The history of Orleans is a magical tale of the God of the Sea falling in love with the Goddess of Beauty. The Goddess of Beauty loved her children so much that the God of the Sea became jealous and cursed them all "with skin the color of a sunless sky, eyes the shade of blood, and hair the texture of rotten straw." In return the Goddess of Beauty was merciful and sent The Belles.
Camellia Beauregard is a Belle and she has trained her whole life to be the best. On their 16th Birthday she will compete against her sisters to determine her place in Orleans. Camellia has always dreamed of being chosen as the favorite and placed in the Queens royal court. The Belle's blood has been blessed by the Goddess of Beauty, which allows them to modify an individual’s appearance, manner, and bestow talents. The transformations are not permanent and reserved for those that can afford to maintain their appearances. In a world where beauty is power Camellia will have to look beyond appearances to see the monsters lurking beneath the skin.
I will say that was a little worried about the message this novel was going to portray about women and beauty prior to reading it. I am happy to report that I felt the author did a great job with what I would consider a sensitive subject. The Belles is a beautifully written novel with lots of sensory detail interwoven in the writing. Although this first book in the series primarily focuses on setting up the series and introducing the characters it does begin to reveal some of the darker plots that I hope to see more of. The book leaves off with a bit of a cliffhanger so just be prepared to wait impatiently for book two to come out so you can see what happens next.
Camellia Beauregard is a Belle and she has trained her whole life to be the best. On their 16th Birthday she will compete against her sisters to determine her place in Orleans. Camellia has always dreamed of being chosen as the favorite and placed in the Queens royal court. The Belle's blood has been blessed by the Goddess of Beauty, which allows them to modify an individual’s appearance, manner, and bestow talents. The transformations are not permanent and reserved for those that can afford to maintain their appearances. In a world where beauty is power Camellia will have to look beyond appearances to see the monsters lurking beneath the skin.
I will say that was a little worried about the message this novel was going to portray about women and beauty prior to reading it. I am happy to report that I felt the author did a great job with what I would consider a sensitive subject. The Belles is a beautifully written novel with lots of sensory detail interwoven in the writing. Although this first book in the series primarily focuses on setting up the series and introducing the characters it does begin to reveal some of the darker plots that I hope to see more of. The book leaves off with a bit of a cliffhanger so just be prepared to wait impatiently for book two to come out so you can see what happens next.