Beauty and the Beast of Paradise Lost 5

Can our favorite heroine Belle save the day, as what should be a joyous day for the country and a gruesome victory for La Mèdium. And will everyone really get what they want, or needed, out of their seeming triumph? A perilous battle ensues with devastating consequences and an ending that is very different than what anyone may think... Somewhere in chapter 18, (out of 20,) the story felt much more rushed than the rest of the chapters, and the art lost its touch of elegance and seemed a tad basic, like a new (and I mean a new-to-the-craft,) artist joined the series. I didn't feel the story was impacted too much by the change of art, especially as much by the sped-up pacing, but it did feel jarring and took me out of the world. I would like to note that the artist/author was having health issues according to the author notes, so I don't want to be too harsh about the abrupt changes in this volume. I am also very glad that they were able to finish the series. With that out of the way, the entirety of this story was absolutely wonderful! It is one of best retellings I have read of a classic tale. The French words scattered throughout the dialogue was perfect and really set the mood for a fantastical romance, with a touch of horror. The characters "beastly"/other worldly forms match perfectly to their personalities, which the two cat maids pointed out comically in the ending skits of a volume. The ending of this volume and the series was absolutely perfect and the meaning behind the ending was the true beauty in this series. Bravo!