Beautiful Villain by Rebecca F. Kenney

It was a slow paste but it’s understandable, there’s a lot of secrecy and mystery. Which is why it’s a slow pace. In the story, you are trying to understand the character and world building. In the middle of the story you start picking up the pace and really enjoying the plot. Also the world building. I loved the ending and the characters. The story is a reimagined of The Great Gatsby, but I haven’t seen the movie. So I’m not sure about the similarities and differences. I do recommend this story I think it’s a great read.

I wasn’t expecting to be as drawn to a spicy retelling of The Great Gatsby but here we are. Then you add in paranormal and it’s a very cool reimaging. The story flowed and I read this quickly.

Honest to god I do not think this books constitutes as a Gatsby retelling. Maybe a nod to the original, but no. The pacing is also a bit off with some really slow, uninteresting part. I think they should've edited it way harder to make it shorter. There's a lot of filler. But it's Rebecca Kenney so the spice is SPICING. The chemistry between Gatsby and Daisy raises this from 3 stars to a solid 4. I LOVED their second change romance!

It's not my favorite Rebecca Kenney story (I think the book she just released, Serpents of Sky and Flame, is better with much better pacing), but if you love her books, you'll LOVE this one too!

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the earc. All opinions are my own.

When I found a vampire reimagining of The Great Gatsby I absolutely leapt at the opportunity and was so grateful to receive a copy!

Daisy grew up poor with her parents and her whole world changed when her dad got a new job. They were able to move to a more affluent neighborhood, closer to her cousin Nick, but she left her best friend Jay behind. Seven years later she is invited to a party by her cousin, only to find out the owner of the huge mansion is no other than her Jay Gatsby.

This gives me great nostalgic vibes for The Great Gatsby and a little bit of Twilight. I loved the dynamic between characters and how each of the “original” characters were introduced. Perfect mix of action with that splash of spice.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC. This was an alright book for passing time. I did not like Jay nor did I like the romance between Jay and Daisy.

I was stoked for a Great Gatsby reimagining but it fell flat for me. I think it could be because these characters have been developed before, and their reimagined selves didn't quite hit the mark for me.

A Great Gatsby retelling in a paranormal setting?! Say less! This was a fun read and a wonderful reimagining of a classic. As a retelling I thought this was imaginative and worked well. It takes it's own direction using the shell of the original and makes it into it's own. If you love a good paranormal romance with some steam, vampires and an all around good time, then definitely check this one out.
This was my first book by Rebecca but I am definitely looking forward to reading more from her.

I want to give a huge thank you to the publishers, Rebecca Kenney, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!


“Helplessly, wickedly, wretchedly yours. Yours when I was alone, and yours when I was surrounded by dazzling crowds. Yours in every choice I made, and the ones I will make.”

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.7
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

When I saw Rebecca Kenney was writing a Great Gatsby retelling with a vampiric twist I was so excited to see how it turned out! Especially since I have loved every book by here I’ve previously read. I will admit though that these characters just didn’t click with me the way I had hoped for in this book, and that’s no fault of Kenney, something about these characters just didn’t resonate with me. I would still recommend this book to those who would love a Great Gatsby retelling with a paranormal twist, pull out all the stops romantic scenes, spice, drama, secrets, and such beautiful world building!

I really wish I could’ve fallen In love with these characters but it just felt like everything about them as individuals and a couple floated right on the surface level. Daisy is a college grad who like many of us felt a bit lost about what to do with her life after the typical script of life had been passed to her to be penned by her own hands. So on a whim she decides to join a friend at a glamorous upscale party, where she runs into a blast from the past that turns her world on its axis. And while originally I could empathize and even relate to Daisy, as her story went on it just seemed like there was no character growth. She seemed content in her belief she had no ambition and to just let life happen to and around her rather than being an active participant. And when she ran into Jay we see Daisy’s curiosity and problem solving mind come careening into action, a side of her I loved but that seemed to come and go in dramatic situations. Speaking of Jay I was really hopefully for his character. I mean who doesn’t love an alpha male book bf who will do anything for you. Unfortunately I felt like we never really got to know Jay, we got a bit of his backstory, and how he became who he is as an adult, but at the end of the day his personality boiled down to his obsession with Daisy. And I personally would’ve just loved to see a bit more in depth to his character. There were a few moments when I thought we’d finally get into diving deeper but then the characters would just brush it off or make a joke and everything was just peachy again. It just felt like we didn’t get to see beyond the pretty facade with them and as an avid fan of Kenneys work, I just didn’t feel that I clicked with these characters as much as I have with her characters in the past. Even the romance that I love Kenney for fell a bit short for me in this book. Our main couple Jay and Daisy knew each other previously and when reunited it’s like they took no time to really get to know one another on a deeper level as adults who had a bit more life experience under their belts before falling into this burn it all down relationship. Don’t get me wrong there are some pull out all the stops romantic scenes in this book, but again they just felt very surface level to me. Now I will say I did feel like I was begging to love Jay and Daisy during the last 30% of the book during the excitement, drama, and rapid plot twists and I would love to see more of these characters in that kind of environment.

While I wouldn’t say this book was my cup of tea, it was in no way a bad book. It had amazing world building, and the banter between characters had me giggling into the way to early hours of the morning, and even though I didn’t click with these characters I still enjoyed their story, not to mention if you’re looking for spice this book will not disappoint. Overall I would still recommend this book to anyone who wants a retelling of the Great Gatsby with amazing paranormal elements, fantastical world building, intense spice and just enough twists and turns to have you flipping pages as quick as you can to see what’s going to happen next.

HAPPY READING

Because of recent information learned about the author's nasty and mean behavior towards other authors (especially indie authors) I will no longer be reading and reviewing this book. I prefer to support authors that want to build a positive book community and that want to hold up and champion other authors and not see it as a competition between each other.

This book was easily my favorite so far this year. A retelling of The Great Gatsby with a vampire twist. I loved every second of it.
I read The Great Gatsby when I was in highschool and I loved it. Of course I saw the movie too. It was a tragic story. Beautiful Villain fixed that tragedy perfectly and gave Jay and Daisy the happily ever after that they deserve. I thought it was phenomenal

When one of my favorite authors posted that they were going to remix one of my favorite novels, I literally said “sign me up”. Beautiful Villain is the full of the opulence and enigma we know and love from Jay Gatsby. Daisy is a perfect compliment to him in this novel. The cast is utterly fantastic and it kept me turning page after page, I highly recommend this book for lovers of The Great Gatsby or anyone intrigued by what Gatsby would look like in the modern era. Oh, and did I mention there are vampires?

“He has never looked more like a beautiful predator”

The Great Gatsby & vampires... two of my favorite things! This book didn’t end up being for me, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be for you.

In the first half of the book, we follow Daisy as she reunites with her childhood sweetheart, Gatsby. As it turns out, a lot can change in eight years—he's now a billionaire vampire.

I enjoyed the vulnerability of Daisy as she tries to discover who and what she wants to be after breaking up with her abusive ex-boyfriend and finishing university.

“Maybe if we dance hard enough, fast enough, our souls will float out of our bodies and we won’t have to worry about careers and ambition and if the effort will even be worthwhile.”

I sadly couldn’t wrap my head around the disconnect between the juvenile dialogue and spice level (🌶️🌶️🌶️).

Big elements of the plot are brushed over and the characters were hard to connect with.

Unlike the original Great Gatsby I am glad Gatsby & Daisy got their forever happy ending.

If you like:
>Re-tellings
>Vampires
>Second chance love
>Spice🌶️🌶️🌶️with bite play

This could be your next read!

“We are moths, feathery and fragile, dipping ourselves in titanium and gold to survive a decaying world. And by some miracle, we can still fly.”

Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I sadly couldn’t get into this book, and barely managed to force myself to finish it as I don’t like to DNF! I love the idea of a Gatsby retelling, however, I found the dialogue and characters extremely immature for their apparent ages (collage graduates) and wasn’t a fan at all of the sheer amount of social media involved in the first parts of the book (social media stars and influencers ect.) . This wasn’t a bad book by far, but just not the book for me!

A Great Gatsby retelling with a paranormal twist, Beautiful Villain is just that. A love story about a beautiful villain and his everlasting love for his childhood sweetheart. A modern day Great Gatsby where our Gatsby is a vampire and our Daisy has a special gift of her own, is the book I didn’t know I needed. This book has everything you would want from a romance novel. Beautiful characters, lavish lifestyles, spice, rags to riches, action, humor and of course a happily ever after. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance that makes you feel good. Rebecca Kenney is an amazing author who I will continue to read for years to come. She is the retelling queen.

Such a fun read! Loved the retelling of Great Gatsby & the added paranormal aspects were a great addition to an already fun storyline. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

4.5 stars! This modern retelling of the Great Gastby had me in love from the first pages. It's so cool to see the transformation Rebecca F Kenney puts on this classic by sprucing it up with Vampires and cool tech. Beautiful Villains has all the vibes, spice and just the right amount of high stakes I need and love in a book.

I ended up dnf’ing at about 30%. The style of how our characters spoke felt very juvenile to me with them being in their 20’s. I also felt like the Gatsby references were too on the nose and I overall has trouble getting into the story.

This is a review for /Beautiful Villain/ by Rebecca Kenney, which I was able to get an ARC from through NetGalley. I am super appreciative of the opportunity!

The premise of the story, as advertised, is that it's The Great Gatsby meets vampires...and oh boy, I was sold on the basis of that alone.

For those a bit more curious, the tale goes like this: Daisy is home for the summer from a difficult time at university, reeling from an abusive relationship and stinging from the abandonment of friends. An offer for a fun night at a glamorous party hosted by a mysterious, up-and-coming wealthy socialite draws her in, and it may be more than she bargained for...

Got your attention? Let's review.

First, I want to say that Beautiful Villain is a read that was easy to pick up, and made for a very fun afternoon romp to scratch the vampire-story itch I've been craving. There's quite a few twists and turns in the story that I enjoyed because it was clear the author really thought through some of the intricacies and myths around vampires and what made sense and what didn't for the book. The story is set in modern day - as in post-2020 modern day - and it felt a little jarring at first, as the first-person lingo of colloquialisms are things I'd easily say and read from others in my age group and in Gen Z. It wasn't a bad thing, not at all, but I was definitely wanting more Art Deco and less Rich Housewives. There's a bit of an absence of culture - both vampiric culture and actual societal culture - that might've made the story juicier. Gatsby, after all, is a story about money and the vapidness of the society that chases it; at times, this is brought up, but it has much and more to do with whether someone can afford the fancy gadgets and the cleanup required for the lawlessness happening behind closed doors and less about old money versus new money. And then there's not real vampire 'culture' barring a few moments...and while there is a good reason for this, it definitely could have spiced things up.

I don't think those points detract from the story, mind you, just more of what I was hoping to have.

The story itself is straightforward and its characters likeable. Daisy is an interesting character with secrets of her own, a few that come out - and surprise even her - during the book, and I felt a lot of her reactions and motivations were normal, especially from someone recently out of a toxic and abusive relationship. Gatsby is mysterious at times - on purpose - with several moments of humanity that were honest and relatable. The one problem I had for their relationship and their interactions in general were that there was almost no friction at all. There's some reason for this, to be sure, but it left tension on the floor. Several revelations are accepted and picked up and moved on with, and while many of them seem par for the course, it just felt...like we were quickly moving on to the next point of action and less about wondering about those things, or having more understandable crises about those revelations.

I mean, I don't think it's a spoiler to say Daisy finds out about vampires and after some initial feelings of bewilderment and fear, she moves right along into acceptance. And it sucked the tension right out of all of it, leaving something to be desired. I'm not a dramamonger by any means but it was definitely disappointing.

Couple this with some other characters also finding out about vampirism (and other secrets) and moving right along in the span of maybe 3-5 hours of in universe time? Yeah, that felt frustrating. I understand that some of those specific moments happened much later and it seemd like maybe there was a push to wrap things up, but definitely felt strange overall.

I think what saved this from being a 3-Star only book for me was that there was that the characters are likeable, understandable. The moments of humanity and pain feel totally real, felt earned. There are a few dips that were disappointing and maybe could've lingered longer, but the moments of empowerment on the heels of loss and uncertainty made up for it.

Beautiful Villain is a fun little romp for an afternoon, and while I wanted more depth, I can't say I didn't enjoy the story for what it was. Kenney is a fun writer; it spills onto the page, makes you chuckle, makes you feel like she's invested in the story and having a good time. In the end, I got to experience some of that fun too, and I think it was definitely worth it.

3to 3.5 stars. I appreciate the earworm playlist on the back.

Absolutely devoured, another easy to read by Rebecca. The writing pulls you and keeps up there while it flows seamlessly and begging for more! This is a must read for anyone who loves fantasy and spice!

loved this romance and how the characters were able to figure things out and find their way to love. Loved the friends .