Beauty and the Beast is one of the best-loved fairytales out there. That means that there have been a lot of retellings of that story over the years. Though Disney’s big-screen adaptation may be the best-known version, there’s plenty of books based on this fairytale too. I’m a big sucker for fairytale retellings and will read almost any of them I can find, so I’ve read a few of these adaptations over the years, and here’s my thoughts:
Courtesy: Syfy
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Beauty by Robin McKinley (3/5 stars)- This one is the oldest book on this list, but still fairly popular. A lot of people fondly consider it their favorite version of the classic tale. There weren’t too many new twists and turns to the story, but it was well-written with likable characters and very much in the classic storytelling vein. I enjoyed it.
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Beastly by Alex Flinn (3/5 stars)- Beastly was made into a movie in 2011 starring Alex Pettyfer and Vanessa Hudgens. It’s a grittier retelling, bringing Beauty and the Beast into modern New York City. I liked the modernity of it, even if the characters weren’t my absolute favorite takes on the story. But if you’re looking for something that doesn’t take place circa 17th century, this might be the one for you.
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Belle by Cameron Dokey (4/5 stars)- I’m gonna be honest, I don’t really remember this one that well, but apparently, I really enjoyed it. If I remember correctly, that was because a lot of time was given to understanding the relationships among Belle’s family, which was a nice change of pace. Apparently, a lot of people actually compare this one to Robin McKinley’s Beauty, so if you liked that one, perhaps you’ll like this as well.
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Roses by G.R. Mannering (2/5 stars)- This one was very weird. The world building was a bit of a mess, the writing strayed towards melodramatic, and there were more plots going on than I was necessarily looking for. If you’re looking for a retelling that’s a bit more…out there, this checks that box. Definitely not to my taste though.
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A Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (3/5 stars)- This book was not quite what I was expecting. It makes Beauty out as sort of an assassin, who enters her relationship with Beast with dark intentions. The plot pretty complex and a little hard to follow, but the characters were very interesting. It’s actually surprising that this one doesn’t rank higher on my list because it incorporates Graeco-Roman mythology. I would like to read this one again to see if my opinion has changed at all since I first read it.
There you have it! What’s your favorite version of Beauty and the Beast?