Belle - Lesley Pearse

Belle - Lesley Pearse (2011)

Belle is a brick of a book, so it took me a few days to roll through.  Luckily, having the 5th flu of the year enabled me to curl up in my bed and get lots of reading done.  Belle is a fifteen year old girl when she realises that her mother runs a brothel and what that means, and after witnessing the brutal murder of one of the girls she is put into danger.  Then while out on the streets, she is abducted and taken to Paris where she is brutally raped by five men then taken to New Orleans where she is sold to a madam.

Finding a way out with a rich patron doesn't result in an easy time, as Belle tries to find her way home, although I wonder why she didn't try to hurry home to London, and seemed content to settle in Paris.  Meanwhile her friends are still seaching for her, and their story is entwined with hers. 

I did end up thinking that although the story was meant to be set in 1910, somehow it seemed to be based in an earlier time.  I did enjoy the book though, and was wondering where it would end and which man she would choose - 3/5