I read The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton earlier this year because she was coming to ReadUp Greenville (the local YA author’s conference). The book definitely took some getting used to since it’s fantasy world takes a little getting used to (read the review here). However, as the story goes along, you do get sucked into Camille’s tale.
The Everlasting Rose continues the story where the last story left off. On the run and hiding from beauty-obsessed Princess Sophia, Camille and her friends must find a way to try and stop Sophia’s reign of terror. Camille is determined to find all her Belle sisters (girls who grew up with special talents—arcana—to change people looks and personalities) before they are abused by Sophia, who wants to control all beauty changes in the country. But Camille cannot do it alone and reluctantly accepts help from the Spiders, an underground web of women who reject beauty treatments and want to purge the empire of it’s beauty obsession.
I think I liked this one more than the first only because it had more espionage and spying with the first book focusing more on setting up the fantasy world and it’s infatuation with beauty. Camille, her sisters Amber and Edel, and her guard Remy are all wanted criminals, so their plotting and scheming to get away from Princess Sophia—who has eyes and ears everywhere—was interesting to see. The one part that was a little bit of a let down was the ending. It seemed rushed and hasty. I still had many unanswered questions, but it feels like it could be the end of the series…maybe?
Overall, it was an enjoyable YA fantasy read.
**Thank you Net Galley for this free copy in exchange for an honest review.**
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