The retelling you never knew you needed… who doesn’t love The Great Gatsby? Throw in some vampires and hang on for a wild ride of intrigue and drama with a side of spicy goodness!

The slow burn was BUUUURNING but the angsty drama more than made up for all of that delicious tension.

This was my first by Rebecca Kenney but definitely won’t be my last!

𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳
➵ retellings
➵ second chance
➵ childhood best friends
➵ vampires
➵ slow burn romance

𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹 4/5⭐️ | 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 2/5🌶️ | 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 2/5🔥

The Great Gatsby retelling with a magical twist of immortality? Sign me up. I’ve been a fan of Rebecca Kenney’s for a while, but Beautiful Villain held a different sort of ambiance than her previous work.

Pretty decent read. The plot was intriguing, the romance was there for me. Just didn't have the overall wow factor for me. Thank you to net galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review *

I'm not the biggest fan of vampire fiction. I am generally not awed but I can still identify what is enjoyable to other readers. I found myself at a loss with this one. Since it is supposed to be a modern, paranormal, dark romance adaptation of Great Gatsby, I still thought I would find some enjoyable portions. I finished it, but it was a struggle the entire way through. The trauma themes, paranormal themes, and characters never seemed fully fleshed out or believable.

I am thankful that after 2 hours in, the author stopped calling UNC, UNC at Chapel Hill though. No one who went to UNC or lives in North Carolina calls it that. It is UNC, Chapel Hill, or just Carolina (I understand this was probably so that people not from this area would understand but it made me feel like they had never actually went there).

I have to say this was an entertaining read. This modern retelling of The Great Gatsby with a paranormal twist that adds depth and intrigue to the classic tale. Daisy Finnegan's journey, from reconnecting with her childhood sweetheart Jay Gatsby to uncovering his vampiric secrets, kept me engaged from start to finish. The chemistry between Daisy and Jay is clear, and the use of supernatural elements adds a fresh layer to the story. The author's writing is both sensual and fluid, making the story a delightful blend of romance, mystery, and fantasy.

I have always loved the story of Great Gatsby so when I heard that this was a retelling, I was so excited. I have adored all of this author's books so far and I thought this one was great. And keeping true to her roots there are some magical elements added to this story. So basically you have Jay Gatsby, vampires, AND smut!- give me more! I like that Daisy wasn't weak or a pushover in this retelling and loved that Gatsby didn't die because, well he's a vampire and all. Can't wait to read more in the series.

I love everything Rebecca Kenney has written and this is no exception! This retelling of The Great Gatsby was unlike any I've read before. I loved the contemporary setting and modernized plot, but felt it kept the spirit of the original. I loved it!

A Spicy 🥵 retelling of The Great Gatsby with a vampire twist! I absolutely loved this book. Rebecca Kenney never disappoints!

There were certainly things I didn't enjoy about this one. For instance, the setting being current day. I would've loved it if it were set in the original time of Great Gatsby. I don't like the pop culture references either.

However, I really enjoyed this book overall. I loved seeing the backstory of how vampires were created and the backstory of Daisy and Jay. I usually really don't enjoy 2nd chance romance, but it was done well in this book.

I will be reading the 2nd book very soon as I went out and bought myself a copy of this one and the sequel now that they are both out.

This one just didn’t quite work for me. It’s a dark romance with a morally questionable love interest and a lot of dramatic tension, but the power dynamics felt a little off in a way that was hard to get past. The writing is fast-paced and compulsively readable, but I never fully connected with the emotional stakes. I think readers who enjoy dark romance tropes might still find it enjoyable, but for me, the character development felt too rushed and the relationship dynamics didn’t feel earned.

Rebecca Kenney has been an auto buy author for me for a long time. I have really enjoyed the reimagined classics. The twists and turns from a story you thought you knew to the story Kenney gives us is just magical. It is always such a ride and this was no different. I loved that we got such a different spin on a classic with this having immortality and "magic". It really makes you stop and think about the original story differently while this still feels like a totally different story itself--it made it not seem like a retelling.

These gorgeous covers get me every time! "Beautiful Villain" by Rebecca Kenney has just that. Unfortunately, it's not enough to push this book into bingeable territory. It should be though! The premise of Gatsby with a paranormal twist is delicious. Unfortunately, it fell a bit flat for me. It was fine. If this is your genre give it a go. It reads down and certainly lacks the depth and complexity of Gatsby..

A Great Gatsby Retelling
With Vampires!

Honestly the modernization of this book threw me off at first, but as I read, it made more sense than I had first thought it would. Daisy and Jay are dynamic together and frankly I will be ordering this book when it comes out just so I can re-read it a few times over!

If you like retellings this is the book for you!

I love everything written by Rebecca! She's an autobuy author for me. This was a fun and steamy retelling of The Great Gatsby that I REALLY enjoyed! It was not as steamy as previous titles by Rebecca, in my opinon, but the spice was still spicing. 🔥🔥🔥 I'm looking forward to future installments in this series that are on the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the MMC, being dedicated to your love is always hot. The way vampires were portrayed was interesting.. I did not enjoy the FMC and I think it made it hard for me to truly enjoy this book.

I am a fan of Rebecca Kenney and enjoy her other books. I will continue to read her work.

I value the opportunity I was given to read this in advance, but I still haven't read this. With so many books ahead of me, I cannot return to this title.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a sucker (no pun intended because there's a vampiric supernatural twist in this modern retelling) for the Roaring 20s era and The Great Gatsby was one of my favorite books I read in high school, but this retelling fell flat for me.

The dialogue and the plot were honestly laughable. I have no idea how Daisy didn't see ahead of time that there was something supernatural going on with a lot of the characters in the storyline. There were so many moments throughout the story that I had to laugh out loud at because I couldn't take it seriously. It sounded like a really bad Twilight X The Great Gatsby crossover fanfic the entire time.

The one thing that got me was the part where Daisy and Jay GOOGLE things about how having a hypnotic voice affected vampires after they discover Daisy's ability to control vampires with her voice. Like...you think websites are talking about this stuff? I had to laugh out loud.

Then there's the other part where she asks her parents if they'd be okay with Jay turning her into a vampire at the end of the story and her parents are just like...okay with it? They didn't have any questions, freak out, they were just like..."Okay cool when do you plan on turning?" (hide spoiler)]

There IS spice in here, but I wouldn't say it's one of the spiciest books I've read. The one part that got me was the end where Daisy asks Jay to bite her vagina with his fangs during sex...I don't know about you, but that sounds painful as all hell and I guess ah...you do you. That entire scene just gave me the ick.

Overall I think the whole "vampire" aspect of the story was overdone and over the top and I feel like if you're REALLY into supernatural romance/romantasy then this book might hit differently for you than it did for me.

2 stars

I received an ARC of this book. All opinions are mine and mine alone.

I am a huge Gatsby fan, as well as vampires. So when this book was announced I was so so excited. And it did not disappoint. Honestly I have not read anything bad from this author. While this book is set in the 2020’s rather than the 1920’s, it still gave that glamorous feel and excitement I felt when reading The Great Gatsby in high school. I loved that Daisy has her own thoughts and is strong in her own way and is not like the Daisy we know. I loved finding little Easter eggs from the original novel sprinkled throughout. Without spoiling, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Daisy plot, it felt like it came from nowhere. Personally, I’d love more details and history of the plot and hope we see it soon. Highly recommend if you’re a Gatsby fan like myself and hated the ending. Plus did I mention vampires?

I was intrigued by the synopsis of the book and the premise that is promised. What I did get was quite different than what I was expecting from that. A Gatsby retelling? I would say that it delivered on this front, very loosely. The reader gets the names and a rags-to-riches story, but I did not anticipate the ending to work out so perfectly. A magical twist? That was what the synopsis offered, but not quite what it delivered. Instead, we got a vampire story, which is fine, if that is what I was expecting to get into. The book did mostly deliver on the spice content that it promised, but I just wasn’t buying the connection between Daisy and Jay; it did not feeling as natural and compelling as I would have liked. The world-building and plot were a bit strange to me as well. It felt incomplete in some way that I cannot quite put my finger on.
I would recommend this book to certain people, but not everyone. If you enjoy vampire stories with some spice, then this could be for you. I was just expecting more from the story than what I got. Overall, the story was mediocre for me.
Many thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for a digital review copy. The opinions expressed are honest and my own.

This book hooked me from the very first page with its lush prose and intoxicating atmosphere. I loved how the book balanced the glitz and glamour with an undercurrent of darkness. Gatsby is magnetic and mysterious, and Daisy’s internal conflict felt real—torn between attraction and self-preservation. The chemistry between them sizzles, and their encounters are filled with tension, longing, and a sense of inevitability.

Kenney’s writing is fluid and evocative, pulling me deep into a world that feels both familiar and thrillingly new. The pacing kept me on edge, and while I already knew the bones of the story, the supernatural twist made it feel fresh and unpredictable.

If you love retellings, forbidden romance, and morally grey characters, Beautiful Villain is a must-read. It takes a well-loved classic and transforms it into something hauntingly beautiful.