This is a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast. To be honest, I expected a little more from this manga.

The whole thing felt really rushed and jumped around a lot. It didn't have a good flow. I felt like I only grasped what was going on basically at the end.

I'm not the biggest fan of Belle's character, I do however like the Beast. Belle's father was a really confusing character and I don't think he helped the plot in any way

The illustrations are gorgeous.

I was excited to see that Kaori Yuki's new title was here! This is one for folklore fans! It some treads familiar ground with a girl named Belle, a beast, and an enchanted castle. There are lots of fun references to other fairy tales as well.. There are some interesting twists on the both of the main characters that make them easy to follow. I also like the more horror-flavored tone of the world, it even reads like an unaltered Grimm's tale!

This was really captivating and an interesting twist on the story of Beauty and the Beast. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume and will probably be pickingthese up physically.

An interesting rewriting of The Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, filled with horror, traumatic past, and TW. A LOT of trigger warnings, psy/verbal abuse being the most obvious. Following Belle as she make her way out of her abusive home to seek the truth and her confrontation with the obnoxius Beast is really a thing. Their fairy world is dangerous, mysterious and protagonists will need all their strenght to survive into it. I enjoyed the reading, despite Belle being naive till it's truly ridiculous.

This manga will be a "must-read" for my middle school students. It carries a very mysterious storyline which leaves the reader wondering who is actually the "real " beast! It contains beautiful artwork and leaves the reader looking forward to the next installment of the saga. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy reading manga!

I loved this! The art style is really beautiful and while this is only volume one, this Beauty and the Beast retelling is definitely a must read.

Warning: This manga contains graphic language and graphic images of violence.

This was so, so good!

Picture a very dark, grown-up version of Beauty and the Beast where it's believed the beast steals beautiful women for brides, but always he returns them, faceless corpses that come back to life as idoles forever doomed to search for faces to replace theirs. When young Belle's mother is taken away only to return an idole, her grief-stricken father, furious at his daughter for not being the one taken, locks her away for years claiming it's for her own protection.

I. Love. Mangas. I really do. And it's because of amazing works like this. It was sooo good. I love reading stories based on my favourite childhood fairytales, but more twisted and unsuitable for children. Dark and a little graphic. I loved how the manga stayed true to the original story. the French setting and the beast's curse that affects his servants. I also loved the differences as well. The beast having a sister that is also affected by the curse, Belle's secluded life with her father, and the amazing plot twist regarding the kidnapped women. I also noticed a touch of Little Red Riding Hood on Belle and her backstory which I found delightful.

Now that's a good use of fairytales.

Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a horror twist to it. I'm not a fan of retellings, but I wanted to try this because of Kaori Yuki. Belle is a tomboy girl, who wanders to a forbidden forest and the beast takes away her mother. Her father loses his mind and locks up Belle in the house, because she's so ugly and obviously someone else's child. Years later Belle meets this beast and wants to know what happened to her mother and what the crest on her is. I did like the elements, although there's basically too much happening in the manga, so it's stuffed. Yuki should use more time to set the plot, since the faceless things were super creepy, but failed to have any real function yet. I would've wanted to just get to know the characters and the basic setting.

The art looks somewhat rushed and crude at times. It feels like Yuki hasn't evolved all that much, although I do like how the beast looks. The people then have wooden faces mostly and the rhythm of the story is off too, so everything feels angular in a sense. I hope the art gets better though. Perhaps too much, but the series still seems interesting and the horror elements are surely captivating.

Paradise lost is a unique take on the beauty & the beast story. There is definitely a more mysterious element to this story than to the original. Who is the true beast? I have a theory, but don't have the mystery completely solved yet. I do wish the story was included, but I look forward to the next saga.

I can't say that this was as memorable as I had thought it would be however it was definitely a quick,funny and cute and well-drawn fantasy retelling of Beauty and the beast. I think that this has the ability to become a pretty good animated adaptation and I'm excited to see the rest of the manga series as I assume we will see more of classical fairy tales

All the pluses and minuses of the best manga. Not as daring a reimagining of the classic tale as I expected. Belle is inconsistently characterized and can be bracingly tough and then childish within the same page. The Beast, though, is the real star - funny, sophisticated, dark and dreamy, (you know, in that special cursed beast kind of way). Maybe not the best manga to try if you are new to the style, but this does offer its own unique rewards.

I received a free e-ARC from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a huge Beauty and the Beast fan, so I jumped at the chance to read this ARC. While it certainly has a lot of elements of the Beauty and the Beast story, it has it's own dark twists, and not everything is as it seems. This is promising to be a complex, dark fantasy tale, and I'm living for it. I admit that did find it hard to follow at times because it's setting up for multiple storylines that will merge in future volumes. Apart from that, all of those mysteries and hints were absolutely tantalising, and I'm completely hooked on this series already. I loved the art in this volume - it was a perfect mix of beauty and horror, which really added to the atmosphere of the story.

Content warnings: Graphic violence, abduction, murder, attempted murder, child abuse

'Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost 1' with story and art by Kaori Yuki is a manga twist on a famous fairy tale.

Belle goes out to the woods with her mother to gather red flowers that will go with the unusual color of her hair. When she comes home alone, her dad locks her away for years in an act of cruelty. One day, years later, Belle escapes and flees to the woods. She is captured by the Beast and taken to his castle, but the humans that were enchanted there may be trying to kill their Prince in an act of vengeance.

This is a good dark take on the Beauty and the Beast story. I liked the twists along the way as well as the cruelty Belle learns to overcome along her journey. The art is pretty great too. The Beast design is really good.

I received a review copy of this manga from Kodansha and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.

I absolutely love beauty and the beast retellings and I've read a lot of them. so going into this I assumed it'd have the same basics and was pleasantly surprised that the story was so unique!

The art style was beautiful and I really liked the way the beast looks.

How can i say about this book? Pensé que iba a ser una cosa muy distinta a lo que leí.
Tenemos a Belle, una protagonista con unos traumas... Para ser el primer tomo estaba bien llevado, y me gustó que la Bestia le "abra" los ojos a su manera. Hablando de él, creo que es el mejor personaje, ya se que es la Bestia y que su manera de ser es errónea etc etc, pero es que cuando lo leo me da una risa.
Más allá de eso, creo que quiero leer el segundo tomo. No es una lectura que diga wow pero es entretenida si quieren pasar el momento.

A bit cliche and the main character could have more agency, but as a whole the story was an interesting start on a new twist of Beauty and the Beast. I did find the idea of Belle being some oddity in her town and hated by her father an interesting idea considering in most renditions her father loves her more than anyone else.

There's a lot of mild horror aspects in the story that make this a cool kind of creepy. I like that nothing is as it seems. It gives me a little bit of Wonderland vibes, how everything is just slightly off. All in all, a great start to an intriguing new retelling. I can't wait to see where the story goes.

Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost. That says it all, really. It’s impossible to not get enamoured with such a title! Then, even the catchy artwork on the cover plays its part well, don’t you agree?

Kaori Yuki uses her gothic style to turn one of the most beloved fairytales of all times into one of the darkest and twisted tales a reader would never expect . . . The creepiness of the story—which is not a ‘usual’ re-telling—keeps you intrigued and disturbed at the same time, and that works brilliantly! While the psychological abuse Belle had to endure for years puts readers between an angry and an emotional state, their mind constantly marvels at the legendary beast killing beautiful women—is that THE beast’s doing, though?—and the one who started the curse. Plot, atmosphere, characters, everything has a mysterious halo that can really keep you at the edge of your seat. Beware, once you reach the last page, you will be left craving for more!

A remarkable start of what looks and sounds like a unique, sinister manga. Totally enchanting! Ready for a journey like no other? Then venture yourself into the (woods) story at your own risk . . .

I can’t resist Beauty and the Beast retelling. I see one and I have to jump in, we all have our weaknesses… and I am afraid this one did not work with me. I think it’s the opening which rubbed me the wrong way, the telling is so obvious, the clues so over the top hardly worked into the story and the abuse truly exaggerated in a way that had me rolling my eyes with disbelief. I just could not get into it before almost 40% of the manga was over. That obviously tainted my whole experience, because once that first part is over some very interesting things happen and the characters get a bit more fleshed out and less black and white and cringy.
So this was interesting, but it decided to blast too fast with too heavy strokes at the beginning, putting the key points like hammer hits onto the reader’s head - I almost wanted to stop which is rare especially with a visual novel.

The manga artwork is really great in this dark version of Beauty and the Beast. I did enjoy reading it but I also felt that it was a bit confusing in places. I think this is because I expected a straightforward retelling of the fairytale and this isn’t really that at all. It has a few aspects of the traditional fairytale but it is a story that clearly holds its own.

There are also so many different strands of story which could take us anywhere in future volumes. For me the key aspect of the story is that of Belle who is a bold tomboy until her mother is attacked by a beast and disappears. Belle then spends years trying to atone for her mother’s death which she blames on herself, as does her father who it seems never really cared for her. Indeed he eventually becomes a bit of a psychopath.

As Belle escapes from her father, she meets another beast on his floating island and the adventures continue. I think the most interesting element is Belle and her personal growth as she begins to realise her own character and strength. There is a lot to think about in this first volume all told through very dramatic manga artwork, and it will certainly be interesting to see how the story develops.

Copy provided by Kodansha Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

I couldn't finished this book. I don't think it was adapted well. It was difficult to understand what was going on and who was talking. I also was not sure which bubble to read first sometimes which added to the confusion and frustration. I liked that it was different and that there were cool and unique fantasy elements which I had not seen in a beauty and the beast retelling, but it wasn't enough to get me to finish it unfortunately.