The Belles

A Novel

De: Lacey N. Dunham

Narrado por: Adenrele Ojo

In this richly atmospheric, dark academia debut novel, a young woman with a secretive past will risk everything—including her life—to fit in.

Belles never tell....

It’s 1951 at the secluded Bellerton College, and Deena Williams is an outsider doing her best to blend in with her wealthy and perfectly groomed peers. Infamous for its strict rules as much as its prestige, attending Bellerton could give Deena the comfortable life she’s always dreamed of.

She quickly forms an alliance with the five other freshmen on her floor, and soon they are singled out by the president’s wife as the most promising girls of their class, who anoints them: The Belles. They walk the college’s halls in menacing unison, matching velvet ribbons in their hair. But no sisterhood comes without secrets, and the Belles are no exception. Playing cruel pranks on their dormitory housemother and embarking on boundary-shattering night games, the Belles test the limits of the campus rules.

But as Deena begins to piece together the sinister history of Bellerton, her own past threatens to come to light, forcing her to make a dangerous choice. A chilling and seductive coming-of-age story, The Belles is an excavation of the dark side of girlhood, the intricacies of privilege, and the unbridled desire to belong at any cost.

©2025 Lacey N. Dunham (P)2025 Simon & Schuster Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A delightfully dark, Southern Gothic suspense. The Belles, as they call themselves, are the envy of their classmates, but with disappearances and accidents around every corner, what price will they pay to belong? With haunting prose, The Belles drew me in and kept me up late at night.” –Lauren Ling Brown, National Bestselling author of Society of Lies

"Lacey N. Dunham's The Belles is hauntingly seductive - Gothic Suspense at the top of its game! Both atmospheric and compelling, The Belles beckons you in from the first page, takes hold, and doesn't let go until the very last word. Completely engrossing! A beautifully written, tautly-plotted debut sure to captivate readers and leave them breathless." –Sophie Stava, author of Count My Lies

“Vicious and delicious, The Belles is one smart gobble of a novel. Dunham deftly explores the darkest perils of girlhood and the terrible lengths we go to in our desire to belong.” –Joanna Pearson, author of Bright and Tender Dark

Great Narration!

“We are always watching”
“Belles Never Tell!”

This was an interesting read that I mostly enjoyed. It’s a character-driven story set in the 1950’s about five young girls desperate to fit in at a privileged private college, hidden away from the rest of the world, while dying to become Bellerton’s most prim and popular.

For its time, it’s more than a girls college, it’s also a finishing school where girls are groomed into women, hoping to become trad wives to the country’s most elite men. The rule book is more than strict, thanks to Mrs Tibbert, whose sordid past turns her into a cruel headmaster. In this story, she is the epitome of the devil, doing whatever needs to be done to protect Bellerton’s reputation; including “erasing” girls that she considers uncouth. She always says, “Bellerton takes care of itself.”

The lush setting is beautiful yet eerie as the school is high in the mountains, covered in fog, and completely surrounded by haunted forests. The author’s writing style is deliciously descriptive, making me feel the tension, fear, pressure, terror, and emotions of the story and each characters.

Deena, the main character, is harboring a deep, dirty secret. She is not like the other girls, and she will die before anyone finds out. All of “The Belles” are suspicious and hiding something. This was the catalyst that made me keep reading. Deena’s story is one of survival and horror as she tries everything to fit in and appease the seemingly demure copper haired leader of the group, Ada May, who is Bellerton Royalty.

The dynamic of this group of young female “friends” is not very friendly. At first they seemed supportive and helpful with each other as they all adjusted to life at Bellerton. Silly little games here and there, late nights in South Hall bonding them together.

This eventually turns into Mean Girls but with more twisted games, violence, deception, and physical abuse amongst them. Ada May is cruel and manipulative but maintains an outward appearance of being the perfect good girl. As the story goes on, secrets are revealed and mysterious events happen, the girls become more and more obsessed with punishing each other for breaking their own rules. Bruises and blood become a sense of pride and belonging, so does donning a stupid little ribbon. “Who cares, it’s just a yearbook,” is the wrong thing to say to Ada May.

This book gets much darker and spookier than I expected, as the actual ghosts of the past return, horrifying things start to happen, and all truths are set free. We finally understand the real meaning of “Bellerton takes care of itself.” In general there is a lot going on here.

Deena is warned time and time again to leave! But she has no where to go. Even when she thinks she is finally safe from her past, she isn’t. She’s asked to prove herself constantly, taking what she thinks is hers, making her grandmother proud.

A second timeline tells us where each girl ends up, but doesn’t reveal enough leaving too many loose ends after all we went through with them. Deena’s secret is left unexplained properly and I want to know more about Ada May.

I wanted more from the ending like a conclusion wrapped up in a tidy package, but the book just ends. I even checked to make sure I didn’t miss anything! I still have so many questions. Maybe others won’t find the ending so abrupt. Overall I did like the book enough to give it 4 stars. I love character sketches, the TV show Gossip Girl, and a good psychological thriller.