I had a hard time thinking exactly what to say about The Belles. There were definitely things I liked about it. The prose is lush and the world building is thorough; you really get a sense of the bewildering, extravagant society in which the characters live. I did appreciate the way 'beauty' wasn't defined by hard and fast rules, so that there were different fashions, and the inability of the Belles to alter their own appearances was a nice touch. Also there was the food. (Seriously, read this book if you really love dessert.)
On the other hand, people in this society suffer so much to keep themselves looking as gorgeous as possible, and it didn't feel like any of them thought very much about how horrible this fixation on beauty could be. I would have liked to see more exploration of that, but hopefully the sequel will address it.
On the other hand, people in this society suffer so much to keep themselves looking as gorgeous as possible, and it didn't feel like any of them thought very much about how horrible this fixation on beauty could be. I would have liked to see more exploration of that, but hopefully the sequel will address it.