Title: BellesAuthor: Jen CalonitaEdition: ARCSeries: Belles #1Released Date: April 10th, 2012Publisher: Poppy
Goodreads / Amazon Fifteen-year-old Isabelle Scott loves her life by the boardwalk on the supposed wrong side of the tracks in North Carolina. But when tragedy strikes, a social worker sends her to live with a long-lost uncle and his preppy privileged family. Isabelle is taken away from everything she's ever known, and, unfortunately, inserting her into the glamorous lifestyle of Emerald Cove doesn't go so well. Her cousin Mirabelle Monroe isn't thrilled to share her life with an outsider, and, in addition to dealing with all the rumors and backstabbing that lurk beneath their classmates' Southern charm, a secret is unfolding that will change both girls' lives forever.
Isabelle Scott knew she didn't have it all, but she was happy with that. She had friends, she had a life, and even though she didn't have her parents to guard her, she still had her grandma. Soon she is shipped to Emerald Cove to live with her uncle, who she never know about. Mirabelle Monroe lives there and Mira and
My friend was nagging me to read this for quite some time. She knew I had an ARC of it and never picked it up, and every time I rhetorically asked her what I should read, she always said "BELLES!" Finally, I gave in and picked up the novel and finished it all in one sitting.
The novel was very light-hearted in some aspects when it came to the materialistic things with Mira and her friends. Everything going on with Izzie seemed a bit more heavy and drew me in. I really liekd both of the girls as characters, but I preferred everything going on in Izzie's life over Mira's fake life.
That doesn't mean I didn't like Mira though. I actually, really REALLY liked her. She seemed like she was constantly torn between two things, and had troubles making decisions. Sometimes she would make the wrong decision, but she would soon come to her senses and make everything okay.
I think my favorite thing about the whole novel was the setting. Emerald Cove vs. the boardwalk. I liked both of them, as it pleased both sides of my fantasies. I currently live in a very chill laid back area, and I always dream of setting up a family here. I know it's not the best of places, and there are some bad things that happen here, but it's still a good place! I think that's what Izzie thinks of where she lives. On the other side, Emerald Cove is where the elite and rich live. It's not really a big city, but it's clear that it's for the upper class of society. I always wish I could live in a place as posh and wonderful as Emerald Cove, so I think that's why I liked it so much.
There were actually a lot of twists and turns in the novel! Some twists that I really liked were Izzie's romantic interest, Mira's romantic interest, and then the final outcome of the book. I think the reason I wanted to keep reading this novel was because of those twists and turns!
I'm going to give this novel four stars. It was a good novel, nonetheless, but it didn't rock my socks off. Of course I"m going to be reading Winter White soon because the next one seems even more interesting and I can't wait to get wound up in Emerald Cove again! 
