Book: Belles by Jen Calonita
Summary: Since the death of her mother, Izzy has been living with her grandmother in the beach town of Haborside. But when her grandmother's mental health deteriorates, Izzy is sent to live with an Uncle she's never met, who is a wealthy state senator. His campaign manager spins it as a lovely rags to riches story for the press, but the new town of Emerald Cove is not welcoming and Izzy and her cousin Mira do not get along.
Characters: This is told from the perspective of both Izzy and Mira, which is perfect, because the two perspectives help make both characters a little bit more real. From Izzy's perspective, Mira is nothing but a spoiled mean girl who is out to get her, but through Mira's perspective we realize she is just scared about her own reputation and feels trapped by the sudden arrival of her cousin.
Most of the characters seemed real, but the mean girls were really mean and had no redeeming qualities. The campaign manager was villainized a bit, and the Uncle seemed incredibly naive, but it is easy to understand his actions. However, I loved the mom, Maureen, and Mira's two brothers. Mira's love interest was sexy and charming, but Izzy's love interest, Brayden, was annoying and has a stupid name.
Plot/Pacing: The book moves fast and I finished it quickly. There is definitely a LOT of drama, but I found myself frustrated and depressed more often than not. I love conflict, but I also like to giggle a lot while I read and the happy, flirty moments were few and far between here.
I mentioned this on goodreads as well, but the end felt abrupt. It felt more like the pilot episode of a series (an east coast OC), setting up future books, than a complete story on it's own. That is one of my biggest reading pet peeves. I love series, I can deal with cliff hangers, but each book needs to do its own thing and have some kind of resolution at the end. I didn't get that here.
Moments I Loved (potential spoilers): I loved when Mira and Izzy were finally able to come together at the end. I also love when the campaign manager is fired... totally redeemed Mira's dad... well, kind of.
WTF Moments: Savannah was CRAZY. Seriously, she does nothing but make Izzy miserable. I wanted to slap her and tell her to develop a hobby. All of these rich kids and their obsession with money and status was kind of sickening. I think that was the point, but still.
Overall: A cool concept and a fun read if you miss The OC and love stories about mean girls.
Reading Challenges: This book counts toward the following challenges: 356 pages toward the 15,000 page challenge. Track all my progress on my 2012 Challenges page (which I know, I really need to update).
EDIT: I forgot to add my rating. Belles gets a FakeSteph rating of...
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I have heard so many great things about this book. This seems like a nice quick summer read.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a fun summer read!
Deletei do miss the oc!! great review!!
ReplyDeleteI'm totally in the mood to rewatch the first two seasons. Seth and Summer and Seth and Ryan's bromance.
DeleteGreat review. This sounds like a intersting book. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting. :)
DeleteOooh! This is on my own TBR list! Sounds so good!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing,
Dani
My TBR pile is WAY too big. So frustrating. I want to read everything all at once.
DeleteWell, I would say this was definitely an interesting review! I'm not sure if this book is for me though. What was your final rating?
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add the kisses.. whoops. Actually, I think I deleted them accidentally during editing. I added them back in. Thanks for letting me know it was missing. :)
DeleteGreat review! I haven't heard much about this book but I think I will check it out. I enjoy a fun and quick read. I also used to love The OC and really miss it!
ReplyDeleteTraci @ The Reading Geek
This definitely has an OC vibe. I totally need to rewatch that show. It was so good.
Deleteinteresting review! this one sounds okay... not sure it's a book I'd enjoy, but your review does make me think more about it. and I love the cover. have you seen the hardcover ones? the person is the interior design and the dust jacket is the orangey "Belles" part and when you pull it off, the person is all there, not just her eyes. :D so cool.
ReplyDeleteI LOOOOVE book covers like that. I haven't seen this one, but I'm sure it's gorgeous.
DeleteI've heard about this book a lot. I love the cover, but mean and rich girls are not exactly my thing.
ReplyDeleteLol, Brayden. That's one stupid name.
Thanks for the review!
I know... that name drove me nuts. I'm usually not into rich mean girls (no ones ever going to do it better than Mean Girls), but this one was pretty enjoyable.
DeleteAgreed and agreed! I hate when books don't make me giggle at least once. Where's the authors sense of humor?! I also need books to have a resolution even if they are part of a series.
ReplyDeleteSoooo true. I like to giggle. The Fault In Our Stars made me giggle and that was about cancer. John Green has spoiled me for all "serious" writers.
DeleteGreat review! Although this is not something I would normally read, but I'm quite intrigued by the different family dynamics you described. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI don't always read books like this either, but I did like the family dynamics. I looooved the mother and the two brothers.
DeleteI hate abrupt endings. Would it kill them to write another 10 or 15 pages? I think not. I'm bummed you didn't like it more, but I'll still probably read it. Eventually. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'll give you my copy. Let me know when you want to read it.
DeleteGreat review. Probably a little rough being a Debut Author...I think. Its one I want to read, but keeps getting pushed around, rightfully so.
ReplyDeleteThis one is pretty good. It's not painful, but it didn't blow me away either. It's a solid book, just not one I'm going to rave about. I liked Calonita's Secrets of my Hollywood life a bit better.
DeleteThough not the genre I usually read, I like the sound of this book. Great review.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit different from what I read, too. Thanks. :)
DeleteI've been seeing this around, but didn't really know what it was about. Sounds like a good read, and maybe something nice and quick.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely quick. I wished I had read it by a pool.
DeleteHmm. Mean girls with no redemption?
ReplyDeleteThanks for review though!
Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Those mean girls drove me nuts!
DeleteI think 3 stars is fair. I really liked it, but I knew exactly what to expect. I've read everyone of Calonita's books and they're all cookie cutter. But they're still fun for pure enjoyment. I think this was the best written of her non-Secrets of My Hollywood Life books.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was well written. If it had made me a bit more giggly, then I might have given it 4 stars. I just couldn't get behind the main romance. The mean cousin's romance was way cuter and that was soooo minor in the book.
Delete"but Izzy's love interest, Brayden, was annoying and has a stupid name" lol! I look at some of the names in these books and I'm like, "Really?" Some of them are just so weird... ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with you about how books in a series still need to have their own closure, even if they have a cliffhanger ending.
I love how you have those WTF moments in your reviews! So funny!
Great review! I've got this one on my TBR list, but I'll be checking out of the library when and if I finally get to it.
I can pop it in the mail to you after Kim reads it. And thanks. I like the wtf moments because there is always one of them! Most of the time, I mean it in a good way. :)
DeleteThat would be cool! Thanks!
DeleteHmm, I remember being intrigued by the title of the book, but I guess I thought it was some kind of historical YA book.
ReplyDeleteLets first discuss the cover. I liked the cover, It's secretive, what with only showing the girls eyes but it's also classy with the font. Good job with the cover.
ReplyDelete