While I really enjoyed the first book in this series, I found that The Everlasting Rose flew by and really held my attention. The world building is so amazing that it is easy to visualize everything that is happening. I loved the idea of post balloons and tea cup dragons!

The once naive Camille has found herself thrust into a position in which she must act and take ownership. What is not so obvious is who she can and should trust and what she can do to set things right in Orleans. The most obvious thing in the book is how harsh and unlikable Sophia is and how horrible life will be for everyone if she is left to rule.

I liked how the The Spider's Web newspaper and The Iron Ladies were woven into the story as Camille's allies even though their methods were not the same and their traveling means were insane.

The Everlasting Rose does not disappoint!

I received an Advanced Review Copy of The Everlasting Rose by Dhonielle Clayton from the Publisher Disney Book Group through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is a sequel to The Belles, and you must read it before you read this (I loved the Belles which is why I couldn't wait to get my hands on this!) ALSO this review will assume you've read The Belles so proceed with caution

What It’s About: In Orleans people are born gray and crave beauty. The Belles are gifts from the God of Beauty and they give beauty through their treatment. When they are of age, they all get sent to the capital city where they show their talents and the queen decides on the favorite who will take care of the royals. However, things have changed and fallen apart. The former favorite, Camille, is now on the run after escaping from the evil Queen Sophia and is working to help the rightful Queen Charlotte to the throne before its too late.

What I Loved: This story is what I love in a fantasy dystopian book, resistance to a crazy government and fighting the battle from the outside. This book has many twists and turns and I could not put it down. The villain is so evil but at the same time, she is relatable as we see what a society that stresses the importance of beauty can turn you into. Additonally, there are some badass females fighting back which is crucial for me.

What I didn’t like so much: I didn't want it to end! I felt like I needed more closure and didn't want to leave the characters.

Who Should Read It: People who like dystopian fiction. People who like strong female characters. People who want a unique dystopian plot.

General Summary: A society's love of beauty threatens to be the thing that tears apart the whole country.

Hm, where do I begin with this review. Overall, I enjoyed The Belles but thought that there could have been more time committed to the worldbuilding. The same could be said about The Everlasting Rose. This book opened up right on the heels of the drama in book one and it took me a bit of time to orient myself. The Everlasting Rose was an interesting conclusion but it's probably not one I would remember. A lot of the action happened off scene with barely any time dedicated to the villain who made such an impression on me in The Belles. There were some interesting analogies about slavery and the treatment of your fellow human being, but as a series it needed a bit more.

Let me start this review by saying that The Belles was one of my absolute favorite reads of last year. It was a 5-star read. Hands down. I loved being launched into the world of The Belles in Orléans. I absolutely adored Camille Beauregard and couldn’t wait to continue her story.

The Everlasting Rose picks up exactly where it left off in The Belles, which I really appreciated. I would like to first say that Dhionelle’s writing is absolutely beautiful. She describes scenes with such lush imagery that you are able to fully immerse yourself in her scenes. However, I was incredibly disappointed with the plot execution of this story and left wanting for that beautiful story that I first read with The Belles.

This story revolves around Camille’s desperate search to find Charlotte, the heir to the throne of Orléans, who is the only one who can stop Sophie’s sadistic reign. Additionally, Camille must also track down her sisters, the other Belles, who were kidnapped following the falling out of the Belles versus Sophie. I honestly felt like the plot was meandering around trying to find the sisters, but not actually amounting to much action. Additionally, we weren’t offered any more character depth than that of the first book, which I was definitely longing for; especially when it came to Camille and Rémy.

The last 20 percent of the book, when Camille and Sophie face-off, is incredibly intense and an absolute page-turning showdown. Nevertheless, I felt that because the plot took so long to build up to this integral moment, the rest of the story was incredibly rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Books for providing an eARC of this book. This did not bias my review, and these opinions are entirely my own.

Rating: 3 stars

The Everlasting Rose is the sequel to last year's The Belles. This story is set in a world where human kind is born grey skinned, red eyed, and overall miserable but the belles are a small group of girls who have the power to manipulate the human body and create beauty which becomes a commodity.
I really enjoyed The Belles, I thought the world was really interesting and the magic was pretty cool as well but for me, this sequel was just kind of disappointing. Near the end, the main action and climax were really thrilling and exciting so I loved that part but the entire rest of the story just dragged me along until I finally got to that exciting moment. I was honestly kind of bored for most of the story and it felt like nothing was really happening. I didn't care about what they were doing and I found myself wanting to just get through the story to be done with it which is such a shame because I really hoped this would be an exciting conclusion to the story and it wasn't.

I absolutely loved Belles! I am so hypnotized by this creative world that the author has written. The story continues and does not disappoint!

I think that I enjoyed this book a little bit more than the first one. It wasn’t too long, although it almost felt too short. About 2/3rds of the way through I started thinking that there was no way to wrap it all up, but it does. The ending therefore was a tad rushed, but still was satisfactory. The pacing was much better though and there were some pretty exciting scenes.

I enjoyed Camellia’s character a bit more in this book, she has had to grow up quick and get her act together enough to accomplish the impossible. She continues to struggle with who to trust, and unfortunately she put her trust into the wrong people sometimes. Her inner dialogue was great, especially as she is trying to expand and control her power.

Reny is still my favorite character, and the two of them together was just adorable. He was so tender and protective of her at the same time, but he also able to let her make the decisions and take care of things when needed. He also trusted her to carry out part of the mission without him.

The plot was faster paced than the first book. Although a lot of the plot was about their hiding from the world, and running away from the people who want to hurt them. But at least this allowed us to see more of the world of Orleans. The last 50 or so pages were pretty intense and the confrontation between Sophia and Camellia was amazing. I love the world the author has created and that is what kept me engaged with the books. I love the mix of magic and science, especially when it became know how the Belles come to be.

I have to put in a special plug for the tea cup dragons. They were all adorable, and I really want one! They were a nice touch to the world.

Overall this was a good sequel to the first book. It gave us more background information on the Belles and how they work. It ended in a satisfactory way, but I would like to see more books set in this fascinating world. The overall message about how obsession with beauty can destroy was interesting.

4.5 I loved this sequel to The Belles even more than the first book! The rebellion storyline is fantastic and well done. I am really hoping for a book three!

This book was a fine sequel to the first book. I think the series is especially important because of its representational elements and strong emphasis on diverse beauty. The main character and each of her sisters are named after flowers from different cultures and their appearances seem to link up to their names (e.g., Edel named after the edelweiss is described as very white and pale and blonde, Padma after the Indian lotus flower is described as having dark hair). In this world obsessed with beauty, skin color is refreshingly not on any sort of hierarchy, it seems. While we do need to think and talk about race in our society, this book is going to be a great fantasy break for teens that just want to see themselves represented as the beautiful fantasy heroine for a change. The world building is amazing too, with a fantasy world loosely based on New Orleans.
That being said, something about the pacing for this book just felt… off. The first two-thirds suffers a bit from Harry Potter 7 “everlasting camping trip” syndrome, and the finale wraps up incredibly quickly. In fact, things wrapped up so quickly that I thought there was going to be a cliff-hanger ending and a third book until about the last ten pages.

The Everlasting Rose just about picks up from where the Belles left off. The Belles, Camille and Edel and the guard Remy are on the run as Sophia is hunting them down. Sophia begins to change the beauty laws and places more demands on the current and future Belles, ultimate goal is to make being beautiful the ultimate law, though never prettier than her. Finding Princess Charlotte has become necessary in order to stop Sophia from becoming crowned. Camille finds friends but learns some valuable lessons on trust.
This story followed the same intrigue as the first though this time it isn't about who is the best but who is the smartest and the fastest in order to beat Sophia. I was intrigued throughout the whole story. While the story could easily end where it did, I could see potential in another book coming out?

More adventure and tension is woven more thickly to the pages of the sequel to The Belles. The Everlasting Rose finds Camille, Remy, and Edellwies running, hiding, and planning to exact revenge and right the wrongs that have been done to the Belles. The old lesson that just because it is how it has always been does not make it right is very apparent throughout and a favorite lesson of mine when learned. I can only hope for a third story and can imagine what it will center around, but if there isn't, I am happy with how it was left.

I actually preferred this sequel more than the first story. When I read The Belles a few months ago I found it slow placed and overly descriptive. It felt like all the action took place in the last 25% of the story. That problem is remedied in The Everlasting Rose which keeps a steady pace throughout the story. The Belles flowery descriptions on every scrumptious petit dessert they ate or every beauty powder quickly grew tiring. Thankfully there are less of those descriptions and more world building. We discover more about the arcana and the powers each Belle has. Not a fan of love triangles in YA stories but this one was written differently from the norm and the outcome was unexpected. I also enjoyed the many twists Dhonielle wrote in this story.

I received an ARC from Disney Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As this one started out things were a little bleak for Camille. She was on the run, hiding from the evil Queen, trying to save her sisters and Princess Charlotte. I was pretty impressed that Camille managed to do so well on her own. Sure she had a bit of help, but they stayed one step ahead of Sophia, learn what was going on and collect more allies along the way. My heart broke as I read the same diary entries that Camille did. I hated what had happened, hated more when I learned how the Belle’s changed over the years.

The Iron Ladies were interesting. There were times I wasn’t sure that they and Camille had the same agenda. In the end they worked well together, which made it easy to finally get close to Sophia and expose her for what she was. Along the way big prices were paid, but I think all the Belles are in a better place, although that could change at any time with the upcoming trials.

I wasn't able to read this one because the file was corrupted I'm not sure what happened but I tried multiple times on my e-reader and computer and was unable to read it. I'm still looking forward to picking up the book when it comes out though. Rating given based on expectations from book one (unable to post without a rating).

The Belles was one of my favorite reads last year so this sequel was highly anticipated for me. And I was not disappointed! I love the world that Dhonielle Clayton has created. Her descriptions are so vivid which makes it so easy to just fall into step with her characters. The Everlasting Rose picks up exactly where book 1 left off. The action starts right away and doesn’t stop until the last page. I’m not sure if this will be the last book in this series or not. You’re left with a satisfying ending but still kept the door open for more. And if she wants to keep writing in this world then I will continue to read it.

Thank you Disney for the free arc. I devoured the first book so was eager to read this one. It did not disappoint. I really enjoyed Camille and Remy and psycho Sophia. I felt the ending was a little rushed as it concluded rather quickly in a few pages. When it was over, I did not want it to end. I want more.

I really enjoyed this book, much more than I initially thought it would. After reading the first book, I was sucked into the world of Belles and needed to know more about Camille, Sophia, Charlotte, and all of the other characters. The writing continued flawlessly from the first book and it did not take long to read the entire book. Less than 24 hours actually!

There is room for more Belles books to be released, but also has a satisfactory ending if Dhonielle Clayton chooses to have it remain a duology. I loved that we found out more about the other side of the Belles and Sophia herself as she prepares to become queen.

Dhonielle Clayton spins a wondrous world of beauty and the dangers of it when beauty becomes the sole purpose of living.

What a delight to return to Clayton's world in The Everlasting Rose. I loved The Belles, so it was a pleasure to dive in what feels like conclusion of the duology. Some readers may find the pacing of this novel to be challenging, but it rushes to a finish and ties up story lines. The story is an exploration of beauty and the cost of acquisition. A must read for fans of the dystopian genre.

First off.... I don't comment on covers all that much but this time I have to say compared to the cover on the first book, this cover is not my favorite
Luckily that was not the same for the book, I really enjoyed this second book in the series, . I still totally love the world that Clayton has created. Still so very vibrant and enjoyable We get to see even more of it this time around as out group splits up , that can sometime be a bad thing in a book and is not always a favorite but it really worked this time .
I also enjoyed how much Camellia has grown and how much she believes in herself. Not just her that made a leap but everyone grew a bit in this book and since last..
Some parts were a bit slow or felt to drawn out but overall it was a very fun and enjoyable read.
If you enjoyed the first book, you will most definitely enjoy this one as well .
So overall I will rate it 4★ , Enjoyed a it very much except the few slow spots it had for me.

I absolutely salivated over this book from the moment I finished the The Belles... it was worth the wait! Everything I wanted to happen, basically, HAPPENED in grand fashion. I can't wait to get this audio to really enjoy this tale, but for a quick read because I was just so excited, this was excellent. LOVE this author and this duology has been simply amazing. Have to say... August surprised me. Not sure I really bought into that, but it didn't destroy the book for me. Great read.