When the Goddess of Beauty neglected her lover, the God of the Sky for her human children, he cursed them with Gris, making them ugly and grey. The goddess spent her whole life trying to bring their beauty back, but she couldn’t do it alone, so she created the Belles.

That’s the story of how the Kingdom of Orléans came to be, and today’s society revolves around the commodification of beauty. The Belles are revered for their skills in changing outward appearences, manner and talents, and Camellia Beauregard is eager to put her arcane gifts to use as the Favorite of the royal palace. She wants to follow her Maman’s mantra of making everyone’s beauty mean something. She’s ambitious and willing to do anything to stand out and make her clients uniquely beautiful as well.

But being the Favorite as the royal court is not everything she thought it would be. She hears crying late at night and mentions of other Belles which should not be possible as there’s only six official Belles.

There’s Princess Sophia who challenges Camellia to do grander and more creative beauty modifications, encouraging her to use up her power and drain her. Yet if Camellia doesn’t comply, she witnesses Sophie’s more sadistic obsessions.

Then there’s the Queen who begs Camellia to use her arcane to heal the elder princess, a feat that is a misuse of her natural gifts and potentially fatal, but with Sophie on the precipe of gaining the throne, is it worth Camellia’s death so a monster won’t reign?

Camellia is unsure of what to do, and her isolation and the secrets surrounding her only draw closer around her like a noose. Everything Camellia ever knew about being a Belle is a lie, and she begins to realize maybe being a revered Belle isn’t a blessing but a curse.

Firstly, Clayton has created such an admirable heroine. Camellia isn’t content to follow rules. In fact, it can’t get a bit annoying that she is so contrary to following the smallest rules like staying close to her guard when she is in obvious danger in court but I digress. That willing to break the rules serves her well as it works in tandem with her ambition. She is able to see beauty beyond trends and what others think they want, but see the patterns and unique features that can be highlighted to amplify the beautiful features people already have.

But as anyone can guess, when it comes to beauty, it can get twisted into an obsession. You focus on what you don’t look like, covet what others have, believe certain features, tones, hairs are superior to the other, and you have to look the best at all times. In appearence, in manner, in talent, everything.

That’s the plight Princess Sophia deals with and it’s made her completely unhinged. Perhaps, there’s a bit of sadism in it too. But Camellia can sympathesize with Sophia to a point as she recognizes the girl’s willingness to do anything and her ambition as a parallel to her own. They both have to work harder than their rule following, naturally gifted counterparts. They want to make a mark on history, they want to make their mothers proud. Yet Camellia has the heart and moral boundaries that Sophia lacks. Of course, Sophia’s princess so she’s used to getting what she wants making her a dangerous adversary to cross.

As for the other princess in the coma, the culprit is obvious once you put the clues together, and unlike what the summary says, it’s not a big part of the boook until the ending, setting up the sequel. However, it did bring up interesting questions about the arcane lore of this universe as Camellia researches whether her gifts can not only affect beauty but control life and death too. The whole world-building and magical lore is cohesive and tight, giving real meaning to the phrase “beauty is pain” and demonstrates that the Belles’ lives are more sheltered and transactional than Camellia realizes.

She sees her role as a sacred duty, but she is bound by many rules and restrictions. There are many benefits and the phrase “Whatever the Belle wants” but it’s not truly carried out. She’s a commodity as much as any object, an ornemental tool who’s supposed to obey, if she doesn’t, she can get thrown out. Her responsibility is a gilded cage and Camellia becomes frantic when she realizes she can’t safely disobey or escape. She is doubly concerned over the fate of her sisters once she realizes Sophie, and the du Berry’s (their Madams aka their trainers) true natures.

Camellia’s relationship with her ‘sisters” is very heartfelt despite the distance and isolation between them. It adds to Camellia’s emotional turmoil and the stakes in general as Camellia has to navigate her own safety with the other Belles who have no knowledge of the capitalist bargaining over their gifts and bodies though readers see the letters sent between them that show how they’re being burnt out by their spoiled clientele.

Camellia also has hints of romantic connections. Something that is very exciting for her as she’s never been alone with a man before. It’s forbidden as she’s more of a divine tool than a person, but she can’t deny the curious attraction she has to Auguste, son of a sailor. Supposedly distractions and romances will poison her blood that affect her arcane but she likes the excitment and desire he ignites in her.

I don’t trust Auguste. He’s too charming and keeps popping out of nowhere. Plus his ‘teasing’ comments of how she’s an ornament and commenting on her own beauty makes me think he sees her as just another posession to covet. There’s a reason for this and basically, my suspicions are correct but even I didn’t guess how deceptive he is. The other option is Camellia’s ever-frustrated yet surprisingly sweet guard, Rémy, who is far superior because he sees her as a human (albeit one he doesn’t understand) and bodyguard romance tropes are gold.

Finally, Clayton’s descriptive imagery is amazing. I can imagine the opulence, and beauty of the world. I know, I’m overusing the word but it’s the whole point of the book and Clayton does a great job in describing the versatile gorgeousness and luxuriance that paints this world from the wallpaper to the clothes to the skin tones to the food. Ugh, the food. This book made me hungry, everything is suagr-dusted and sweet and spilled champagne, I could feel my cholesterol rise like a gluttonous dream.

This was an amazing start to an incredibly twisted world of allure, vibrant characters, and high-stakes power that comments on our perceptions of beauty standards. I can’t wait to read the next one tomorrow.