I want to give a huge thank you to the publishers, Rebecca Kenney, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!


“Helplessly, wickedly, wretchedly yours. Yours when I was alone, and yours when I was surrounded by dazzling crowds. Yours in every choice I made, and the ones I will make.”

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.7
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

When I saw Rebecca Kenney was writing a Great Gatsby retelling with a vampiric twist I was so excited to see how it turned out! Especially since I have loved every book by here I’ve previously read. I will admit though that these characters just didn’t click with me the way I had hoped for in this book, and that’s no fault of Kenney, something about these characters just didn’t resonate with me. I would still recommend this book to those who would love a Great Gatsby retelling with a paranormal twist, pull out all the stops romantic scenes, spice, drama, secrets, and such beautiful world building!

I really wish I could’ve fallen In love with these characters but it just felt like everything about them as individuals and a couple floated right on the surface level. Daisy is a college grad who like many of us felt a bit lost about what to do with her life after the typical script of life had been passed to her to be penned by her own hands. So on a whim she decides to join a friend at a glamorous upscale party, where she runs into a blast from the past that turns her world on its axis. And while originally I could empathize and even relate to Daisy, as her story went on it just seemed like there was no character growth. She seemed content in her belief she had no ambition and to just let life happen to and around her rather than being an active participant. And when she ran into Jay we see Daisy’s curiosity and problem solving mind come careening into action, a side of her I loved but that seemed to come and go in dramatic situations. Speaking of Jay I was really hopefully for his character. I mean who doesn’t love an alpha male book bf who will do anything for you. Unfortunately I felt like we never really got to know Jay, we got a bit of his backstory, and how he became who he is as an adult, but at the end of the day his personality boiled down to his obsession with Daisy. And I personally would’ve just loved to see a bit more in depth to his character. There were a few moments when I thought we’d finally get into diving deeper but then the characters would just brush it off or make a joke and everything was just peachy again. It just felt like we didn’t get to see beyond the pretty facade with them and as an avid fan of Kenneys work, I just didn’t feel that I clicked with these characters as much as I have with her characters in the past. Even the romance that I love Kenney for fell a bit short for me in this book. Our main couple Jay and Daisy knew each other previously and when reunited it’s like they took no time to really get to know one another on a deeper level as adults who had a bit more life experience under their belts before falling into this burn it all down relationship. Don’t get me wrong there are some pull out all the stops romantic scenes in this book, but again they just felt very surface level to me. Now I will say I did feel like I was begging to love Jay and Daisy during the last 30% of the book during the excitement, drama, and rapid plot twists and I would love to see more of these characters in that kind of environment.

While I wouldn’t say this book was my cup of tea, it was in no way a bad book. It had amazing world building, and the banter between characters had me giggling into the way to early hours of the morning, and even though I didn’t click with these characters I still enjoyed their story, not to mention if you’re looking for spice this book will not disappoint. Overall I would still recommend this book to anyone who wants a retelling of the Great Gatsby with amazing paranormal elements, fantastical world building, intense spice and just enough twists and turns to have you flipping pages as quick as you can to see what’s going to happen next.

HAPPY READING

Because of recent information learned about the author's nasty and mean behavior towards other authors (especially indie authors) I will no longer be reading and reviewing this book. I prefer to support authors that want to build a positive book community and that want to hold up and champion other authors and not see it as a competition between each other.

This book was easily my favorite so far this year. A retelling of The Great Gatsby with a vampire twist. I loved every second of it.
I read The Great Gatsby when I was in highschool and I loved it. Of course I saw the movie too. It was a tragic story. Beautiful Villain fixed that tragedy perfectly and gave Jay and Daisy the happily ever after that they deserve. I thought it was phenomenal

When one of my favorite authors posted that they were going to remix one of my favorite novels, I literally said “sign me up”. Beautiful Villain is the full of the opulence and enigma we know and love from Jay Gatsby. Daisy is a perfect compliment to him in this novel. The cast is utterly fantastic and it kept me turning page after page, I highly recommend this book for lovers of The Great Gatsby or anyone intrigued by what Gatsby would look like in the modern era. Oh, and did I mention there are vampires?

“He has never looked more like a beautiful predator”

The Great Gatsby & vampires... two of my favorite things! This book didn’t end up being for me, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be for you.

In the first half of the book, we follow Daisy as she reunites with her childhood sweetheart, Gatsby. As it turns out, a lot can change in eight years—he's now a billionaire vampire.

I enjoyed the vulnerability of Daisy as she tries to discover who and what she wants to be after breaking up with her abusive ex-boyfriend and finishing university.

“Maybe if we dance hard enough, fast enough, our souls will float out of our bodies and we won’t have to worry about careers and ambition and if the effort will even be worthwhile.”

I sadly couldn’t wrap my head around the disconnect between the juvenile dialogue and spice level (🌶️🌶️🌶️).

Big elements of the plot are brushed over and the characters were hard to connect with.

Unlike the original Great Gatsby I am glad Gatsby & Daisy got their forever happy ending.

If you like:
>Re-tellings
>Vampires
>Second chance love
>Spice🌶️🌶️🌶️with bite play

This could be your next read!

“We are moths, feathery and fragile, dipping ourselves in titanium and gold to survive a decaying world. And by some miracle, we can still fly.”

Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I sadly couldn’t get into this book, and barely managed to force myself to finish it as I don’t like to DNF! I love the idea of a Gatsby retelling, however, I found the dialogue and characters extremely immature for their apparent ages (collage graduates) and wasn’t a fan at all of the sheer amount of social media involved in the first parts of the book (social media stars and influencers ect.) . This wasn’t a bad book by far, but just not the book for me!

A Great Gatsby retelling with a paranormal twist, Beautiful Villain is just that. A love story about a beautiful villain and his everlasting love for his childhood sweetheart. A modern day Great Gatsby where our Gatsby is a vampire and our Daisy has a special gift of her own, is the book I didn’t know I needed. This book has everything you would want from a romance novel. Beautiful characters, lavish lifestyles, spice, rags to riches, action, humor and of course a happily ever after. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romance that makes you feel good. Rebecca Kenney is an amazing author who I will continue to read for years to come. She is the retelling queen.

Such a fun read! Loved the retelling of Great Gatsby & the added paranormal aspects were a great addition to an already fun storyline. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

4.5 stars! This modern retelling of the Great Gastby had me in love from the first pages. It's so cool to see the transformation Rebecca F Kenney puts on this classic by sprucing it up with Vampires and cool tech. Beautiful Villains has all the vibes, spice and just the right amount of high stakes I need and love in a book.

I ended up dnf’ing at about 30%. The style of how our characters spoke felt very juvenile to me with them being in their 20’s. I also felt like the Gatsby references were too on the nose and I overall has trouble getting into the story.

This is a review for /Beautiful Villain/ by Rebecca Kenney, which I was able to get an ARC from through NetGalley. I am super appreciative of the opportunity!

The premise of the story, as advertised, is that it's The Great Gatsby meets vampires...and oh boy, I was sold on the basis of that alone.

For those a bit more curious, the tale goes like this: Daisy is home for the summer from a difficult time at university, reeling from an abusive relationship and stinging from the abandonment of friends. An offer for a fun night at a glamorous party hosted by a mysterious, up-and-coming wealthy socialite draws her in, and it may be more than she bargained for...

Got your attention? Let's review.

First, I want to say that Beautiful Villain is a read that was easy to pick up, and made for a very fun afternoon romp to scratch the vampire-story itch I've been craving. There's quite a few twists and turns in the story that I enjoyed because it was clear the author really thought through some of the intricacies and myths around vampires and what made sense and what didn't for the book. The story is set in modern day - as in post-2020 modern day - and it felt a little jarring at first, as the first-person lingo of colloquialisms are things I'd easily say and read from others in my age group and in Gen Z. It wasn't a bad thing, not at all, but I was definitely wanting more Art Deco and less Rich Housewives. There's a bit of an absence of culture - both vampiric culture and actual societal culture - that might've made the story juicier. Gatsby, after all, is a story about money and the vapidness of the society that chases it; at times, this is brought up, but it has much and more to do with whether someone can afford the fancy gadgets and the cleanup required for the lawlessness happening behind closed doors and less about old money versus new money. And then there's not real vampire 'culture' barring a few moments...and while there is a good reason for this, it definitely could have spiced things up.

I don't think those points detract from the story, mind you, just more of what I was hoping to have.

The story itself is straightforward and its characters likeable. Daisy is an interesting character with secrets of her own, a few that come out - and surprise even her - during the book, and I felt a lot of her reactions and motivations were normal, especially from someone recently out of a toxic and abusive relationship. Gatsby is mysterious at times - on purpose - with several moments of humanity that were honest and relatable. The one problem I had for their relationship and their interactions in general were that there was almost no friction at all. There's some reason for this, to be sure, but it left tension on the floor. Several revelations are accepted and picked up and moved on with, and while many of them seem par for the course, it just felt...like we were quickly moving on to the next point of action and less about wondering about those things, or having more understandable crises about those revelations.

I mean, I don't think it's a spoiler to say Daisy finds out about vampires and after some initial feelings of bewilderment and fear, she moves right along into acceptance. And it sucked the tension right out of all of it, leaving something to be desired. I'm not a dramamonger by any means but it was definitely disappointing.

Couple this with some other characters also finding out about vampirism (and other secrets) and moving right along in the span of maybe 3-5 hours of in universe time? Yeah, that felt frustrating. I understand that some of those specific moments happened much later and it seemd like maybe there was a push to wrap things up, but definitely felt strange overall.

I think what saved this from being a 3-Star only book for me was that there was that the characters are likeable, understandable. The moments of humanity and pain feel totally real, felt earned. There are a few dips that were disappointing and maybe could've lingered longer, but the moments of empowerment on the heels of loss and uncertainty made up for it.

Beautiful Villain is a fun little romp for an afternoon, and while I wanted more depth, I can't say I didn't enjoy the story for what it was. Kenney is a fun writer; it spills onto the page, makes you chuckle, makes you feel like she's invested in the story and having a good time. In the end, I got to experience some of that fun too, and I think it was definitely worth it.

3to 3.5 stars. I appreciate the earworm playlist on the back.

Absolutely devoured, another easy to read by Rebecca. The writing pulls you and keeps up there while it flows seamlessly and begging for more! This is a must read for anyone who loves fantasy and spice!

loved this romance and how the characters were able to figure things out and find their way to love. Loved the friends .

What a beautiful fantasy romance story with great storyline and great characters. Really liked the writing style and the cover is beautiful will definitely read more from this author.

I loved Beautiful Villain! It's a modern day retelling of The Great Gatsby, with lots of current references.

It's a bit spicy, super exciting and kept me engaged throughout the whole story. I thought the pace of the plot was spot on, and this book helped me remember my love for vampire stories!

I haven't read anything by Rebecca Kenney before, but after reading and loving this one, I am checking out her back list right now!

Fun and steamy Gatsby retelling that does not take itself too seriously, while still achieving a charming and heartfelt story. Plus, I love vampires. Solid and spicy paranormal romance overall.

Tysm for the ARC!

Edited- I meant to make this 5 stars, not 4! Fixed now.

"Beautiful Villain" by Rebecca Kenney introduces Daisy Finnegan, whose carefree summer takes a dark turn when her cousin disappears at an exclusive house party hosted by the mysterious Jay Gatsby, Daisy's childhood sweetheart. As Daisy becomes entangled in Gatsby's world of wealth, lies, and obsession, a shocking act of violence threatens to unravel everything. When Gatsby is shot but miraculously survives, Daisy learns the horrifying truth: he achieved his success by selling the secret of immortality. With her friends' lives in danger and her own newfound powers unstable, Daisy faces an impossible choice: stand by Gatsby, or align herself with those who seek to destroy him. Kenney's novel is a thrilling blend of romance, suspense, and supernatural intrigue that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

I'd like to thank the publisher for this NetGalley eARC to read and provide my thoughts of this book.'

Great Gatsby, but make it supernatural with Vampires (and modernity)!
The character names are the ones we've loved before, so we've got Daisy, Jay, and Nick. Jay, of course hosts gigantic parties at his estate,, but for different reasons instead of only hosting them for Daisy to possibly show up one day.

I think that having so much current slang kind of threw me off a bit (yes, I know it takes place during today), which made me feel like this book might be fore the early 20's audience. I guess I just couldn't connect with the characters, and definitely felt the age-gap between them and myself. I'm also shocked at how easy everyone was when learning about vampirism.

I found myself really enjoying the first 80% of the book, but starting to lose some interest in the last few chapters as the big climax started to wrap up.

I really have enjoyed the other books of hers that I've read in the past though, and will continue to read what she puts out.

This book was enjoyable for the most part but I felt like it was missing something. The characters weren't fleshed out very well and it felt like it had many plot holes. Half of the main characters just disappeared in the middle of the book and we never heard from them again.

I also know that this was a new age story of Gatsby, but the tiktok slang was really throwing me off and also taking me out of the story.

Overall, it wasn't a favorite of mine. I do love Rebecca's writing though. This book just didn't feel like her writing style.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Beautiful Villain is a reimagining of Gatsby and Daisy’s story (character from The Great Gatsby) in a modern and vampiric light, with just a sprinkling of spice. A second chance romance at its heart, we watch these two childhood sweethearts cross paths again and reconnect despite the, ahem, paranormal changes to their lives. And while this had so much promise, it fell just a few inches too short of great.

Jay isn’t your classic, over the top, possessive vampire love interest. Despite being turned, he’s still the same age as Daisy? I found this slightly confusing, given typical vampire lore. And the few scientific explanations that we’re given didn’t really shed much light on things unfortunately. The way things are explained and certain phrases are stressed, it almost seems like the only benefit to vampirism is heightened reflexes and an enhanced invulnerability, not total immortality. Aside from the confusing logistics of his age and the lore, his personality felt juvenile and possessive in a childish way. Daisy on the other hand, begins our story vulnerable and healing after a bad breakup at the start of this novel, and while I understand that her connection with Jay had a deep history, I got a little whiplash with how quickly she got over her trust issues with Tom for a man that became obsessed with the idea of her over her for years with little regard for her as an actual person.

I’m all for the incredible and fantastical and even the outrageous in my stories. Don’t get me wrong. But this just lacked a believability and clarity to it. It may have helped if the characters and their friends were likable, but unfortunately you spend such little time with Jordan, Nick, and Cory that it’s impossible to form those connections. Overall this was an average read and could have benefited from more time nursing Gatsby and Daisy’s rekindling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rebecca Kenney for providing an ARC of this book for me to give my honest review.