Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read to this book!

I enjoyed this one and I highly recommend. I binged read this in one day!

Modern Bridgton YA story. I enojyed it and ot was very cute. It is a story about growing up in one class and making parents happy vs making happy herself.

This book was so much fun, it really wasn’t historically accurate for the period but it worked. A gay couple in France of several centuries ago? Doubt it, but it works. I wouldn’t say it is a matter of the author didn’t do any historical research; it’s more like the author decided to play with a modern take on a historical piece. It was blended in such a way that it just was fun.

If you are all about fun rom-coms then this book will hit the spot. If you were more about historical fiction? And a stickler for historical accuracy? And don’t read this book. I thought it was awesome!

The premise behind "Bellegarde" immediately hooked me! I loved the movie, She's All That, when it came out and the Bridgerton stories. The Court of Flowers Ball is coming up and Beau enters a bet in which he will assist Evie in potentially becoming the Bellegarde Bloom. I loved Evie as a character! She knew what she wanted and remained true to herself. I also wanted to reach through the story and give Beau a hug. I found this story entertaining and swoon-worthy at times! Thank you NetGalley and Harper Teen for an advanced copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

I’m obsessed!! I’ve always been a fan of historical romances and now add in my all time favorite movie She’s All That I’m sold! This story was so sweet and I’m so happy I found it.

Jamie paints a world so beautifully and the character are so well done and developed. I would recommend this book for all ages - I think everyone can find something they enjoy about it!

The audio author did a fabulous job and didn’t distract from the story.

I was so excited for a book with 1700s fashion and romance. I was excited for a historical She's All That. When it tarted, I immediately expected a time travel aspect to come into play. They were talking about people breaking up, and attending college. Co-ed college, where poor and rich all went to the same school. I legitimately expected some kind of twist to the synopsis. To find out there isn't, this is all honestly presented as 18th century Paris, immediately took me out of the story.
This has no historical effort. I don't even think a second was spared for historical research. I read a lot of historical romances. I know they're not perfect, and could never be used as examples a historian might look toward. However, there's still some historical effort. Everything about the world building, character relationships, and anachronistic language was so fiercely modern. This was a modern high school romcom but they pretend they're in the 1700s for fun.
For someone who might care literally 0 about history, but like the pretty dresses, this book could be perfect. I wouldn't even call this a breezy cozy historical. It was annoyingly out of place. "End up with" "This isn't working anymore" "Stop locking lips long enough to breath" this is literally all said within a single scene. To call this a historical is almost offensive to the work actual historical writers put into their writing. I've read YA historicals before, they can be well done, and still have a modern flair to them. This was not a historical. This was a modern book with fancy dresses.

honestly, i just couldn't get into this book. It takes a really good period romance for me to get into it. but I just coudln't connect to these characters.

This was a cute story! It was my first book by Jamie Lilac. At times it was difficult to understand the setting but overall it was good!
I strongly disliked the automatic narrator. It felt really flat.

What could be better than mixing a historical romance and one of the best 90's teen movies, She's All That? While I knew what would happen (because I love the movie), it was still a fun pool read. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced listen.

I absolutely loved this book. Evie is the baker's daughter and she is not part of the popular girl group. This story is a sweet romantic novel with some characters that we have encountered at some point in our lives. She unknowingly becomes part of a bet between brothers. It has just enough drama to keep you entertained, but not overly done. I listened to this as an audiobook and I wasn't sure how it was going to end. She has multiple choices to make at the end of the book and the author did an amazing job at how this ended. I can't wait to read more from this author.

Evie is the poor daughter of a baker. She attends school with all the rich and powerful crowd. When Beau turns his eyes on her, she is not interested. The more she resists, the more intrigued Beau becomes but he has ulterior motives for asking her out.
Opinion
This was a joy to read. The story reminds me of Cinderella where the poor but pure of heart girl gets the rich good looking guy in the end. Beau turns out to not be such a bad guy in the end and Evie is the perfect character. I loved this story from beginning to end, and will more than likely take the time to reread it in all its splendor.
Many thanks to Net Galley and to Harper Audio for providing me with a voice galley of this book.

Did not enjoy listening to this book with the AI narrator. It really took away from the story line listening to a narrator with no voice inflection what so ever. It might be better with a live narrator, but I will not give it a second chance.

Thank you Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion of the book.

Title: Bellegarde
By: Jamie Lilac

Genre:
Young Adult, Historical Romance

Recommended Ages:
8th grade and up

Summary:
Flour girl, Evie, works in her parent’s local bakery making all things delicious. In Paris, as a working class girl, Evie is looked down upon by her peers, but she is a hard worker, quick witted, with dreams and aspirations to someday be a clothing designer.

Beau is a classmate of Evie’s and lives a life of wealth, and riches. As the illegitimate son of a wealthy man, Beau and his half-brother are always competing or at odds with each other. The brothers make a bet and unfortunately, Evie is in the middle of it, enjoy the banter of the characters brought to life on the page in this story of young love.

Review:
This is a fast paced, quirky, fun middle/upper grade novel. The reader can tell early on the pace and events of the story. Lilac puts a modern day twist on the rags to riches storyline. The chapters transition smoothly between the two main characters points of view. The minor characters have depth and the author is successful in building her characterization. The side story of Beau and his father was lacking depth, and I really wanted the author to dive into their relationship more... The title and cover pulled me into reading this young adult historical romance. However, as an avid historical novel lover, I would say pass if that is your only desire to read this novel. Other than the time period, it left little history aspects for me to enjoy. The young love is sweet and I believe this is perfect for a upper middle or high school classroom.

I did begin with the audiobook, which was not professionally read. I really struggled with the narration and requested the eBook. I am sure once the book is released with the professional narration will be great!

Thank you to Jamie Lilac, Harper Collins Publishers, Epic Reads and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads
#jamielilac
#HarperCollinsPublishers
#epicreads
#Bellegrade
#netgalley
#advancedreadereditions

If Jane Austen wrote She’s All That, it would be something like Bellegarde. Jamie Lilac does a lovely job of blending historical fiction with a more modern style.
The characters are great with your main characters, typical mean girls, jealous siblings and quirky best friends.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of Bellegarde by Jamie Lilac

I had to DNF this one because of the narration (I have the digital copy, so I’m going to try again with that version). I know that the narration was generated and not the final version, but I can’t even get past it to try to comprehend the story. It’s very disappointing to not have the real audiobook, because I think I would have really liked it.

I thought that this sounded like a fun rom com romp, but was sadly disappointed in the end. Most glaringly is the plotline begin almost scene for scene a copy of the movie She's All That. While I loved said movie, this did not live up to such standards. The setting was very awkward as this was supposed to be set in a time of balls, chivalry, and large dresses (not quite medieval, not exactly revolutionary), but was muddled with an attempt at a school type location and language/actions that very much stood out. It all just didn't fit together at all. There was a lot of stretching to make scenarios work and the characters we not very relatable. This was a lofty idea that fell very short.

The narration for this audiobook was synthetic, but fairly realistic and may have been the most well done part of this selection.

This is a sweet romantic comedy that's an easy afternoon read. The story is certainly not original (Pygmalion anyone? My Fair Lady? She's All That?) but that didn't really bother me. The target audience would either not know these references, or would read it because of them. However, my issues are more about authenticity. 1. The setting is supposedly France, but there's nothing placing it there, except a few forced and very pointed mentions. Why set it in France if you're not going to SET IT IN FRANCE? 2. It's "historical fiction," set in France (see #1), yet the characters all talk like contemporary Americans. Again... why set it in the 1800's if you're not going to SET IT IN THE 1800's?

Bottom line - it's an innocuous teen romance, and if you don't think much about it while reading it (which, why would you if you're not reading for review purposes?), it's a perfectly fun story.

I'd give it a 2.5 if half stars were available.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children's Books for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

She's All That is one of my favorite romcom movies and this historical romance reminded me so much of everything I loved about the movie. Sweet and fun this story is the romantic escape you didn't know you needed. The audiobook is fantastic and I can't wait to get a physical copy for my bookshelves!

I really enjoyed the story. I really HATED the digital narrator. Before I accepted this audio book, I listened to a clip of it and thought it sounded fine. After I got through about half of the first chapter, I wanted to rip my ears off. I realize that the actual audio book will have a real narrator and am excited to hear what they sound like.

Evie Clement is of the working class. Beau Bellegarde is upper class, but born from a mistress. They have grown up together, attending the same schools. Beau makes a bet with his half brother, that he can transform any girl into the "Belle of the Ball" or the "Bellegarde Bloom" in this case. A little predictable of a HEA, but I very much enjoyed the story.

Thank you to Jamie Lilac and NetGalley for the free advance copy of this audio book.

[edit]
"Bellegarde" by Jamie Lilac is a fun and easy YA read that blends modern language, dating, and modern views with some regency quirks thrown in - fashion, carriages, royalty and social structure. The first half of the book is basically the plot of 'She's All That', with our male lead Beau betting that our female lead Evie will win the famed Bellegarde Bloom at the upcoming Bellegarde ball. We go on to find that part of Beau's plan includes highlighting Evie in his anonymously published periodical.

Despite the historical inaccuracies, which may bother some readers, Lilac creates a decadent world with jewels, beautiful dresses, and luxurious sweets, making this book a perfect light read and a quick escape from reality.

The characters are well developed, particularly Evie, who has a lot of personality and passions that we get to spend a lot of time with. Beau, on the other hand, could have been fleshed out more. The entire conversation with his father came out of nowhere and needed more build up.

There are some good moments scattered throughout the book, but they don't leave a lasting impression. The anachronisms in the modern language and sentence structure used in a historical setting felt a bit weird and could be off-putting for readers who enjoy traditional historical romance.

Overall, Bellegarde is a fun, light story that fans of 'Bridgerton' and 'She's All That' will enjoy.