This was sweet and light, much like the fluffy dress on the cover. It was a decent take on She's All That, but mostly forgettable.

I have SUCH mixed feelings about this book.

I love a good regency/regency-adjacent romance, but this hit approximately none of those boxes for me. It is set historically for the purpose of having balls and dresses, but otherwise everybody acts exactly like modern teenagers with seemingly no social norms one would expect of the setting. Some of these changes are the Bridgerton-like changes that I'm perfectly happy with and enjoy, like normalizing queer and interracial relationships. However, when you do away with any notion of propriety or anything governing the society, the story literally just reads like 90s teenagers who happen to have pretty dresses, which kind of negates any reason for the setting at all.

It's based on She's All That, which I've never seen, but it's basically just the classic "popular boy decides to help a 'nobody' girl glow up for a bet, they fall for each other, she finds out, betrayal" plotline that I've never been super into.

It was okay. It wasn't great, but I didn't have a bad time reading it. I didn't care about the characters that much, the conflicts were resolved too easily, and I just don't think the story made any sense with the setting, but the romance was kind of cute and kept me invested enough to give this 3 stars. If you're really into She's All That or these sorts of plotlines, I would recommend giving it a go, but otherwise can't recommend it too much.

I liked this but I wish it stood out to me more. I do look forward more to Her next books! I highly recomend

Okay, this book was SO FUN. If you’re going into it looking for historical fiction, then this isn’t the book for you. If you’re looking for an entertaining read with the feel of a classic teen romcom with the semi-historical campiness of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, then read BELLEGARDE! Honestly, the marketing copy didn’t quite prepare me for what I was getting into—I did originally think it would be historical fiction. But once I realized what this book was doing, I loved every minute of it. This mashup is camp, genre-defying, and dare I say experimental? Overall, such a fun and sugary read!

I think this is a fun and quick read. I enjoyed the twist of how it was meant to be a more historical setting, but the language was more modern. I know some readers would HATE that, but I think it makes it easier for me to read and connect with. Don't get me wrong, I still love a good historical romance novel, but this one was unique and reminded me of a classic rom-com vibe. Looking forward to reading another book by this author.

This was a really unique YA novel, and a great debut! I look forward to what Jamie writes next!

I received an e-ARC from the publisher.

She's All That was one of my favorite movies and this book lives up to the hype of the movie. Every scene in the movie is in the book and it was swoon-worth, snarky, and cheesy. The perfect combination for a YA romance!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

The synopsis on this one had me really intrigued- She's All That but make it a YA historical romance. It was a cute story but I couldn't fully get into it. I kept finding myself putting it down. It may just be me though since I don't read too many historical fiction books.
Overall, a fun easy to read YA if you are into books with historical romance vibes!

The first 2/3 of the book is great, there's plenty of humor, angst, brotherly drama, great characters, and potential to be a good historical romance. And that's the issue... the historical part is so glossed over by a talented writer who uses contemporary language in a historical timeframe. The retelling was well done but the time period was missing in action.

I also felt the last third of the book was rushed and I would have loved to explore her mother's connection with the older members of the Court just a bit because what a curve Mama Clement threw at the end. I would have also liked to know a bit more about Evie and Beau's plans, especially since the time-period it's supposed to be set in would be a potentially huge issue with travel/relocation. Other than those two issues it was a fun light-hearted read. My biggest want from the book would have been more Jo and Mia... maybe a spinoff in the future since they had the potential to be just as much fun to read about as our main couple.

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review.

DNF at about 50 percent

Sooo IDK if I am growing out of certain YA genres or this book was just not good. I was so excited to read this book - the synopsis was really good and I was really excited for this book but then I read it.

A few things that annoyed me me:

1. The main character felt very pick me
2. The "mean" character had the "perfect" body (AKA big boobs) and the main character was flat chested (I thought we left this troupe behind in 2010)
3. Nothing stood out to me plot or character wise and I had just could not stick with the book.

A super cute and interesting reat that takes a classic trope and turns it on its head. I especially enjoyed the regency aspects to the story, as it isn't my typical genre--especially in Young Adult Books--but I found it to be very enjoyable and a great read.

This was an interesting read for me. I really enjoyed the twist on a classic trope and got into the regency aspects of the story.

I absolutely adored this story! A Regency take on the movie "She's All That" and boy was it such a feel-good read. I'm not kidding when I say that this book took me less than 3 hours to read! I was NOT moving from my spot once I got started. If you are a fan of slow-burn regency romances this one is for you! Especially if you are into the YA genre. I need more!

Billed as a retelling of the 90s movie She's All That, I was pretty excited for Bellegarde. I loved that movie and wanted to see how the author could bring it to life. Yet, the author's choices didn't work for me. The writing/narrative style will likely bother several readers. Imagine Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet but reversed - with modern dialogue, modern ideas re: sapphic romance, and high school drama (popularity contests and all), all set in some version of the 1700s, arguably during the time of Marie Antoinette, with historical fashion and lords and ladies. It was honestly so off putting. I found it hard to ground myself in the world.

I did like the female lead. She is the only reason I even finished the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Children's Books, and HarperTeen for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Bellegarde is an interesting historical fiction that just abandons the inconvenient constraints of the times, such as time-appropriate social norms, in favor of advancing the plot. While this seems to defeat the purpose of historical fiction, it is refreshing every now and again to read a story that posits the idea of how things could have been. Evie is a working-class girl who is bullied; Beau is an aristocrat who makes a bet with a half-brother to woo her, 10 Things I Hate About You style. This was a fun, fast read with sweet characters and a happy ending.

Eh, If you like '90s rom-com nonsense, this is your jam. Indeed, it's me, not this book. It is the perfect book when you need complete fluff.

Evie, the bakery owner's daughter, is enjoying her quiet life being unassuming and dreaming of one day being a designer. The Court of Flowers Ball is around the corner and after a periodical goes around that lists her as one of the hopefuls for winning the Bellegarde Bloom, her world gets turned upside down. Beau Bellegarde is constantly in the shadows of his older half-brother, Julien. After a bet over his future, Beau makes it his personal mission to make Evie the Bellegarde Bloom. Fans of Bridgerton and YA romance will enjoy this book.

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rags to riches. It's a fun little romance with a great plot. I believe it was supposed to be a period piece, but it felt more modern. But I liked it.

Echoing other reviewers' sentiments about the book, this did not feel like a historical read at all. Not much about the way the characters talked and interacted with each other would indicate they are not in modern times.