4 stars.
Meet Emilie and Annette. Two girls from two different backgrounds that meet by chance and change their world. Emilie wants desperately to be trained to be a physician, but that isn’t the proper path for a lady of her status. Annette wants desperately to be trained in the ways of divination, a skill she knows she has but not the means to pay for it. A chance meeting has them switching places, risking reputation and even life for a chance to pursue their dreams. But when their country unexpectedly goes to war, they uncover a devastating plot and together take action to put a stop to the violence and change their world.
The world itself didn’t have that much description, this is very much a fast-paced story so there wasn’t a lot of time spent on the world itself. We learn a little bit of the lore, that the people follow the Lord Sun powering the noonday arts and the Mistress Moon powering the midnight arts. Night arts include things like divination and illusions, day arts include fighting and healing magic. Night arts are taught in finishing schools for girls, day arts are taught at universities for men. But all magic comes at a cost. Using magic costs a physical toll, depending on how much magic you are using and how you are channeling it. My biggest qualm with this book was that it was all very confusing in the beginning. It felt like information overload and took a long time for me to feel like I honestly had a grasp of how the magic worked, I don’t think it was until somewhere during the last 25% of the book did it finally click for me. Regardless of the confusion I liked that this magic came with a price, it was a heavy responsibility that required mastery and not just raw power, it was not some frilly, fun distraction.
The characters were amazing. The LGBTQ+ representation was amazing. While there are a lot of underlying tones of different issues such as gender roles and sexuality, this book had characters that challenged any kind of restrictions that society had for them. It was awesome. The romance was a nice touch, I loved that it didn’t become the main focal point of the characters, it was a little subtle, slowly growing in the background, not written to be obnoxious. It moved along with the story, it wasn’t a tool used to move the story along. All of the characters were so different, the friendships that formed around Emilie and Annette were so fun to read. I especially loved Annette and her little group of friends, they reminded me so much of my two roommates and myself in college, all completely different but bonded for life. It was interesting to see how the camaraderie played out between the physicians, apprentices, and hacks.
In a world of endless series, this standalone was a breath of fresh air. The ending did feel just a little rushed, but everything was neatly wrapped up. When I finished the last chapter, I had a feeling of content. I am super curious to read more by Linsey Miller and added some of her other books to my never-ending TBR list.
I was given a free ebook version of the book by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading Belle Révolte! The characters were fun, and I definitely connected the most with Annette although I think I genuinely enjoyed all of them. The pacing felt a little off to me, the beginning was longer than I think was necessary and the climax was a whirlwind with very little time to process. I think it would have done well as 2 books, but overall I think it is well worth a read.

This was a great story of making friends, adventure, intrigue, and love. It also had lots of mystery and magic. I must admit it took me the first couple of chapters to get into this book, but once I got past those, I was invested to find out what happened to all the characters. It was definitely a wild ride between Annette and Emile, both of of them in different ways had amazing adventures and mystery’s unfold in front of them. I enjoyed both and was excited when they came together. The ending is a good one and also leaves you in suspense for hopefully more to come.

A standalone fantasy novel about girls learning magic, following their calling and rebelling against class and gender expectations. Although the story was engaging (two girls exchanging their lives so the rich one can study medicine and the poor one go to adivination school) the first half had a strange pacing. The worldbuilding was explained in excruciating detail in some aspects but not enough in others, which made things confusing. Luckily the two types of magic, the divination and the healing/fighting, were original and interesting, and it was easy to forgive that they weren't easy to understand. The second the story turned into a tale of war it improved greatly. The conspiracies and plot twists were surprising but coherent, and most importantly, very satisfying. There was great queer representation; one of the main characters is an asexual lesbian and there is trans rep as well.

I wish I loved this book more. The details are breathtaking, the premise is alluring, the characters are intriguing and unique. But the delivery was just slightly... drug out for me. It’s a creative fantasy, no doubt, but I just felt as if the drama of the magic overlook the action, and it wasn’t for me.

I enjoyed this book. Unfortunately, I read it several weeks ago and cannot remember all the details.

I liked the idea and could feel the wanting of something else by both characters, but a lot of the worldbuilding was heavyhanded for my taste: sun, moon, noonday, midnight. It was hard to hold in my head as a reader. I wish it could have been introduced in a more narrative form similar to what I saw in Tehlor Kay Mejia's We Set the Dark on Fire. It's not a magic system as in Belle Revolte, but it does explain the world(Sun and Moon) in a more interesting and engaging way for me as a reader. It felt like there were some elements of story with the sun and moon magic system, but it was not as clear as it could have been, and it made it a much more difficult read for me.

I really liked this book but it was not one of my favorite books. The pacing was off for me and it was hard to pick back up again. The characters were my favorite part of the book. The plot was very interesting as well but I still struggled reading.

This is the second book from this author I've struggled with so I think Miller's books just aren't for me. In the case of <i>Belle Révolte</i>, I didn't really find the setup to be all that believable which impacted how invested I became in the story (as in, not at all). I wasn't really feeling the writing style either though I think that's more of a personal taste thing. And I wasn't interested in either of the main characters which felt pretty interchangeable. With the pacing all over the place and muddled world-building, it's a pass from me.

DNFed at 23%

A wonderful and compelling story. I knew very little about this book going into it, and found myself absolutely captivated by the politics and magical system set up.

This story really appealed to me, and I loved it. For the most part. I didn't feel like the revolution stuff was introduced until late in the book. In fact, I was still finding it hard to determine what everyone was fighting for. Once the author introduced that, the book moved at breakneck speed (no pun intended). The deaths were a little rough, but the story between the two girls was the best part.

This wasn't anything super special for me. It wasn't bad by any means, and I will definitely be picking up more by this author in the future, but this was an average read for me. It was entertaining the entire time I read it, but kind of forgettable after I finished.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of “Belle Revolte” by Linsey Miller. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I did have my eye on this book to read this year so I really appreciate getting a review copy. That being said, I did have some issues with the book keeping my attention. While there were some good ideas and interesting aspects to the magic systems, I think the pacing was a bit off throughout. There was too much introduction in the beginning setting up the story and info dumping about the world’s politics. Then the end felt extremely rushed so everything would be wrapped up since it was a stand alone story.

The story being with Emilie, a young woman of privilege swapping places with poor Annette. In exchange, Annette gets to study magic at a fancy school as Emilie while Emilie gets to study to be a physician. I expected there to be more conflict from the swap but there really wasn’t. I was waiting for those stakes and near-misses where they could be exposed in their lies and this was largely absent.

The POV switches each chapter, but I still found myself getting confused especially at the beginning. There are so many characters to keep track of between the two storylines and it didn’t help that most of the feminine names were mostly vowels and French-sounding.

There was a lot of page time wasted on explaining plans of action that you know the plan is just going to get messed up anyway. I wasn’t sure why’d there were these scenes instead of just having us in the action and a line or two about things not going to plan.

Some of the pluses for me were the LGBTQ+ representation felt refreshing. I also think there were interesting ideas with how the magic worked although there were some rather gruesome descriptions at times.

3/5 stars

This book captivated me from the very beginning. It was soo good!!!!! I seriously was glued to my seat reading it the whole time.

In this magical YA Fantasy story, we are thrown into a world of swapped places and charged rebellions. The two main characters want different lives for themselves and strive for self discovery while also battling through the war outside. 

This book dives into gender roles through diverse scenerios, so if you love stories that have a strong focus on these traits, you will absolutely love this one! And the world building creates a fantasy world you can't put down.

I gave this one a solid 4 out of 5 stars. It was fairly entertaining and encompasses a unique, strong story!

Belle Révolte is a story with two interesting main characters told from their points of view. Emilie is a comtesse, and her mother wants her to study the magic of divination and scrying, when she only wants to become a physician. When she sees a peasant girl, Annette, that looks similar to her, she discovers her chance: Annette takes her place at the divination school, while Emilie goes off to pursue her dream of becoming a physician, even if it means hiding her noble background for a while.

I love how the main character takes control of her own destiny. Also, the world they inhabit is going through a tough time, ruled by a wicked king. Emilie, Annette, and some friends and work to overthrow the kingdom, making it better. I love stories like this.

Althought I enjoyed the story, some of the execution seemed to be lacking. There were some grammatical points that weren't caught in editing, and at times I had a hard time visualizing what was going on. I could overlook this, generally, because I liked the characters and premise.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, although it wasn't without some minor problems.

3.25/5

The magic system in the story was interesting and very detailed. It was by far the strongest point to this story. The overall story was really interesting, although the catalyst for the narrative (the initial swap between the two girls) was ludicrously unbelievable. Given how much detail was invested into the rest of the story, this part felt very lacking.

Unfortunately the pacing also felt a bit off for me. The time jumps and transitions often felt abrupt. I also had trouble differentiating between the two main characters for the majority of the book. They sounded far too similar and I would often forget whose perspective I was reading from. And I really didn’t warm to any of the characters until near the end, which was a real pity because I could see the potential in the characters, they just felt a little flat. I did really like the different relationships that the author was trying to develop. I really appreciate stories that focus on strong friendships.

Overall, I could see a lot of potential in this story but it just didn’t deliver what I was hoping for.

A fantastic read featuring a sapphic lead while another lead has a trans love interest. The romances, familial relationships and everything in between was a bit flawed and complex but it made for a more rounded story. It takes a great author to incorporate a story filled with magic and a new world while showcasing characters that can appeal to a wider audience. Well worth the read.

I enjoyed this enough after reading only a chapter or 2 that I bought the book!! The magic system and the daughter-mother dynamics are fascinating. Excited to follow the rest of Emilie’s journey. Also, I am here for tired Ace rep.

Well, this book was interesting. A very lilting story telling. With scenes kind of flowing in a weird, non stop pattern. We go from one action scene to the next without much in between. It wouldn't be a bad thing, it just had me confused more often than not. The magic system was very different (I liked that) but oh so confusing with a lot of different parts moving. Especially since there are two different paths, with branches going off each one. It was alot to comprehend especially when mostly it is shown in the fight scenes.

The characters themselves were very very diverse. I loved all the different representation - not just choices in gender, but sexuallity as well. The different races mentioned as well - all kinds of different skin colors. All this diversity was mentioned slyly, without making a big deal about it. Especially the genedr/sexuality. Romance wasn't the leading notion for the actions of these characters. They had other incentives to act the way they do. Whether it was for the love of their family, people, or just the right moral choices in general. It was refreshing to say the least.

Overall if it wasn't for a slow build up of the story and the confusing magic system, I'd be more into this book.