Review: The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Title: The Belles
Author: Dhonielle Clayton
Publishers: Gollancz
Release date: 08 Feb 2018

Synopsis: Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, 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 Orléans 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 Orléans 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

Review:

Growing up we all loved Disney, if you didn't maybe you lived under a rock. Its one of the few experiences that still sticks with us. We remember the fantasy and the drama, the colourful characters and the happy endings. You wanted to be the prince or princess, maybe you wanted to be the Genie or Maleficent and I'm OK with that ( I know I would LOVE to be Maleficent sometimes). For me The Belles reads like a Disney film that pushes the moral lines into the adult world. As we grew up we saw behind the fantasy, that happy ever afters don't always come when we want them or the way we want them and that read across the pages of The Belles.

It was a very sensorial journey. From the colours and descriptions, the sounds and the smells, of flowers and food and little teacup animals that built up this world so vividly. It all felt very fantastical and this mixed well into central crux of the book...

One of the biggest themes that ran throughout the book was the ideals of beauty and the lengths that people will go to achieve them. "Her eyes glaze over with tears. "I'd do anything to be beautiful"". How many times have you looked in a mirror and thought ugh, today is not my day, or joked with friends about what you could change if you could. Except in a lot of us these fear and feelings are much deeper rooted and in a world where technology is continually developing and making more things than ever before, where the question of 'if you could, would you' becomes even more plausible. Here people will change themselves at cost of pound and pain to continually updating themselves to the 'newest' and 'best' styles. Whether this be in the image of the ladies of society or what the papers say as defined by the Bells this held up a mirror to the way we as a society evaluate beauty. There was a lack of control, of disregarding boundaries, pushing to want be this certain person and this isn't something that can maintain equilibrium. For a Belle this puts a lot of power and responsibility on her shoulders, especially when she was a fixed point in a world that was constantly looking to change. It was such a simple but clear juxtaposition where her role was open to discussion, or protest to freedom of expression. The customer was always right, and this made for some jaring scenes. 

The Bells were fascinating magical characters. Like the ideal and the concept really interests me. There is a simplicity and a beauty to it that we associate with the beauty world. The Bells themselves were full of personality an potential. We got to know them and dig deeper into some of their characters and i'm excited to see where after the events of book one this will go. 

However as idealistic as the life of a Belle seems, you quickly see the price that it comes at and the cracks that quickly spread when the ideal is shattered. Its like going from University into real life and never really being prepared. It was this journey that Camellia takes and we're in the front seat taking it with her. She was a very relateable character, flaws and all. I could see in her that longing and yearning to be the best, to want to achieve and to want to be validated. There was also this fire in her and she wore her heart and emotions on the pages of this book so that you really go under her skin.To want to be her own governed person, to want to break the rules, to want to peel back the layers and the stories that she had forever been fed. She wanted to be the best and she was going to fight to do it. Only there's always someone thats going to be in your way. Queue a PSYCHOPATHIC princess in you path. Sophia was crazy, but in that dark way where you kinda liked her. She needs a good slap theres no two ways about it, but you definitely wouldn't want to cross her. She was the balance of drama,it was through her we saw how the world defined itself, how it was flawed and the dark side of beauty, not just physical beauty but that internal gritty nasty beauty. She was cruel and manipulative but she gave you that passion and hate. She was a force and I was here for that drama.  

I need to know where this is going! I need the next instalment because you know s*** is going to hit the fan! this is only the beginning! 

Check out the rest of the stops on The Belles Blog Tour and let me know what you thought!