4.5 ⭐️

This was so good!! Charming Devil is a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray. And I enjoyed this so much. Supernatural happenings and in my favorite city in the country. Charleston SC was the perfect setting. This was surprisingly insightful and fantastic storytelling. Loved the plot twist and that ending leading into the next book. At least that’s the way I took it lol. Immersive storytelling, great spice, and relatable characters. Highly recommend this one.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Charming Devil is a contemporary retelling of The Portrait of Dorian Grey. Dorian does not age, as any ailment he may have goes into an enchanted portrait of himself. Baz is an artist, who Dorian seeks out when the portrait begins to deteriorate. Will she help Dorian? Do they have another connection?

Okay, full disclosure: a bit of time had gone by between requesting this galley and sitting down to read it. Enough time, that I did not realize Baz was a woman and not a man for a few chapters. 💀 I did eventually get that sorted out in my brain.

I really liked this retelling. No character was simple or inherently good or bad; everyone was complicated. This Dorian felt accurate for our present day. Of course Dorian would be partying and utilizing things such as social media. Baz had some boundaries and I appreciated that she did not want to immediately help this stranger asking her a big request. It did seem like some things were not fully resolved, but maybe there will be snippets of what happens in future books.

This is a part of an interconnected stand alone series. There is some mention of characters from book one, but not enough to need to read it first or to be spoiled by anything mentioned.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for an eARC of this book for an honest review.

Here I go again reading a retelling without having read the original. I’m consistent, at least.

What I do know is that Dorian Gray is able to stay alive and looking young thanks to a painting. However, that painting has been slowly eroding thanks to his reckless lifestyle. He seeks out a young painter, Baz, who has a special gift. She refuses to use it because it resulted in tragic consequences in her youth. Dorian has to convince her to paint him, and he does so by inviting her to spend time with him in his lavish world, promising her connections to help her career. She needs to decide soon as it’s not only his life at stake, their lives are in peril with supernatural forces after them.

I liked this darkish romance and that I’d no clue how it’d transpire. The addition of the supernatural was spectacular. Baz is a grittier, more pointed FMC than I’m used to, and I quite liked that about her. Dorian’s all smooth, charming, “Oh people are in love with me? I hadn’t noticed”. He’s calculated with a tendency towards callousness. However, his origin story is compelling and a little tragic, too. The fact that Baz is the only person in the world who can save him makes this a harrowing suspense.

Highlights:
🖼️ Dual POV
🖼️ Romantic suspense, paranormal
🖼️ Spice, open door
🖼️ Monsters, secrets
🖼️ Set in Charleston

Kenney also skillfully blends in another classic by bringing in Jay Gatsby from her first book in this Gilded Monsters series, 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻. So I must read that to get a better lay of the land here. Kenney has created a fascinating world of would-be gods and creepy monsters that I want to explore more of!

Thank you @sourcebookscasa for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗹 is available February 11th!

Charming devil was a fun read! Im always curious to read a retelling story since there are so many of them out there. This book had the gothic vibes and the characters were fun. I would recommend this book to anyone that wants a fun reading experience or loves retellings with a gothic tone.

Wonderfully told story, love the folklore feel of the book. The reimagining of The Picture of Dorian Gray brought so much life to the story and was a journey. Can't wait to see what comes next from Rebecca Kenney.

This was the first book that I have read from this author and I really enjoyed it. It is definitely a pretty loose retelling with a modern spin (TikTok thirst traps haha). I actually liked the modern take as his choices felt very on brand for the character. I also loved how smart and strong the FMC was. She held tight to her convictions and I loved that.

I did feel that it started slow which is why I deducted a star. I tend to prefer a book suck me in from the beginning but this took a bit. It was still an enjoyable read and had some great spice!

Thanks to Rebecca, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and NetGalley for this ARC in return for my honest review. My opinions are my own.

"I Feel like you're a demon offering me a bargain." ~ Baz
"Except it's not your soul we're bargaining for. It's mine. Maybe you the demon." ~ Dorian

In this new adult, magical Dorian Gray retelling we follow Baz and Dorian in a dual POV story.

First we meet Baz who is an artist, from a long line of people who can put people's souls in a painting. If the person gets hurt, the painting absorbs the consequences, and the real person heals fast and doesn't age. However if the painting is destroyed, you will kill the real person.
As a kid she drew her dad and ripped up the paper in tiny pieces, and this way killed her father, her mother never recovered and commited suicide.

Then we enter Dorian a very attractive young man, but looks are deceiving since he is more than 100 years old. An ancestor of Baz, called Basil had painted Dorian and captured his soul in the painting. Dorian has lived a careless life for many many years, while the painting has been detoriating little bit by little bit each time he got hurt. However the painting starts to fall apart, and little holes start appearing. Dorian is afraid life as he knows it is ending soon and goes looking for an anchestor of Basil to strike a deal. He finds Baz and he tries to convince her to create a new painting for him so he can keep on living his immortal life.

Baz promised herself after killing her father to never paint another portrait again. Will Dorian be able to convince her? He includes her in his friend group, and takes her out partying and introduces her to important people in the art world. Will it be enough to sway Baz' moral compass? Especially when she starts to develop feelings...

So I absolutely loved this books. I've never read a Dorian Gray retelling, but I absolutely loved this spin on the classic story. If you like magic, celtic folklore, art, morally gray characters, immortal people, and a bit of spice, then this book is for you!

"I'm the muse and the artist, baby." ~Dorian Gray

“So what are you, God’s gift?”
“No, the Devil’s, maybe.”

3.75/5

What a pleasant surprise. I love The Picture of Dorian Gray, and I think this was a fun modern retelling (with some chef’s kiss spice). I didn’t connect with Baz or the plot as much as I would have liked to, but Dorian kept me interested the whole way through.

“You never get over Dorian Gray.”

Modern retelling 🖌️
Morally gray MMC 🩶
Black cat FMC 🐈‍⬛
Forced proximity 🔥
One bed 🛏️
Celtic folklore 🧚
Southern gothic atmosphere 🐦‍⬛

“My body is an immaculate temple to hedonism.”

This a unique modern retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray. I was intrigued by the description, having read the original I decide to give it a try. I actually enjoyed this book. It was a bit slow in the beginning, but once 65% of the book hit I could not put it down. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I'll start by saying that I haven't read "the picture of Dorian gray" in at least a decade and I love a good retelling.
This was a delight! I was captured by the cover art and a bit of the synopsis (I don't read full synopsis), and I really liked the book!
The end was a bit rushed on my opinion, but I enjoyed how Baz's personality and morals affected Dorian's.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 stars rounded up)

Charming Devil's writing style does justice to The Picture of Dorian Gray, although a few more instances of the word "languidly" would've been a better tribute to the original xD. The fantasy aspect of the plot is very well thought, and Rebecca weaves the struggles of being an artist, grief, horror and magic with great finesse!

I have mixed opinions about this book, as Dorian Gray didn't particularly feel like a good love interest (which I suppose he wasn't supposed to be, due to this being a dark romance, however his character arc didn't progress in the way I'd have wanted it to.) His and Baz' chemistry fell flat for me (however that aspect might be enjoyed by dark romance readers/morally gray mmc enjoyers). I was mostly invested in the plot because of the mythical angle and the twists on that front are actually quite remarkable and engrossing! Sticky creatures, sleeping Gods, hidden magical talents, folklore -- there is quite a lot happening in the best way?

Okay, I'll be honest, I was intrigued to see where Baz and Dorian's relationship goes and it did keep me flipping the pages but WELL it didn't end the way I wanted it to. Baz's strong morals weren't always reflected in her actions in my opinion and Dorian's vanity, hedonism and debauchery made him so infuriating to read about but that's behaviour you'd expect from an opulent immortal 😭 I think Damon Salvatore might be an interesting parallel to this Dorian however considering I am not a huge fan of either I can't really comment on who I like better 💀 There's a prequel to this book, which is a Great Gatsby retelling (with vampires), however you can still read this book as a standalone (like I did) it reads just fine!

Unfortunately this didn't meet my expectations. While the premise of a modern retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray intrigued me, because I absolutely LOVE Oscar Wilde, this one missed the mark.

One of my main issues was with the character development, particularly Baz. I found her to be inconsistent and difficult to connect with, which made it challenging to stay engaged with the story. Additionally, the plot seemed to lose focus at times, making it hard to follow the main storyline. ALSO, why was Dorian blonde!?!

Moreover, certain elements, such as the frequent references to brand names and the characters' smoking habits, were off-putting and detracted from my overall enjoyment. While I appreciate the effort to modernize a classic tale, these aspects didn't resonate with me.

In summary, despite its creative premise this didn't align with my personal preferences.

Haven't read Dorian grey but this should be illegal.

I'm going to keep it short but this was honestly unbearable to read like I have no idea how I managed to make it this far. It was a little entertaining but that was it. The characters were not it. Dorian was such a disappointment and Baz did not click either and I did not feel the chemistry between them at all, the plot could be considered fun or intriguing enough for someone to continue but besides that nothing about this book was that gripping. I'm really bummed about it cuz I was expecting more from this book and I hoped to enjoy it.

This was an interesting read. I enjoyed the reimagined perspective on the classic Dorian Gray and while the romance aspect had some captivating and gripping moments, the plot felt a bit slow and inevitable.

I went into this ARC blind but very excited, knowing what I know about the original classic that is “The Picture of Dorian Gray”.
Man, I was NOT disappointed!
Dorian, as the mmc, had this aura about him that you obviously HAD to want, to crave, but still made him… a horrible thing.
Our fmc, Baz, or Basil, was strong-willed, never backed down, and knew very well what she wanted and needed.
The balance between the two was SO GOOD. They were both broody at times, but also both had their “light in the dark” moments. The mythical story behind this was very well spaced out, and the side characters were exactly what I needed in a story! Someone of protection, someone to love, someone to hate, and someone to question (I hated that man FROM THE BEGINNING 😳😂).
It was a very quick-paced read but packed with plot and a little spice and banter perfectly! Just enough of a story to give you actual plot and balance. I’m excited to dive more into this series as it goes!

Loved this!!!!! It was so good! Recently became a fan and have been devouring these books like crazy. This was no exception

This book was the definition of mid….

I was so excited and it was disappointing.

I love that they made Dorian blond (I’m one of the few people that actually love blonde MMCs) but oh lord was he cringe….. He gives all other blondes a bad rep.

The FMC was the only kind of interesting thing about this book.

But there was 0 chemistry between them.

I just don’t think this book hit the mark.

Okay I genuinely think that this was one of the most interesting series that I’ve read in a really long while. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them (Charming Devil more though). Now when I started the first book(Beautiful Villain) I wasn’t really into the whole gatsby retelling but as I started reading I actually enjoyed it. That story is basically the great gatsby but a modern vampire version where he’s a cinnamon roll still but a little dark. It also took me a hot minute not to picture Jay Gatsby as Leonardo DiCaprio but we finally got past that. As for Daisy, it’s told in her POV and she’s actually like lowkey a badass. I was a little hesitant to start the second book. But I eventually picked it up and I 100% thought it was a continuation of the 1st story. But it was a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray which I’ve never read but even going into it blind I LOVED it so much!!!! I feel like almost every character in these two books are some sort of morally grey and they all have their flaws. Charming Devil had me hooked from the very first page and I’m SO HAPPY that the two stories connected with each other in the end. I went from hating Dorian Gray and wondering how I would ever love the character to balling over him. Lol

I’m not sure if there will be any more books to come but I’m so glad I picked them up !!

I. Preobabky in the minority but I didn’t like this book. I got bored.

I think maybe retellings aren’t for me

I hadn't heard about this book (nor this series) before I saw it on NetGalley, abut I was quite curious about the idea of a Dorian Gray retelling.
Honestly, I had a good time. It was an interesting take on the story, though it does stray away from the real story. I would probably present more as being inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, and it worked for me because I do enjoy these kinds of books, where you can see that certain things are taken from the original story, but it is mixed in with other supernatural elements, and romance.
Overall, it was a fun read, and I will definitely have to read Beautiful Villain (which is the first book in the Gilded Monsters series). I already bought the ebooks, so I will definitely visit Kenney's version of Jay Gatsby.