything he wishes for except (1) he can't kill anyone; (2) he can't make people fall in love; and (3) he can't bring people back from the dead: in other words, magic can't trump natural processes. There are similar, albeit much more complicated and developed, rules in Harry Potter -- hence the reason for education at magic school.
But in this fantasy world? I had so. many. questions. From the beginning:
The world clearly resembles New Orleans -- is it a dystopian future? is it just coincidence? Is it an alternate reality? This in and of itself isn't a deal breaker, but there are so many other questions.
There are mention of the gods -- but what is the religion like?
How does the government work? There's a queen and a king, but who has the power? What business do they do? How does the kingdom make money? Are there other countries nearby? [We eventually learn that it's a matriarchy, but again -- this just raises more questions.]
Why do they all eat sweets? Why are all the animals "teacup" animals? If they don't have "normal sized" animals, would there even be a need to call them teacup versions?
Where do the Belles come from? We get this answer -- but only after 400 pages. Why do they have Mamans? Why can't they fall in love? How do the arcana work? Why are there only three levels? Why do the leeches purify them? How often are they "replaced" at court? Their older "sisters" don't seem that much older than them. How are they chosen? Are they raised at the Mansion?
The only thing I was able to figure out is that....there's something to do with blood proteins. And leeches "purify" the blood...and balance the proteins, I think? Somehow?
And here's the thing: I kept waiting for these questions to be answered. Because even if, as I suspected, things weren't really what they seemed, the Belles themselves HAD to be told/taught something about their existence. They had to believe something. So even if the reader is duped through the protagonist being duped, the Belles still HAD to know something. But that never gets conveyed. And there were SO many opportunities when it could have been: any time that we flashed back to Camellia's childhood or when she talked with Sophia or Arabella or the Queen or when she talked with Auguste.
And that's perhaps the most frustrating thing: the whole ending of the book hinges on the fact that Camellia told Auguste ALL the Belle secrets and Auguste relayed them back to Sophia, enabling her to grow her own Belles. BUT (1) the fact that Sophia was growing Belles (however disgusting it was) wasn't as much of a shock as I think it was supposed to be because it didn't contradict anything I already (thought I) knew -- all I thought was, "Oh! So that's where they come from" -- so the plot-twist wasn't so much of a twist has a straightforward thing and (2) CAMELLIA DIDN'T TELL AUGUSTE ANYTHING. The only thing she told him was that the arcana live inside the blood. That's the ONLY thing she tells him -- that does NOT amount, in any sense of the word, to telling "all the Belle secrets." She also says they're not magical, but....WTF. If they're not magical, then they're biological, and there's a scientific explanation for everything -- except...that they're supposed to be gifts from gods. So...? What? Are the gods real? Is it just an elaborate hoax to explain why people are "ugly"? And if it IS scientific, then there's an even greater need for the explanation. What's the deal with blood proteins? And why do they keep referring to the "arcana"? How can Camellia know enough to say they're not magical abilities, but not know enough to have a clue about what Sophia is doing?
Also frustrating: I get that the Queen is "sick" -- but she seems pretty okay for most of the book. Why does she do NOTHING to rein in Sophia? Clearly, everyone else in the palace knows what's going on.
Also--why does Camellia take SO LONG to decide what to do?!?! She's clearly gets that Sophia is unhinged and is warned multiple times but yet, the first time after the Queen asks for her helps, she waffles and wavers. And then, of course, conveniently, it's too late. Plot conveniences are only effective if they seem genuine -- like if Camellia wasn't convinced that Sophia was a deranged sociopath, but OMG, the number of times she internally said "I have to stop her" was proof enough that she knew what was at stake.
So much promise. So disappointing. And so frustrating.
*****
Update #1 - 02/14/18
A beautifully written and descriptive story so far. So many adjectives conjuring up such beautiful images, I'm finding myself re-reading passages to fully absorb and see the world she's building.
That being said...I have questions about this world. Maybe (hopefully) they'll get answered, but I'm finding it a little jarring to not know the answers at this point:
Q: There's repeated reference to the Belles being "sisters" and they each seem to have a "Maman." Are they biologically related at all (aside from being related to the Goddess, that is) -- are they really sisters? Or just symbolically? Is Maman really their mother? Or, again, is it just symbolic? If so, how are the Belles born? Where do they come from? If they're not the offspring of their Maman, how are they found? That is, if being a Belle isn't determined by a direct familial link, how do they know who's a Belle? (I would think it would be obvious at birth, but I'd like answers.)
Q: What is the "arcana"? Specifically? I get that it's what they draw from to work their beauty-magic, but again, I like concrete answers. Why does it have different levels?
Q: What is "spintria"? It seems to be a kind of currency but it's an unfamiliar word to be used so casually.
Q: Is there a significance to the rest of the islands and the other Houses? There's reference made to families and houses and emblems, but it isn't explained.
I can see what Clayton is doing in terms of beauty and beauty standards and beauty norms -- challenging how we commodify women's appearances and how we take white, blonde, blue-eyed beauty as the standard and ideal -- which I fully approve of and appreciate. But...it's still set in a fantasy world and I need to know the rules. I'm the type of reader who likes those rules/answers up-front because I get easily annoyed when I don't follow something that's probably very clear in the author's headspace.
em_who_reads's review against another edition
4.0
I’d give this almost 4 stars. It took me a while to get into the story and even after finishing the book I felt like I had missed something, even though I read every page. I’m excited for the sequel because I want to know what happens and what these Belles can do! This story is so original and relevant. There’s so much to be said on the subject of beauty and our obsession with it. This series has so many places to go.
Also I want a teacup elephant.
Also I want a teacup elephant.
solson5212's review against another edition
5.0
*I was approved for the e-ARC of this book on Netgalley. This did not effect by review.*
I loved The Belles! It was a beautiful book that explored the concept of beauty. You can find a more in depth review here (link live on January 26): https://travelingacrosspages.wordpress.com/2018/01/22/e-arc-review-the-belles-by-dhonielle-clayton
I loved The Belles! It was a beautiful book that explored the concept of beauty. You can find a more in depth review here (link live on January 26): https://travelingacrosspages.wordpress.com/2018/01/22/e-arc-review-the-belles-by-dhonielle-clayton
emilygaynier's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved and enjoyed this book so much!
I found the world to be vibrant and compelling. I loved the descriptions of all the room decor and fashion styles. I loved how everyone was so over the top. This world really reflected how a world would end up if everyone was obsessed with beauty and if they didn't obsess they're only other option was monster-like and possible madness.
I also really like how the trends are formed and everyone will go from a normal look to something almost outrageous. I found the fact that people change their skin tone very regularly to be off putting, but again it fit well in the world. The fact that a skin ton had to be chosen to cover up the grey allows for skin color to also become a trend.
I really enjoyed all the characters, especially the villain. The villain is horrible and compelling and just the worst, but the motivations were amazing.
I found Camelle to be sweet and determined and so awesome. The Belle powers are so cool and I would like to learn about them more in the up coming book(s). I also really liked Bree and all the other Belles. Remy was awesome too. That moment with his sisters just melted my heart. The one character I didn't like was Auguste. I personally really didn't like Auguste from the beginning. His banter and 'flirting' weren't charming at all. But, Camelle hasn't spend much time around men, so she really wouldn't know any better.
This book is just so good!
I found the world to be vibrant and compelling. I loved the descriptions of all the room decor and fashion styles. I loved how everyone was so over the top. This world really reflected how a world would end up if everyone was obsessed with beauty and if they didn't obsess they're only other option was monster-like and possible madness.
I also really like how the trends are formed and everyone will go from a normal look to something almost outrageous. I found the fact that people change their skin tone very regularly to be off putting, but again it fit well in the world. The fact that a skin ton had to be chosen to cover up the grey allows for skin color to also become a trend.
I really enjoyed all the characters, especially the villain. The villain is horrible and compelling and just the worst, but the motivations were amazing.
I found Camelle to be sweet and determined and so awesome. The Belle powers are so cool and I would like to learn about them more in the up coming book(s). I also really liked Bree and all the other Belles. Remy was awesome too. That moment with his sisters just melted my heart. The one character I didn't like was Auguste. I personally really didn't like Auguste from the beginning. His banter and 'flirting' weren't charming at all. But, Camelle hasn't spend much time around men, so she really wouldn't know any better.
This book is just so good!
pinkyprincesscupcake's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 stars
The writing was very fluid and diverse almost poetic sometimes though I read the French translated not the original version of the book.
The world building was pretty good many lacking about more information on how this society was created and why but we realise that some mystery around the society is made to create suspense in the story and that there will probably be more books in this series to develop it more in depth.
Love the character development at first she mis a spoiled b*tch who wants to be the favourite and that’s it, nothing else matters, she say she loves her sister but she is so self centered and selfish.
Throughout the story the réalisés that more things than beauty are important. Some people don’t want to be beautiful, the court is not what she thought it would be...
I love how she develops and becomes more mature and reflects on the society she is living in.
*spoiler*
The plot line is very diverse with many sub/plots within the plot.
Some questions / theories on the sub plots throughout my reading :
- Camile not being taken as a favourite at first
- Delphine ? The party at night
- Why did Amber was “vired” as a favourite, was it on purpose she transformed people in a weird way (maybe so that her sister becomes the favourite) or was it simply a mistake?
- Why is Charlotte asleep
- What about Angust ? Remy? Love triangle to come ??
- Is the Queen mean ? Or is her daughter crazy ?
- Sophie poisoned Camille ?
OMG the ending when Claudine dies, I wasn’t expecting that at all and thought Claudine wasn’t a very important character I was sad she had to die at the end.
The reveal of August’s trahison therefore wasn’t surprising, it came out of nowhere and wasn’t explain in details.. so from the start he was here as a spy of the belles ? No more info just that.. I kind of felt that smothering was off so it wasn’t a big surprise for me.
Remi is actually not a bad guy.
The final reveal : Charlotte was actually poisoned by her sister, Sophie to make sure she would become queen at her mother’s death.
=> The Queen is dead
=> Ambrosa, Cambille and Remi are hiding in an island
=> Edel knocks at their door !!
The writing was very fluid and diverse almost poetic sometimes though I read the French translated not the original version of the book.
The world building was pretty good many lacking about more information on how this society was created and why but we realise that some mystery around the society is made to create suspense in the story and that there will probably be more books in this series to develop it more in depth.
Love the character development at first she mis a spoiled b*tch who wants to be the favourite and that’s it, nothing else matters, she say she loves her sister but she is so self centered and selfish.
Throughout the story the réalisés that more things than beauty are important. Some people don’t want to be beautiful, the court is not what she thought it would be...
I love how she develops and becomes more mature and reflects on the society she is living in.
*spoiler*
The plot line is very diverse with many sub/plots within the plot.
Some questions / theories on the sub plots throughout my reading :
- Camile not being taken as a favourite at first
- Delphine ? The party at night
- Why did Amber was “vired” as a favourite, was it on purpose she transformed people in a weird way (maybe so that her sister becomes the favourite) or was it simply a mistake?
- Why is Charlotte asleep
- What about Angust ? Remy? Love triangle to come ??
- Is the Queen mean ? Or is her daughter crazy ?
- Sophie poisoned Camille ?
OMG the ending when Claudine dies, I wasn’t expecting that at all and thought Claudine wasn’t a very important character I was sad she had to die at the end.
The reveal of August’s trahison therefore wasn’t surprising, it came out of nowhere and wasn’t explain in details.. so from the start he was here as a spy of the belles ? No more info just that.. I kind of felt that smothering was off so it wasn’t a big surprise for me.
Remi is actually not a bad guy.
The final reveal : Charlotte was actually poisoned by her sister, Sophie to make sure she would become queen at her mother’s death.
=> The Queen is dead
=> Ambrosa, Cambille and Remi are hiding in an island
=> Edel knocks at their door !!
sls1214's review against another edition
4.0
This book took me a while to read. Mainly because I’ve been busy..it started slow for me but as I began to dig deeper into the world of Orleans it became apparent that this book was layered and in a way lived in the author. This book dives into the dark places that people go for beauty. It’s perfect for today’s world. The newsies are like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Everyone always jumping on the latest beauty trend and competing to be the best to others instead of true to themselves. It was a live feed people couldn’t wait to get their hands on or be featured in to set the new trend and be the new it factor! It was a YA Fantasy/Thriller with suspense, curiosity, twisted love, fear, betrayal, and determination. Can’t wait to read the second installment.
obsidian_blue's review against another edition
4.0
I really did enjoy the first book in "The Belles" series. I have not previously read a book by Dhonielle Clayton before, but will be on the lookout for the next book in this series, as well as any other works out there she has. She does a great job of blending fantasy elements along with mythology and fairy tales we already know (Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Persephone, Venus) and molding it into something new for the fictional world of Orleans where the action takes place.
Told in the first person, we follow a Belle named Camellia and the rest of her "sisters" when they are presented before the court. They wait for the Queen to name one of them favorite, with the remaining girls being sent out to tea houses in order to give beauty to the fellow inhabitants of Orleans.
When Camellia is not named favorite, she is taken to a tea house to perform beauty treatments. When something happens that causes her sister Amber to fall out of favor, Camellia is back in court, doing whatever she can to be loved by the Queen and Princess Sophia.
I think some readers may get a bit tired of Camellia though. She's so focused on being the favorite and the best she pretty much ignores how badly Princess Sophia is and doesn't even realize that a love interest (that I did call not being on the up and up) was not really into her at all. Thank goodness there is no dreaded love triangle though. One of my least favorite things in young adult books.
Though Camellia is naive, you do get to see her start to question what is the purpose of the Belles and realizing that all that glitters is not gold. You have young women who are slaves. Yes they are dressed up and bathed, and perfumed, but they are not allowed to say no. They are merely there to make others beautiful and be used up and tossed away. Even though the Queen has a good reason for having Camellia help her, she doesn't really care when Camellia is attacked by a prince and almost raped.
The other characters you get a glimpse of though Clayton does spend more time on developing some of the secondary characters like Amber, Edel, and Remy. Hopefully in the next book they get even more fleshed out.
I really did enjoy the writing. The world-building is not explicit in this one, but I think if you have read Greek myths and are familiar with fairy tales like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty you can see echoes of that in Clayton's writing.
Some of the descriptions of what happens when Camellia is using the arcana made my stomach hurt. It's unnerving and gross to read how many women and men go through significant pain in order to be beautiful. And ultimately that is what Clayton is attacking in her works. You read time and time again how attractive many of the young girls, women, and men are that come out and seek beauty, but they don't see it. Instead they keep demanding more and more to be done to them to make them truly beautiful. Princess Sophia is the worst and I started calling her Snow White's Wicked Stepmother after a while. She's obsessed with being the most beautiful (fairest) and she's going to do whatever it takes to stay on top.
The flow was a little uneven in the beginning, but gets better the further along you get into the book. The chapters were fairly short so that keeps the story moving. I do want to have more details provided in the next book about the Belles and their creation. There's enough there to tease you with while reading, and I don't need or want an info-dump, but I hope that now that Camellia and others are out in the world, they can find out the truth.
I will give kudos to the cover and the illustrations in the book. Since I got this as a hardback copy via the library I was able to see the chapter headings and loved the illustration that was at the top. The book also contains illustrations of the world of Orleans and locations that are mentioned like "The Fire Isles, The Silk Isles, etc. It's always fun for me to see how books go beyond just the written word.
The ending I thought worked. Clayton does a good job with ending the arc in this first book and now we are going forward with another arc it seems with the Belles fighting back.
Told in the first person, we follow a Belle named Camellia and the rest of her "sisters" when they are presented before the court. They wait for the Queen to name one of them favorite, with the remaining girls being sent out to tea houses in order to give beauty to the fellow inhabitants of Orleans.
When Camellia is not named favorite, she is taken to a tea house to perform beauty treatments. When something happens that causes her sister Amber to fall out of favor, Camellia is back in court, doing whatever she can to be loved by the Queen and Princess Sophia.
I think some readers may get a bit tired of Camellia though. She's so focused on being the favorite and the best she pretty much ignores how badly Princess Sophia is and doesn't even realize that a love interest (that I did call not being on the up and up) was not really into her at all. Thank goodness there is no dreaded love triangle though. One of my least favorite things in young adult books.
Though Camellia is naive, you do get to see her start to question what is the purpose of the Belles and realizing that all that glitters is not gold. You have young women who are slaves. Yes they are dressed up and bathed, and perfumed, but they are not allowed to say no. They are merely there to make others beautiful and be used up and tossed away. Even though the Queen has a good reason for having Camellia help her, she doesn't really care when Camellia is attacked by a prince and almost raped.
The other characters you get a glimpse of though Clayton does spend more time on developing some of the secondary characters like Amber, Edel, and Remy. Hopefully in the next book they get even more fleshed out.
I really did enjoy the writing. The world-building is not explicit in this one, but I think if you have read Greek myths and are familiar with fairy tales like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty you can see echoes of that in Clayton's writing.
Some of the descriptions of what happens when Camellia is using the arcana made my stomach hurt. It's unnerving and gross to read how many women and men go through significant pain in order to be beautiful. And ultimately that is what Clayton is attacking in her works. You read time and time again how attractive many of the young girls, women, and men are that come out and seek beauty, but they don't see it. Instead they keep demanding more and more to be done to them to make them truly beautiful. Princess Sophia is the worst and I started calling her Snow White's Wicked Stepmother after a while. She's obsessed with being the most beautiful (fairest) and she's going to do whatever it takes to stay on top.
The flow was a little uneven in the beginning, but gets better the further along you get into the book. The chapters were fairly short so that keeps the story moving. I do want to have more details provided in the next book about the Belles and their creation. There's enough there to tease you with while reading, and I don't need or want an info-dump, but I hope that now that Camellia and others are out in the world, they can find out the truth.
I will give kudos to the cover and the illustrations in the book. Since I got this as a hardback copy via the library I was able to see the chapter headings and loved the illustration that was at the top. The book also contains illustrations of the world of Orleans and locations that are mentioned like "The Fire Isles, The Silk Isles, etc. It's always fun for me to see how books go beyond just the written word.
The ending I thought worked. Clayton does a good job with ending the arc in this first book and now we are going forward with another arc it seems with the Belles fighting back.