Belle by Anonymous Girls: Review

Posted March 22, 2017 in review Tags: 4 stars, fairy tale, high school

Belle by Anonymous Girls
Pages: 364

Series: Tangled Royals #1
Genres: New Adult
Source: ARC

Isabelle “Belle” March is a nobody. A nothing. A Peasant. No one even knew who she was until one of the Royals, Adam “Beast” Castle, decided she was hot enough to ignore the hierarchy at our school—a hierarchy I myself set in place. I run this school, and the Upper East Side, too. Here at H.E.A., we stick to a strict social status, something most of Manhattan does, too. So when Beast starts dating Belle? All hell breaks loose.

Royals shouldn’t date Peasants, and you’re about to see why.

Oh, and please don’t buy this thinking you know how this story is going to end. You know nothing. Nobody here at H.E.A. plays by the rules, or follows the books. The only one who knows anything around here is me…

And I’m not telling anyone a thing.

XOXO,
Elsa

Fairy tale retellings have become all the rage lately. Its a trend I am okay with really. Better than some of the other trends…. So, when Anonymous Girls approached me with their 1st book, Belle, I decided to take a chance. Belle is giving us two trends: fairy tales and unknown authors teaming up using a pen name!

1 part Gossip Girl, 1 part Pretty Little Liars, 1 part Fables, with a dash of Disney and Mean Girls, Belle is the story of Isabelle March and Adam ‘Beast’ Castle. But, then, its really not their story. Its the story of how they DON’T end up together. Full of high school drama, mean girls, peer pressure, and more drama, Belle is a fun twist on the story. You get to meet lots of the other Characters as well: Elsa and Anna, Aurora, Hook, Ella, Charming, Snow, Ariel, etc. I am curious to see how their stories will be flipped!

So, about Belle. I enjoyed the story and thought that the character of Belle was great. Typically high school ‘nobody’ who wanted to be somebody. She wanted things to be different at her school. So, when Adam notices her, she thinks this is her chance to tame the beast and change the dynamic of her school. Ah, high school naivety at its finest. Obviously, her plans go awry as the mean girl leaders are not willing to let an interloper into their ranks and Adam is NO gentleman. Belle has to deal with the cruel gossip and try to fend off her boyfriends advances while deciding what is worth fighting for anymore. Is Adam cheating? Is Charming going to stay with Ella? How the heck does Elsa know everything? Its all very teen angst and, surprisingly, I was okay with that. I am normally one who avoids angst like the plague, especially teenager angst because I teach high school, and well, thats my whole damn day. But, I found myself enjoying Belle and looking forward to more!

Also: this is a book I feel confident sharing with my high school students. While sex does occur in the story, its not descriptive and its well handled.