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.
Rating: 3.5 Stars
The Belles was a book which reminded me a little of The Hunger Games meets The Selection with the dystopian theme with a mix of fantasy in it. The descriptions and the society were lush and pretty which shows how much effort was done interns of world-building.
Interestingly enough, the Belles took me a while to actually get into despite the glowing reviews I had read. I failed to get into the context of the book till about halfway through where everything fell into place. To be honest, the book felt a tad bit too long and could have been cut by at least 50 pages.
The main plot revolved around beauty and social class. The Belles provide a different sort of beauty in the otherwise dark and dystopian world. There were also various different themes including love and friendship. As well as the gap between the social classes divided into colours.
What I liked about the book was the relationship between Camellia and the Princess and the overall story.
Thank you to Pansing Books for sending me a finished copy of The Belles for review purposes.
Now available at all major bookstores!
The Fiction Magnet 
I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while. I’m not that into dystopian but this sounds incredibly interesting!
LikeLike