In an old New Orleans type of setting, we find girls who are of an unusual nature able to change the looks of people, from lengthening their noses to making people's insecurities go away. It's painful, but it is a talent that goes all the way to the royalty employing these girls. But in this book, there are insatiable desires to be the most beautiful, and evil people who are determined, even at the expense of family to become rulers. It is a fantastic books full of mystery, twists, and modern take on the quest of beauty through modern plastic surgery. This is a book our students will full enjoy and be clamoring for more.

The Everlasting Rose just landed on my doorstep and that means it’s time for a Belles reread. This YA fantasy series follows Camellia Beauregard who, along with her sisters, seeks the coveted position of the favorite of the Queen of Orléans. Camellia longs to use her gifts as a Belle to serve the royal family, and I remember loving her ambition during my first read. The glittering world she inhabits hides dark secrets, and in this reread I’m looking forward to catching hints that I may have missed the first time around. Clayton’s descriptions are scrumptious; everything from gowns to makeup is compared to food. It made me hungry on my last read, so this time I’m going in prepared with some sweet treats on hand.

I was really excited to read this book because I enjoyed the other books by the author. However, I did not like this because it was very confusing to read. I think it was the writing style.

it only took me a year or two to finally pick this one up but once I did, I was hooked. Such an addictive and fast-paced read. While being predictable, I still ended up enjoying those "twists".

Thank you Netgalley for my review copy but this was not my thing at all. Did not grip me nor did the characters appeal to me in the slightest. I found it to be a bit silly.

I LOVED this story. The Belles had a great plot and pacing. It was unique and well written. I am excited to read The Everlasting Rose.

This was one of my favourite books of 2018 and I really loved reading it. I finished it just after I saw Dhonielle Clayton at BookCon and I loved it so much! I thought it was just the right blend of action and story

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle, she has magic to make the people of Orleans beautiful. She wants more than anything to live in the palace, as the Queen's favorite, and to receive all the opulence the royal family has to share. She must compete with the 6 other Belles, all 16 and having their debut. Once she arrives a the palace, she realizes things are not always what they seem.
This reminded me a lot of The Hunger Games. The competition to be the only surviving Belle. The world is beautiful, and the writing extremely descriptive. The ending was pretty predictable., but the cliffhanger made me want to read the next one.
An fast , page turner of a book!

Camille Beauregard and her sisters have been raised as Belles, powerful beings who have the ability to manipulate beauty and save their fellow citizens “from a life of unbearable sameness (12).” At her debut, Camille wows the crowd and the royal family with her creativity and poise, but is disappointed when her sister is picked as the Queen’s favorite, securing the coveted role of royal Belle. Camille begins working in a tea shop transforming local patrons, but a mysterious change in circumstances soon brings Camille to the palace. Under the tutelage of the Princess, Camille’s powers are tested - as is her loyalty to the crown. As time passes, Camille begins to see dark undertakings in the castle and questions her role as Belle. But being a Belle is all she knows, and Camille must confront the evasive history of the Belles in order to move forward. Clayton does an exceptional job of weaving class, race, and gender politics into her story and allowing readers to reflect on our own beauty obsessed world. This is an enthralling, unique fantasy with rich characters and vivid world-building. Perfect for fans of the Uglies series.

I really, really wish I liked this book more than I did. I found myself incredibly bored for majority of the time. I didn't feel any connection to the characters, therefore I didn't exactly care about what was going on. The only character who made an effect on me was the villain of the story for obvious reasons. They really were a good villain. I honestly don't have any real thoughts on this book. It was just ok.

I didn't hate it, but I didn't enjoy it and I don't think I will be continuing on with the series. Thank you for providing me with the chance to read and review this book and I'm incredibly sorry it took me this long.

Took a long time for me to start and it was worth the wait, very interesting southern culture backdrop. Reminded me of that Sabrina netflix show.

Fashion and class are on display in this dystopian novel. Beauty is only in the hands of the Belles, but it's painful and fleeting, and Belles are bred for service. The novel moves quickly, and will keep readers going until the end, then anxiously waiting for the sequel.

Behind the beautifully made exteriors of the people of Orleans, there is a world full for intrigue and deceit. The Belles, the magic welders who are hired to make people pretty, are forced to make decisions about where their loyalties lie as they find out what kind of personality is hidden beneath the surface of the main villain. Can't wait for book 2!

The most enchanting thing about this book were the descriptions. Of the people, places, landmarks. Everything was described so vividly it wasn't hard to visualize what Clayton was going for. After that, was the plot. And the ending. I thought the middle was a bit slow and didn't really prepare the reader for what was going to happen - but once it got interesting, the action never stopped. Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I am excited to see what happens next.

The story is very unique, but it was missing something for me. Perhaps I personally love books with more of a romance focus than this, but I do think this book is worth recommending to teens.

*Copy provided by Net Galley*

I loved this book! Camellia is unlike many of the female characters we see in YA Fanatsy because she is far from perfect. She is smart, strong, and brave but she also has an ambition that sometimes makes her jealous and a little ruthless when her friend is named the favorite instead of her. It’s refreshing to see a main character that is not perfect. Sometimes, especially female, main characters are so charitable and caring it’s hard to imagine them ever having an negative feeling or harsh word. I loved the villain too because she was evil and actually quite creepy when she really got going.

I think my favorite part of this book was there was a multi-racial cast but it wasn’t about race. There is absolutely a place for stories that focus on race in the world but I also think that having it be a part of the story but not the focus forces readers to see it as normal rather than white being the default.

Overall a fantastic story with cliffhanger ending so I can’t wait for book two.

Our library will be pleased to have a fantasy book that we can provide to our community that is #ownvoices. Though the book fails narratively, the story is one that will captivate its readers and produce interesting discourse.

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton was a very interesting story. I feel like that this is a super unique story. I feel like the characters in this book need a rude awakening. Here is why...the thought that they could have everything. The deserved it after all. I find it very frustrating when another human being is unkind. There was a lot of hatred and unkindness in this book towards different characters. I feel like their parents did not spank them as children.

This is a very unique world and I am not sure there is another YA book out there that can relate. The whole story is enticing yet it is disturbing at the same time. I kept feeling like I wanted to visit this world to really see what it was like and then something would happen and I would be like NOPE! I am out.

I swear you could eat everything in this novel. The furniture, the grass, people......I am just kidding. Or am I? Everything and everyone was described like desserts. It gave me the sense that you were supposed to look at people as if you could eat them. Truly? I think it was to give the reader a sense that we should be consuming beauty. The theme is this book is being beautiful.

Camellia is one of the Belles that uses her special powers to make others beautiful. One of the things I really love about Camellia is that she is inquisitive. She doesn't just trust others blindly, she wants to figure it out for herself. I really enjoyed this in her character. She is very soft and kind-hearted. She has a very caring and loving nature. Camellia has to choose for herself what she wants to do with her powers vs letting others tell her what to do with them.

When I picked up this book, I was expecting it to be a standalone. I quickly learned that it was not a stand alone but the beginning of a series. The ending ends up leaving you on a big cliffhanger that was very unsatisfying. I am completely invested and need the next book right away.

Forgot to post my review when I read it. But it’s honestly just crazy AMAZING! Can’t wait for more!

Everyone is born grey, everyone. That is where The Belles step in, they give people their color back and make them beautiful at a cast. Every three years new belles are introduced to society where each girl has to make someone beautiful And they way the make someone beautiful is by using their gifts, arcana, which lets them transform anyone into having more color and that color can be from natural skin tones or even colorful like purple, etc.

Camille wants to be the best belle, she wants to serve for her royal highness but unfortunately she doesn’t get picked to be the favorite and that devastated her. She worked almost all her life to be the best belle and failure was not an option. Things happen where Camille ends up working for her royal highness and it wasn’t what she expected.

The Belles was an incredible read, Dhonielle Clayton captures the readers with her story and also with the way she envoked important messages.