Belle: Beast Hunter is about a well-endowed female monster hunter from a long line of monster hunters. A series of attacks leave her scrambling to defend herself and those she loves, and trying to solve the mystery behind these incidents so she can put a stop to them. Sounds good, right?

Things I enjoyed about this book:

There are lots of female characters in important roles.
Those women are tough and smart and strong.
They have conversations with each other that aren't just about men.
There didn't appear to be any romance in this story.
The shots of the male monster hunter showed him shirtless, so he was not any more appropriately clad for battle than the women.
I'm sort of curious about what happens next.

Things I did not like about this book:

The first 3/4 of the book felt very repetitive. I didn't feel like the plot really got moving to anything other than monster fighting til the last quarter of the book. Otherwise it seemed to be about Belle getting the snot kicked out of herself and complaining about her life sucking.
The costuming. Aside from a brief section in a jumpsuit, Belle's clothes are offensively sexualized and impractical. If you are fighting vicious fanged/ clawed monsters, would you really leave uncovered access not only to your enormous breasts but also, I dunno, YOUR HEART? IMO she could have melted down those fancy epaulets and made herself a handy breastplate. Besides, ladies wear sports bras for a reason. Breasts, especially large ones, have a habit of flopping around inconveniently when one is active and they are inadequately restrained by like, say, a very low cut shirt. And don't even get me started on the impossible gravity of the strapless costumes. Straps under the armpits don't count.
The anatomy. and the way it was featured. Belle was remarkably well-endowed, which was always on display. And the artist loved to frame that and her butt as the central focus of the scene. Seriously? it's a tense action scene, and you flash to a shot that focuses on her spandex clad rear as she's fighting??
The way many scenes were framed. Not just the butt and boobs shots, but also the fight scenes. They were deadly fights between monster and woman...yet they managed to look sexualized and kinda rapey, like creepy 80s advertisements.
I really didn't get how this was in any way connected to Beauty and the Beast. This is not a retelling. All that I noticed that they had in common was inspiration for the costume and similar coloring.
I did not like this story enough to slog through future editions to find out what happens, so now I guess I won't get closure.

In summary? I was probably not the intended audience for this book. I'm sure there are plenty of fanboys who are, however. I enjoy reading graphic novels with fantasy/ paranormal/ superhero themes, especially ones starring strong females. But this was just super disappointing and unappealing to me. I guess I should be glad that I got this free from Netgalley.

If this sounds like something you'd enjoy more than I did, the publication date is January 15, 2019.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. *

The synopsis of this one caught me -- Belle, hunting beasts? I was so down. This seemed like a very different type of retelling and since I don't have much experience reading comic retellings, I was excited to start this one.

I will say, that usually one of my biggest problems with comics is the pacing. While the pacing still bothered me, it isn't as bad as a lot of others I've read. We aren't skipping days and hours, but if I'm understanding the book correctly, just a few days passed. The thing is it is pretty much nonstop action with little to no down time to explain, so explanations are interrupted.
Yet, I don't think the story is really suffering from it. While I still have so, so many questions I was able to follow the story pretty well. Except for the villain's motivations. Once the villain was introduced, I didn't feel like their motivation or explanations truly made sense.

I do like Belle's personality and fighting ability. She is a fun MC to follow, although I wish the action scenes were better depicted since they could be hard to follow and many times Belle seems overpowered. Unfortunately, some of her actions make absolutely no sense, which hindered the storytelling.

So, I'm currently in between liking the story and not really caring about it. This is one I would recommend people who like re-tellings and comics or action-packed comics.

It’s an action-packed story about a bad-ass female hero who’s hunting beasts and monsters until it’s her that’s being hunted.

At first, I wasn’t really into it because I rarely read graphic novels but the phenomenal and detailed graphics made me want to read more. It’s exciting because the title of this graphic novel is somewhat similar to the fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast… But Belle is hunting beasts! The story is fast-paced and the female hero is kind of funny. The action scenes have a potential and a little room for improvement because it felt like it was lacking in power. While on the other hand, the stunning illustrations of the brutal scenes are presented very well.

Moreover, there are some parts in the story that were hard (sort of) to follow. Also, the female hero is too perfect for me but the sudden twist of events and characters are remarkable and unexpected. I’m happy that I gave it a try because if I didn’t, I’d probably regret it!

All in all, I like it! Indeed, it’s an interesting story that will make you want to read the next volume.

This is a spin on Beauty and the Beast, where Belle is a bad-ass beast hunter. Belle's family have been fighting in wars for years, on her father's side, but her mother's side is a long line of beast hunters and belle is determined to carry on in the family trade. She fights beasts, rather than falls in love with them, and she's watched over by Candlestick -a father-figure in her life.

This graphic novel was enjoyable. It was a collection of all the volumes of this story, which is nice to read in one sitting. I would recommend it to anyone who likes great action stories, or retellings.

Imagine Belle as a superhero or a beast hunter to be exact. In this re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast, Belle hunts beasts and other mythical creatures. It's like Belle meets the Dark Knight. She even has a decked out motorcycle and her suit looks a lot like a Batgirl suit. This volume focuses on building the world and introducing the characters. It took some time for me to get into the story. There were some gaps in the story and the big reveal at the end was not set up well. The next volume has the potential to much better now that it's past the origin.

This has got to be the most unique interpretation of Beauty and the Beast I’ve seen yet, and I feel like that’s saying something. Every trope and expectation formed from previous incarnations is torn down and stomped upon for this retelling. In some ways that felt liberating, in others horrifying.
In Belle: Beast Hunter, Belle isn’t some helpless damsel in distress. Nor is she someone I’d consider to be bookish, for the record. Instead this Belle hunts beasts. Specifically beasts of the sort that go bump in the night. It’s her family’s specialty, apparently. Think a weird mash-up of Beauty and Van Helsing, and you’ve sort of got an idea of what is going on here. Hrm. Maybe Helsing isn’t the best comparison. Think Trevor Belmont. That’s a more accurate comparison.
This was an interesting read, to put it mildly. In some ways I loved the complete change in interpretation of Belle and her life. In other ways it felt heavy handed and forced. I think that mostly depended on what was happening moment to moment, as I read.
For example, the rose theme, while beautiful…is probably not terribly practical for gearing up and fighting monsters. But hey, I could be wrong. It’s not like I’m the one with the family business of hunting monsters.
Speaking of, I did like the twist with Beast. It was unexpected, and not a complete reversal of the original character. It showed that the authors really were trying to make the plot work, while also making thematic matches.
I’m not sure how I feel about the series being set in what looked like modern, or almost modern, times. I almost feel like the series would have done quite well if they had kept it in the time period it was originally set in. I know it would have been abnormal to have a female fighting in that time and place…but based on the family history it sounds like that was happening anyway, so why not? Plus it would have allowed them to have more fun with period appropriate clothing.
All in all I’m actually pretty happy I gave this series a try. I think I would pick up the next volume, given a chance. I say that without being sure if there’s going to be a next volume. They wrapped things up in such a way where they could choose to go forward, or leave it as is. I’m not sure what their decision will ultimately be there. It may depend on the sales of the series.

Beauty and the Beast is one of my all-time favourite fairy tales. All the nods to familiar names and characters is cute, and the artwork is lush ... but ultimately, I'm not warming up to this retelling.

A decent comic, I appreciated that the style seemed to improve with each issue.
As far as a story goes, if you want something fast and action packed with very random twists and turns, this is a very good comic to read.
It isn't super heavy in the fantisy element if you are looking for that.

This one really lost me at the "big reveal". I didn't particularly care for Belle. I hoped for a smarter character.

I REALLY enjoyed this. The art style was gorgeous and the story line was fun. I will totally check out more from this series.

Exciting take on the classic fairy tale, turning Belle into a monster-hunting superhero. I particularly appreciated the details in the drawings (like the roses on Belle's Armor).

This was a Beauty and the Beast retelling. It was definitely interesting story to read. Art style was amazing. I really enjoyed it. I can't wait to read other volumes.

So this Beauty and the Beast retelling is like Batman meets mythology and a badass heroine who has a lot of monsters to take on. Although the story was interesting, I saw only action and not that much plot-wise. I do expect to read more soon!

Belle, from Beauty and the Beast fame, has been moved into our era and turned into a monster hunter. With beautiful artwork in classic comic book style and a lot of cool monster fights, this definitely appeals to both fans of superhero comics and fans of fairy tales.

I wasn't a fan of this comic at all. I ended up DNFing after page fifty because of the fact that the main character seemed to not actually be serious about anything, and the dialogue was *too* much (by that, I mean there really wasn't anything but sarcasm and meaningless information). Don't get me wrong, the art style was super nice. The plot, characters, and overall tone of the story just didn't match that.

This was certainly an interesting take on The Beauty and the Beast. The art style was extraordinary and I enjoyed the action scenes a lot. I don't read many comics, more graphic novels, but this made me wanna check out some others.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Wasn’t sure what to make of this, I love the art style but the storylines were very confusing. And unsuitable armour for the heroine, I kind of felt like it was a typical fantasy storyline. Not sure if I will continue to read the series.

This was honestly SO COOL! Seriously go pick this up when it comes out you won’t be disappointed. The art style is great and the story was great too.

Belle volume 1 is rushed. I really wanted to like this, I love the art and her costumes (especially how it changed) but the villain didn't make sense given what we (the reader) were told, and there were tons of plot holes. I would give the second volume a try though to see if it gets better; sometimes first volumes are just so busy with set up.

Belle: Beast Hunter is a unique take on the timeless fairy tale with the addition of lots of legendary creatures. The premise of Belle hunting monsters carries a lot of promise. I really enjoyed the last half of this volume as Belle really came into her own in this story. Twisted with some surprises the story builds until in the last three issues it really draws you in. The art is cool and expressive, while the colors are little dark. Belle vows to be a take no crap heroine with plenty of sass for a memorable character to revisit. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.