Such a sweet graphic novel! I loved the art style! I didn’t even realize they were all queer women at first because Chloe was drawn like a cis jock dude. But after realizing my assumption, I quickly changed to living the art style for how masc Chloe was allowed to be! The characters were all so varied and complex. I appreciated the dedication to their growing friendships and personalities. They each had so much inside of themselves they weren’t properly exploring. Even Regina, who could’ve been a stereotypical cheerleader bully, was so thoughtful in the end. The characters grew to have intelligent, healthy relationships with one another, and I thought it was all just SO cute.

Cute rom com graphic novel. I loved the shades of pink colour scheme and the way the story unfolds.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my review.

MY HEART 😭😍
This whole entire graphic novel is freaking adorable. The colors, the art style, the story, the relationships between Chloe, Gina, and Hawkins, the character development!!!

I wish I knew more about why Hawkins decided to present more masc., even dropping her first name, when she still loved being a princess. I'm so happy she ended up presenting more how she felt by the end of the story.

This is beautiful. I love it. All three of these characters start out as stereotypes: The Social Reject, The Jock, and The Mean Girl, but by the end they are so human I fully believe that the author's wish will definitely come true. There are three stories, three different girls that other girls reading this graphic novel can find themselves in, three different high schoolers trying to grow up, face the world, and find their place in it.

*Chef's kiss*

I really enjoyed this YA graphic novel. The characters were unique and fun. The back story of Belle and Chloe was believable and most teens would likely relate to their lost childhood friendship. I really liked the way the story wrapped up with all three girls staying friends.

Belle of the Ball is a fun sapphic romcom featuring a love triangle between a cheerleader, a soccer star, and the team's mascot.

Belle and Chloe were both immensely likeable characters, and their connection made it impossible to put this book down. I do wish that Gina had been equally likeable - her poor treatment of Belle made it difficult to care about her. The story would have been even more engaging if it had been harder as a reader to decide which relationship to root for.

I think that teens will connect with the story and that they'll enjoy the illustration style as well. As a high school teacher, I can't wait to purchase this book for my classroom library.

I requested this Graphic Novel because I thought the cover looked cute and the plot sounded nice. I didn´t expect to like it as much as I did. The story was thought through and I liked the aspect of friends to lovers. The characters all had their own distinct personalitys and relatable problems. I really liked the art style and plot of the story. I would recomend it to everyone who likes to have something comforting and relatable.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Mari Costa, and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
"Bell of the Ball" is a fun graphic novel about the quiet school mascot, Belle, who begins to fall for the girlfriend of her high school crush. When Belle's crush, Regina, takes advantage of Belle (getting her to tutor her girlfriend Chloe for free), she fails to realize that she is only bringing her girlfriend and the girl crushing on her closer together. Can you say high school love triangle?

This was a cute and fun YA graphic novel! I look forward to recommending it to others!

This graphic novel warmed my heart! For fans of the gay and fuzzy feelings of Alice Oseman and Molly Knox Ostertag, Belle of the Ball is gorgeous, and is unexpected but familiar. Thank you for giving me access to this E-ARC. Only constructive thing that came to mind while reading, is that the all-pink color pallet was beautiful, but difficult to follow at times when we are getting familiar with the cast (eg. Regina and Hawkins not shaded made them seem like new characters for a page or two before I figured it out. All in all, a super fun read!

This was so good. I was just going to read the first chapter but then I ended up being unable to put it down and finished it in one go.

The characters are just incredible. I loved how while they seemed stereotypical at a surface level, they had a lot of depth. They also all grew so much through this story, which was super fun to read. The relationships and friendships were all really well done too, and made it just the perfect comedy.

This was a lighthearted graphic novel, that also managed to add in a lot of extra depth. Stress, pressure from families and friends, struggling to be yourself, acceptance, etc. etc. It was all handled really well and in an interesting way.

The art was really cute and I especially liked the layout of the pages and the way the panels were done, it really helped the flow of the story.

This was a super cute story and I definitely recommend it, and I would totally want to reread this sometime.

Overall, this was a realistic coming-of-age story for the characters in the book! It was satisfying to see Chloe and Hawkins reconnect in the story alongside flashbacks to their childhood. I do wish Regina had been given more space to grow as a character- she also has her own problems she's dealing with, but her negative actions seem to override any sympathy for her. No character in this is perfect, so it would've been satisfying to have some more depth! The romance also seems to wrap up a little too quickly in the last pages, so it may leave readers wanting more. The art style is very appealing to teen audiences and the solely-pink palette works well for this story. I think it will be a hit with fans of graphic novels such as Heartstopper and Bloom. Overall, this graphic novel tells a realistically tangled but heartfelt story that will resonate with many readers.

If you liked Mari Costa's other book, Life of Melody, and also like Heartstopper, you'll love this book. The characters were all super lovable even with their flaws. I loved getting to see Belle/Hawkins come into herself and find joy in expressing herself and standing up for herself. Very good character development. My only complaint is that the story wrapped up too quickly. There is one panel showing the characters in their sophomore year of college, but I want to read about those years.

What I loved:

This artist's style is sweet! I love the stylized simplicity of the ink, and the retro comicbook style speech bubbles. And the color scheme is entirely shades of pink! My favorite scene is the Ren Faire. 💗

I adore Hawkins! Such a well-written and sympathetic character! I feel like I know and feel for her right from the start. She deserves a happy ending.

What I didn't:

The whole love triangle seems overly contrived, like an 80s movie. And I dislike Gina so much, it's hard to get through scenes with her.

Biggest takeaway:

Everybody has a past. Everybody deserves to find someone amazing in their future. Also, you don't have to stay with someone who treats you badly.

"I wish I could live in a place like this."
"What do you like about it? The plagues or the life expectancy?"
"You know what I mean! The...escapist fantasy of it all!"

I LOVED that this graphic novel was done in all PINK! I always enjoy monotone graphic novels, but this one was even better in Pink. I also loved the art style. And we all know I love a good love triangle. (Although, this love triangle isn't as messy as it had the potential to be!).

Hawkins is the school mascot and works up the nerve to ask out a cheerleader (who she thought was single). Regina (Gene) isn't single though and Chloe doesn't like that Hawkins asked out her girl. Gene hatches a scheme to get Hawkins to tutor Chloe so her 10 year plan goes on without any hiccups. But you know what they say about the best laid plans....

What I loved most:
Childhood Flashbacks - always the cutest
The video game names
The Ren Fair

This book was so cute! A definite read for fans of Heartstopper that want a queer high school graphic novel ya book. The love triangle was done really well, and I loved how we got slow reveals on the Hawkins and Chloe's backstory. The art work is reminiscent of Heartstopper and I found it be super cute.

I definitely need to read graphic novels on something other than my phone so I can readily appreciate the artwork. That said, the color-palate was okay. I didn't really love it, but I don't think it was distracting.
The plot is nothing new or surprising, but it's still cute.

I adored this graphic novel. The characters are great and I loved their interactions with each other. I really liked the art to go with the story.
I can't wait to share this with the teens in my library!

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

This review is based on an ARC.

I was enthralled with where this was going and was pleased it wasn't so cut and dry. I enjoyed the gray area of the characters and their growth and development over the course of the story. I want to know more about their stories past these events.

Cute coming of age graphic novel about being true to yourself. This would be great in my school library. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

**Will be published on 2/17/23 in anticipation of the March publication date
My Thoughts:

Asian, queer, super jock in a love triangle and who needs tutoring from an old friend set up by her girlfriend. . . yes, this high school love is complicated and stereotype bending, but I'm here for that! What a fabulous world where all the -isms and -phobias are non existent. This is really just friendship that got lost and found again. . .and love.

I cannot say this enough, but I am so for the Asian jock who breaks down all of the model minority stereotypes (she is not meek, she is not small, and she does well in school, but still needs tutoring in English). Chloe Kitagawa, our superjock, also has a smoking hot, head cheerleader and academic superstar girlfriend, Regina Moreno. In comes scrawny school mascot Hawkins who has been pining over Regina from behind her mascot mask. When Hawkins asks Regina out, the fun begins.

From the Publisher:
High-school senior and notorious wallflower Hawkins finally works up the courage to remove her mascot mask and ask out her longtime crush: Regina Moreno, head cheerleader, academic overachiever, and all-around popular girl. There’s only one teensy little problem: Regina is already dating Chloe Kitagawa, athletic all-star…and middling English student. Regina sees a perfectly self-serving opportunity here, and asks the smitten Hawkins to tutor Chloe free of charge, knowing Hawkins will do anything to get closer to her.

And while Regina’s plan works at first, she doesn’t realize that Hawkins and Chloe knew each other as kids, when Hawkins went by Belle and wore princess dresses to school every single day. Before long, romance does start to blossom…but not between who you might expect. With Belle of the Ball, cartoonist Mariana Costa has reinvigorated satisfying, reliable tropes into your new favorite teen romantic comedy.

Author: Mari Costa
Publisher: First Second
Publication date: March 21, 2023

This was so darn cute! I loved the characters and the art style was just absolutely perfect for this. The main characters were so cute and perfect for each other. Seeing the growth as they got closer was so fun. I am definitely going to buy a physical copy of this and gush about it to everyone!