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! Thank you NetGalley & Rebecca Kenney for the gifted ARC

I haven't read Gatsby since I was in high school and honestly, I forgot all about it. Once I picked this book up and started reading it, I remembered. This book encompasses the vibes, the opulence, the danger. It's a great novel with complex characters. I was thrown at first when I realized it took place in today's world (I didn't re-read the blurb) and I love it more for taking place in the here and now. I also love the author's description of...the condition. Well done.

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.

Would recommend for fans of paranormal romance.

I'm leaving my rating as a neutral 3 star due to the fact I DNFed the book at 41%.

But lets get into why I DNFed...

I can understand the draw to this book and why others really enjoyed it, It deal with life and the struggle we have as individuals with a paranormal twist but for me it really was just kind of boring, unfortunately.

The Great Gatsby is a great story but when you bring it into modern times and add twilight elements it just ends up being weird. I also felt like there was a total disconnect with the spice of this book. The spice is good, from as far as I listened but it didn't' fit the setting of the book. It's kind of hard to explain.

Again, this is just my opinion so, take it with a grain of salt.

I absolutely loved this book. The combination of the Great Gatsby and vampires is one I had never even considered, yet when I read it all I could think was how had I gone 30+ years without it. Rebecca's style if writing is the perfect balance of world building/info and beautiful characters who bring the plot to life. I immediately pre-ordered this book before I had even made it to the ending.

Sexy AF, romantic, found family, vampires, LGBTQ rep, and a Great Gatsby retelling- sheer perfection! As someone that loves the classic romances with dark undertones, this was so fun! Rebecca Kenney brings her effervescent sense of humor into this story, but still manages to really grab your heart and not let it go. Don't even get me started on the chase scene - have a cold shower or a warm body ready for this one!

Daisy doesn’t know what to do with her life. Her abusive boyfriend cheated on her, and now wants her back, she has zero motivation and is taking a break from college and living with her parents while she figures things out. She remembers a boy from eight years ago that she still thinks about at times and wonders whether he even remembers her.

Her friend Jordan suddenly reaches out and tells her about a party she went to that a billionaire was hosting and how amazing it was and invites Daisy to his next party.

When they arrive to the party, Daisy learns the host is the boy she met eight years ago. And wonders he’s still the same or if he has changed like she has.

This was a very interesting and unique take on The Great Gatsby. It had the wild, crazy and fun parties, the elusive and charming Gatsby, Daisy who loves parties and her cousin Nicky. And then it seems the similarities change from there.

I enjoyed the romance the most. Daisy went through a very traumatic experience with her ex-boyfriend for so many years and I wanted her to be good. Whenever Tom came into the picture I wanted to punch him 😤 And when Jay comes around, my heart just melted every time he opened his mouth around Daisy. He’s just so sweet and adorably awkward to the point that he babbles around Daisy and when you find out more about him, it’s interesting to see that he’s still the same boy from years ago when she first met him and it’s just too cute the way he acts around Daisy. And Daisy needs good like Jay.

They each help heal the other as they get to know the new them and they both need that and need each other.

Then the monster aspects that pop up in here were expected and yet unexpected, and I loved it.

I will say there was a lot of repetition from Daisy repeating what she was feeling and I was like “yes girl I know”, and she was back and forth a lot, and I know she went through a lot, I totally get the trust issue, but saying you accepted all of Jay and then a second later asking yourself whether you know Jay and then being fine with him a second later was a bit old after a bit.

Other than that, I truly enjoyed the story and loved the romance and definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the gifted e-ARC to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I read the blurb for Beautiful Villain, there was both something familiar about it and something that felt new and I can proudly say that the book reads very true to that prediction. With a fresh take on a very familiar genre, Beautiful Villain has the capacity to capture your attention from page one and hold it to the very last word.

As readers we’ve all come to absolutely love and enjoy the slow-burn build-up of a book; the patience and angst that comes with it only adding to the experience (when done well, of course). However, finding books that draw your interest and tickle your intrigue from page one are a rare and special treat and Beautiful Villain is certainly one of those reads.

Rebecca F. Kenney’s writing is fast paced and addictive and there’s a certain youthfulness to the read that I hadn’t expected to find. Given how long it had been since I dove into a book that reads this way, I was impressed to observe it did not much influence my experience negatively. What did surprise me about the book was that there were as many poignant moments as there was youthful angst written into it. With lots of heart and a unique storyline carved out of some seen-before themes, Beautiful Villain has the potential to be a ‘single-sitting’ read for most readers.

The set-up in this book is fairly familiar: a long lost friend that the FMC has never forgotten who reappears in her life and turns everything she knows on its head. A fairly simple world; but the way that Kenney has built this storyline and crafted the worldbuilding is what makes this book what it is. With deeply emotional moments, moral dilemmas, and surprises, Beautiful Villain secures its own little corner in the well-paved path of its genre. That being said, I would classify Beautiful Villain to occupy a sweet spot that exists between high fantasy, magical realism, and maybe even some science fiction! However you wish to classify it, Kenney has done a great job selling the narrative to the reader. Portrayed in single person perspective Beautiful Villain follows a straightforward approach to narration. Facts and emotion tangle in an initially simple but increasingly complex tale between two childhood friends who are more than they seem.

The plot for the story I think is definitely one of the more strong elements of the book. Beautiful Villain has many subtle details and intricate aspects that slowly merge and weave into one evident story purpose. However, as mentioned earlier, there are many other underlying emotional elements that infiltrate every scene. I do think that this book gave off the energy of a standalone, however if it were to be a series, I can see all that’s been written into it that would be perfect for resolving later. But, if this book is a standalone, there were many little threads that I found weren’t particularly tied off with a neat conclusion to them. They may not be extremely noticeable but they were my more favourite parts of the book and I loved that the author had included (subtly) and spoken about the many facets of a mental health struggle. So I personally would have loved seeing them all explored and concluded.

The characters in the book are aplenty, but I greatly commend the author in the way that she wrote them into the story. With precise and sometimes even hard hitting introductions, all the characters (be it primary, secondary or tertiary) were extremely well defined and occupied exactly the right amount of scene space and were mostly never plot devices. With unique and distinct personalities, every character will certainly leave an impression both in the story and in the reader’s mind.

As neat as many aspects of the book were, I did feel that some that seemed simple were made complex and those that were complex were simplified too much; especially as the book neared to the end. It was at those points that I personally experienced some disbelief and confusion; which also ties back to my struggles with the way that some of the plot lines were resolved

Beautiful Villain can certainly draw you into its story where science and magic co-exist and make you forget the world for a few hours. This book has many sensitive and graphic themes that can be triggering for some. Please check content warnings before reading.

DNF @ 32%. This just felt kind of cheesy to me. The dialogue felt like an older person trying to sound young to be cool. There were also just so many references to real life things like TikTok and 2020 that it really took me out of the story, but that’s also a personal preference. I just don’t think this book was for me

Beautiful Villain by Rebecca Kenney caught my eye because of the summary. That said, I have to admit I didn't love this story.

Daisy Finnegan is the fmc and she just graduated college. She's also just gotten out of a bad relationship and when she joins a friend and her cousin at an exclusive house party, she notices that there are some weird things going on. When she finds out that the host of the parties is none other than the childhood sweetheart she and her family left behind years ago, Jay Gatsby, she is ecstatic that he is back in her life...and at just the right time.

I don't know - the story felt forced. There were parts that I just shook my head at because the villains were extra villainous or of course the fmc and mmc are rich and hot. For me, I have to connect with the characters to enjoy a story - even just a little bit - and I just didn't with anyone in this book. Did I feel bad for Daisy because her high school boyfriend was an a**hole, absolutely. Should she have broken up with him - for sure. Did I really care if Jay and Daisy got together? Not really.

That said, there is a supernatural aspect to this book and a bit of a war going on between the new and the old guard which I thought was an interesting plot. The whole voice thing of Daisy's was too drawn out but played a part in the war plot so that was interesting. Overall, I thought this was just ok. I won't be picking up any other books in this series.

I liked this but didn't love it. I found the concept really interesting, and that it was well executed for the most part, but struggled a bit with the ending. I re-read The Great Gatsby earlier this year so the story was fresh in my mind, and I think this take on it was a lot of fun. I love vampires in any form, and found these to be interesting. The ending was a little fast for me, and I found myself wanting a bit more from it. I also just didn't feel like her parents acted like real parents would, which I didn't like. They just felt a little unrealistic to me, but maybe they're just older millennials?? Overall I think this was a fun take on a great story, and I cannot wait to read more from this author.

I've read a few Rebecca Kenney books that i have thoroughly enjoyed. I love her sense of adventure and of course, the spicy bits. This was no exception. She definitely turned the tale of The Great Gatsby into a modern, paranormal, story with intrigue and spice. I really enjoyed this but I think new adult isn't the age range for me. The characters are in their 20's and definitely act like it. The story is fun, with some nods to parts of the original text (like the quote that starts with "wouldn't it be sad if...") and i loved the audiobook narrator. Overall, a solid retelling, and i'm so glad she has finally gotten picked up by traditional publishing, but this wasn't my favorite book of hers. Can't wait to read more though from this series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley, though all thoughts are my own.

This was one of my most anticipated reads for this summer and overall I really enjoyed this book. I have loved The Great Gatsby since I had to read it in high school so I got really excited when I saw that this book was releasing. This is a magical, spicy retelling with vampires that ties in so many aspects of the original story but still feels new. The vibes of this book were great and I loved the extravagant parties and description of Gatsby house. This book does include quite a few pop culture references, like mentioning TikTok, which aren’t my favorite to read about. I enjoyed Daisy and Gatsby’s relationship but it felt a little rushed. I wish we got to see them spending more time connecting after being a way from each for so many years. I felt like vampires were well written and there weren’t a lot of plot wholes with it that I feel like a lot vampire books have. I like that the author took the time to give the reader quite a bit of information about the vampires and how they were created, how they are turned and how they deal with everything that comes after. The writing at times wasn’t my favorite and felt a little repetitive and some of the dialogue between the characters felt juvenile even though the main characters were in their twenties. The ending felt a little rushed and slightly anticlimactic and I wish that there were a few more chapters. I would have loved to see a little more of the characters after everything that occurred during the ending.

Normally I am hesitant about reimagined classic stories, but Beautiful Villain was so fun! I always wished The Great Gatsby had a happy ending, and this book finally gave it to me. Through vampirism, Jay Gatsby is able to survive being shot rather than dying in his pool, and readers get to see justice for Jay and Daisy. Not only did we get justice, but also swoon-worthy romance, spicy hot smut, and a nail-biting fight scene. This book truly gave Scott Fitzgerald, William Shakespear, and Bram Stoker a run for their money. I keep recommending this book to everyone at my library and they are all so perplexed over the idea of The Great Gatsby plus vampires, but everyone loves it! I cannot wait for the world to read this book and fall in love with the idea of happy endings for our literary classics.

I've really enjoyed Rebecca Kenney's indie published books so seeing her get a trad pub deal was so exciting. I liked the sound of this story. It's been a long time since I read a vampire romance. I enjoyed the nostalgic vibes this gave me. It reminded me of Twilight only smuttier and less broody. I loved the childhood friends to lovers. The vampires weren't some super secretive thing in this story. Which I appreciated. I liked the science aspect to how they become vampires. The romance was rather lacking for me. I didn't feel the chemistry between Jay and Daisy. I don't get the title because Jay is anything but a villain. There's also no real plot, it's all vibes. It's not a bad story but also not a standouts 3.5 stars

1/5 stars

I try not to be too much of a literary snob when I read retellings because I understand this is the author trying to make the story their own. But this book missed the mark for so many reasons.

I was excited to read the book — a modern Gatsby retelling where materialism is on the rise AND there are vampires. But I found there were only a few things I found interesting about the book: the lore. I thought the concept of the vampires having been newly created as a gene mutation because of a serum was cool, and I liked Daisy’s hypnotic powers. I thought this thing has the potential to open up to a secret society of paranormal creatures where vampires are at the bottom of the food chain.

My biggest issues were as follows: the author doesn’t seem to have a strong grasp on what the OG work means and all its symbolism, which leads to a holllow-feeling retelling. Important themes such as the struggle to maintain and keep wealth, the concept of the American Dream and losing yourself to it, had an opportunity to show up due to how things were getting set up, but just… didn’t. Instead, we got a scene where Gatsby gets shot, comes back and have a laugh about how it would have sucked if he went through all of this trouble to win her over only to die, and then oral sex on a bunch of fancy shirts.

The characters felt like caricatures, often feeling flat and lacking growth; they also read like they should be in high school and not 21-24 year olds entering adulthood. Daisy contradicted herself with constant talks of how familiar Gatsby felt, but he was a total stranger after 8-9 years of not being in her life; but despite him being a stranger, she still expected him to divulge every secret to her. As if she hadn’t given a good reason as to why he won’t. And her focus on struggling to find out what she wanted to do with her life, while actively going back to memories of high school as a highlight and mentioning grades also told me what kind of character she was going to be. Tom was an abusive character, but done to a point so clearly meant to juxtapose Gatsby and make him look like this hero. Gatsby himself is obsessed with Daisy and fell so flat in an attempt to him feel like an obvious choice. Nick served no big purpose and Jordan was a parkour influencer on TikTok.

The writing had moments where it was beautifully written, but most of it could use some more hammering out. The writing felt aimed for a much younger audience and the dialogue (especially the weird focus on Tom getting nipple piercings and then going “hot huh?” to impress Daisy especially took me out). The sex scenes weren’t great and I felt there was too much emphasis on the body parts quivering at growls and hardening and twitching and gaining a conscious to be able to crave something, and not so much the feeling made for a dry read. Don’t even get me started on utilizing galvanizing or hot liquid being poured down a throat and stomach to emphasize arousal… It definitely felt like it had been thrown in there to keep up with the market focus on spice and spicy scenes, and took up page time that should have been focused on a plot.

Plot and pacing were definitely the weakest of the book. The big bad — which I wished had gone a different direction (see Daisy’s powers, Gatsby’s obsession, and them being childhood friends) — had been subtly mentioned throughout the book, but nothing built up properly. It made for his introduction at around 78% of the book to fall flat and felt like they weren’t a threat considering there wasn’t tension between the two ideologies of how vampires should go about treating vampirism or creating more. There had been more tension with Daisy accidentally using her powers on Gatsby.

Overall, if the author had changed names around and kept it to a bunch of rich young adults partying it up and turning it into vampires, no one would make a connection to Great Gatsby and would probably have more room to focus on developing characters and pacing out a plot instead of relying on important scenes and well-known characters from a classic novel to catch and hold the reader’s interest.

Gatsby meets vampires! Another amazing read by Rebecca Kenney! i have yet to be disappointed by any of her releases and this is no exception to that! Very well written, the spice is spicy, the romance is sweet and swoon-worthy, i absolutely devoured this book!

A Gatsby retelling with paranormal elements, vampires, and spice? Yes, please. I have enjoyed reading several of Rebecca's retellings and this one did not disappoint. Great world building, following the original story, but its own vibe. Overall fabulous retelling, I would highly recommend.

𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨
𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐚 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐲
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: Fantasy
𝙿𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜: 394
𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
𝙰𝚁𝙲 𝙲𝚘𝚙𝚢: Yes

A great Gatsby dark retelling.

Daisy fresh from a breakup and not quite feeling herself decides to go to the new extravagant parties being held at a local mansion.

It turns out Gatsby the best friend she hasnt seen in 8 years Is the person hosting these parties but he seems different..

But there is also something different about Daisy almost hypnotic like.

This was my first Rebecca Kenney book, although I enjoyed it, it definitely felt like it was missing something and honestly struggled to write this review.

This book releases July 16th 2024.

4/5 Stars

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Netgalley for providing me with an arc.

I absolutely have adored the books I have read from Rebecca F Kenney in the past and this one is no different. This fully solidified her as the Queen of corrupting Classics in my mind but I mean this in the best way. This is a take on the Great Gatsby but set in modern times and with paranormal aspects. It was a really fun take on the great gatsby and it was a quick read for me. I liked the story and I definitely plan on continuing the series as I am excited to see where this goes from here.

Daisy Finnegan is excited for her summer of freedom after getting out of an abusive relationship with her ex, Tom. She doesn’t want to think about what will happen in the fall when she needs to figure out her life after college. When her cousin and best friend take her to a party at a mansion owned by a mysterious man named Gatsby she doesn’t expect it to be her childhood best friend who was poor and in a bad family situation, Jay Gatsby. Quickly she gets tangled up in the web of glitz and glamor and mystery that makes her summer not at all what she had planned. Stuck trying to figure out how it is that Gatsby is now rich and there are weird paranormal things happening all around, it isn’t until blood is shed that she can uncover the truth about everything.

It has been a while since I read Gatsby and I skimmed it to be honest but I did like how Kenney manages to incorporate some of the core themes of Gatsby into a book that is still fresh and completely her own. Gatsby has the same driving ideals behind gaining his wealth which is to prove that he is worthy of Daisy in his own mind and in this book even though he is super morally grey his driving moral compass is based on being worthy of Daisy. Daisy is really amazing in this book and she has her own power and isn’t weak. She is healing from not only her abusive relationship but the fact she thinks Gatsby ghosted her all those years ago. There are so many twists and turns that made this book an amazing read and it makes me very excited to see where we go from here with the next two books which are Dorian Grey and Wuthering Heights inspired.

I have truly loved every Rebecca F Kenney book I have read and I do highly recommend picking this one up. It is spicy and has fun mystery elements in it that balance out the romance. These are messy characters and it is what Rebecca does really well. They have trauma and are damaged but want to be better and do what is right for their communities in the case of this book.