Diverse fantasy - Belle Révolte ARC Review

Belle Révolte

by Linsey Miller

My rating: 4.5 hearts

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication date: February 4, 2020

Synopsis:

Emilie des Marais is more at home holding scalpels than embroidery needles and is desperate to escape her noble roots to serve her country as a physician. But society dictates a noble lady cannot perform such gruesome work.

Annette Boucher, overlooked and overworked by her family, wants more from life than her humble beginnings and is desperate to be trained in magic. So when a strange noble girl offers Annette the chance of a lifetime, she accepts.

Emilie and Annette swap lives—Annette attends finishing school as a noble lady to be trained in the ways of divination, while Emilie enrolls to be a physician’s assistant, using her natural magical talent to save lives.

But when their nation instigates a frivolous war, Emilie and Annette must work together to help the rebellion end a war that is based on lies.

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Belle Révolte was one of my most anticipated 2020 releases. I absolutely loved Miller's other books, so when I heard she was writing a new story with an asexual main character (this was around the time her last book was released, by the way, which was more than a year ago), I was very excited. So when I started it, I was equal parts excited and scared, because I had no idea how it could ever live up to the hype I have built up for this book.

You know what? It did. It was everything I hoped it would be, and more.

So what did I love about this book? The short answer is: everything. The characters were so easy to care about and love, and by the end of the book, all I wanted was for them to live happily ever after. They were two very different characters, but they were both relatable girls, both wanting things society didn't think they should have. But they weren't willing to settle for what society gave them; no, they fought, and they fought hard, to get what they wanted. It was so inspiring and refreshing to read about two young girls who know exactly what they want and are willing to do anything to get it.

One of the reasons why I was so excited when I found out about Belle Révolte was that it would have an asexual main character, so I was a little sad when the asexuality played a very small part in the book. However, there is so much other diversity in this book (one of which is a sapphic romance) that it was okay anyway. By now, I've started thinking of Miller as the queen of diversity, especially LGBTQIA+ representation (read: Mask of Shadows).

Since Young Adult Fantasy is my most-read genre, it's rare to find one that feels completely original and fresh. But Belle Révolte is exactly that. The magic-system is unlike anything I've ever read before, and I found it to be very interesting. The concept of midnight and noonday arts being two different kinds of magic intrigued me from the start, and it was gorgeously written and intricately built. The plot was a bit on the slow side, but it was shock-filled with political intrigue, which kept me on my toes. Plus, it deals with several political issues, not only diversity, which makes it such an important story.

Belle Révolte deserves all the hype, because not only does it have great diversity, but it's also an absolutely gorgeous world with two kick-ass heroines, not because they can kick ass, but because they know what they want and are willing to fight for it. This is a book I'd recommend to anyone, but maybe especially people who, like me, are looking for more diverse fantasy.