9 Beauty and the Beast YA Novels Destined to Enchant

Tracing my love of fairy tales back to its origins isn’t something I can accurately recount. I didn’t grow up drenched in a childhood of the fantastical adventures, but my six-year-old childhood favorite was Disney’s animated classic The Little Mermaid.

Or so my parents tell me. It was at its height during my young days when, in all probability, I was at my happiest playing dress up.

RELATED | 13 Enchanting Beauty and the Beast Adaptations

Adoration for all things fairy tales blossomed since those days, and as an adult, I am even more fascinated by them. I can still remember reading about Disney’s live-action version of Cinderella in its early days. Loving the idea of Lily James as Cinderella, detesting the fact that Richard Madden had been cast as the Prince (never fear, he won me over), and being starry-eyed at the result.

This is why, when rumors echoed that Beauty and the Beast was to be the next of Disney’s live-action reimagining, I was ecstatic to see how it’d turn out.

With the release of Beauty and the Beast this past weekend (March 17th), I thought I’d share some novels that imagine the “Tale as Old as Time” fable, in some instances, in an entirely new way. If you are still on the high that is the beauty of this film, you might like to revisit, relive, and reimagine the enchantment of this story through these pages.

Let’s take a peek at some of the stories you can discover.

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9 Beauty and the Beast YA Novels Destined to Enchant

Sorted from A-Z, by Author

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#1 The Lady and the Lionheart by Joanne Bischof

An adult historical novel (that will enchant an interested YA audience), this one is set in the 1800s, Virginia. It involves a circus, a baby, the nurse who cares for her, and a tender-hearted lion tamer with a top hat full of secrets! Content PG/PG-13 depending. Add on Goodreads

#2 The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

Enchanting many readers, Dickerson’s fairy tale series retells the classics in a unique fashion. ‘Daughter’ is about the wealthy daughter of a merchant who’s indentured to Lord Ranulf. Content not explicit. Add on Goodreads.

#3 Unblemished by Sara Ella

With echoes of the Shadowhunters world and the classic tale, this parallel universe story is the start of Booktuber Sara Ella’s debut series. Content PG. Add on Goodreads

#4 Beastly by Alex Flinn

A sweet contemporary “update,” this novel is a favorite (with an important message) with an emphasis on its teenaged Beast and is perfect for a younger YA audience.

Plus, it’s been adapted into an equally sweet film adaptation starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer. Content PG. Add on Goodreads

#5 Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Her mission was to kill him. Her destiny was to love him.

With its gorgeous cover, this retelling looks to take a more Gothic approach to the story. The overview involves a mission in which “Beauty” must kill the Beast. Content: Implied sexuality. Should be fine for older teens. Add on Goodreads

#6 Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay

A dystopian novel, this futuristic tale sounds like an interesting tale full of danger and darkness! Content: Some innuendo, violence, and mature behavior, though nothing explicit. For older teens. Add on Goodreads

#7 Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

This may be the one rebel on the list, as it’s not commonly referenced as a BATB retelling, but I recently discovered it takes cues from the classic fable.

One of the similarities? Its hero is called “Beast,” while our Beauty is a trained assassin with a dark past. Content is on the mature side, but the scenes are not explicit. Add on Goodreads

#8 Beauty by Robin McKinley

A “classic” re-telling, this 1978 novel sounds like it’d be a quick albeit enchanting read. Content: Moments of peril. Add on Goodreads

Review blurb (by former contributor, Bailey):

When it comes to first books, Beauty is a winner. It’s pretty amazing. If you look at the novel as a retelling of the classic tale, it stands out as a sweet, engaging, and romantic story about one of the most beloved fairy tales ever written. If you like fairy tales, stories with engaging characters, or reading about friends who fall in love, you might really enjoy this particular positive retelling.

#9 Hunted by Meagan Spooner

A Beauty deadlier than the Beast

Hot off the press, this sounds like a fierce kind of retelling in which our “Belle” is the hunter rather than the captive. Sounds good, right? (I mean, check out the tagline!) Content mild. Add on Goodreads.

Review snippet by Catherine (Former Silver Petticoat Review Contributor):

Fans of Beauty and the Beast stories will adore this magical re-telling of a classic fairy tale. True to the original story, Hunted ups its appeal factor by bringing in Russian folklore. Instead of a Gaston, you have……Yeva? Yes! 

Meagan Spooner deftly captures the reader’s interest and holds it fiercely from beginning to end. Her writing is delicate. Haunting, even. Spooner weaves a story of a warrior, a fierce hunter who begins to see that there is a Beast within us all. A rich, vivid retelling, Hunted is a must-read for fans of fairy tales and fantasy stories.

BONUS CHOICES

• As Old As Time by Liz Braswell
• A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
• Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley
• Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

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Have you read any of these? Which Beauty and the Beast retellings rank as favorites? Are there any fairy tale novels you enjoy reading?

Editorial Note: This article is from our contributor archives and has been lightly edited and updated by us. Since 2021, The Silver Petticoat Review has been exclusively written by Amber & Autumn Topping. See About Us.

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