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

This Great Gatsby retelling was everything I could have wanted and so much more. What a fun modern take on a classic story but add in a dash of vampires.

Great Gatsby with vampires?? Yesss please 😍😍 this was a steamy read and entertaining to read. I thought this was an incredible and interesting read! I loved this book

When Rebecca Kenney writes something... I READ it! She has never done me wrong and this one is no different. I loved the vampire take on the Great gatsby (two of my favorite things). Though it is only inspired by GG, the vibes were there and I really enjoyed it.

Beautiful Villian is Rebecca Kenney's take on the beloved story The Great Gatsby. Seven years after she lost touch with Jay Gatsby Daisy thought she would never see him again. Jay is back in town except there's something different about him. Not only is he rich, but there's a dark aura to him that Daisy can't put her finger on. Until Jay is shot in the heart but survives.
I loved the Great Gatsby both the book and the movie. I loved this modern remake. Jay Gatsby is my absolute favorite. He definitely had his justice in this book and it was extremely satisfying.
Compared to the original book, Daisy is strong and outgoing. But like the book Daisy was problematic. Daisy had no reason to truly be upset with Gatsby knowing his background and knowing his home situation. Yet it was a constant issue that was brought up during their arguments.
My only other issue was the dialogue between Daisy and Gatsby. At times it felt unnatural. I think it was the constant TikTok slang. While I like the modern twist I thought it would be more of a mature dialogue.

Overall I enjoyed the story. I am glad that Gatsby and Daisy got the happy ending they deserved from the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to be an ARC reader in exchange for an honest review.

Seriously Rebecca F. Kenney never misses! If you like her writing you’ll like this although it is very different than her other series (ex. Wicked Darlings).