BEAUTY REBORN, by Elizabeth Lowham, Shadow Mountain, May 9, 2023, Hardcover, $19.99 (young adult)
A young woman trades places with her father in order to save him from a life imprisoned with a beast in Beauty Reborn, by Elizabeth Lowham.
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. —Synopsis provided by Shadow Mountain
Going into Beauty Reborn, I was expecting a tame fairy tale retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but it’s a lot more nuanced than that. In fact, it’s a lot darker.
You see, Beauty doesn’t just take her father’s place to save him, she takes it to escape her own problems. And while she’s at the Beast’s castle, she learns her past behavior doesn’t exactly live up to her name.
What makes Beauty Reborn stand out among retellings is Beauty’s character development. She truly grows and changes over the course of the novel, making it a good character study inside a fantasy. Because the story is told from Beauty’s point of view, Beast is nowhere near as well considered. A dual point-of-view narrative could have been fun here, but it works well the way it was written.
Beauty Reborn is a strong YA novel that’s fast moving and compelling from cover to cover.
Sensitivity note: Though not discussed in detail, a single instance of rape is alluded to multiple times throughout Beauty Reborn.
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