Normally I am hesitant about reimagined classic stories, but Beautiful Villain was so fun! I always wished The Great Gatsby had a happy ending, and this book finally gave it to me. Through vampirism, Jay Gatsby is able to survive being shot rather than dying in his pool, and readers get to see justice for Jay and Daisy. Not only did we get justice, but also swoon-worthy romance, spicy hot smut, and a nail-biting fight scene. This book truly gave Scott Fitzgerald, William Shakespear, and Bram Stoker a run for their money. I keep recommending this book to everyone at my library and they are all so perplexed over the idea of The Great Gatsby plus vampires, but everyone loves it! I cannot wait for the world to read this book and fall in love with the idea of happy endings for our literary classics.

I've really enjoyed Rebecca Kenney's indie published books so seeing her get a trad pub deal was so exciting. I liked the sound of this story. It's been a long time since I read a vampire romance. I enjoyed the nostalgic vibes this gave me. It reminded me of Twilight only smuttier and less broody. I loved the childhood friends to lovers. The vampires weren't some super secretive thing in this story. Which I appreciated. I liked the science aspect to how they become vampires. The romance was rather lacking for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between Jay and Daisy. I don't get the title because Jay is anything but a villain. There's also no real plot, it's all vibes. It's not a bad story but also not a standouts 3.5 stars

1/5 stars

I try not to be too much of a literary snob when I read retellings because I understand this is the author trying to make the story their own. But this book missed the mark for so many reasons.

I was excited to read the book — a modern Gatsby retelling where materialism is on the rise AND there are vampires. But I found there were only a few things I found interesting about the book: the lore. I thought the concept of the vampires having been newly created as a gene mutation because of a serum was cool, and I liked Daisy’s hypnotic powers. I thought this thing has the potential to open up to a secret society of paranormal creatures where vampires are at the bottom of the food chain.

My biggest issues were as follows: the author doesn’t seem to have a strong grasp on what the OG work means and all its symbolism, which leads to a holllow-feeling retelling. Important themes such as the struggle to maintain and keep wealth, the concept of the American Dream and losing yourself to it, had an opportunity to show up due to how things were getting set up, but just… didn’t. Instead, we got a scene where Gatsby gets shot, comes back and have a laugh about how it would have sucked if he went through all of this trouble to win her over only to die, and then oral sex on a bunch of fancy shirts.

The characters felt like caricatures, often feeling flat and lacking growth; they also read like they should be in high school and not 21-24 year olds entering adulthood. Daisy contradicted herself with constant talks of how familiar Gatsby felt, but he was a total stranger after 8-9 years of not being in her life; but despite him being a stranger, she still expected him to divulge every secret to her. As if she hadn’t given a good reason as to why he won’t. And her focus on struggling to find out what she wanted to do with her life, while actively going back to memories of high school as a highlight and mentioning grades also told me what kind of character she was going to be. Tom was an abusive character, but done to a point so clearly meant to juxtapose Gatsby and make him look like this hero. Gatsby himself is obsessed with Daisy and fell so flat in an attempt to him feel like an obvious choice. Nick served no big purpose and Jordan was a parkour influencer on TikTok.

The writing had moments where it was beautifully written, but most of it could use some more hammering out. The writing felt aimed for a much younger audience and the dialogue (especially the weird focus on Tom getting nipple piercings and then going “hot huh?” to impress Daisy especially took me out). The sex scenes weren’t great and I felt there was too much emphasis on the body parts quivering at growls and hardening and twitching and gaining a conscious to be able to crave something, and not so much the feeling made for a dry read. Don’t even get me started on utilizing galvanizing or hot liquid being poured down a throat and stomach to emphasize arousal… It definitely felt like it had been thrown in there to keep up with the market focus on spice and spicy scenes, and took up page time that should have been focused on a plot.

Plot and pacing were definitely the weakest of the book. The big bad — which I wished had gone a different direction (see Daisy’s powers, Gatsby’s obsession, and them being childhood friends) — had been subtly mentioned throughout the book, but nothing built up properly. It made for his introduction at around 78% of the book to fall flat and felt like they weren’t a threat considering there wasn’t tension between the two ideologies of how vampires should go about treating vampirism or creating more. There had been more tension with Daisy accidentally using her powers on Gatsby.

Overall, if the author had changed names around and kept it to a bunch of rich young adults partying it up and turning it into vampires, no one would make a connection to Great Gatsby and would probably have more room to focus on developing characters and pacing out a plot instead of relying on important scenes and well-known characters from a classic novel to catch and hold the reader’s interest.

Gatsby meets vampires! Another amazing read by Rebecca Kenney! i have yet to be disappointed by any of her releases and this is no exception to that! Very well written, the spice is spicy, the romance is sweet and swoon-worthy, i absolutely devoured this book!

A Gatsby retelling with paranormal elements, vampires, and spice? Yes, please. I have enjoyed reading several of Rebecca's retellings and this one did not disappoint. Great world building, following the original story, but its own vibe. Overall fabulous retelling, I would highly recommend.

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨
𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐚 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐲
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Fantasy
𝙿𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜: 394
𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝙲𝚘𝚙𝚢: Yes

A great Gatsby dark retelling.

Daisy fresh from a breakup and not quite feeling herself decides to go to the new extravagant parties being held at a local mansion.

It turns out Gatsby the best friend she hasnt seen in 8 years Is the person hosting these parties but he seems different..

But there is also something different about Daisy almost hypnotic like.

This was my first Rebecca Kenney book, although I enjoyed it, it definitely felt like it was missing something and honestly struggled to write this review.

This book releases July 16th 2024.

4/5 Stars

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for providing me with an arc.

I absolutely have adored the books I have read from Rebecca F Kenney in the past and this one is no different. This fully solidified her as the Queen of corrupting Classics in my mind but I mean this in the best way. This is a take on the Great Gatsby but set in modern times and with paranormal aspects. It was a really fun take on the great gatsby and it was a quick read for me. I liked the story and I definitely plan on continuing the series as I am excited to see where this goes from here.

Daisy Finnegan is excited for her summer of freedom after getting out of an abusive relationship with her ex, Tom. She doesn’t want to think about what will happen in the fall when she needs to figure out her life after college. When her cousin and best friend take her to a party at a mansion owned by a mysterious man named Gatsby she doesn’t expect it to be her childhood best friend who was poor and in a bad family situation, Jay Gatsby. Quickly she gets tangled up in the web of glitz and glamor and mystery that makes her summer not at all what she had planned. Stuck trying to figure out how it is that Gatsby is now rich and there are weird paranormal things happening all around, it isn’t until blood is shed that she can uncover the truth about everything.

It has been a while since I read Gatsby and I skimmed it to be honest but I did like how Kenney manages to incorporate some of the core themes of Gatsby into a book that is still fresh and completely her own. Gatsby has the same driving ideals behind gaining his wealth which is to prove that he is worthy of Daisy in his own mind and in this book even though he is super morally grey his driving moral compass is based on being worthy of Daisy. Daisy is really amazing in this book and she has her own power and isn’t weak. She is healing from not only her abusive relationship but the fact she thinks Gatsby ghosted her all those years ago. There are so many twists and turns that made this book an amazing read and it makes me very excited to see where we go from here with the next two books which are Dorian Grey and Wuthering Heights inspired.

I have truly loved every Rebecca F Kenney book I have read and I do highly recommend picking this one up. It is spicy and has fun mystery elements in it that balance out the romance. These are messy characters and it is what Rebecca does really well. They have trauma and are damaged but want to be better and do what is right for their communities in the case of this book.

Overall: 2.75/5
Characters: 3/5
Plotline: 2/5
World-Building: 3.5/5
Writing: 2.75/5
Tropes: F/M Romance, Gatsby Retelling, Childhood Sweethearts, Second Chance, Paranormal

Themes: 3.5/5
Romance: 3.5/5
Spice Factor: 1.5
Enjoyment Factor: 2.5/5

Review: I wanted to like this so much because of the Gatsby aspect, and while it did follow a good amount of The Great Gatsby but added vampires and threw it in a modern setting, nothing fully clicked with this book. The characters felt very flat and one-dimensional, and the plot moved so fast that you never fully grasped the thin plot. I liked the biological aspect of the vampires; it felt so new and fresh, which was the main reason I continued with the story. I think this had a lot of potential to be fascinating, but pacing issues and lackluster characters made this fall flat.

As a massive consumer of Rebecca's work I was so excited for this book. I initially fell in love with her Wicked Darlings Series and have been hooked since. I really thought there wasn't a book that she could write that I wouldn't absolutely completely love. I was wrong. It could be because it's more contemporary based and I just love the fantastical worlds she creates, but I struggled with this.

I've never been one to be a fan of things in modern day that get mentioned in books unless it's a memoir so I get thrown off when things like tiktok, youtube, etc are mentioned. I was also a little disappointed that the main characters names weren't changed for the retelling since the story was told modernly and mentioned things in media that exist in our world. My brain just kept circling back to the fact that The Great Gatsby was literally apart of my school's curriculum so I was like like how does she not make a silly reference or anything when we have twilight references.

<spoiler>Jay didn't feel like much of an upgrade to her other ex. He blamed her for something that was out of her control that was her parents fault and for something as wild as them not trying to adopt him. Which was crazy because they were dating, like why would you want that? And to the jealousy of her sleeping with someone else when they spent 7 years apart when he slept with people. Also the biting into the lady bits, I was screaming in horror. </spoiler>

this is a 3.75 for me. I wanted to like this so much more than I did. I have been dying to read books by Rebecca Kenney and I just haven't had a chance. She is known for her spicy retellings and so when I found out she was doing a Great Gatsby retelling I was even more excited to read it. I will say I have seen the movie and I read the book, but I remember the movie more than the book and with any retelling there is going to be some comparisons.

I loved the improvements on Daisy as she definitely had more personality and autonomy in this book. She definitely had dimensions and growth in the book that I appreciated the progression of the character. Though I will say there were times when I did find her a little annoying and I would just roll my eyes when it came to something she did or say.

Now with Jay when you compare him to the movie, he was just larger than life and such a whirl wind of mystery and energy. With this book he just seemed a little less than. He just seemed to be missing that grandeur and seemed a little a little one noted. He was either talking about vampires and or about how he did everything for daisy. That was it, so he just felt a little flat for me. Now I don't know if that's because the book was from Daisy's POV for the whole book but for me at times Jay was forgettable which as a MMC Vampire reimagining of Jay Gatsby isn't what you're wanting.

I will say there is spicy in this book but the scenes felt a little rushed so I wouldn't call it spicy. For me I would also say there wasn't much chemistry between the MCs as well. Small spoiler: I mean after a big battle where she tried to say I love you before it happened but was stopped, she decided what she needed to do after this win WAS TO GO HOME! Why are you not staying with your vampire BF confessing your love and going at it like rabbits.

I know this seems like I didn't like the book, but I did enjoy some parts and the concept was just so cool that maybe I just built it up in my head. I liked again the evolution of Daisy and how she got some autonomy and her power back after everything she had been through. I did enjoy how easy of a read it was and the way the earlier scenes had been set up with the mystery of what was going on and the grand parties. So those parts did make the book enjoyable for me.

I have to wonder because this is the author's first traditionally published book if something went on behind the scenes to change how the author approached the book. It's just a feeling and I can't say for sure as I haven't read her other works, but it just doesn't seem to fit how her other books have been described to me by friends with the same tastes as me who are familiar with her works. I do hope to read some more by her soon to see if this is true or if this was just not the author/book for me.

This book is about Daisy who is home after graduating from college. She is trying to figure out what to do with her life after a lackluster college career and is just at a standstill. She is also trying to work past the toxic relationship with her cheating Ex and all the emotional damage from the relationship. So, when an old friend Jordan comes back into her life and is getting her out of her funk it's just the revival Daisy needs. But all Jordan can talk about is the amazing extravagant party she was just recently at with its mysterious host that no one seems to have met. When Daisy gets an invitation through her cousin, she decides to live a little and have some fun and maybe figure out the mystery of the host. But that's not the only mystery to solve as some of the other guests are acting really weird and suspicious like causing her to wonder if there is something dangerous going on and if the guests are truly safe. As if that wasn't enough her toxic ex is back with the girl, he cheated on her with, but even with all that happened he won't leave her alone. Daisy's lackluster summer of dreading real life is turning out to be way more exciting than she expected.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

I'm a fan of The Great Gatsby, so this retelling immediately caught my attention. However, vampires are not my favorite amongst supernatural lore, and therefore I should have known this wasn't quite the book for me. I struggled with the dialogue and the writing style, and coupled with the vampires, it just wasn't holding my attention. However, I think this book will be a huge hit with the right audience! Fans of vampires, spice, and second chance love will eat this one up.

"This isn’t a fairy tale. The beast doesn’t turn into a prince through the power of love—it’s the other
way around. I always preferred the beast anyway."

Loosely based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Beautiful Villain follows FMC Daisy as she reunites with a childhood love and is thrust into the world of the supernatural, all while she is recovering from an abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend who is determined to retain his control over her.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and the plot, but definitely had moments where I had a hard time buying how easily Daisy bought into the world of the supernatural, and how lax everyone was about it. That just felt...too easy.

Tropes:
✨ The Great Gatsby retelling
✨ Childhood best friends to lovers
✨ Vampires / supernatural vibes
✨ Healing from relationship abuse

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶/5

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Beautiful Villain is a new adult fantasy romance loosely based on The Great Gatsby book.

I found it really entertaining, with very sad and dark parts (check the tw) and funnier parts.

If you like:
💫Childhood friends to lovers
💫Vampires
💫Major The Great Gatsby vibes
💫Protective and possessive MMC
💫Action
Then this one is for you!

I loved the magical system and found it quite unique. Even if the base elements were classic, the author gave a creative twist to everything.
I was dubious on some parts, because when trying to explain a fantasy element scientifically many things may end up not adding up, and sometimes it felt like it here. Still, it wasn´t too big a problem because the story was very good.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebook Casablanca for the ARC.

Beautiful Villain will be out on July 16th.

Gatsby but with Vampires?!

This is the retelling of all retellings. The Great Gatsby is one of my absolute favorite books of all time, and the movie with Leo is also a personal favorite. This book takes inspiration from both the original book and the movie but adds a fun twist with vampires 🩸

Personal favorites to note from the book

•Dasiy is a strong FMC and not a “pretty little fool”
•Gatsby gets his happy ending (not a spoiler, it’s advertised)
•All your favorite characters from the original book make an appearance
•Vampires and other non-human entities

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read/review this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

A Great Gatsby retelling, count me in, I was very excited for this one as I love this authors other books.

The plot centres around Daisy. She's recently split up from her boyfriend. It was an abusive relationship, and she's recovering/ finding herself again. With encouragement from a friend to get out of the house, she attends a party at a huge mansion to discover its owned by her childhood friend/ sweetheart, Jay Gatsby.

I enjoyed the lead up to Daisy discovering where Jay's wealth came from and getting to see them reconnect after so long. It was easy for me to connect with Daisy's struggles after her past relationship ended, and Jay was so sweet with her.

I enjoyed the supernatural twist on this classic. It was fun, but I did feel like it was a little rushed. The conflict in the book was resolved very quickly. It would have been nice to have a bit more time to connect with the character, Jay in particular.

There was some spice in this one, but not the level of spice and debauchery I come to expect from one of Rebecca's books.

Overall, I still enjoyed this book, I read it in two days, Rebecca's books are always very addictive, and this was a fun take on a classic.

This book was brilliant!! A Great Gatsby Retelling with an exciting twist… Beware this review may contain some spoilers that you want to enjoy yourself.

Going into this book I tried to remember what I knew about the Great Gatsby Story, because I didn’t know how much relevance it would have, and to be completely honest I am glad I didn’t remember much but the name because it didn’t take away from the absolute brilliance of this book.

I was gripped from the beginning. I knew Daisy was our main gal, and she has been through some trauma with her last boyfriend Tom who is a complete ass hat. Her daredevil friend Jordan asked her to attend some amazing party she heard about and thought it would be great for Daisy to attend to get out of her slump, she had found herself in.

Jordan is called away during the party by the Gatsby himself, and Jordan is offered some “life insurance" and that is where things start to get really interesting.

I found it so refreshing about the origin story of the Vampires, and how they came from an experiment that was hundreds or thousands of years old. It was just a nice twist from some of the more traditional retellings we have heard so far.

“𝑽𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒂 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒅.”

The tension, and mystery were gripping and I found myself thinking about the plot a lot when I had to put it down which is always a good sign. This insta post isn't long enough for all the brilliant points I want to talk about in this book.

I don't want to spoil the ending but don't be afraid it ends like the actual Great Gatsby story... It doesn't

“I can't go from "how have you been" to "pin me against this damn tree and fuck me until I scream your name" in the space of an hour, even if I desperately want to.”

“He's here for me. That's pretty fucking clear. And as much as I care about him, as flattered as I am, there's a magnificence to the gesture that overwhelms me.”

This book was bloody brilliant!! A Great Gatsby retelling with magic twists and vampires !!! I loved it !!! Totally and completely!! It had all the best things of the original book but in a contemporary setting and fantasy ambiance!! It is a great idea!! Daisy is such a good female main character. I felt like, despite some of her most frustrating moments, she was determined and willing to make her life better, facing her insecurities and the truths of her past and her present with Jay. Talking about the man himself… he is a masterpiece !!!! Do you know when they say “he did it all for her”? This is him !!! The lengths this man is willing to go to for her and her alone … I want that!! It made me fall in love for him even harder. Of course, if we add the fact that they were best friends to strangers to lovers and he has some morally grey and mysterious secrets … it only contributes to the charm. I knew this book was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. And I was right in thinking that it would have surprised me in the best possible way. I was already interested in the author and her stories but now … I need to read them all !! I’m so so glad I got a chance to read it !!

"Speaking of creepy, is there a noncreepy way to be obsessed with someone?" His voice is husky, barely audible through the bellowing of the oncoming zombies. "Because I'm kind of obsessed with you, and I'm trying not to be weird about it."

“This isn't a fairy tale. The beast doesn't turn into a prince through the power of love—it's the other way around.
I always preferred the beast anyway.”

Beautiful Villain is the first book in the Gilded Monster Series by Rebecca F. Kenney and it is a truly delightful romp of a book.

What if Gatsby didn’t die? What if love really was eternal? What if Daisy was just generally better? Kenney takes these concepts and absolutely runs with them.

The beginning of the novel follows Fitzgerald’s telling fairly faithfully, it just takes place in the modern era. We still see the extravagant parties thrown to impress Daisy and it doesn’t become clear until later that the parties are so much more than just a means to snag Daisy’s attention. The novel really begins to shine where the Fitzgerald telling would have ended, except Gatsby doesn’t die…As Daisy finds herself drawn further and further into Gatsby’s dark world she must ask herself, is she willing to risk her soul?

I really love retellings and I found this one to be super clever and fun. Beautiful Villain is crafted well and has female characters that are actually relatable, I love to see it. There is a fun mystery element to the plot that is engaging and well done. The spice is fun and just right for the book. Ultimately though, my favorite thing about Beautiful Villain is that Kenney makes Daisy a human and liberates her from the cage of an idealized object that Fitzgerald put her in.

This was a DNF for me. It just wasn’t to my taste and didn’t keep me engaged. Thank you NetGalley for approving me of this book in exchange for my honest review.

✨ Modern “The Great Gatsby” Retelling
✨ Paranormal Romance
✨ Vampires
✨ Childhood Friends to Lovers
✨ “It’s Always Been You”
✨ LGBTQ Rep
✨ Social Media Influencer Side Character
✨ Primal Play

"The Great Gatsby" is one of my favorite classic novels and I was ecstatic to learn that Rebecca F. Kenney was doing a modern retelling of it and with VAMPIRES! Two of my favorites and Rebecca did not let me down! I loved the modern take on it and was glad to see she made the characters more diverse and fit into today’s society. Gatsby and Daisy’s reconnection in this book was a fun journey to witness and Daisy finding out that everything Gatsby did was for her, made me all gooey inside. The inclusion of vampires in this story is such a fun and exciting take on this classic and how it was incorporated was perfection! There are even references to "Twilight", which made cackle. Like all Rebecca’s books, there are some great spicy scenes in this one and we even get a primal play scene 🔥.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Casablanca for an advanced copy in return for my honest review! ❤