Belle by Lesley Pearse

B ͦ ͦ ᷜ: Belle A ͧ ͭ ͪ ͦ ͬ: Lesley Pearse G ͦ ͦ ͩ ͬ ͤ ⷶ ͩ ᷤ ͬ ⷶ ͭ ͥ ᷠ ᷚ: 4.25/5 M ꙷ ͬ ⷶ ͭ ͥ ᷠ ᷚ: 4/5

Set in the London of the year 1910, the book revolves Belle, a young girl of fifteen, brought up in a brother yet oblivious to what went upstairs. Her world is turned upside down when she witnesses the murder of one of her mother’s girls, Milli and her life takes not one but many, many unexpected turns.

After her abduction from the streets of London, her journey through the worst parts of Paris, New Orleans and then Paris again shape her into the woman she became. At only 17, she had seen much more of a world than her mother Annie and Mog had ever hoped for her to.

Belle by Lesley Pearse

Throughout the journey of betrayals and the darker side of infatuation, the love of Etinette and Jimmy is what restores her faith in love and goodness.

Lesley Pearse wrote Belle as a strong spirited girl who did not let even the more vile of men and even the most cruel realities of the world break her. She shows how Belle is naive yet smart, how she’s hopeful yet practical.

It is her unwillingness to succomb to pain and humiliation that keeps her going and her determination, ambitions and her utter belief that something good will come out of every tragedy that made her into the smart young woman that she became.

The fact that she did not lose her faith in goodness in spite of both men and women having given her every reason not to, earned her a special place in my heart. Her kindness, humility, wits and understanding set her apart from all the other girls she grew up with. Least to say, she was charming inside out.

Etinette, Jimmy, Mog and Noah’s utter detemination of finding and rescuing her and Garth’s constant support through the entire tale prove that love is all you need. That love is capable of making you see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Lesley Pearse, you’re surely a storyteller at her best.