A fantastic follow-up to a fabulous fairy tale fantasy! Charming was already a fantastic exploration and deconstruction of fairy tale tropes, but Beast takes it to the next level, all while maintaining the wit and heart that made the first book so enjoyable! Seeing Charming himself finally undergo some character development was oh so gratifying, as was the continued buildup of intrigue caused by the machinations of the Good Folk. All in all, a superb sequel that left me even more excited for the finale! Thank you to NetGalley and to Rebellion for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Jade Linwood’s Beast promised an intriguing gender-flipped Beauty and the Beast retelling with Bachelor-esque drama, werewolves, and enchanted woods. While the concept held a lot of potential, this novel, unfortunately, just missed the mark for me.

One of the primary challenges was the sheer number of characters and interwoven fairytales. The complexity could have been engaging, but instead, it became confusing. Admittedly, I hadn’t read the first book in this series, and I suspect that might have made a difference in understanding some of the broader context.

The main plot—a gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast—was promising. Jean-Marc "Charming" Arundel as the reluctant guest in the Beast's cursed mansion was an intriguing setup! However, as the story unfolded, the focus on subplots, backstories, and secondary characters began to overshadow the central narrative. For such a brief novel, the sheer volume of side plots made the pacing feel scattered. I found myself longing for more time spent in the Beast’s castle, savoring the chemistry and tension between the leads. Instead, the novel shifted its attention elsewhere, and by the end, my craving for a deeper exploration of their dynamic remained unsatisfied.

That said, Linwood’s writing is atmospheric, and her creative ambition is evident. The blending of fairy tale elements with dark, brooding magic is a compelling idea that many readers might enjoy. If you’re drawn to intricate, multi-threaded retellings, this book might work better for you. But if you’re looking for a straightforward, character-driven Beauty and the Beast reimagining, this might not scratch that itch.

I’m sorry but I couldn’t get into this book, when I read the “about” I got really excited - a Disney retelling! But it felt like it was trying too hard. Too many characters that sort of remind of Disney but really really don’t. It fell flat.

This book offers a fun twist on Beauty and the Beast with the addition of Prince Charming and a mix of werewolves, bears, and fairytale princesses.

I particularly enjoyed the idea of Prince Charming not quite living up to his title, and the humorous element of him accidentally rescuing princesses. It’s a fresh and fun change for this character.
That said, I struggled to get into the story at the start. While the writing is good, I found it difficult to connect with the narrative early on, perhaps due to the pacing or the initial setup, which didn’t immediately grab my attention. However, the story did pick up later, and I could see the charm and potential for readers who enjoy fairytale retellings.

Thank you to Rebellion, NetGalley, and author Jade Linwood for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️ ⭐️ .5
I’m sorry to say but this book was not for me. It was a relatively short book, but I was often forcing myself to finish it despite the fact that I loved the description. The writing style, the story, and the multiple POVs were a lot different than I’m used to. I hope that another reader can find joy in it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jade Linwood , and the publisher for an ARC for my honest review.

I recall really enjoying the first book. And while I did like seeing the same fun and clever characters again, this one felt quite drawn out due to the repetitive nature of some chapters, and the ending seemed very rushed.
I did really enjoy the discourse between characters, and the weaving of as many fables and fairytales as the author could fit in there (in a good way), but this one didn't capture my attention as much as the first. Still a pretty quick read and lots to like about it.

As someone who is always on the hunt for a good fairy tale retelling, I was thrilled when I came across this book. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.

This is the second book in the series, but the author did a fantastic job recapping the major events of the first book, so I can’t say my disconnect was due to missing context. While I admired the characters’ wit at times, I struggled to care about them or the plot. The story felt scattered, with subplots pulling it in too many directions, leaving me confused and struggling to keep up. I usually enjoy epic fantasies with intricate lore and magic systems, so I can’t blame those elements here either.

That said, if you love fairy tale retellings, I’d still recommend giving this gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast a try—it might resonate with you more than it did with me.

**Thank you to Rebellion and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Beast by Jade Linwood is the second book in her ongoing Charming series and as I really enjoyed the first book I was looking forward to relaxing with my copy of this one. Picking up from the ending of book one, we follow Charming as he finds himself caught up in a magical Bachelor style competition in a gender swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast. While this story had a lot of potential there were a distracting number of side plots and POV shifts that kept pulling me away from the parts of the book I was most interested in. I feel like the addition of several new characters along with the desire to give old favourites a chance to shine just stretched the author too thin when it came to the storytelling and the humour which was one of my favourite things about Charming. The humour is still there and while it sometimes works there are times when it just seems forced or overworked. I love the world the author has created with its strong fairytale vibes and I think that readers who grew up loving the tradtional fairytales will find something to enjoy here.
As I mentioned I really enjoyed the flipped Beauty and the Beast idea , I just wish that there was more time for us to see Beast's character develop and see the relationship with Charming progress a little more believably.
While I did not love this book quite as much as I was hoping to, I did still like it overall and given the way the book ended I look forward to seeing where the author will take us next.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This was a strong sequel in the Charming series, it had that element that I enjoyed from the first book and was engaged with the concept being told. It uses the Beauty and the Beast element perfectly and told it's own tale. It was everything that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel of this. Jade Linwood wrote this perfectly and left me wanting to read more.

First, I want to lead with a thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this early. Second, I did enjoy aspects of this book.

Alright, to start off, this is the second book in a comedy series based on fairytales and fables. I did not read the first book but I felt that this book gave enough backstory and context that I didn't feel like I was missing anything. The main character of this book is Prince Charming and is basically an amalgam of all Disney princes with a sort of roguish edge. He's a conman, a liar, a thief, and a womanizer. All of which came back to haunt him in the first book (I'm guessing).

There are some very cute aspects of this world. For instance, all of the characters swear to Goose like "what in the name of Goose..." I have to believe that's a Mother Goose reference. Adorable. All of the scorned princesses from the first book play a role in this one and they are all fun facsimiles of known fairytale princesses (sleeping beauty, snow white, and Rapunzel).

The plot *should* have been a straight forward gender swap of beauty and the beast. That's how it started out and things were going very well for the most part! But alas, this is where some of my criticism begins. For such a brief novel, there is a shocking amount of side plots, backstories, and characters. Because of that I found a lot of the side plots fell flat or were just plain boring. I found myself begging for more chapters in beast's castle. Towards the end, my wishes largely remained un-granted. The last 30 pages took me roughly the same amount of time to read as the preceding 150.

While the meter of the writing was satisfying, I found that particularly where descriptions are concerned, this author struggled. Given this was mostly a retelling, I actually felt that many of the descriptions were not entirely necessary and rambled on a bit long.

When it comes to comedy, I felt this book delivered. I loved the comedy-only characters quite a bit and enjoyed Charming's witty inner monologue. However, given this was a retelling of one of the most famous romantic fairytale, I did feel the romance aspects were lacking. I really didn't feel any connection between any of the romantic characters (of which there were a few).

Anyway, this was cute. I wish some of the side plots had been shaved so that we could spend more time in the main story. I don't foresee going back and reading the first one, but that's only because I felt this book did a good job of covering those bases. If you are reading this book searching for resolution from the first one, I can all but promise you will not get it. This felt less like a sequel and more like a side mission.

I'm left a little dissatisfied and a lot puzzled after finishing this book.

The story is mainly a gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast retelling, which is really a daring choice by the author because there are so many popular retellings already. Each chapter focuses on one storyline of which there are many, and I was dizzy by the end with chapters jumping around to random side plots. I didn't find any of the side plots particularly amusing or driving forward the story, so I was just confused and annoyed at each chapter that deviated from the main Beauty and the Beast story. I was honestly relieved when we jumped to the main Beast and MMC plot, and we got way too little from the enchanted castle. With what little I saw of each character, I was quite indifferent to them all and their relationships. There were glimmers of compelling character development and interesting twists like the competition amongst the potential Beast partners, and then the next chapter would jump into a side plot. The ending was abrupt and perplexing, too, and I'm not intrigued or bought into the characters and their fates enough to read the next book.

I typically really enjoy fairy tale retellings and read quite a few of them every year, so this was a pretty disappointing read to me. To be fair, I did not read the first in the series, but I don't think it affected my appreciation for this book because the characters from the first are famous fairy tale characters (e.g. Rapunzel, Snow White) and I could guess their situations. I have no issues with the prose itself, and I think there's something here with some serious editing. But I'm sure general chaos of this book is someone's cup of tea!

Thank you, Rebellion Publishing, for the arc!

Thank you, NetGalley, Solaris, and Jade Lindwood, for providing me with a free copy of Beast in exchange for an honest review.

This book continues Jade Lindwood's series of gender-reversed retellings. In Beast, we meet a prince who stumbles upon a mysterious manor owned by the Beast—a once-lady cursed into her current form. (love love her)

For those like me who haven’t read Book 1, fear not! Beast can absolutely be enjoyed as a standalone, especially if you’re a fan of Beauty and the Beast or simply don’t feel like reading the first installment for whatever reasons. While I didn’t feel deeply connected to the side characters (likely due to missing Book 1), I still appreciated them. Readers who liked the first book will likely enjoy their presence even more.

The standout feature of this book is undoubtedly its humor. It’s hilariously witty and cleverly pokes fun at the traditional fairy tale format we all know.

The relationship between Beast and Charming was sweet, but I craved more—more development, more chemistry, and especially more angst. The humor was brilliant, but if it had been paired with some pining or tension between the MCs, this book could have easily been a 5/5 for me. As it stands, it left me feeling a bit like the relationship was incomplete or rushed.

Overall, Beast is a delightful and humorous read, perfect for fans of fairy tale retellings with a twist

I really enjoyed the first one and I love beauty and the beast retellings, the gender swap is my favorite part. Just very fun and witty!

Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for an advanced reader copy of this book.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. This book was well written and the humour was witty, but I found I cared more about some characters than others and was not as interested when it was their POV. I did think this twist on Beauty and the Beast was unique and thought the author did a great job fleshing the story out.

I didn't read the first book but this didn't hinder my reading. What I wasn't expecting was the multiple POVs though, this did hinder the reading. The premise suggests the book is more romantic than it actually was. Good if you like funny fairytales retellings.

I had enjoyed Charming, the first book in this series, so I was interested to see how the story would continue. Unfortunately, this second installment did not have the same magic of the first one for me. Book One was witty, fresh and fun, but Book Two felt like it was trying too hard. All the characters from the first book returned, alongside some new faces. This meant the narrative often felt a little too stretched with the attempts to keep moving back and forth between them. The pacing was awkward because of this, and I also struggled to get a real sense of some of the characters. To my mind this was most noticeable with Beast. I didn't feel we had enough time to get to know her and, in particular, that made it hard to fathom her relationship with Charming and how he could fall for her despite his past love-'em-and-leave-'em reputation. There were certainly some fun moments and witty lines, but overall it lacked the charm of its predecessor. I gave book one four stars, but I can really only give this one 2.5 stars. I assume there will be one more book to complete the story and I will be interested to see if Linwood can get things back on track to produce a compelling ending.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but different. The story starts with Prince Charming happening upon a manor belonging to the Beast, a former lady that was cursed.

I found this story hard to follow and kind of all over the place. There were times when I couldn’t follow along with the different POVs. The story just didn’t flow real well unfortunately 😞

This book is a continuation of Jade Linwood's first book, Charming, and features nearly all of the same characters with the addition of the Beast. It's a gender flipped version of Beauty and the Beast, which is what initially drew me into the book-- but it also clearly combines aspects of many different fairytales.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A gorgeous 4 star read book from me. What an exciting plot, vivid storytelling and relatable, rich characters. I could put this book down – absolutely loved it.

A sequel of sorts to Jade Linwood's Charming, Beast picks up close to where that book left off, with a lot of the same characters making an appearance in this story. It's a gender-swapping Beauty and the Beast that's funny, engaging, and light-hearted. I enjoyed this book quite a bit and finished it in a couple of days! Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!