This is the sequel to The Belles which I reviewed HERE. If you don't want anything spoiled for book 1, I suggest not reading this review. Seriously. I'm about to drop some mad truths.
I'm also having a horrendously difficult time writing this review. Some of the reasons include: book 2 was half as long as book 1. Book 1 felt like it was a fully realized world and really built itself to lead to something more in book 2, but book 2 seemed to just kind of wave some weird parlor tricks around before trying to distract with a love plot. Book 1 made it seem like Sophia was wickedly smart, scheming, and deceitful; a mastermind of sorts. Book 2 made Sophia seem like she was only obsessed with the Belles...but remotely. She had much less of a presence even though she was the main threat.
...I digress.
An amazon summary so you can think about your life choices, "In this sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel, The Belles, Camellia Beaureguard, the former favorite Belle, must race against time to find the ailing Princess Charlotte, who has disappeared without a trace. The evil queen Sophia's imperial forces will stop at nothing to keep Camille, her sister Edel, and her loyal guard, Rémy, from returning Charlotte to the palace and her rightful place as queen. With the help of an underground resistance movement called the Iron Ladies--a society that rejects beauty treatments entirely--and the backing of alternative newspaper the Spider's Web, Camille uses her powers, her connections, and her cunning to outwit her greatest nemesis, Sophia, and attempt to restore peace to Orléans. But enemies lurk in the most unexpected places, forcing Camille to decide just how much she's willing to sacrifice to save her people." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
Where we left off after book 1; Princess Charlotte was awakened and hopefully escaped the castle, Camellia escaped with two of her sister Belles and Remy, and Princess Sophia is a freaking monster that must be stopped. Also, the Queen is dead. With the Queen dead, Sophia has chosen the traitorous Auguste as her prince, and is trying to move her coronation up. Sophia also revealed that Belles can be grown in jars and plans to make Belles for everyone.
Book 2 begins with Camellia, Edel, Remy, and Amber hiding out. They're communicating with a couple people inside the palace still, but they're mostly desperately trying to stay undercover. Edel reveals to Camellia a way to alter her own appearance but wants to keep the secret from Amber. Amber is off on an errand, but when she returns, the guards have suddenly been able to find them, forcing them to flee elsewhere.
And whatever, that's enough summary because book 2 makes me so mad.
I said some stuff earlier about why book 2 makes me mad, but like seriously, once they're out of the palace and away from all the wealth/opulence of the Belles regular life, it's almost like the author lost interest in telling the story. Even though Camellia is exposed to so much more of the kingdom, and really starts to learn about the country in a way that she never could as a Belle..... it's like she still doesn't care. It honestly comes across as almost having an unremarkable conversation about unremarkable weather. It's only when they're getting into thwarting Sophia mode that the book feels more like book 1.
Plus. There's a whole secret society of Iron Ladies that they strike a deal with. BUT, they were never really brought up in book 1, and in book 2 they seem to be a SUPER convenient way to just drive a couple plot points.
Book 2 really feels like a panic to wrap the story up somehow, rather than giving a complete ending. I highly suspect there may be a book 3, but with a different character as the main focus.
I don't plan on reading it.
I didn't like how book 2 came together, I didn't like how there seemed to be things that just conveniently worked (see teacup dragons), and I didn't like how the story tried to resolve itself. It didn't feel like the true ending book 1 seemed to promise.
I'm just grumpy. I enjoyed book 1 enough that I was looking forward to book 2 a lot. But this, this didn't feel like the complete story and I'm pretty sure I don't want any more.
Happy reading!
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