[Review] The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Series: The Belles #1

Rating: 4.5 stars

Release Date: February 6th 2018

Format: ARC 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, 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 Orléans 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 Orléans 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.

THIS BOOK.

I was already excited to read this book, and then I found out from my Professor for my YA Creative Writing course that it is actually going to be on the required reading list, and the author will most likely visit in May, I HAD TO GET ON THIS BOOK ASAP.

Of course this book is coming out today and that is also why I'm reviewing here today, but still, I'm glad I got on this sooner and not later.

The Belles was a really unique concept and I just can't get over that. We've got a lot of magical worlds, princesses fighting to be the last one standing, Romeo and Juliet-esque loves, that sort of thing, but this really took the cake on a book that took a very widespread and familiar issue in society, did a total 180 degree flip and made a completely unfamiliar yet totally plausible world with it. Dhonielle Clayton does an excellent job of crafting the world of Orleans and executing the story so that not only are we astounded by the glitz and glamour of this world, we can draw back to the real world and find the connections she makes between Orleans and societal problems.

[Review] Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Rating: 5 stars

Format: HC

Release Date: April 7th 2015

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

[Review] Gilded Cage (Dark Gifts #1) by Vic James

Gilded Cage by Vic James

Series: Dark Gifts #1

Rating: 2 stars

Format: ARC Paperback

Published: February 14th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

In modern-day Britain, magic users control everything: wealth, politics, power—and you. If you’re not one of the ultimate one-percenters—the magical elite—you owe them ten years of service. Do those years when you’re old, and you’ll never get through them. Do them young, and you’ll never get over them.
This is the darkly decadent world of Gilded Cage. In its glittering milieu move the all-powerful Jardines and the everyday Hadleys. The families have only one thing in common: Each has three children. But their destinies entwine when one family enters the service of the other. They will all discover whether any magic is more powerful than the human spirit.
Have a quick ten years. . . .

[Review] Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Series: Renegades #1

Rating: 3 stars

Format: ARC Paperback

Release Date: November 7th 2017

Goodreads Synopsis:

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.
The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone...except the villains they once overthrew.
Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

[Review] Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely

Gunslinger Girl by Lyndsay Ely

Rating: 3.5 stars 

Released: January 2nd 2018

Format: ARC Paperback

Goodreads Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Serendipity "Pity" Jones inherited two things from her mother: a pair of six shooters and perfect aim. She's been offered a life of fame and fortune in Cessation, a glittering city where lawlessness is a way of life. But the price she pays for her freedom may be too great....
In this extraordinary debut from Lyndsay Ely, the West is once again wild after a Second Civil War fractures the U.S. into a broken, dangerous land. Pity's struggle against the dark and twisted underbelly of a corrupt city will haunt you long after the final bullet is shot.