Belles Trial (Belle Series Book 2)

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Instead, they get tortured to death for a cruel princess's power kick. I am so incredibly furious at this book. But I am also glad beyond belief that I went into the book having been spoiled for this character's death. Not how, but at least that it happens. Because it was fucking awful reading about it having known it was coming, I wouldn't wish anyone to read it without foreknowledge. The plot was kind of boring for the best part of pages. Honestly, if you're going to have a book that long, get things moving a bit quicker.

There was the occasional hook to keep you interested, but I really just skimread most of it. Maybe it didn't help that I knew about the spoiler beforehand, but also I read one chapter and realised I didn't actually like the premise. So it wasn't an auspicious start. The writing was occasionally purple prosey, but overall pretty good. As for the characters, I only liked three of them and they hardly really appeared and one of them died, so thanks for that. All that might ordinarily have lead me to rate this book 2 stars, but then that happened and I was too angry to ever rate it higher than 1.

Honestly, it doesn't even deserve that many. View all 14 comments. Mar 06, Roshani Chokshi added it. Longer review to come, but for now, this was the blurb I gave. I really adored it. It's a deliciously horrifying slow burn that will leave you reeling. Jul 21, Jill rated it really liked it. Jul 09, Erin rated it it was amazing Shelves: You know what the worst thing about reading a book that doesn't come out until February ? I have to wait at least 2 years for the 2nd book. The Belles is about a society in which a small class of girls control beauty The Belles.

I'm not sure if the world in this book is a future version of our world or a fantasy world but I loved it. I don't want to give anything away since it doesn't even come out for 7 months. I will say this though, I think The Belles is going to the book of Who do I You know what the worst thing about reading a book that doesn't come out until February ? View all 4 comments. The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton is the first book of the young adult fantasy series by the same name. Camellia Beauregard is a young girl who was born into being a Belle, one that holds magic and can control beauty. Camellia and her fellow Belle The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton is the first book of the young adult fantasy series by the same name.

Camellia and her fellow Belle sisters have been competing to find which of them will become the favorite Belle and thus earning the right to serve the royals. The Belles certainly had some very interesting ideas going for it but for me the pacing on this one just seemed way way off. The book began extremely slowly and ended at a furious pace, not that I minded the pick up at the end but I would have liked more balance and interest in the beginning. And while it seemed to be a ton of world building I still found myself with questions that were either pushed to the end or left unsaid so for me this was just a so-so beginning to the series.

For more reviews please visit https: Click here to enter! Feb 09, Kristen rated it it was ok Shelves: Okay, I've seen enough. I can't do it anymore. But that wasn't the worst part. If it were better, I would have taken my good old time and turtled my way through it. However, this book wasn't just slow. The main character was incredibly unlikable. She was stiff and uptight and had a horrendous superiority complex.

We had to listen to her go on and on about how great she is. She was also just k Okay, I've seen enough. She was also just kinda mean to people. Like the way she talked to some people. I would HATE her in real life. The obligatory love interest in this book was laughable. In a world where Belles aren't even allowed to date, why even bother with the forced romance? The two had absolutely no chemistry.

He would try to be suave and then she would be an ice queen. Her personality sucked so hard. For the first pages we have to suffer through her going on and on about how she's the best, most talented and a shoe-in for the "favorite. The antagonist was a mega-heel super villain.

The writing was stiff. The idea of this book is original, as well as the cool teacup lions and bears, hence my giving it 2 stars. However, there were quite a lot of unoriginal elements. Nothing new to see there. The magic of taking the color from a rose and putting it onto someone's face as magic makeup is the exact same magic trick that I read about last month in The Grisha Trilogy. I'm not trying to say that the author downright stole these ideas, but she definitely borrowed them.

I fully expected this to be a 5 star read for me. Now I kinda want my money back. My feelings on this are quite mixed. I liked aspects, but disliked others, was intrigued and excited at times, but also bored at others. POC main character, interesting world, diabolical villain, beautiful descriptions I liked Camille, and her character growth through the book There were a fair few plot twists that were great too The Bad: The pacing wasn't the best in my opinion, as I said above. L My feelings on this are quite mixed. Like we did get a good overview of the world and how the Arcana works, but it didn't feel quite as structured as I would've liked it to be.

Also the descriptions were a little over descriptive too, as well as a bit repetitive Overall this was an okay first book in a series, but it didn't blow me away I'm not sure If i'll continue the series yet. It'll depend on the description of the next book I suppose, but at the minute, I don't think it's likely. View all 3 comments. Sep 08, Tomi Adeyemi rated it it was amazing. Someone online described this book as Marie Antoinette with magic and I would have to agree!

Lush, luxurious settings, great prose, a dynamic cast of diverse characters, and scary parallels to our real world. Additionally, I've never read such a diverse fantasy where all different types of beauty are celebrated and exist so seamlessly within the same room. This was the first book I ever got as a reader where picturing everybody in any scene allowed me to picture a diverse array of skin tones and Someone online described this book as Marie Antoinette with magic and I would have to agree!

This was the first book I ever got as a reader where picturing everybody in any scene allowed me to picture a diverse array of skin tones and body shapes and it was incredibly refreshing! I can't wait for this book to blow up the world!! Also the fact that this page book took a slow reader me 2 days to finish, should tell you something! It's a luscious escape! Mar 24, Sara rated it liked it Shelves: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Just like the beauty described within, The Belles is beautiful yet ultimately flawed. Camellia is a Belle, blessed by the Goddess of beauty with the gift to change the appearance of the people of Orleans, who have been cursed to be born grey and without colour. Trained from birth along with her sisters, Camellia sees it as her duty to offer such an important service and wants nothing more than to be picked by the queen as the favou I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Trained from birth along with her sisters, Camellia sees it as her duty to offer such an important service and wants nothing more than to be picked by the queen as the favourite, honoured with the role of beautifying the royal family. The descriptions of the environment, the girls and their beauty treatments are lush, detailed and full of colour although very food orientated at times, especially in relation to skin colours.

There are hints of Japanese teahouses and rich carnivals that help to define the world and ground it in a sense of its own reality. The glimpses we see of the wider world outside of the palace were often the highlights for me, as they were so vibrant and intriguing. I would have liked more time here. The pacing is slow, especially in the first half of the book as nothing really seems to happen other than meeting a large number of characters that seem to serve little purpose.

However, the mysteries and intrigues encountered by Camellia on her journey had me hooked. Which I admit, did irritate me. The main characters, for the most part, are ok. Camellia as the main protagonist is the standard YA heroine. Special gifts, but with a rebellious heart and a need to bend the rules. Naive, yet a good egg.

She was likeable enough to carry the story, but a bit bland. There was no bite and no feistiness. No depth to her character. Her sisters all follow a similar vein, although we rarely see them, which was a shame. There was potential here to develop a strong bond of female characters that I thought was wasted.

Sophia was the main draw here, as she makes a great antagonist. Unpredictable, lashing out when you least expect it, and coming up with some devious and often awful deeds to make others suffer. With the Belles, their power and most importantly their beauty. The secondary characters, unfortunately, are the main downfall here. They seem to be thrown under the bus on multiple occasions just for the sake of the plot, instead of being properly developed. Or be used as a pointless plot device. It was deeply disappointing. I want more from my YA these days.

I think by the end, this was my final impression of the Belles. It was pretty, but without any real substance. Will I continue on to read the next in the series? Feb 27, Kassidy rated it really liked it Shelves: Mar 19, Laura rated it really liked it Shelves: Imagine a world where beauty rules everything and matters more than anything. Every Belle wants to be the favorite Belle - the one to serve the Queen and royal family herself, and of course be revered as the most talented and beautiful Belle of all.

Will bein Imagine a world where beauty rules everything and matters more than anything. It soon becomes clear that what the Belles know of the world might not be completely true. The Belles are presented to the kingdom on their sixteenth Birthday when they will soon learn of their placements.

The Belles

Other than the favorite, the Belles are assigned to tea houses where they will make those who come to them beautiful. The favorite Belle must do what anyone in the royal family asks.. We follow Camellia throughout her Belle journey, going where she is placed and meeting whoever she meets. There are six Belles in total this generation. Camellia has a deep love and appreciation for her sisters, but especially Ambrosia. It's fun to learn about the world along with Camellia, as the presentation at age sixteen is the Belles' first time out into the world.

Before that, they remain where they grew up. So we experience the world with a slight sense of naivety. There are so many gorgeous, vibrant descriptions throughout when it comes to the setting, dresses, food, people and just about everything. You can't exactly tell a story with beauty playing such a key component in the plot and not have lush descriptions.

It is absolutely marvelous.

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Nothing feels overwritten, truly just pulling you deeper into the world Clayton has created. The story is certainly a slow burn, at least for a while up to the last pages or so where things really speed up. I found myself thoroughly entertained throughout needing to know what is truly going on with the things that don't seem quite right. And, on top of everything, there is an exploration of beauty, race, identity and perception. I am so looking forward to the sequel to this one. Jan 23, Kaitlin rated it really liked it. This is exactly the kind of book I love when I'm looking for new YA releases, it's filled with innovation, great character moments, action and intensity, drama and emotion.

Honestly, this book was an absolute blast to read, and I am super excited to follow the series and see where this world goes. We follow the Belles, the god-like beauties who are able to transform people's bodies and make them beautiful Each Belle is raised in a carefully cultivated environment, and they have to compete to become the 'favourite' of the Queen.

Once the favourite is decided they will be assigned their own tea houses where they will do their transformations. Camille is our main character, she's a Belle who longs to be the favourite, and yet she has an experimental streak to her and she loves to try new things. This tendency towards breaking the rules often lands her in trouble, but nothing more so than when the favourites are chosen and the roles assigned.

What I loved about this book is that not only was it a really strong story and the entertainment factor was great, it was also filled with messages about beauty standards and what they mean. Overall, this book had pretty much all the makings for an excellent YA fantasy, and it kept me enthralled throughout. Jan 31, Crazy4Books rated it it was amazing Shelves: In The Belles we follow Camilla, one of the new Belles presented at court. In a world where everyone is born grey, Belles are the only ones who can bring beauty and color to the people through the magic given to them by the Goddess of Beauty.

Camilla and her closest Belles sister Amber both covet the postion of Queens Favorite and have been training really hard all their lives to be chosen. Once at court Camilla discovers some secrets that changes her perspective on what it means to be a Belles.

Now she must decide if she willing to break all the rules to save the people of Orleans. Camilla was a caring, ambitious and inquistive character. I liked how she tried to make things work without being all selfless and giving up on her dream of being the favorite Belles at the first sign of trouble. I also loved how she believed people were beautiful the way they were and how much she cared for her sister Belles. The sisterhood she had with the other Belles was amazing but I would have liked a little bit more of it. Im sad that her maid Bree was pretty much forgotten because I really liked her.

I also thought the villain was really compelling. She was smart, manipulative and frankly terrifying. I thought the writing was very beautiful, but it took me a few chapters to get use to it. To be honest, I was just so happy to finally find a book with enchanting writing that didnt slow down the plot. With all the wonderful visuals and whimsical world building I think this would make a great movie. This novel was highly entertaining.

I enjoyed all the unique and charming touches the author added to her story, but Im still not sure how those post balloons work. All that food gave me a major sweet tooth. The mystery kept me turning the pages well into the night. We discover how Belles come to be and why they retire so young as the Camilla does. Not having all the information was a little confusing at first, but I ended up loving how the information was delivered. The last pages were intense and I cant wait to get my hands on the sequel.

These tweets makes me want to take this review down since the author obviously doesn't want it but I got this book for review so Ill be keeping it up. View all 8 comments. August 5 8 Sep 01, The Belles, by Dhonielle Clayton- 4 Stars! The Belles - Discussion Thread 1 6 Jun 30, Dhonielle Clayton is the co-author of the Tiny Pretty Things series. A former teacher and middle school librarian, Dhonielle is co-founder of CAKE Literary—a creative development company whipping up decidedly diverse books for a wide array of readers—and CO Dhonielle Clayton is the co-author of the Tiny Pretty Things series.

She's got a serious travel bug and loves spending time outside of the USA, but makes her home in New York City, where she can most likely be found hunting for the best slice of pizza. Other books in the series. The Belles 2 books. Books by Dhonielle Clayton. See All Goodreads Deals…. No trivia or quizzes yet.

Now, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now, she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew. Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA.

Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deep into Wonderland. Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable - more sisters than friends.

Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs. Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares.

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers - especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, whom her family can never know about. When assassins ambush her best friend, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing herself as one of a pair of prophesied queens: To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven elemental magic trials.

If she fails, she will be executed One thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a fairy tale to Eliana Ferracora. A bounty hunter for the Undying Empire, Eliana believes herself untouchable - until her mother vanishes. Laia is a Scholar living under the iron-fisted rule of the Martial Empire. When her brother is arrested for treason, Laia goes undercover as a slave at the empire's greatest military academy in exchange for assistance from rebel Scholars who claim that they will help to save her brother from execution.

I am the rightful heir of Innis Lear. To secure my place on the throne, I must produce an heir. Yet, my ambition is cursed. No matter what or whom I must destroy, I will wield the magic of Innis Lear. My sisters hide in the shadows like serpents, waiting to strike our ailing king. I must protect my father, even if it means marrying a stranger. At one of Manhattan's most elite ballet schools, wafer-thin ballerinas pull their hair into sleek buns and lace their pointe shoes high, waiting for their chances to shine.

But beneath the pretty, polished surface, these girls are hiding some terrible secrets and telling some twisted lies. Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orleans, Belles are revered, for they control beauty, and beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orleans, 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 Orleans 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 Orleans and its people at stake, Camellia must decide: I'm so proud of this book. It hits some points that aren't always popular with our youth and frankly most adults. I found it thought-provoking and ultimately disturbing in what you realize about our society. It made me think of how we may inadvertently say or do things as parents that could make our children believe that their appearance is more important than it should be. As for the story itself, it focuses around a group of young girls Belles who are charged with making the citizens beautiful.

An entire people who HATE the way they look and put beauty above all else. Beauty is more important to be beautiful than rich.

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The story is a slow drama with no real action scenes but is still able to keep you on the edge of your seat. From the beginning you are made aware that something is off with their situstion. The excitement comes from seeing how far rabbit hole goes.


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The author has a straight forward writing style. I didn't particularly like the ending as it cuts off in a wierd part of the story. I will admit I was quite intrigued after seeing the cover. There aren't many people of color used as lead characters in the Fantasy Genre. Then after learning this novel was associated with Disney, I thought it might be all lollipops and rainbows. Instead the author has written a story that challenges what some might the standard of beauty and the emphasis we put into our outter appeareance. Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent?

Why or why not? No, I couldn't even get through it.

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I got about half way and had to give up. At first I was very charmed by how 'pretty' the book felt, how it set the tone. But then it turned out to be just filler. I pre-ordered it for Kindle and then used a precious Audible credit on the audiobook. You might be thinking "but there are so many good reviews for this"! Let me tell you a secret about Audible: But after you do that the site prevents you from leaving a review.

I learned that the hard way. This really inflates the reviews on Audible. So I'm carefully leaving this review before I try to return this book. The main character, Camille, behaves nonsensically whenever possible. I would say she's unlikable but the things she does are so bizarre that she's not even a character to me, she's just a vehicle the author drives around. She does dangerous things when no one would just so that she can meet X character or see Y event.

Camille needs every bit of information spoon fed to her. And while she'll think endlessly about some unimportant thing, she'll have completely forgotten the really important, scary information she does manage to get through her thick skull. Why is Edel, the white, not-main-character so much more interesting?!

The Belles (The Belles #1) by Dhonielle Clayton

What am I supposed to do with that?! Two white girls do all the brave stuff! Again, bewildering for a sensitivity reader but perhaps sometimes we're blind to the problems in our own work. If you had told me this was written by a well-meaning but ignorant white woman, I would have believed you. Most of the book is filler.

Princess Mirror-Belle

It's padded with repetitive descriptions of things we already know about, over-explanations, like when you're in school and trying to meet a word count. When it began a third time, the men retreated to the gate entrance. They explored the wiring to the lights looking for a reason for the noises. They went back to the first cave room but heard a rumble near the entrance.

Walking back to the entrance they discovered the rumble was noise from a jet. As they reached the gate, a loud, high pitched scream emanated from inside the cave. The journalists left and did not spend the night. Sanders, owner of a nearby gas station, reported 20 years earlier he ran out of gas at night near the Red River across from the Bell Witch Cave.


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He began to walk towards town when a rabbit came out of the woods and began to follow him. Sanders walked faster, but the rabbit kept pace even as he broke out into a run. After a mile, Sanders sat down on a log to catch his breath. The rabbit hopped up on the other side of the log looked at him and said, "Hell of a race we had there, wasn't it? According to Radford, the Bell Witch story is an important one for all paranormal researchers: All the significant facts of the story have been falsified, and the others come from a source of dubious credibility.

Since no reliable documentation of any actual events exists, there is nothing worth looking into.

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Dunning concludes, "I chalk up the Bell Witch as nothing more than one of many unsubstantiated folk legends, vastly embellished and popularized by an opportunistic author of historical fiction. Joe Nickell has written that many of those who knew Betsy suspected her of fraud and the Bell Witch story "sounds suspiciously like an example of "the poltergeist-faking syndrome" in which someone, typically a child, causes the mischief.

Amy Fluker, a researcher of the Mississippi version of the legend while affiliated with the University of Mississippi , has expressed the Bell Witch legend has other value. It does matter that people believe they are. As a result, they can help us understand the perspectives, in this case, of 19th and 20th century Americans. There have been several movies based, at least in part, on the Bell Witch legend.

Roger Clarke, former film critic for The Independent , argues the legend has also had a measurable influence on cinema such as in the Poltergeist film series, the found footage Paranormal Activity film series, The Witch released in , the trope of burial ground disturbance in The Amityville Horror , and the apport of cherries to the children in Mama released in An American television series — Cursed: The Bell Witch — based on descendants of the Bell family trying to end the curse.

The Legend of the Bell Witch in The play was written by Audrey Campbell. First performed in by the Sumner County Players. A play by David Alford, Spirit: Seattle-based doom metal band Bell Witch took their name from this legend. Merle Kilgore recorded a song titled "The Bell Witch" in Madeline recorded a song titled "The Legend of the Bell Witch" in From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For other uses, see Bell Witch disambiguation. United Kingdom United States World. Death and culture Parapsychology Scientific literacy. Barksdale, Clarksville Leaf Chronicle. Chapter 8, Part 3". Bell Witch Folklore Center. Archived from the original on 19 March Retrieved 26 November Webb 31 August American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore 3 Volumes.

Archived from the original on 7 March Retrieved 26 May Ghosts and Strange Phenomena of the Volunteer State. Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. Chapter 8, Part 1". Retrieved 30 June Chapter 8, Part 2". The Infamous Bell Witch of Tennessee. Retrieved 13 December Ghosts of the Bluegrass. University Press of Kentucky. The Bell Witch of Tennessee and Mississippi: The Journal of American Forklore. Imbrogno 8 July Unveiling the Hidden Agenda of Genies. Chapter 8, Part 6".

Archived from the original on 17 January New England Farmer Volume 11, Number 4. Retrieved May 20, — via Newspapers. Green Mountain Freeman Volume 13, Number 7. Retrieved 1 December The Library of Congress. Retrieved 20 May Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press. Archived from the original on 10 March Retrieved 23 November Retrieved November 30, — via Newspapers.

Nashville Union and American. Retrieved 30 November Retrieved June 12, — via Newspapers. Retrieved November 28, — via Newspapers. Retrieved July 22, — via Newspapers. The History of Robertson County. The Goodspeed Publishing Co. Retrieved 29 November University of North Carolina Press. The American Historical Magazine. Retrieved June 28, — via Newspapers. The Nashville Tennessean Vol. Archived from the original on 29 October Retrieved 3 December Retrieved December 1, — via Newspapers. Retrieved June 17, — via Newspapers.

Retrieved November 29, — via Newspapers. Retrieved June 9, — via Newspapers. Retrieved 8 December — via Newspapers. The Bell Witch Folklore Center. Archived from the original on 3 March The Secrets of the Bell Witch. Chapter 8, Our Family Trouble". Demystifying the Bell Witch". Retrieved September 16, In Fred Hobson, Barbara Ladd. The Oxford Handbook of the Literature of the U. Retrieved 19 December Archived from the original on 17 September Archived from the original on 13 November Archived from the original on 3 October The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture: Univ of North Carolina Press.

The Cincinnati Enquirer Volume 9, Number Retrieved 21 May — via Newspapers. Hopkinsville Kentuckian Volume 25, Number The Tennessean Volume 32, Number The Tennessean Volume 82, Number The Tennessean Volume 60, Number The inimitable Charlie Willett". Retrieved 14 June The Tennessean Volume 72, Number The Clarion-Ledger Volume 33, Number The Tennessean Volume 81, Number The Clarion-Ledger Volume , Number Retrieved 24 May Retrieved 9 June Retrieved 22 May Retrieved 23 May The New York Times. Retrieved 27 November Retrieved 5 December The Tennessean Volume 71, Number Retrieved 10 December The Tennessean Volume 29, Number The Tennessean Volume 63, Number The Tennessean Volume 74, Number Writer's deal with the devil".

Retrieved 29 June American folklore and tall tales.