Well, I am so glad that the library has the sequel to this, because I want to read it immediately! This was really good. If I'm perfectly honest, I did get a little frustrated with the heroine and how long it could take her to get her arse moving, but she was very like the queen in that regard. Sorry, your highness, but if you birth a monster you don't get to wait until the very last minute to decide no, maybe I should do something about this. The people of Orleans don't need another Belle, they need a guillotine - both for the monster and the mother who refused to handle her.

That said, the worldbuilding here is fascinating. The concept is so original. It's not something I likely would have picked up on my own - special girls, born to make other people look beautiful - but I saw it recommended and thought I'd give it a go and I read the whole thing in a day, compulsively. The focus on the price of beauty is only to be expected, but the imagery is gorgeous and the prose really wallows in aesthetics - how things look, how they smell and sound, and I love prose like that so this was right up my alley. Aside from her lamentable tendency to dawdle and prevaricate, I liked the main character too, and I loved her sisters - especially Edel. I'm excited to see where the story goes from here. I love that pretty much all the main characters are women, and that their talents and interests are seen as entirely valid. You like pretty dresses? Good for you! There's none of that denigration of the feminine that so often lobbied at, for instance, Sansa Stark. There's critique of some aspects of it, yes, but there's respect for it as well. Good for the author, they've done an amazing job there.

Also, that bitch princess better not hurt that sweet little teapot elephant. I would be most upset.