"Barely Even Friends" by Mae Bennett offers a modern twist on the classic Beauty and the Beast tale, set against the backdrop of the enigmatic Killington Estate. Bellamy Price, an ambitious estate restoration contractor, finds herself at odds with the brooding heir, Oliver Killington, who prefers solitude in the wake of a life-altering car accident. Their clashes and eventual bond provide a compelling narrative, though it might fall short for die-hard fans of Beauty and the Beast retellings. Bennett's storytelling is enjoyable, yet the magic of the original fairy tale feels somewhat diluted. Overall, a decent read with a 3/5 rating, capturing the essence of transformation and understanding amidst a modern setting.

I couldn’t put it down and ended up devouring the whole thing in one sitting!

This is a modern take on the Beauty and the Beast story, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it, especially since retellings aren’t usually my thing. It didn’t feel like the author was trying too hard to stick to the original, which made it feel fresh and unique.

The characters were a real highlight for me. The mix of tropes—forced proximity, grumpy x sunshine, and the fact that both main characters are plus-sized—really worked well together. And who doesn’t love a little Taylor Swift sprinkled in?

Oliver, the grumpy hero, was fantastic. I’m a sucker for a character who starts off closed-off and brooding, only to have his walls slowly broken down by the bright, sunny Bellamy. His emotional transformation throughout the story was beautifully done, even if there were moments where I wanted to shake some sense into him! The grand gesture at the end definitely made up for his mistakes.

I also really enjoyed the plot. Bellamy being sent to restore Oliver’s house added a nice touch, and the slow burn of their romance made their eventual connection that much more satisfying. The plus-size representation was great to see, though there were a few times where it felt a little heavy-handed. As someone who’s plus-sized myself, I felt it could have been woven into the story a bit more naturally.

Overall, this was a fantastic debut from Mae Bennett. I’m definitely looking forward to more of her work. If you’re a fan of romance with a bit of spice and a modern twist on classic tales, this one is a must-read. Between the house repairs, AI robots, and all those Taylor Swift references, you’re in for a treat with this debut!

This was a solid read. I feel kinda indifferent about it. The first half was pretty slow and dry for me (but I might just be used to reading romance books, where the main characters are LOVEDDD DOWN!), BUT the second half kinda made up for it. I think the sex scenes were good, but a little vanilla for me. I feel like there are folks who are like "newer" to the romance world, who could really like this book and it be more their speed.

Things I enjoyed - I didn't realize at the time that this was like a Beauty and the Beast re-telling, but i think it was a cute spin on things. I also loved loved loved, the library scenes. I am a girl who is a sucker for the library in all its forms. I feel like the grumpy-sunshine things kinda works here, but then Bells is so far in her head, it sometimes doesnt work. I could see some people enjoying the slow burn and the banter. The side characters really helped me enjoy this book more.

Things that didnt work for me - I feel like the build up of Bellamy and Oliver, took wayyyyy too long for my opinion. I feel like it was supposed to be like a slow burn, but it in some places was just dragging for me. I also felt like the end just wrapped up too quickly, like we went from like almost every day enteries to skipping almost months. I just wanted a little more, Bell's inner dialogue and logic in some places was insufferable to me. like, I can see how she jumped to some of those conclusions, but ma'am LOL.

Anyways, thanks Netgalley and the publisher for this e-ARC. I would probably read something by this author again in the future :)

A thrilling romcom!

Bellamy has been offered an amazing job that will allow her to make a name for herself: restore the Killington Estate in a very, very short time. The only problem is, when she shows up there, she meets Oliver, heir to the empire, living there. He's grumpy, rude, and definitely doesn't want her to restore the house. But Bellamy doesn't plan on making it easy for him to throw her out. She has a job to do.

This book was an amazing Beauty and the Beast retelling. I had a lot of fun reading Bellamy's story, and I loved her from the first few pages. She's capable, hard-working and dedicated to her work, which is really inspiring. As for Oliver, I loved discovering his deepest, darkest secrets as the pages turned. The slow-burn romance was ON POINT. The sexual tension was through the roof and I loved how the characters wanted one another but were to proud to admit it until...they had no other choice. The spice was definitely hot too, and very well-written and beautifully weaved into the characters' pasts and feelings. I honetsly loved this book and would have given it five stars if it werent for the third-act breakup that felt unnecessary and only made the book too long in my opinion. Otherwise, I had a blast.

I highly recommend if you want a fun and sweet romcom to devour!

"The only world that exists to me is the one that sees how brilliant you are."

This Beauty and the Beast retelling is like HGTV meets rom-com. Such a fun premise!

Bellamy Price is a woman on a mission. She's landed the job of her dreams: restoring the grand Killington Estate. It's her chance to prove herself in a male-dominated field, but there's a catch. The estate comes with its very own brooding caretaker, Oliver Killington.

Oliver, still healing from a tragic accident, isn't thrilled about sharing his space with the determined contractor. But as Bellamy starts breathing new life into the old mansion, she might just be working her magic on its grumpy inhabitant too.

With both Bellamy and Oliver facing their own personal deadlines, they reluctantly join forces. What follows is a delightful dance of witty banter, unexpected teamwork, and an undeniable attraction that neither saw coming. Warning: it gets a bit spicy!

This clever debut novel expertly balances humor and heart. It's a joy to watch Bellamy and Oliver navigate their growing feelings while dealing with power tools and family pressure.

"Barely Even Friends" is a charming, feel-good read that will have you rooting for this modern Beauty and her Beast from start to finish.

This is such a cute take on a Beauty and the beast retelling. The author did a fabulous job with the characters and the story.

This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling that flashed me back to 1991 when the Disney movie was released. I was in college and a friend and I would see the Disney releases in the theater. There are scenes in this book that perfectly capture the feel of the movie- it brought back fun memories and put a smile on my face.

Bellamy and Oliver's story captured the feel of Beauty and the Beast. While nothing is exactly the same, the differences make their story unique. I loved the side characters and the AI that was part of the story. Bellamy is a restoration specialist of historic buildings and I enjoyed learning more about that field. I also liked watching them learn to trust each other and take chance on a relationship. If you're a fan of Disney retellings, consider checking this one out.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thanks to the publisher for sharing a copy with me. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of Barely Even Friends in exchange for my honest opinion.

I think this book is exactly what people want when they say they want a Beauty and the Beast retelling. The references to BatB were definitley not subtle at times, which I found a bit cheesy, but that's just me. I don't like too much cheese in my contemporary romance, but once I got past the fact that there was going to be some corniness, I really enjoyed the book.

I'd give this a 3.5 pepper rating for spice as there were many open-door scenes, but it wasn't all spice. I appreciated that the main characters were emotionally supportive of each other.

My criticism is that I absolutely could not stand the nickname he gave her. It was too much. Another name related critique, at the very beginning, the AI home helper Bl8z3, mentioned that it was referred to as "Blaze" but then throughout the book the number and letter combo was used instead of "Blaze." My brain, for some reason, never allowed me to read "Bl8z3" as Blaze, I think it would have been better to just use the word "Blaze."

Overall, I'll definitely recommend this book, it was a fun romance!

This is a fun retelling of Beauty and the Beast, It is a perfect debut with a grumpy/sunshine trope. It has enough parts of a retelling, but has been made to be its own story.

I wish I had loved this book! I started it with such high hopes and the story was so interesting at first that I was completely invested and immersed!

It lost me at around 40%!

I felt like the female lead had such great personality. She was quirky and funny and hard working. I felt like all of this was overshadowed by her feelings towards the male lead and this saddened me!

I don’t mind spice in books but this was just too much when it didn’t really needed it!

I enjoyed how they brought out the best parts of each other but, again, it was overshadowed by the spicy scenes.

While I loved the side characters, I felt like some actions should’ve not been played by them. In a specific scene, it would’ve been a great opportunity for the two main characters to figure out the situation on their own instead by the third party!

Last thing that I had a hard time with was how the ending felt rushed.

Overall I think this was a book with a lot of potential but it fell flat in certain areas for me!

Thanks to Alcove Press for an eARC of the book.

What a great debut from Mae Bennet! I love a retelling/adaptation of a well-loved story an Mae did a fantastic job with this book, inspired by Beauty and the Beast. I really liked the way she was able to update it to be a contemporary setting without losing familiar aspects of the original, such as the library (duh), the household staff who adore their employer, and Mae found an incredibly creative way to have a 'sentient' house, reminiscent of the furniture and accessories in the original story of the staff who were also cursed.

I really liked how the FMC, Bellamy has a close relationship with her father, is skilled and smart, and holds her ground while working in a career (house restoration) that is typically male-dominated. The MMC, Oliver, recognizes Bellamy for her skills and smarts and admires what she is able to do, while he attempts to try out different restoration tasks without much success.
With Oliver as the 'beast' of this retelling, Mae did a great job of not relying on physical appearance, which only feeds into awful stereotypes of disabled people being bitter and evil, but instead focuses on the the complexity of Oliver's character, that he is surly, but not mean, he's grumpy, but protective of those he loves.

I enjoyed how Bellamy and Oliver grow their relationship from antagonists into love, how they support each other, protect and challenge one another.

Will happily read more from Mae Bennett!

This book was so silly and sweet and sexy! She’s just here to restore a house and somehow restores the grumpy recluse living in it as well? And also he’s so bad at restoration projects. I love a good beauty and the beast retelling!

This is one of the best Beauty and the Beast retelling I've read. Plus some spice thrown in makes it even better as well. I tore through this quick because I couldntbput it down!! Loved every word of this!! 5 star read!!

This Beauty and the Beast retelling was done so well. Bellamy and Oliver were perfect enemies turned lovers - there was tension, heavy family dynamics, and great chemistry. I loved them and especially all the side characters. This had humor and heart and heat.

steamy and just what I needed to read. a fun modern twist on the classic Beauty and the Beast (with some nods to the Disney animated version of having a cute kid hanging around etc) where both leads are in need of each other, even if they don't see it. absolutely adorable and worth reading.

Thank you Alcove, Netgalley and the author for sending me review copies. This is Bennett’s debut, and I love that she chose one of my favorite Disney movies and gave it a contemporary, feminist spin. Bellamy is an independent, powerful woman who doesn’t need anyone to help her renovate and restore historical homes. When she encounters Oliver “The Beast” Killington when hired to restore his family’s estate, she is challenged by the idea that everything she previously knew about this rich yet mysterious family is not what it seems. Learning about Oliver’s emotional history and cracking beyond his gruff exterior was one of my favorite parts of this story. Although there’s a lot to love about the characters and the storyline, I struggled for some reason to connect with the writing and it took me a while to finish this book. The spice was spicin’, the nods to the Disney classic were fantastic, and Taylor Swift references galore – I think it was perhaps more of a “me” issue as I was reading this during a time of chaos and my focus was lacking. With that in mind, I look forward to reading more by Mae and seeing her creativity and personality shine through future writing!

amazing, showstopping I just love it! and I can't wait to have this book in my hand! this book was just so cute and Ioved it. both main charters were so amazing and the plot and everything god fairytale like and I just need all them to be happy it was really good modern re-telling

This book wasn't too bad, I did enjoy reading it. There wasn't a lot of Gaston mentioned, I could tell who was who for the most part. It feels like a light read. I was hoping we would see a bit more of Gaston, than what was in the book.

Barely Even Friends is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but without the trademark "beast" aspect. Oliver is our beast and desperately needs therapy and an SSRI. Bellamy is fantastic and the secondary cast and crew of this book bring it home.

A fun new Beauty and the Beast retelling! Though I did think some of the references felt a little forced and on-the-nose at the start of the book, this is a fun modern adaptation of the classic fairy tale. Bellamy is a bright sunshine character, while Oliver was a delightful surprise - not quite a grump, but certainly withdrawn, his character blooms throughout the story. The details we get of the side characters, such as Ambrose and Sebastian are fun as well. I was wishing for a bit more on the renovation story and Oliver’s inheritance, just to flesh out the story beyond the retelling bits as I think it would have helped bring the characters further to life apart from their inspiration. Overall cute!