Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Belles

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The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

10 reviews

brookey8888's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was fun and different!

I’ve never really read anything like this plot with the changing how people look and the power it might bring. This starts off kind of slow but after like 150ish pages o was entertained and wanted to know where the plot was going. I liked the main character even though she annoyed me at times. There’s a slight romance in this which was fine, but I’m hoping there’s a bodyguard romance in the next book, but I’m sure I’m wrong.

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goldenwing's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Beautiful descriptive language created a vivid world and the world building was so interesting. The pacing felt a bit rushed towards the end and I was a little bit frustrated by some of the characters choices in the ending chapters (although it's a refreshing thing to have flawed characters at least) but on the whole I really enjoyed it and would definitely read the next in the series.

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cdoubet's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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notsobinaryart's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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thenovelbookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Camellia and her sisters are born to make and create beauty in others. So when she is asked to obey and do as she is told, she finds not everything and everyone is as they seem.

The Belles is an epic fantasy adventure that I found hard to start, but as the story picked up pace, I could not put down or stop reading.

The character development is very deep and thorough, the storyline plays on our vanity as humans and asks how far will we go to be beautiful.

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ashleereadsbooks692's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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lagiven's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The prose of this book is the best part because it creates the perfect atmosphere for its world and parallels the obscene opulence that centers the Belles. At times, the writing is juxtaposed against horrifying scenes that make this book so fascinating and so disturbing. Most of the characters are solid although some are flatter, and the plot really picks up in the last third of the book.

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Belles is a delicious dystopia with some of my favorite twists and tropes. I regret sitting on it for so long, but it was just what I needed right now – an engaging story with an excellent world and interesting characters.

Dystopia is such a popular genre – there are so many post-apocalyptic stories that feel like carbon copies of one another that it’s exhausting. The Belles offers something different – not a vision of Earth in its shattered future, but a different world altogether whose “perfect” society is not so perfect when you look at its bones. In Orléans, Belles like Camille are revered because they can change the appearance of their clients and make them beautiful – all within the law, of course. They can also touch a person’s personality, removing their anger or adding to their charm. It’s a temporary fix for the red-eyed, grey-skinned citizens of the kingdom, who envy the Belles for their natural color and shape.

And, as can be expected, there’s something sinister lurking in the shadows. Or, more to the point, within a usually blonde, overly sweet-at-first princess. Which is much better than finding evil the shadows.

Where do I start talking about the things I loved about The Belles? Other than the world, which was lovely, I adored the sisterly relationship. While I liked the dynamic between all six girls, Camille and Amber’s relationship is wonderful. It is written so well – there’s a balance of love and bitter rivalry that suits siblings. It’s a complex relationship, which makes it interesting and believable. Up until about 85% through the book, I was ready to come here and complain about Camille/August’s flirtation, but that ended up good. No more spoilers on that.

Character deaths properly enraged me in the way Clayton intended. After a while of getting to know the antagonist, they weren’t surprising deaths… but oh, I desperately wanted them not to happen. Clayton is a writer who follows the pull of her story. You can sort of tell when an author chooses the path between the best possible story and saving a character or making a point. It feels forced, awkward, or at least it does to me. Clayton is brutal in the best way – she came here to tell the story of The Belles and she tells it well.

A couple technical notes about the writing and the narrator. First of all – the pacing is excellent. I devoured this book. But it’s worth noting that Clayton uses foods repeatedly to describe things, particularly skin tones. She’s not particular, and uses these descriptors for all shades of skin. I completely understand the need for a variety of adjectives in a world so obsessed with color it constantly needs to be described. If a writer must use color to describe skin tones, I feel Clayton did it the right way for the right reasons.

Second, I want to take a moment to acknowledge Rosie Jones, the audiobook narrator. The voices and accents Jones uses in this reading are fantastic. I particularly adored Sophia’s – it added an entirely new level to the character.

I would like to enthusiastically endorse The Belles to any readers interested. The conversation on beauty standards, the exploration of different kinds of relationships, and the look at use/abuse of power is fantastic. On top of that, The Belles is an entertaining story and extremely well-written. I enjoyed my time in Orléans and look forward to the next book.

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saroshnandwani's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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georgereads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

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