“Beautiful Villain” was mildly entertaining but not necessarily in a good way. FMC Daisy is annoying and MMC Gatsby was too over the top in his simpness. There are many MANY pop culture references, and the plot pacing felt off to me. The book had moments where it truly caught my interest, but they were few and far between. It really lost me when Gatsby and Daisy tell her parents that she plans to become a vampire and they had no protest. It was just too much. I do think this book will have an audience, I am simply not among it.

2 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. These opinions are my own.

I love Rebecca’s books. They’re easy to read and highly addicting. Like my favorite candy! This one was no different, and I ate it upppp in less than 24 hours. It had me in every single feeling and if you read it you know exactly what I mean. I was in tears a couple times and I laughed out loud many times too. I love how she can blend a little comedic lines into the story.
For anyone who loves The Great Gatsby but wants a spicy dark fantasy twist with VAMPS. (It is not the original but it is still based off of it and it’s obvious). The FMCs (Daisy) growth and glow up throughout the book is something I absolutely loved. We get to see her blossom and become so much stronger. I don’t want to ruin the story but it’s fun, it’s sexy, it’s SO enjoyable (especially as something to break up those heavy fantasy reads)!

when i saw that one of my fav indie authors was traditionally publishing a gatsby vampire retelling i was absolutely ecstatic. that’s like my dream come true. and this was beautiful. kenney writes in a way that is both sassy and modern but also intensely lyrical and romantic. i also loved the vampires! they were not supernatural, but the result of scientific advancements in medicine. i thought this was a very unique spin on vampirism and i enjoyed the prospect of it thoroughly.

that being said, this lacked something for me that i can’t quite put my finger on. at times the dialogue was weird and the modern references lost me. maybe i’m too used to her high fantasy fairy tale retellings so it was jarring in that regard. i also wasn’t a huge fan of how good the characters of daisy and jay were. it seemed there was a moral justification for their every decision and i just wasn’t vibing with that always heroic thing. i like the great gatsby for its flawed characters. and i know kenney can write some seriously morally gray characters, its a big part of her other books. maybe i just didn’t get it. that being said it was very enjoyable. i will read the next one when it comes out too, since it’s a dorian gray retelling (my fav book ever!).

i’d say this is worth your time if you are like me, a vampire connoisseur!

As a fan of Rebecca since before she was picked up by a publisher I've got to say she absolutely killed it with Beautiful Gillian!! How can you not love the Great Gatsby vibes with vampires?! This book was EVERYTHING andi cannot wait for the rest of the guilded monsters.

When I heard this was a paranormal Great Gatsby retelling I was so excited and couldn't get my hands on a copy soon enough!! Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. The fantasy elements weren't as exciting as I wanted them to be and they seem to be few and far between... With it only coming into play around the 50% mark. I also didn't love the writing. I can't really put my finger on what exactly I didn't like, but it came across as more YA than adult.

Overall, I just didn't vibe with the writing style, the characters, of the modern day setting.

As always, give it a go if it interests you! Vampires, modern day Great Gatsby, and spicy! I didn't vibe with it, but you may :)

2.5 stars rounded up

3.75 ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

One of Kenney’s strongest re-imaginings! With the inclusion of vampires, Kenney took this modern Gatsby retelling from average to thrilling. This book had a great balance of tension, passion, and action. I look forward to the next installment of the Gilded Monsters.

I absolutely loved this. Really, I love everything Rebecca F Kenney writes, but this was no exception. Daisy made for wonderfully unflinching FMC and Jay....well, he was a morally gray vampire. Do I need to say more? The mystery sucked me in from the first page, and the spice, as usual, was HOT. Basically I will inhale anything this woman writes ❤️

I have to go and throw in the towel on this one. This didn’t work for me for many reasons. Mainly, the writing and overall vibe of this book was quite young and also made everything very obvious. Too many pop culture scenes and there was no way I could take the vampirism seriously. I liked the concept, but the execution was disappointing.

This book is so beautiful and the sketches inside? Perfect!
And this is a retelling of the Great Gatsby, a paranormal one at that! What more do you even want?

I enjoyed it, but some things damped my mood like the dialogues werent really that good in my opinion but I still loved this book.

Spicy, enthralling and everything I enjoy by this author. This book kept me flipping the pages as the MCs evolved, grew and put me through hate an love.

Great Gatsby retelling with magic? I'm so here for it. And this was just as compelling and romantic as I thought it would be.

This books premise IMMEDIATELY caught my eye, and diving into it was such an adventure. I love multi-dimensional characters, as there’s so much depth they can have but unfortunately these didn’t quite hit for me. I had no interest in what the characters were put to which really impacted my enjoyment.

Some positives of this book were the unique twist on this story, it made my English studying brain search for so many of the nuanced connections. I’ll absolutely recommend to a friend and I’m intrigued to read more from this author!

DNF @ 39%

Gatsby meets twilight. I really dont love anything about this. Daisy has some stupid abilities? Jay is a vampire? Just dumb....

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Beautiful Villain by Rebecca Kenney is a steamy paranormal retelling of The Great Gatsby that puts a fresh spin on a classic tale. Set in modern times, the story follows Daisy Finnegan as she gets entangled in a web of lies, secrets, and escalating violence after reconnecting with her childhood sweetheart, Jay Gatsby. The author does a great job of capturing the essence of the original story while adding her own unique twist with the inclusion of vampires.

I found the book to be a super fun and addictive read, with a good balance of romance, action, and intrigue. The magical system was quite unique, even if some of the explanations felt a bit lacking at times. The characters were well-developed, with the protective and possessive Jay Gatsby being a particular highlight. While it may not surpass the author's previous works for some readers, Beautiful Villain is still an entertaining escape into a fantasy world inspired by The Great Gatsby. If you're a fan of steamy paranormal romance with a dash of nostalgia, this book is definitely worth checking out!

The only parts of this book I liked where the parts from the Great Gatsby - all the other elements I found to be poory written, awkward and unoriginal.

This was an interesting book. I do have to say it's not my favourite. The cover is amazing, the title is also great and I was really excited about the blurb but it felt to me to not be a very unique story. It might just be that I need to read it at another time again, because the writing was not bad, something just didn't click for me.

I loved this book! Anyone who is a fan of retellings or general fantasy and mythology in general, will end up being a huge fan of this book. I thought it was gripping and well-paced, and I devoured it from page one. This was a great adventure and I think most romantasy readers will find something to love about it.

There were quite a few things that made me turn my nose up.

But let’s start with what I actually liked:
- The focus on mental health awareness
- The healing journey after a toxic, abusive relationship
- Given the previous points, the "friends-to-lovers" trope worked well, even though it's not usually my favorite
- The characters had distinct personalities and were fairly well-defined

However, I didn’t particularly enjoy the tone of the dialogue.
(view spoiler)

Another thing I didn’t love, and this isn’t specific to Beautiful Villain but confirmed my preference, was the single POV. It didn’t make the reading experience feel as fluid or dynamic as I would have liked.

Overall, I think I had higher expectations for this book, which might be why I was disappointed. It's not bad, but it didn’t resonate with me the way I hoped.

I’d recommend it if you enjoy:
- Retellings
- Single POV narratives
- Human x vampire dynamics
- Spicy YA
- Friends-to-strangers-to-lovers tropes

Thank you, Rebecca F. Kenney and NetGalley, for the ARC opportunity!

I was intrigued by the premise of this but I think the ELA major in me just couldn't get past the concept of TGG with vampires to fully connect with the tale. Well-written, for sure, which is why Im still rating semi-highly -- just not for me.

Also: should've been called The Great Bats-by! It was right there! Haha