Brielle and Bear is a very cute romcom style book where opposites atttract. Bear is an athlete, Brielle a bookworm, and they are instantly smitten with each other. Miscommunication causes some trouble, but it all works out in the end. The artwork is very cute and the colors give the story a cheery feel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

This book follows a book lover, Brielle as she navigates her crush and her other relationships. I really love the art style. I love the diversity in this book. The ending really got me cause I wanted more. I am looking forward to the next volume! It was a nice introduction to these characters.

Is there a bigger word than love? Because I more than loved Brielle and Bear. This is the absolute cutest and sweetest graphic novel I have read in ages. It gave me all of the happy feels. Brielle and Bear are insanely adorable as they grow their friendship and develop trust in each other. I love that their story isn't a direct shot towards romance, they truly become close friends and are able to overcome disagreements with honestly and respect. Their relationship will make your heart warm and make you giddy for volume 2. Please come out soon!! I also really loved the vitiligo and dyslexia rep Doku included in the story. It gave another layer to these characters that was very much appreciated. Also can we talk about the art please?! Gorgeous. Every page is an explosion of perfect color and cohesion, it's beautifully illustrated and detailed. I genuinely loved everything about this book and cannot wait for more to come.

Short and cute. Slightly disappointed Bear was not a bear, though. LOL. But the art was gorgeous. I'll read the second installment.

3.5 stars

Fairytales have a way of coming true at Once Upon a Time University. So when Brielle met Bear, it wasn’t surprising that there was an immediate connection. Brielle tries to not let her imagination run wild and live in the moment. But when she finds out a secret Bear has been hiding, it might not be happily ever after after all.

Thanks to Random House and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Brielle and Bear by Salomey Doku to review! Fairytale retellings are always fun to read, especially when they are in graphic novel format. This is a very loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and it seems like there might be more stories to come from Once Upon a Time University.

The art was definitely one of my favorite things about this book. It’s very whimsical in nature, and portrays the emotions of all the characters really well. There’s also a diverse cast, and I appreciated the wide variety of representation included.

I’m not necessarily a fan of instalove, but it does make sense in a fairytale context. This was more of a character driven story than plot, which means that the storytelling didn’t feel as strong as the art for me. But it’s still a light, enjoyable read.

A vibrant and sweet story. It’s very light on plot but I think that won’t really matter to young readers as they will be so enthralled with Brielle and Bear.

This story follows two college students who both share a love for fairytales—one working at the campus bookstore and the other a football player. When she becomes his tutor, they start getting to know each other, and she often compares their moments to a fairytale. As she learns more about him, she discovers he has many secrets, but she hopes to encourage him to share them with those who truly care about him. The art in this book is beautifully done and really brings the story to life.

2.5 ⭐️

Brielle and Bear is a beauty and the beast retelling about two college students, whose relationship starts to blossom after meeting in a bookstore. The art is absolutely adorable, and the choice of colors throughout really pull everything together.

Sadly the art alone isn’t enough for this underdeveloped plot. Maybe it’s just me but I don’t see how this is a beauty and the beast retelling, the story seemed very generic. I really don’t even know what the point of the story was, granted this is just the first volume but even then this felt like very juvenile. There were many moments in the story where I as a reader felt lost, there were many flashbacks that didn’t make sense. I couldn’t connect with any of the characters either, we weren’t given much information about them besides basic stuff.

Overall I would not recommend this, I didn’t enjoy the plot or lack there of. The art again, while super cute and fun just wasn’t enough for me.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publishers for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review.

A huge thank you to @netgalley and @randomhousekids for the gifted digital copy. All opinions are my own.

💭 My Thoughts

Let me start by saying how much I LOVED the art style. The color palette for each season gave the book a whimsical feel to it. I also liked how the author used images of butterflies and bees to emphasize the emotions of the characters. However, the lack of an overarching plot made it feel repetitive (especially with the constant miscommunication between the two main characters). Despite this, I still had a fun time reading this book. I especially appreciated the diverse cast (including main characters with dyslexia and vitiligo) as well as the various coming of age topics, such as bullying and grief, in an age-appropriate way. Ultimately, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to middle grade/ younger YA readers who love fairytales.

For fans of wondrously magical fairytales, “Brielle and Bear: Once Upon a Time” is truly a dream come true! <3 I love, love, love so many elements of this book: the author’s note, the fairytale rules and the indisputably, BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful artwork. Don’t get me started on the design files at the end of the story! 🤍 I’m so happy and honored that the author of this book decided to share her creative process, making the readers privy to behind-the-scenes details, such as certain emotive elements, which, might I add, would translate beautifully into a television series. Admittedly, I don’t feel any sort of emotional connection to it, but I’m still rounding up my rating because of all the wonderful things I stated above about this enchanting tale xoxo

p.s. thank you Random House Children’s/NetGalley for providing me with this arc of Brielle and Bear: Once Upon a Time<3

“Fairy tales pull you in way over your head, promising even more magic under the waves…Until the only thing you can do is allow yourself to be pulled along. All the while hoping that you will remember the way back to shore.”

4.75 stars rounded up

This is the kind of graphic novel where I wish all of them were out already so I could binge it! It has absolutely stunning artwork and coloring, a gorgeously diverse cast, and lovely twists on Beauty and the Beast. I loved the vulnerability about anxiety and bullying. It didn't feel entirely like a complete episode, like there should have been another chapter to tie up a little bit before the end, but I am definitely interested in continuing the series! It's a perfect quick read for high schoolers and college students.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This was such a beautifully illustrated Beauty and the Beast themed story! I absolutely adore Brielle and Bear both. So many sweet moments as well as a few that show a darker side of what it's like to go through bullying for being yourself especially when you are a little different than those around you. I think most folks would enjoy this story and definitely the lovely illustrations!

This was an adorable instalove graphic novel about two college students navigating their quirks and differences and thriving in their authenticity and self-discovery. The artwork was charming and fit the characters and narrative nicely.

Doku has penned a meet-cute that embodies all the classic fairytale and romance elements in a fun, entertaining plot.

Fans of fairytales, romance, and graphic novels will enjoy the characters and the plot of this captivating story.

I absolutely love the diversity in this book. The inclusion of a Female Main Character with both Vitiligo and Heterochromia is something unique especially with how seamlessly it was done. Honestly until Bear mentioned it in the dialogue I didn't even notice her unique looks. Also the depth of Bear's character as well as his struggles with dyslexia are powerful. The coloring of the backgrounds lines up very well with what is going on in the story. That being said, something about it just felt unfinished, like it was almost more the concept or outline of a story than a fleshed out story. I so much was presented in such a small amount of time but very little if any of it explored . There is so much potential here.

Omg, I knew from the cover that I was going to loveeeeee Brielle and Bear! The artwork is absolutely stunning throughout the book. I love how each of the seasons has slightly different color palates/schemes - even all of the characters are beautiful! I love the premise of Brielle and Bear, and I love how adorable and incredibly sweet the MMC and FMC are to each other. This is a sugary sweet graphic novel, where it's a Jock and a beautiful Nerd fall in love. Do you love Disney? Probably go ahead and pick this one up. Honestly, I even like the antagonist! He's adorable in an annoying bad guy kinda way!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House Children's for this e-ARC! I ate it up!

This story is fantastic! I am a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast and Doku did a phenomenal job with the story, illustration and giving a reader a story that I want to read again. The different type of characters in nationality, ethnicity, interests/hobbies, struggles were relatable and handled with so much care. This will be a story I will re-read and definitely buy copies for myself and others. I will be reading volume two and will read more from Doku.

Brielle and Bear! This is a really cute graphic novel that follows a romance with 2 university students. The art was absolutely fantastic. The colors were amazing, and the whole art style really elevated a simple romance. There wasn't much plot, but that was ok, because the art had me smiling the entire way through!

Thanks to NetGalley, Salomey Doku, and Random House Children's for the chance to read and review. My opinions are my own!

Let me first start off by saying that the art for this is so bright and colorful and beautiful and original. That's the big standout for me. The diversity of the cast really shone through. Everything else, I have some mixed feelings on. The characters get angry with each other really quickly without a lot of reasoning, and it's annoying to watch. I also think the setting was...super weird? And pretty underdeveloped. Lastly, there's a lot going on, so I get why this is being split into two volumes, but it's just so much without a lot of exploration of those conflicts. I'm torn on whether to pick up the second volume because this didn't really hit for me.

This was ADORABLE!!! I love a retelling and Doku’s reimagined of Beauty and the Beast was so sweet and heartwarming. I love how in less than 200 pages there was such wonderful emotional depth and complexity to the characters and their stories, and the representation within this diverse cast is vast.

I rendered speechelsss and and wholly bewitched by the artwork. I don’t think I’ve seen such gorgeous illustrations before and this is truly a masterpiece.

I cannot wait to see where Doku takes the story next in volume 2!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the e-ARC of Brielle and Bear: Volume 1!
3.5 / 5 ⭐

Brielle and Bear follows Brielle, an 18 year old obsessed with finding her fairy tale. Over the course of the graphic novel, we meet a range of diverse, well rounded characters finding their way through their own stories. The narrative felt too flat, but the characters were all lovely, as was the art.