Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost 1 by Kaori Yuki

Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost 1 (Beauty and the Beast of the Lost Paradise, #1)

by Kaori Yuki

The story of Belle and her beast as you've never seen it before, with sinister, creeping shadows suffusing a door to a wider, magical world. Young and rambunctious Belle insists on going out to play in the forbidden woods, but her adventurous streak abruptly ends when her mother is spirited away by a beast known to kidnap beautiful women. Twisted by the loss of his wife, Belle's father keeps his daughter, who has unusual, violet hair, locked away in an effort to "protect" her from prying eyes. Finally emerging after years of solitude, Belle ventures back into the woods where she lost her mother and encounters the beast once more!

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

3.5 of 5 stars

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Summary:

Some versions of Beauty and the Beast show a darker side of humanity. This is one such story. Belle has spent most of her life hidden away by her father, who blames her violet hair as reason enough to keep her away from the rest of society. But it has always felt like there was a darker reason for her isolation.

Meanwhile, there's a beast in the woods that kidnaps beautiful women. It kills others. Belle's mother was one of the latter victims, and with the beast once again wandering near the borders of her town, Belle is determined to get to the truth of what happened.

ARE YOU BEAUTIFUL?

Review:

I went into Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost, Vol. 1, with fairly high expectations. I adore Beauty and the Beast retellings, so it doesn't take much to get me excited for a new one! Overall, I would have to say that this is a pretty solid retelling, though probably not my favorite.

Unsurprisingly, this manga starts off pretty dark. We have a monster kidnapping and killing young women, and Belle is somehow in the center of it. This kicks off some sort of dark mystery, and I still don't have all the answers to what is happening. I'm sure further volumes will provide answers, and I'm looking forward to finding out!

Highlights:
Beauty and the Beast retelling
Horror
Fantasy

Trigger Warnings:
Violence
Death of a parent

Thanks to Kodansha Comics and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 January, 2023: Finished reading
  • 1 January, 2023: Reviewed