Belle [REVIEW]

Title: Belle

Author: Cameron Dokey

Pages: 204

Series:  Once Upon a Time is Timeless

Retelling: Beauty and the Beast.

Summing it up: Belle is convinced she has the wrong name, as she lacks her sisters’ “awe-inspiring” beauty. So she withdraws from society, devoting her time to wood carving. Secretly, Belle longs to find the fabled Heartwood Tree. If carved by the right hands, the Heartwood will reveal the face of one’s true love.

During a fierce storm, Belle’s father stumbles upon the mysterious Heartwood -- and encounters a terrifying and lonely Beast. Now Belle must carve the Heartwood to save her father, and learn to see not with the eyes of her mind, but with the eyes of her heart.

Reason I Decided to Read it: Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite fairy tales, so I just couldn’t resist this book. The cover was really nice too.

The Good: It was a sweet story with nice characters. My favourite would be the Beast, he is caring, but is still… a beast. The characters are well-rounded and deep. There is a discussion about ‘beauty’ and ‘beauty’ which I thought was really touching and nice. Also the legend of the Heartwood Tree is beautiful.

The Bad: The plot is sort of flat, as is some of the dialog. Other than that there was really nothing.

The Over-All: It’s really sweet and beautiful. Great for a quick read.

Other: Only a couple kisses.

Rated: 3.5/5.