A Gatsby paranormal retelling?!? Sign me up! This unique mashup takes readers on a thrilling journey with a strong female lead. I absolutely loved listening to this audiobook. Ruby Cherise's narration brought the characters to life, especially Daisy's vulnerability and strength. Daisy's interesting life, filled with depression from her previous relationship, had me hooked from the beginning. The premise of vampires in this world was fresh and exciting, and I couldn't wait to see how everything unfolded. It was a joy to cheer Daisy on as she navigated a terrible dating experience and emerged stronger and more self-assured. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to these characters especially Daisy so I hope there is more to come.

This was an interesting twist on vampires. I would possibly be interested in more in this world. Though I will say the relationship didn’t really have any buildup to tension. There was also some very convenient things that happened to smooth the plot along. If you have trouble suspending belief and just rolling with a story, this likely wouldn’t work for you. If you can just go with the flow though, it’s a fun time.

I listened to the audiobook for Beautiful Villain and absolutely loved it!! The narrator was fantastic!!

The overall story was great! This Great Gatsby retelling with a vampiric twist was such a fun read! The writing was beautiful and the whole story flowed so well💕

This fun action packed story is a must read/listen!!

I thought the whole "let's turn the fmc into a vampire" thing was giving a little too much twilight for me. I also am not a fan of super alpha male, controlling, possessive male love interests in books. Simply a personal preference. That's a little too much dark romance for me, and I stay away from that genre.

I got this as an audiobook ARC which I was so grateful for. I was stoked because I LOVE Gatsby and vampires, but this ended up not being for me.

I may try reading rather than listening because the narration may have ruined it for me paired with the dialogue.

The narrator did such an amazing job. There was not a dull moment. I could able to understand each distinct characters pov. This is a retelling of The Great Gatsby. Though there are some differences.

Jay has a dark side and his personality is mysterious. As well as he is hiding something deep beneath him. Daisy is not weak and fragile but she takes her time to realise who she really is and what she wants. She really contemplates her life choices and decide better for herself. Then there is a dark and unthinkable paranormal twist. I felt the characters were strong and had their own individuality. The characters development was good. I liked the bond between Daisy and Jay but I love Jay’s character more in The Great Gatsby, the classic book.

The Author did such a brilliant job and gave modern touch to the story with the unimaginative twist and a better ending in my opinion. Though I wanted to feel the warmth of Jay Gatsby, the way it has been described in the classic book.

Overall: 4/5
Narration: 5/5
Story: 4/5

Many Thanks to the Author Publisher and Netgalley

I liked this book more than I thought I would! It started off slow for me but when I realized that this book contains vampires I was all for it and the book sucked me in! I did not care for the great Gatsby aspect of it, I think the story would have been great without it, but either way it was fantastic and kept me on my toes the whole way! There is some spice which was nice and I really enjoyed this being a new adult novel.

If you ever wanted to modernize the Great Gatsby to the 2020’s and add in vampires and some spice, then this is the book for you and you will have a good time.

A few things I liked was the new (at least to me) concept of throwing vampires into the classic Great Gatsby story. I also appreciated the new take on vampires. It made things a little more fun.

A few things I didn’t like were the pacing (just felt erratic), the spicy scenes (just hat the use of P***y in any book) and that those scenes seemed disconnected to the story), and the ending. I hated the ending and have very little idea how this is supposed to be a series.

I want to thank #NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the chance to listen to this ARC.

A paranormal Great Gatsby retelling? Vampires? Yes please! The audiobook was well done and I enjoyed the narrator's voice. I found the modern day setting to be entertaining and worked well for the story. I LOVED the paranormal aspect and thought it was unique and intriguing, I don't want to spoil anything, but it was a very interesting spin on a vampire origin story. The spicy scenes were fun and I really enjoyed Daisy and Jay's relationship. I can't wait to read the next book in this series.

Wow, this one is so different. The story is rather wild, narration is great though. VAMPIRES! What can I say. Love vampires and Jay Gatsby becomes one? Seriously? How fun! Thank you NetGalley for the ALC

The Great Gatsby… but so much better. Rebecca Kenney’s writing draws you in from the beginning to the end. It’s fast paced with vampires and the perfect amount of spice. I love the way she used an old story to turn it into something new.
The characters felt like faithful modern versions of the originals. Overall, everything was well executed and Beautiful Villain was exactly what I was hoping it would be.
The narrator did an excellent job, and now I want to find other books she’s narrated.

I was provided an ARC of this title for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Daisy and Jay.
A spicy take on The Great Gatsby with a fun & modern vampiric twist.

I always love a Rebecca F Kenney title, so it’s not a surprise that her first traditionally published title was a ballpark knockout for me.

Easily five stars. A fun and fast paced romantasy that will give Gatsby & vampire fans alike a little thrill. Rebecca is a retelling queen, who has a fun and spicy take for every tale, and I will happily continue to gobble her books up for breakfast lunch and dinner.

I did also listen to the audio and it was amazing— highly recommend!

Thank you to Rebecca F Kenney, SourceBooks Casablanca, and NetGalley for the ARC & ALC!

First book of an urban fantasy Great Gatsby retelling with vampires and other creatures of myth. Great cast of characters, fun easy to follow plot with a dash of spice. Thoroughly engrossing! The narrator did a smashing job, she had the perfect sultry voice for the FMC. Thank you NetGalley & Rebecca Kenney for the gifted ARC

This book just feel flat for me & that’s unfortunate because I was super excited about the premise of this book. I felt like the MMC was just incredibly lacking. I did not particularly like Daisy either.

I felt that relationships could have been built up better and had a better backing. While I know there were feelings there from a previous history, it just didn’t feel natural or genuine. I felt that the vampire premise of the book was rushed and I just really did not love the plot for Gatsby involving that.

Unfortunately this book was just a miss for me.

𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗩𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗯𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗰𝗮 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘆 offers a modern retelling of "The Great Gatsby" with an intriguing paranormal twist. As a fan of the original story, I was both curious and skeptical about this new take. The book follows Daisy Finnegan, who reconnects with her childhood sweetheart, Jay Gatsby, now a mysterious and sinfully attractive recluse. The plot quickly thickens with themes of wealth, lies, and darker obsessions, culminating in a shocking act of violence. I had mixed feelings throughout my reading experience. At times, the story's references to "The Great Gatsby" were clever and amusing, but the romance felt more like possession and obsession rather than true love. This element mirrored the original's themes, which I appreciated. However, if you’re a purist when it comes to "The Great Gatsby", this might not be the book for you. Despite my reservations, I found the concept of Gatsby selling the secret of immortality fascinating. If you enjoy a blend of classic literature with a spicy, supernatural twist, 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗩𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗡 could be an intriguing addition to your reading list. It’s an original and addictive start to the Gilded Monsters Series, and I’m looking forward to seeing how "Charming Devil", the retelling of Dorian Gray, unfolds.

DNF at 40%. This book is just not what I thought it was going to be. I love The Great Gatsby so much and this is like Twilight Great Gatsby. I was not this book’s target audience. Adding one star because I enjoyed the author’s writing, I just could not get into the plot.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my copy of the ALC.

Beautiful Villains is a retelling of The Great Gabsy with vampiries. Daisy is home after graduating college for the summer. She is depressed Tom her boyfriend of 7 years has cheated on her and she left him. Her cousin Nick and her best friend Jordan have invited her to the Gabsy Estate for the party of the summer. Daisy wonders if Gabsy is her long lost love Jay that she lost contact with once her parents came into money and moved to a better neighborhood. Daisy soon relaizes that Jay has changed and is now figuring out what he is exactly. I am a sucker for vampire books and this one doesn't disappoint.

My head hurts just writing this. I wish I could count the number of times I rolled my eyes, especially towards the end; it was endless!

While I'm no fan of vampires. I do not think fans of the genre will like this ether, the dialogue was just bad, I mean it was insufferable. If 20 year old's talk like this, id hate to see what teenagers talk like!

Plus I don't think the author allowed for an introduction of a plot to build before jumping to another one, World building is also at the speed of light and plots were just so out there, my eyes almost pulled from my socket.

So no I would not recommend this.

Solid 1 star!

I always see this author's TikToks on my FYP so when I say this was available on NetGalley I knew I wanted to give it a try.

The premise for this story was so intriguing. Retelling The Great Gatsby with a paranormal twist is so cool. I think the author did a good job of combining the two genres. They meshed well and gave a classic story new life.

The characters were flawed but fun. I liked the relationship between Jay & Daisy. Their romance was steamy, forbidden and dramatic. Really kept me engaged and interested. The angst and drama kept me engaged and the story thrilling. The romance was perfect.

I liked the narrator as well. I think Ruby did a fantastic job bringing the story to life. Really helped me immerse myself into the story.

Would recommend for fans of paranormal romance.

Usually, I like this type of story, but for some reason, this one was not for me. I wish it got to the magical elements before halfway through the book. That ended up being the true focus, even though we didn’t see it until much later. I guess I had a hard time believing the relationships between characters. It felt like intimate scenes were more about using repeated sexy words than the actual relationship between the characters. The skeleton of the story is interesting, but I was distracted by trying to make sense of things.