Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Belle of the Ball

This book was initially going to be a five star read for me but its rating was ultimately brought down by the ending’s inability to properly resolve each storyline.

The romance was SO cute at first. Like, I was enjoying the romance so much it was giving me comfort on the level of Heartstopper. Belle and Chloe fit together like puzzle pieces. The second chance romance aspect and their history gave depth to their connection, and they had some great interactions. But about halfway through the book the love triangle aspect still hadn’t been addressed and I started to stress about whether it would be concluded well…and it wasn’t. It’s only RIGHT at the very end (like, final five pages) that it’s finally sorted out. I also feel so bad for Regina because she only broke it off with Chloe because she felt in the way of her and Belle, not because she realised that her relationship with Chloe was toxic, so she was upset and everything. Also, the last-minute resolution made me question the depth of Chloe’s feelings, because SHE didn’t choose to break it off with Regina first.

The character development was similarly half-baked. The characters are set up in the beginning for development in the following areas: Chloe in learning what she wants and how to assert that, Belle in embracing femininity, and Regina in learning school/life balance OR finding friends who support her drive to do well in school. However, we don’t see Chloe actually assert what she wants (either with Belle or college), we don’t find out why Belle rejected femininity in the first place, and Regina neither finds balance nor people who support her drive. They kind of remain the same people throughout.

Even though there were these negatives that dropped my star rating so suddnely at the end, the art style was always fantastic. The pink monotone palette was such a good choice for the tone of the book.

Rep: lesbian Jewish MC, lesbian Japanese-American MC, lesbian Brazilian-American MC

Content Warnings

chasingpages1's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

bookrokosmos's review

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funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

wends_nblw's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Okay. So, there's some jumbled thoughts in my head.

I did not like Regina. I didn't find a single trait of hers redeemable. Spoiler-ish :

Spoiler

She pre-planned Chloe's life, uses Belle's crush against her just to get free tutoring and attention, and is overall just sort of obnoxious.

I initially didn't like Chloe either because of her treatment towards Belle, but honestly.. if someone had been hitting on my boyfriend, I wouldn't be super kind to them either. Nor did I understand why she was dismissive towards Regina until the middle.

Spoiler

It becomes very apparent that Chloe doesn't respect their relationship because Regina doesn't respect it either. Their relationship is honestly just a placeholder for Gina's 10 year plan.

Wasn't a fan of the cheating. I don't understand why Chloe didn't just break up with Gina, especially when

Spoiler

she doesn't care at all when Gina breaks up with her, over text of all things! She even seems a little happy and relieved by it since she can be with Belle now

All in all, it was good, but I wasn't a fan of certain aspects
or if you want the funny tldr : this is the average sapphic experience.

Content Warnings

avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

If you're looking for cute, slow-moving, fluff this is a pretty good book, if you wanted much more depth though, it's sorely lacking. There was pretty poor character development for some of the characters. And other than the 3 MCs, I don't think anyone else, but one, even got a name! For 313 pages I would have liked some more characters. Also the weird black boxes were just annoying. Overall it was cute and fluffy and not much else.

Content Warnings

karcitis's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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