First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!

“The God of the Sky fell in love with the Goddess of Beauty after the world began.”

FIND OUT THE BOOK BELOW!!!!

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THE BELLES by DHONIELLE CLAYTON

The first lines I used are from the epigraph and man did it completely hook me! I am a complete sucker for all things mythology, so seeing the mythology set up for this fantasy world not only had me incredibly excited, but it also helped establish the world and set the tone for the story! I’m just over the halfway mark and I’m really enjoying the story so far – it’s so lush and descriptive and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

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.

The Belles comes out February 6th, so make sure you grab your copy asap so you can read this as soon as it comes out. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. And check out Dhonielle’s website to see her inspiration for the story and to learn more about the vibrant world of Orléans!

Pre Order Links:

AMAZON | BN.COM | KOBO | POWELL’S | INDIEBOUND

Are you excited for THE BELLES? Have you read Dhonielle Clayton’s other books? What’s your favorite flavor of macaroon? Share below!