I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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—save herself and her sisters and the way of the Belles—or resuscitate the princess, risk her own life, and change the ways of her world forever.

Short and Sweet Review

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle, and in the world of Orleans, Belles are important because they have the ability to make things beautiful. The citizens in Orleans were cursed by the God of the sky making them all gray and look lifeless, but the Goddess Beauty made Belles to help make things beautiful again. Camellia and her sisters arrive at the Palace to display their talents and one of them will be chosen as the Queens favorite and go on to live in the palace and make the cosmetic changes the royals request. All Camellia wants is to be the favorite but once she gets the opportunity to become the favorite she realizes things aren’t as great as she thought they’d be. Now Camellia has a chose to go along with what the Princess wants or follow the Queens orders.

The world of Orleans is actually very interesting, people are either born gray and not exactly beautiful, or you’re born a belle and your job is to make things beautiful. Camellia is a belle and she usually goes above and beyond and gets creative, which catches the eyes of the people of Orleans. Unfortunately Camellia isn’t picked as the favorite, her sister Amber is, but when Amber isn’t able to fulfill her duties Camellia is called in instead. At the palace Camellia meets Princess Sophia who is off, she’s mean, a tyrant, and will go out of her way to make people uncomfortable. The other Princess Charlotte is in a coma like state and the Queen asks Camellia to bring her back, at first Camellia isn’t sure but after dealing with Sophia she knows that Sophia can never become queen so she agrees to help Charlotte. There was a bit of a romance between Camellia and a guard (Remy) and one of Sophia’s suitors (August). There was also a bit of mystery about where Amber was and why she got kicked out of the palace and another one of Camellias sister Edel goes missing. I had a love hate relationship with Camellia. She was determined to do what was right but she wouldn’t take advice from other belles who tried to tell her to be a little more inconspicuous. Camellia drew a lot of attention to herself and there really wasn’t any reason for it, and because of that she became an easy target for Sophia. I’m hoping in the next book Camellia has some character development and stops putting herself and others in unnecessary danger

The ending was fast paced and left on a cliff hanger and a lot of things were answered, but I’m excited to see what happens in book two!