
Member Reviews

Retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a twist. Bellamy is hired to restore a crumbling mansion with a "beast" of an owner, Oliver. Locked away inside his families once grand estate, Oliver is grieving the loss of his beloved parents and brother. Bellamy arrives ready to prove she's a designer to be watched and hoping this job leads to more prestigious opportunities. The animated help has been replaced with a mostly human staff with the exception of Bl8z3, the virtual butler with an attitude. Bl8z3 is a much needed sarcastically witty addition to the house occupants. Construction issues, unexpected guests, clashing personalities lead to tension between Bellamy and Oliver. But their attraction grows as they are forced to become roommates. Sparks fly and feelings are felt. A bad decision by Oliver causes the almost couple to break apart. But the HEA ending comes with a reconciliation and declarations of love.
While parts of this retelling were clever, I felt the overall story fell a bit flat. There was too much grumpy from Oliver. The dialog between the eventual lovers was tedious at times and I felt like I wanted to skip ahead to keep the story moving. Sebastian and Finn were annoying and it was a strange twist to make them Bellamy's closest friends.
Fans of fairytale retellings may enjoy this book more than I did. For me, the story was too long, the dialog too forced, and the cast of characters a bit annoying. 3/5 stars

Mae Bennett... this book is LIFE! I really really loved reading this book... and I loved how you took Beauty and the Beast hints and clues throughout, but TRULY made it your own. That mansion seems like a DREAM... the way your writing described it made me feel like I was actually there! The characters were soooo much fun, I loved Nick, Ambrose, and Rue... but my favorite was Bl8z3... what a friggin cute character/idea. This will NOT be my last Mae Bennett book... and like your sister said (and you quoted in your acknowledgements and I edited one word) "Write the darn book already!" because I am ready for number 2!
I am completely honored that you allowed me to read and review your book. I am honestly sad it is over... And also, I want a sketch of her outfit at the "ball" because OMG it sounds like a dream! SO FUN!
Came back to add - I fell HARD for this cover... #obsessed and the title... yassss queen!
Love,
Linzie
@book.clubbin.besties

This book just wasn’t for me. It was cute, but I didn’t buy the romance between the two leads. The writing was unfortunately lacking. I liked the Beauty and the Beast retelling aspect, but it felt like everything was solved too easily at the end as well.

Thanks so much to Alcove Press and NetGalley for an ARC of Barely Even Friends in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 5/5
I would highly recommend reading the original story, The Beauty and the Beast, by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, ahead of reading this book. I went in only having watched the Disney Beauty and the Beast movie, and now that I’ve started reading the original, I have a much better appreciation for what the author was trying to achieve. Overall, I enjoyed this book at specific moments. Some were very beautiful and heartfelt. I will say that if you are looking for spice, it takes a while to pick up, and then there is pretty much all spice until the end. If you like grumpy /sunshine and Disney retellings don’t hesitate to pick this one up!

A great Beauty and the Beast retelling! Bell & Oliver were great modern updates and I loved Bell being a rockstar in her field and restoring the house.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this title and I am an avid fan of Beauty and the Beast romance/fairytale retellings. I enjoyed having a heroine whose occupation is a restoration/building rehab instead of her merely being a caretaker and protector of a chaotic parent like in the Disney movie. Bellamy is a great partner and moral compass for Oliver whom she gives a kick in the behind whenever he needs to quit brooding and make some positive steps forward in his life. Oliver is a great partner for Bellamy because he accepts her for who she is and that her job requires for her to be on the go when most people want a partner who will be present a majority of the time. The AI and side characters were partially responsible for the action and comedy in the book who kept me laughing and engaged when the plot was becoming predictable/a little redundant. I love that Bellamy helped Oliver stand up to his chaotic family but mostly his autocratic, condescending grandparent who maintains and blackmails Oliver with access to his trust fund. The romance was sweet with enough spice to get me reading and the suspender kink along with body positivity in the book kept me engaged and wanting to read more from this author. I will be placing a purchase request at my library for this title and would recommend to fans of Beauty and the Beast along with HGTV home renovation programs.

Bellamy Price has an offer to restore Killington Estate and this is her dream remodel. Her father has been ill so she will be running this project solo in the empty estate...or so she thinks. Oliver Killington enters the scene and he is a grump!
His parents passed in a car accident many years ago and he had a permanent injury to his leg. He became a shut in within the walls of the estate. Let me tell you, he was mad as woe when Bellamy showed up to move in and redo the estate!
Slowly Bellamy starts cracking that mean and protective shell Oliver lives under. Slow burn, sweet moments, and learning to accept yourself for who you are the main 3 things that stood out to me. I really enjoyed seeing how Bellamy came out of her shell and the way Oliver couldn't deny feelings were forming. The way he sets Bellamy off so easy is 🔥 too.
Absolutely get this on your TBR for release day on June 4, 2024!
Thank you @netgalley, @alcovepress, and @twiceuponabook for my review copy! I thoroughly enjoyed this debut from Mae Bennett and I can't wait to see what's next for her!

Bellamy Price has worked with her father for years, restoring old homes to their former beauty. When he falls ill, it's finally her turn to take on a big major project in the Killington Estate. All she has to do is deal with its grumpy resident, Oliver, and get him to let her get the work done.
This is cute. If you're a Disney obsessive like me, you'll LOVE the Beauty and the Beast references. There's no Gaston character to speak of, so don't look for him. And I like the way Lumieres's character correlation is developed.
I will say that the writing style could be a little tighter. The way the author frames her conversations, is easy to get lost in who is saying what to whom. A few times, I had to reread some conversations to sort them all out. Honestly, it almost seems as though she challenged herself to never use the word "said" in the whole book.
The love story is sweet, and completely obvious. The third act breakup is really end-of-fourth-act, and feels forced. Someone is feeling themself a little too much, and doesn't want to get any help in getting ahead. It's a stupid reason to break up. This one is quite the slow burn, and the ending feels a bit rushed. But it's a fun story that definitely held my attention.
I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!

I really wanted to love this.
Unfortunately, this was just okay.
The romance happened very quickly: One day they hated each other, two days later they were in love.
Furthermore, I would have liked to have connected more with the characters, which I didn't.
I liked the representation and the fact that these characters had their weaknesses and desires, however, I didn't love the story.
2.5 stars

A hard-to-follow premise and stilted dialogue make Barely Even Friends a pass for me.
I was really excited to start BEF for three reasons 1) I love retellings (this one is a beauty and the beast retelling) 2) I love home restoration romances and 3) I love Mae Bennett (I'm a longtime follower of hers on social media). Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me. Bellamy was a likable character with clear stakes but the rest of the plot/characters were quite strange (in a bad way, not a funny/cool way). The pacing felt rushed at times and slow at others, the dialogue was stilted and sometimes cringey, and I wasn't sensing the connection between the two MCs.
I really, really wanted to like this one :(

Thank you Net Galley and Alcove Press for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I really hate to say this especially with Beauty & The Beast being one of my all-time favorites, but this book did not live up to that premise. I could not connect with either of the main characters and it was just . . .meh. It was one of my rare DNFs --after about 25%. I tried but just couldn't get pulled into the storyline.

This book was a cute one. I could definitely see the comparisons throughout the book to Beauty and the Beast.

Ok um, it’s a no from me.
I knew this was a Beauty & the Beast retelling but I wasn’t prepared for this, this was a um well I have no words except it’s you not me, the writing style was just awful in my opinion I got like 30% thru this before I had to say DNF.

Not a lot of chemistry between Bellamy and Oliver and it dragged down my enjoyment of this. Lots of potential--loved the character names and the setting. The suspenders are mentioned way too many times. Bennett was trying too hard to hit so many boxes for this. Again, lots of potential but didn't deliver

It's a solid 3.5 ⭐It's a nice easy story with a nice happy ever after. I didn't fall in love with either character which made it hard for me to root for them through the story. The beauty and the beast element is started but then it falls away a bit (although I read a lot of spicy fairytale retellings so maybe I have high standards).
The first half is pretty strong, the will they won't they tension works well and I loved the grumpy version of Oliver. However, it quickly goes from 0-100 and at one point I felt myself going back and checking I hadn't missed a chapter. It falls a little flat in a few places and definitely left me wanting a little bit more.
A few ideas were touched on, but then left - like her dad and the nurse references and Ambrose's fashion designs, Nick's AI inventions - they mostly all got dropped or references briefly and it would have been nice to flesh this out a little more.
It was an enjoyable read and a good beach or airport novel.

I really enjoyed this book!
It was a nice easy read, perfect to give me a break in between the heavy fantasy books I’ve been reading.
I absolutely loved the story line and the characters! Bellamy was such a relatable character and her personality and banta made the book have an element of humour to it.
The writing style was very easy going which made it a quick easy read for me.
I loved seeing Oliver grow, I enjoyed that the male character was the one who was portrayed to have a bit of anxiety and mental health issues ect.
The only reason for my lower rating was due to the fact in the middle I thought it dragged on a little bit. I wanted to see the sexual tension brought to life a little more and I felt there was a lot of build up of this in the middle without it being carried through.
I would recommend this book definitely if you have just read a really heavy book before hand and need a a bit of a refresh!

Barely Even Friends by Mae Bennett is a delightful reimagining of Beauty and the Beast. Bellamy is a historical restorationist and Oliver is an emotional damaged recluse hiding in his family’s crumbling mansion. His grandfather has hired Bellamy’s father to restore the mansion. Her father too sick for the project, she makes the trip. The deadline is impossible and Oliver is a grouch not able to move past the accident that killed his parents and ended his football career. The banter is clever and the steam is steamy (and very careful with both of the MCs body issues). It got a little lost at the end, as Bennett tried to bring every possible thread together and have a third act breakup. But even so it was super fun to read. And everyone that loves Beauty and the Beast, but would love their to be less Stockholm Syndrome vibes, should check this out. (I received an ARC)

2.5 stars rounded up to 3. I was whelmed by this book, not over or uner, just meh. The characters were fun, although rather flat, and it felt like there were some major jumps in the story where we missed soemthing. The spice was there and pretty decent, but I just kept waiting to care about the characters as a whole and I didn't. I enjoyed everyone on the page, but there was nothing that stuck out to me about any of them. It all wrapped up very quickly with a time jump that surprised me. Overall, this book was just fine. I have no major complaints about it (though the direct B&B References that were forced in the beginning really grated on me) but also no major praise. I would definitely read more from Mae Bennett as I think she can only grow from here.

Ohmygoshhhhh!!!! This book is utterly sweet 🧁🌹⭐.
He was described as grumpy but the reality is that he's a beautiful cinnamon roll!!! He's so cheesy, sweet and sooooo beautifully awkward - it's a compliment 💕🫶🏼.
And she's the really grumpy person in this relationship!! Love IT!
This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, however I really loved the modern elements. Loveeee that it wasn't so much drama- sometimes the only book you need a light one to warm your heart 🙌🏽🥹💘.
Did I say he falls first? Well he does 👀.
And if you think there's no magic in this book because it's a modern retelling - you're wrong - the magic is here and it is thanks to these wonderful characters, especially my dear Lumiere - oops! sorry -Bl8ze 😉.
Thanks to NetGalley, Alcove Press and Mae Bennett for the opportunity to read this book before everyone else 💓.

I was excited to see that this was a modern re-telling of Beauty & The Beast as that was one of my fave Disney movies growing up. The first third of the book was promising to me, but it fell kinda flat after that. There just wasn’t enough tension for me, and I wished there were more B&TB elements in there.
Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.