The ‘tale as old as time’ has always been a lie…
There was no such thing as a “beautiful girl who stumbles into an enchanted castle and falls for a beast.”
My older sister is a liar, and she’s always been far more calculated than that.
I don’t blame you for buying into her compelling fairytale, though.
She’s always been an incredible storyteller.
Truth is, deep in The Whispering Woods, far past the Seven Sinful Kingdoms, several secrets remain untold.
They’ve lain dormant for centuries, protecting the true hero of this story, a dominant “villain” destined for Hell…
Until now, until me.
The other Belle…
Title : The Other Belle
Author : Whitney G
Format : eARC
Page Count : 195
Genre : Fantasy Romance
Publisher : Self published
Release Date : November 4, 2022
Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★
Micky’s 3 star review
Headlines:
Irreverant retelling
Cameos from many fairytales
The Other Belle starts with a semi-familiar stance on Beauty and the Beast but with some differences. As this story rolled out, it combined and included a number of other fairytales, brief glances of characters outside of this known world. Belle was an abused member of her family but she was also a snarky character with a valid chip on her shoulder.
Gaston was very hot and cold in his behaviour, sometimes noble and caring but often ignorant and dismissive. He and Belle were a strange but sometimes worthy pairing.
I had problems with the pacing and flow of this story. The chapters were short, which is a win, but they sometimes ended abruptly and the next chapter didn’t always seem logically placed to me. That interrupted my investment in the storyline and the characters.
I believed the chemistry between Gaston and Belle but when it came to the heat, it didn’t work for me sadly.
Thank you to the author for the gifted eARC.
A Take from Two Cities 