Review: Beauty Reborn

Title: Beauty Reborn
Author: Elizabeth Lowham
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Retelling
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: May 9, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Fantasy and reality collide in this retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” about a young woman’s heroic quest to save herself.

Beauty’s life is the stuff of fairy tales. The youngest in her family, Beauty isn’t trying to catch Stephan’s eye. He is the lord baron’s heir, well above her family’s modest station, but when he kisses her hand at a party, Beauty is swept away by his charm, his wit, and his passionate declarations of love.

Hearts can be untamable creatures, especially when touched by the fires of first love, and Beauty doesn’t see the truth of Stephan’s intentions until it is too late. Until he stops asking for Beauty’s love—and simply takes it from her one night despite her refusal.

Beauty locks away the secret of what happened to her, and when her father emerges from the enchanted forest with a stolen rose in his hand and the tale of a vicious beast on his breath, Beauty seizes the chance to run as far from Stephan as possible.

She has some experience with beasts, after all. Certainly the one in the forest couldn’t be any worse than the one she’s already encountered.

Breaking the Beast’s curse might be the key to discovering her own path to healing—and finding the courage to allow herself to feel reborn.

Review:

Beauty is the youngest of the Acton siblings, and doesn’t get along with her much quieter siblings. When she catches the eye of Stephan, the baron’s heir who is much above her family’s class, she’s instantly charmed. However, after she rejects Stephane’s proposal multiple times, he still can’t take no for an answer. Beauty keeps this trauma to herself. One day, her father returns from the woods with a golden rose that he has stolen from a castle but he must return to the beast who lives there to face his punishment. Beauty takes this chance to escape from Stephan for good, and she returns to the beast in her father’s place. Beauty assumes the beast can’t be worse than anything she’s already faced, but breaking his curse could be her chance to heal. 

This was a beautiful retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I liked that it was a little different from other adaptations I’ve read. Beauty’s siblings were nothing like her, and they didn’t really like her because of their differences. She liked to talk and received a proposal before her older sisters. I also liked the way that Beauty’s father supported her decisions. He didn’t know what she experienced, but he listened when she told him how she was feeling. 

Beauty Reborn is a beautiful retelling!

Thank you Shadow Mountain Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. 

Content warnings: death of parent, sexual assault (off page)

What to read next:

Have you read Beauty Reborn? What did you think of it?