Around 3-4 hours into the ALC of Beautiful Villain, I was enjoying it so much that I went and preordered the physical copy with the pretty green sprayed edges 🥰

This is my very first Gatsby retelling and I was not disappointed! Adding the vampire and siren twist to it was so unique!

Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Quantity of spice: 🌶️🌶️.5
Quality of spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
**There were 6 spicy scenes - 1 of which was in the bonus scene that was technically not part of the same story, but a 20s style Jay and Daisy spicy scene.**

Daisy and Jay were childhood best friends. Both of their families didn’t have much money, until Daisy’s father was offered an excellent job and they moved away.. leaving behind poor Jay to his alcoholic mother.

Flash forward several years, Daisy has graduated college and she’s taking the summer off because she has no idea what she wants to do with her life. An old friend from high school invites her to this extravagant party and all she knows about the host is that his name is “Gatsby”. Well, who else has the last name Gatsby? None other than Jay! Could it be the same man??

Jay has made a name for himself; he’s now incredibly wealthy and throws these crazy parties for the town every weekend. But there is a reason for these parties.. one Daisy is dying to find out 😉

I loved the story as a whole, my only dislike was Daisy’s immaturity. I’m not sure if it was the way her character was portrayed in the narration or if it was the way it was written, but she seemed more like a character in high school versus having just graduated college.

Something I loved about Daisy was her siren-like abilities. I was so happy she got to explore it more during the story & we got to learn about her history!

I’d recommend this book and am looking forward to Rebecca’s Dorian Gray retelling!

This story has an interesting take on vampires that covers a vast amount of dark topics. The main character is dealing with trauma after getting out of an abusive relationship and is trying to navigate her feelings when she meets back up with her childhood friend. Things get a little crazy after that.

This was a great twist on The Great Gatsby. I loved the mystical components! I wasn't a fan of the way the characters talked sometimes, it felt odd to me. But the story and the plot!! This was a fast paced and entertaining read! The narrators did an amazing job!

5 Stars

DAAAAAAYYYUUMMMMMM THIS BOOK IS IT.

If you ever wanted a modernized Gatsby retelling that tackles all of the toxic moments of the original and flips them on their head and throws in an actual health dose of a true romance…look no further.

Not only is this a delicious vampire retelling with other supernatural beings, AND DONE IN SUCH A GOOD WAY, but it is so steamy and done with such earned tension and never gratuitous for no reason.

This book was such a surprise in such an amazing way. And the audio? EXCEPTIONAL! The narrator was incredible and it included the bonus chapter and playlist for the book. Highly recommend.

For the amount of this book I could tolerate before I just couldn't force myself to go on, every time the protagonist opened her mouth, I found my brain screaming with the voice of Charlie Day, "Oh my god! I don't care!"

Contemporary Great Gatsby fanfiction for (and probably by) people who have to ask after every book recommendation, "Is there spice?"

If you're l looking for a sassy yet utterly bland protagonist and Wattpad-level prose, you can pick this one up, I guess.

Wow just wow! This book was not at all what I expected. I didn’t read the summary before starting this book I am just a huge fan of this author. As always she didn’t disappoint. I love that jay kept his personality from when they were kids. The chaos of how everything unfolded was amazing the fact that it wasn’t just jay who was special and daisy isn’t just some damsel. I love the she acknowledges the bad choices she makes and tries her hardest not to jump in and make similar choices and she thinks everything through. I also love her parents in this rather than the original parents of gatsby.

I was so excited to dive into a modern day Paranormal Gatsby retelling, but I was left feeling a bit ‘meh’. This is an adult novel but I just kept thinking the dialogue and way of thinking was a bit immature. They talked, thought, and acted like teens? The parents seemed too involved and we talked about sleezy Tom way too much for my liking. I didn’t really believe the romance between Daisy and Gatsby. I wanted to so badly. But like I said above, everything just felt a bit meh to me. This was ok.

I love Rebecca's Wicked Darlings series, so when I saw this come up on NetGalley, it was an immediate request. The Great Gatsby is such an icon, and I couldn't wait to see her retelling. But now, after having finished reading it, I'm left a bit underwhelmed.
The plot was very choppy. One minute, there was action and movement and happenings. Then the next, everything was stagnant. The lulls were filled with disjointed dialogue, rushed sexual encounters, or side characters that popped in and out for no reason. There were also multiple plot lines; some were drawn out and some ended rather quickly with another subplot immediately filling its place. The story could have done with some structuring to be more cohesive throughout.
Daisy was fine as a FMC. She definitely grew throughout the story. While she didn't get her act together, I do feel like she's more on the right track. I dislike how she went from pitying herself over her ex to moving in with another guy a few months later almost as if her entire self worth depended on a man's approval. But maybe she'll find her calling in the sequel.
Jay's character was kind of a mess. I never saw the alphamale side of him. Just the lovesick puppy he really was. I needed him to go feral over Daisy, at least once, but he never did. He never "saved" her either; Jordan and Nick did. I feel like he tried so hard to be the "perfect guy" that he instead became a caricature of a real man.
The love story seemed... lacking. It felt very immature, as if they were still in their high school days. And I didn't really feel their connection. I think the story may have benefitted from having Jay's POV, at least for a handful of chapters, making his character, feelings, and motivations more fleshed out. Instead we were just repeatedly told he did everything for Daisy.
I also believe some mystery with twists would have made the story more enjoyable. The immortality plot line would have been a great twist if done properly (and not mentioned in the blurb). As well as the big bad. But everything was handed to Daisy and Jay on silver platters, which took some of the intrigue out of it.
I did like how Jay explained their way of turning vampires was more scientific than biological. And he was (mostly) turning those with the greatest need, such as doctors, nurses, emergency services, terminally ill, etc. He wasn't just turning people for the hell of it. I know Daisy claims he's "playing God" in that regard, but I actually think it makes more sense than changing anyone and everyone.
One of my favorite parts was the primal play scene. Give me alllll the primal sex scenes!

The narrator did a fantastic job bringing Daisy to life! I do wish we could've gotten some Jay chapters with Jay's voice as well.

While this book didn't WOW me as much as I had hoped, I did like it enough to read the next book.

3.5/5 stars rounded up.

Ate down!
This was so enjoyable. Rebecca Kenney always has the most unique ideas. The perfect amount of the film and something new

The Great Gatsby but with a vampire twist! Jay and Daisy are childhood friends who haven’t seen each other in years. Daisy is in college and just got out of a controlling/abusive relationship. She comes across Jay, who she grew up with, and they instantly kick it off like no time has passed! Daisy, however, does have a lot of questions regarding Jay and wants to know what is different about him. Jay keeps telling her that he will explain everything in time but doesn’t want to rush anything.

The connection between these two characters is everything! They have a bond and love for each other that will always be protected by them. This book kept me engaged and wanting to read more. I didn’t want to put it down! The trickle of spice was good! Wasn’t too much but was just enough!! I enjoyed all of it!

let me start by saying that the narrator did a beautiful job of bringing this story to life. The premise of this book had me really excited to dive into Gatsby but make it vampiric. Unfortunately the execution fell a little flat for me. Or maybe I just love the classic so much i couldn't get passed that. I did enjoy the characters and thought they were well flushed out. And I thought the science explanation for the vampires was afresh take and really had my brain thinking about the possibilities. Over all i think that this book is going to be a huge hit for a lot of people. I really just couldn't get passed the tesla.

#BeautifulVillain:⁣
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Thank you @sourcebookscasa @librofm @dreamscape_media for my gifted copies!⁣
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“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.”⁣
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Vampires are back baby! (To be fair, I don’t think they ever left, but just in case you felt they did leave, they’re back) ⁣
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If you’re unaware of Rebecca F Kenney’s work, it’s usually saucy and fun reimagined stories. I like them because they’re not the same retelling x 1000000. Gatsby isn’t my favorite FSG book, so I didn’t know how I would feel about a retelling. Well, I loved it. It was a fun twist with the touch of vampires and Jay wasn’t totally insufferable!⁣
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Audio was definitely where it’s at. Ruby Cherise read The Sacred Stones series and I loved their narration. It was just as great for Villains. ⁣
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So if we’re gonna hit key points: Jay isn’t insufferable to me, Daisy is a stronger FMC, vampires are cool especially when they have a moral system on not just sucking everyone dry, the spice is there but it’s not Georgia in July heat, just like Georgia in April after the last frost, audio is amazing.⁣
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Out now! ⁣
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I’m out of creative questions, so please ask me one and I’ll answer 💚

I did not end up finishing this book so it was a soft DNF but I may come back to it at a later time. It just wasn’t interesting me at the time.

🧛 What's it about?
This book could have been entitled The Great Gatsby and Vampires ala Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Except this was also updated for the modern age. It also had some Twilight reminiscent scenes (which I loved).

💛 My thoughts?
It was a fun read overall.

This is one of those books that you can pick up and breeze through when you need something light, distracting, and fun. I enjoyed reading about the themed parties, and Jordan was a fun character. I'd actually love to read more about her.

All of the main character names were taken directly from the original Great Gatsby book, as was much of the plot (plus the addition of some vampire drama and spice). It didn't feel super original, but it did feel pleasantly nostalgic–both for Gatsby and the vampire stories of my teen days.

Points for a new take on the vampire legend!

🎧 Ruby Cherise is an excellent narrator and did a wonderful job on this book!

Retelling of great Gatsby? Idk why that didn't register for me, it was okay I'm not a fan of the passive relationship. So nor my type of book but others will probably live it. The narrators did great though

I enjoyed this audiobook but just felt like the story lacked a little bit. I also wish the narration would have been dual or duet.

It was enjoyable and I loved the concept behind the story but I just wanted more!

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"Don't drink anything from the ones with the bracelets."

Beautiful Villain was interesting. At first glance, I was pretty excited to jump into this paranormal retelling of The Great Gatsby. And yet, after finishing this audiobook, I'm just left hoping. There are things that I obviously liked and things that I didn't really care for. Sure, I'm into the whole alpha-ness of a character every now and then. It's just it felt overdone in this one. It was too much too quickly, and then nothing after that.

Besides the whiplash from a certain character, I just needed more from these two. Don't get me wrong, I adore Daisy and Gatsby. I just feel like Daisy deserves more and better. Sure, they are attracted to one another, and they have some weird chemistry. I just need more emotions, or maybe something more emotional and meaningful to happen between them.

Other than that, I liked the dangerous aspects of this world. With lies, secrets, and violence lurking in the deep, dark corners of this, I couldn't put the book down. Throw in some danger to loved ones, and I wanted to see where things would go between these two.

In the end, it was easy to listen to and enjoyable. The romance was steamy and consistent. The danger was always looming over them. I just wanted a bit more (because I'm greedy). I'm very intrigued by what the next book will look like since it will be a Dorian Gray retelling.

Great Gatsby retelling with vampires? I’m immediately intrigued. This was a fun paranormal romance. I like the author’s writing, I liked the narrators, and overall enjoyed this. I liked that all the original characters from Gatsby appear in this, with Gatsby get his HEA.

Daisy Finnegan has just split with her abusive boyfriend, Tom. When her cousin Nick and bestie Jordan bring her along to a mysterious host's party, Daisy realizes that said host is her ex, Jay Gatsby, the man who left her 8 years ago. But he's not the same as he once was.

On the surface, Beautiful Villain is a Great Gatsby retelling with vampires. Before I go any further, I need to say that The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books of all time. So I'm a hard sell. I'm also not a romance reader. Strike two for being the target market for this book. Props to Kenney. She did do her research, including several threads from Fitzgerald's original (though I did miss Gatsby's signature pink suit). However, I didn't particularly love nor relate to any of the characters. I found the dialogue to be a bit weird. It felt like the characters were younger than they were supposed to be, which made the spicy scenes odd. I didn't hate this book, but I didn't love it either.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Ruby Cherise was a great narrator, and she really embodied Daisy.

4 ⭐⁣⁣
3 🌶️.... there's a primal/chase scene. 😏⁣⁣
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I didn't know I needed this until I got the paperback arc and read it. I remember when I read The Great Gatsby in highschool, I HATED it. I hated Daisy so much. I know hate is a strong word, but I stand by it. Lol 😅 ⁣⁣
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So when I saw that Beautiful Villain is a Gatsby retelling but with Vampires, I knew Gatsby would live. Lol I had a good time reading it. Definitely had fun. ⁣⁣
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Jay and Daisy were friends when they were younger. You can even say, they were in love, but Jay just ran away from home. Left Daisy heartbroken. Years later, they meet again, and Jay is a very rich man now. But Jay is not the same man.....maybe Daisy is not the same woman either. 👀 ⁣⁣
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There were times when I thought it was too cheesy and some things were too rushed, not enough background information, but I still enjoyed it. I love a possessive hero. And I didn't hate this Daisy. Lol⁣⁣
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This is my first read by Rebecca, and I need to read more of her books.