I will be honest, I love fairy tale retellings. And Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorites. This one hit the ball out of the park.

Beauty has been a used by a man, a man she once loved. Her family has fallen on hard times and has moved to the country. Life is hard, and soon her father comes back with a rose and a tale. Beauty chooses to run from her family and her pain.

Beast has his own story, not a prince gone bad, but a humble man making bad choices and wishes.

I loved the relationship these two built, the trust that grew, the opening of hearts and honesty that developed. I loved watching them both heal from their past. I cheered for their ability to change their past into a new future. Well done!

I just reviewed Beauty Reborn by Elizabeth Lowham. #BeautyReborn #NetGalley

I tried to give this book a chance, it's just not my kind of book.

There are some things I liked about this book and others I definitely didn't. I really appreciated the few new twists on an old and beloved fairy tale with differing motivations behind what many of the characters did. I did not, however, like how closely this follows the tale of Beauty and the Beast. I prefer my retellings to be more "inspired by" the original. The author's writing style is easy to read and flows well, which allowed this to be a very quick read for me. I enjoyed this book but feel like it may be missing something. I like how it focuses on healing and grief as Beauty deals with the tragedy she's been through. I do wish we could get more personality from Beast and the epilogue is too long.

*TW: rape (not graphic or specific)

Thank you to Netgalley and Shadow Mountain for my complimentary copy of this book. All opinions here are my own.

"It’s true what the folktale says: I did choose to live with the beast. But not for the reason you think. Not to save my father. Not even to save myself. In truth, I was hoping I’d be eaten"

Wow I was captivated by the first paragraph. As a fan of Beauty and The Beast I was excited to read this!

The story has different backgrounds for the characters and doesn't follow the original, it made the story unique and darker. The start of the story was a fast paced one, I actually got confused at first because of the back and forth narrative and the transition felt a bit rough. But after I got the hang of it I could follow the pattern.

It was unfortunate that this story had a short climax where it started around 90%. It was too rushed. I also felt unsatisfied with Astra' and Stephan' endings. Their endings were abruptly ended, I don't think they got what they deserved after everything they've done.

Have I mentioned that the interactions between Beauty and The Beast are the cutest?! Love them and their developments!

To those who enjoy Beauty and The Beast retellings, this book might just for you!

Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: SA

Beauty Reborn is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with both similar and unique twists to the original tale. It’s a decent length—not too long but not too short—and each chapter wasn’t that long either, so I was able to get through this book pretty fast (plus, it helps being a very fast reader 😉).

I’m giving this book 4 stars for two reasons, one positive and the other constructive criticism. So let’s start with the positive.

There were some scenes in the story that I really liked between Beauty and Beast. Some that were tender and pure and touching. And I liked that how, while this story shared some similarities—Beauty’s love for books, their slow enemies-to-lovers trope, etc.—there were unique elements, such as Beauty’s fear of relationships because of past trauma, which the author handled very well. How Beast treated and cared for Beauty and was so respectful of boundaries after what she’d gone through was so touching.

And now the constructive criticism….

The beginning of the story was much too fast paced and not enough space of the book was devoted to setting up the story and establishing a solid beginning plot. Also, the climaxes of the story fell short for me and definitely left me wanting more. The rest of the book was fine, but definitely the pivotal scenes in the book were a tad disappointing to me.

However, all that to say, the author has a lovely writing style and I’m glad to have read this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an eARC of Beauty Reborn. A positive review was not required, only my honest opinion. All thoughts are expressly my own.

I love Beauty and the Beast, so I was excited to read this re-telling. In this story, Beauty runs toward Beast rather than away. Why?

For me, this book was more about Beauty’s growth and healing than the romance (and I’m ok with that). I liked watching the process as she remembered and tried to work through her past. The romance was slow-burn and sweet, and I love the way they forged their connection. This was an enjoyable read, and I look forward to more from this author.

TW: rape - not detailed

Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

As a big fan of Beauty and the Beast, I knew this was a book I had to read.

It was well written and drew me in straight away. Not a version of the story I had ever come across before. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own

I’m a fan of fairy tail retellings, and the last time I read a Beauty and the Beast retelling I loved, it was Beauty, by Robin McKinley. Beauty Reborn delves into healing after SA. Beauty, the FMC, would rather go in her father’s place and risk a beast in a castle than the beast of a man she knows back home.

I enjoyed this retelling, and Beauty’s voice, especially as it touches on topics of healing and trauma, family vs obligations.

Beauty Reborn is a fairytale retelling full of self discovery, healing and self-examination. Beauty goes through some tragic things and in her journey to heal herself she saves the Beast as well. This book went quite a bit deeper than I was expecting. It deals with some intense topics and is not meant for the faint-hearted. That being said, it is written very well. The character development is spot on and the redeeming arc is so satisfying at the end.

I went into this hoping to enjoy it because I do love Beauty and the Beast and I even love retellings of my favourite Disney movie.

However, I did not enjoy this book. It was just dull. I’m sorry I don’t want to be mean, but I continued reading hoping that the ending would make up for it. Even that was lacking in excitement and conflict.

3.5/5

I loved the premise of this book. I adore Beauty and the Beast retellings, so I was really looking forward to reading. Unfortunately, the beginning felt really disjointed and it was hard to follow what was going on. The author tends to tell, not show, and that made it more difficult to read as well. As I kept reading, it did get a bit easier to understand and I was able to enjoy it more. The moments between Beauty and Beast where they started to learn and care more about each other were really lovely to read and the best parts of the book. The other characters felt a bit flat, and I think the relationship between Beauty and Beast needed more time to develop.

Other than that, I liked this story. If the execution was cleaned up a bit, it would be a really good read!

#BeautyReborn #NetGalley

Best retelling of beauty and the beast I have ever read!! It is definitely a different take on the story, but with so much development and the characters have so much depth, even the extras. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes good writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lowham for an advanced reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

This 100% needed a trigger warning at the beginning of the book. I would have enjoyed it more had I expected the heavy topic of rape. Especially from a publisher like shadow mountain. I was impressed with the writing and satisfied with the story, the way the rape was handled and how everything tied up, but my experience reading would have been so much better had I been emotionally prepared. I also think it could have used a lot more dialogue to move us quicker through the story.

It’s an important story that needs to be told. But omg use a trigger warning.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC! I love a good fantasy retelling, and I enjoyed reading this one! It was a nice quick read, and I needed something light and easy to read after reading a few Agatha Christies.

SO, things I liked about this book! I liked the Beast and Beauty's relationship, they're cute together, and I really liked all the descriptions of the castle. I liked the fact that there wasn't a ton of conflict, because I really didn't want the book to be stressful. I kept expecting the Blue Fairy to be worse, but like the only real big conflict is when Astra goes to the castle and stuff.

Things I didn't like! I think most of the characters were kind of flat, and I found Beauty a tiny bit annoying, but honestly not that much, so I don't mind it. I wish the story had been a bit more of a twist on the original, because while I liked this book, I wish I could have seen more of the author's ideas and creativity in it.

3-3.5 stars really, but I rounded up.

This book starts out all over the place. It was very hard to follow at first. The set-up and tie-in for the classic Beauty and The Beast tale was pretty nonexistent at first. It's a lot of narrative and jumbled thoughts from Beauty, trying to follow the setting, the history, the plot. After the beginning settles down into a consistent timeline, then I was able to follow the story better. The premise is excellent. The retelling with that twist is good and thought-provoking. It's the execution that needed more refinement. There are the similarities to the original (movie I guess since I've never actually read the original fairytale), but it does veer into its own world and own plot. There is a rose. There is a beauty. There is a beast. There is a father and a town and an enchanted castle created by a fairy. But it is completely different at the same time.

The times where Beauty and Beast interact and are growing together and their play/imagination are excellent and the best parts of the book. The past that Beauty is recovering from and healing from needed even more development, in my opinion, to really show the contrast between the two. There's no Gaston/villian-type resolution like there is in the movie (not sure about the original fairytale as I've never read that one). That would have had a tremendous impact on the story as well. Beauty does confront him and get her resolution, but it falls short for the impact.

Beauty's family is bigger than in the movie (again, I'm not sure about compared to the original) so there's more dynamic there, but even that needed more development, at the beginning of the book would have been good, where it was so disjointed that I didn't connect with any of it. For a retelling, there's very little set-up and explanation of THIS story, which it desperately needs. We need to know THIS story, THIS background, THIS setting, Beauty's family in THIS situation explained, developed. And it's all really missing, until further into the book, when I was already confused and struggling. Again, there are such magical moments between Beauty and Beast and the castle and the enchanted objects that I LOVED those, but it came just too late. The set-up needed to be stronger, bigger, more developed sooner. It is heavy and darker/noir-feeling because of why Beauty needs to be "reborn" so that contrasts with the magical/happy moments and does portray the seriousness of Beauty's harsh past with love. Beauty's sister Astra's moment at the end was a bit odd, for me. I could see why it was added, but it felt like it was used in place of the Gaston/villian character and didn't 100% work for me. The fairy was also portrayed so differently in this version than in the movie as trying to help Beast (and others) learn a lesson but just as a mean, though almost indifferent magical character who didn't really care about the people she granted wishes to, only how her magic is used.

Overall, the 3-3.5 stars rating. So why did I round it up to 4? Because of the good moments, the excellent writing moments, the hope and promise and redemption for Beauty and Beast that do come, the ending portrayed in the epilogue, and the potential I see in this writer for further books to develop even more on these good moments she showed in this book.

Content: Clean, although there is the subject of rape and mention of when it occurred, although not overly described in graphic detail. This is not a light, happy retelling. It is dark/noir/heavy in a lot of ways, but the moments that are bright are wonderful. If this is being billed as a YA book, I disagree. More for older/New Adult readers instead, in my opinion.

I was pleasantly surprised with this story. The beginning was a bit slow for me, but once I understood more (by continuing to read) I became invested in the story.

While drawing closely to the normal fairy-tale, I think there are enough differences to call it a retelling. The character arcs were by far my favorite aspect of the story. I loved Beauty’s reflection upon herself, her actions, and the treatment of her family. The lessons she learns in while in the castle and the slow rebuilding of trust were extremely well written.

I love the humility of Beast. He had truly changed as well and while we don’t see that change on page, we see the effects of it. I also really enjoyed how Beauty was able to help him.

I was concerned with the depiction of God and religion in the beginning, but I also realized that Beauty had changing to be done, and there was growth that need to occur so I continued to read and I was glad with the later mentions of God and religion.

While I ultimately enjoyed the book and found much to compliment it on, I would not label this as YA. The sexual assault, while also off page, is a heavy topic and leads to heavy feelings and lingering issues for Beauty. I have a teenage daughter and I would not be comfortable with her reading this. It was too much for YA in my opinion. I do think it is fine for an adult level.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC. All opinions are my own.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. (via Netgalley)

It started out a bit weird for me and was a little hard to get into but overall the story was okay. It feels like it could have been fleshed out more but I'm guessing that's the trade off for only 208 pages.

It was a weird retelling of Beauty and the Beast that promises much but delivers nothing of what's expected. It works on the plot premise, very positive in my opinion, of giving Beauty a different reason to go to the castle of Beast on her own without the usual father messing up (... much) and give Beast a different reason for being turned into a monster than in the fairy tale and most other retellings.

That alone would've been one wonderful premise to build on. I mean, how many retellings have we already got that go for the usual rose theft or debt? And how many retellings have we read in which Beast is unwillingly shapeshifted for pissing off a magical being with zero sense of humour? Too many! So, if Beauty goes to the castle due to the workings of a rival that manipulates his way into her life and Beastie boy becomes Beastie boy for not being careful about what he wished for, the story is going to be promising, right?

Oh, no, you're a too optimistic person, Marquise. Always expecting good premises to end in good execution. When will you ever learn? Never, apparently. So I was deeply disappointed by the absolute lack of spine and character shown by both Beauty and Beast here. Especially her, the banana I just hate has more spunk than that girl, and I still feel like I'm insulting the banana. I'm not trying to overdo sarcasm here, it's seriously a lackluster main female lead, which is surprising in itself given how easy Beauty is to write. Even the evil sister had more backbone, and that in spite of being a bit of a caricature villain. And, it pains me to say because Beast is my favourite, he's a wet dog of a monster, about as scary as a toy poodle trying to posture in front of a Great Dane. The rival for Beauty's affection easily outshone him.

I can't believe I'm writing this, the baddies are the stars! And they're not even complex and nuanced baddies. You can't root for the main couple because they have little to no chemistry, and you can't root for the evil ones because they're not fetching villains, so you're left with just a sauce that has all the ingredients but no spice.

I absolutely loved this book. A beautiful retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Beauty is a strong, brave, and clever heroine who leaves her family to find out about her self and save a cursed prince.

2/5 stars! I love a good fairytale retelling. My concern will this story is that it was barely a re-telling. It was almost just the normative Beauty and the Beast by a new author, rather than a unique re-telling utilizing only some of the original constructs. An enjoyable read but it doesn't feel fair to rate something so unoriginal higher.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily