Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: The Beauty Trials (The Belles #3) by Dhonielle Clayton

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the THE BELLES SERIES REPACKAGE by Dhonielle Clayton Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

Title: THE BELLES SERIES REPACKAGE

Author: Dhonielle Clayton

Pub. Date: February 14, 2023

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, audiobook

Find it: 

THE BELLES- Goodreads, https://books2read.com/The-Belles

THE EVERLASTING ROSE- Goodreads, https://books2read.com/The-Everlasting-Rose

THE BEAUTY TRIALS- Goodreads, https://books2read.com/The-Beauty-Trials

Read THE BELLES (book 1) for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited Membership!

From Book 1:

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.

Dhonielle Clayton creates a rich, detailed, decadent world of excess and privilege, where beauty is not only skin-deep, but a complete mirage. Weaving deeper questions about the commodification of women’s bodies, gender equality, racial identity, and vanity with high-stakes action and incredible imagery, The Belles is the must-read epic of the season.

Review of book 1: The Belles

Review of book 2: The Everlasting Rose

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

The Beauty Trials by Dhonielle Clayton
Series: The Belles #3
Published by Disney-Hyperion on February 14, 2023
Genres: YA Fantasy
Pages: 352
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Format: Hardcover
My Rating:
Goodreads

Blurb:

In this all-new novel from the world of Dhonielle Clayton’s sweeping, lush Belles series, rebellious, outspoken, fan-favorite Edel Beauregard enters the Beauty Trials―a deadly competition to find the next Queen of Orléans.

Sophia, the dangerous and erratic former queen, has been imprisoned, restoring peace to Orléans. Now her sister, Charlotte, sits on the throne and has decided to invoke the ancient tradition of the Beauty Trials―a series of harrowing tests meant to find the true ruler of Orléans. Edel, who has always aspired to be more than a Belle, decides to enter and, after promising to bind her arcana to keep from having an unnatural advantage, joins a few dozen other hopefuls intent on becoming the next Queen of Orléans.

But the Trials are far worse than any of them bargained for. As the women are put through tasks that test their strength, confidence, composure, and bravery, many perish, and Edel is mysteriously attacked by one of the other competitors―forcing her to use her powers just to survive. Will her subterfuge cost her the crown, or is there a larger conspiracy at play?

New York Times best-selling author Dhonielle Clayton returns to her sweeping, lush fantasy series with an all-new story teeming with high-stakes court intrigue and danger disguised by beauty.

My Review

So it’s been quite a while since the second book in the series came out. And at the time I thought some things weren’t quite wrapped up, and I’d hoped for one more book at least. So I was very excited when I heard about this one coming out. And overall, besides a little bit of time spent remembering the first two books at the beginning of this one, and a little rushed feeling at the very end of the book, I really liked this third book. I have to say towards the end I also wondered if this might be leaving an opening for another book. As with the second book, I feel this wrapped things up, but that we could still see another book and there would be more to read and enjoy, even if it seems the major villains might be gone.

There was a lot of action you might say in this book. Lots of intrigue into where all the Belles had gone, and how they were still be used against their will. And then there were the Beauty Trials themselves. Once or twice I will say there were some things that happened that almost seemed not explained, or jumped to without a lot of context for what was happening. But there were also a lot of twists and turns and unpredictable things that kept my attention as I turned pages to finish in less than two days.

And I have to also mention that once again, the same thing I noticed with the first two was the vivid and beautiful, if sometimes horrible scenes of this world that the author painted with her words. Definitely a series I can continue to promote with my students and will be excited to share this new addition to the world.

About the Author

Dhonielle Clayton is a New York Times Bestselling author of The Belles series, the coauthor of the Tiny Pretty Things duology which debuts as a Netflix original series soon, and the author of the forthcoming MG fantasy series The Marvellers. She hails from the Washington, D.C. suburbs on the Maryland side. She taught secondary school for several years, and is a former elementary and middle school librarian. She is COO of the non-profit We Need Diverse Books, and co-founder of CAKE Literary, a creative kitchen whipping up decadent—and decidedly diverse—literary confections for middle grade, young adult, and women’s fiction readers. She’s an avid traveler, and always on the hunt for magic and mischief. 

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Giveaway

1 winner will receive all 3 paperback copies of THE BELLES SERIES REPACKAGE, US Only.

Ends March 14^th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule

Week One:

2/6/2023	YA Books Central	Excerpt/IG Post
2/7/2023	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt/IG Post
2/8/2023	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post
2/9/2023	Vamplit	IG Review
2/10/2023	iamjustanothersoul	Review/IG Post
2/11/2023	Forthenovellovers	Review

Week Two:

2/12/2023	More Books Please blog	Review/IG Post
2/13/2023	GryffindorBookishNerd	IG Review
2/14/2023	onemused	IG Post
2/15/2023	Ohyouread	IG Post
2/16/2023	Books With A Chance of Traveling	Review/IG Post
2/17/2023	Emily Ashlyn	IG Review/Facebook Post
2/18/2023	beersbooksboos	Review/IG Post

Week Three:

2/19/2023	pluvioreads	Review/IG Post
2/20/2023	Lisa Loves Literature	Review/IG Post
2/21/2023	Confessions of the Perfect Mom	Review/IG Post
2/22/2023	A Dream Within A Dream	Review/IG Post
2/23/2023	@carlysunshinebooks	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic
2/24/2023	OneMoreExclamation	Review/IG Post
2/25/2023	A Bookish Dream & @a_bookish_dream	Review/IG Post

Week Four:

2/26/2023	travelersguidetobooks	IG Review
2/27/2023	Author Z. Knight’s Guild	Review
2/28/2023	Stacialovestoread	Review/IG Post
3/1/2023	@katherinebichler	TikTok Post
3/2/2023	A Blue Box Full of Books	IG Review/LFL Drop Pic
3/3/2023	popthebutterfly	Review/IG Post
3/4/2023	Book Reviews by Alison	IG Review

Week Five:

3/5/2023	Book-Keeping	Review/IG Post
3/6/2023	@froggyreadteach	IG Review
3/7/2023	@drew_ambitious_reading	IG Review/TikTok Post
3/8/2023	Momfluenster	IG Post/Facebook Post
3/9/2023	@enjoyingbooksagain	IG Review
3/10/2023	@thebookishfoxwitch	IG Review