The Belles

In the world of The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton, almost all people are gray. But a few are full of color, and they have the ability to modify other people’s appearances, from skin color to hairstyles to bone structure and even age. These people are called the Belles, and they are said to be descended from the goddess of beauty herself.

The Belles serve in the high courts, charging the appearances of the royals and those with the financial means to do so. The highest honor is to serve the queen herself, but in order to do so, one Belle must be chosen as “the favorite” after a showcase of each one’s abilities. Taught since birth that this is the highest honor, the Belles all cherish the coveted spot, though some more than others.

Life as “the favorite” or serving in the royal house isn’t quite what the Belles expected, though. Camellia Beauregard, perhaps the most ambitious and rambunctious Belle of the new generation, discovers this and secrets that shake her understanding of everything she thought she knew.

The world-building in The Belles is one of its strongest points. The Belles are living manifestations of beauty, and the text nearly bleeds with the entire color palette. Clayton is able to turn black and white into pinks, golds, greens, browns, and white into pinks, golds, greens, browns, and the like. We see a world of floating paparazzi balloons, miniature pets, and lavish places. Clayton demonstrates/utilizes her own arcana to enliven a collection of lifeless plants.

The characters in The Belles are fine. They serve the purpose to fulfill the story. They’re not that complicated. The protagonist, Camellia, is very “rule breaking” and who colors outside the lines. Though strong and talented, she is also very naïve, which gets her into a lot of trouble. Most of the characters are one note though not distractingly so. Remy, Camellia’s guard, has the most layers and who we see develop the most.

The book has betrayal, mystery, and spectacle. The book examines celebrity and paparazzi culture. It looks at monarchical societies. The story touches on many topics though it is somewhat straightforward with a few twists.

In addition, characters of color, especially what we would consider to be “black” people in our actual world, are represented in a genre that has historically had underrepresentation. This is a refreshing change of pace, and it is one of the things that makes The Belles stand out.

The capitol city in this book reminded me of the one in The Hunger Games. Another similarity was the phrase “Let beauty always find you”, which reminded me of the phrase “Let the odds forever be in your favor.”

I listened to the audio version of this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. The author’s, what I’ll call an account, were in line with the imagery and settings you associate with a European or British royal court relating the elegance and richness of the story. Characters were read with different voices and emotions were conveyed exquisitely. Good listen.

Conclusion

Overall, The Belles is a well-written and enjoyable fantasy novel with a diverse cast of characters.  I would recommend it to fans of the genre.

Why I Chose this Book

Honestly, I was looking for another book, but couldn’t remember its name or exactly what it looked like. The book was Dread Nation by Justina Ireland. I thought that this was that. Glad I came across this one though.