Very messily developed plot and characters that were hard to empathise with, I'm not sure this was a worthy sequel to the first book, which was fine on its own and didn't necessarily require completion.

Beast picks up right where Charming left off, so if you haven’t read the first book—fair warning, you’ll be dropped into a chaotic fairytale reunion with minimal hand-holding. That said, the returning cast (plus some quirky new faces) makes for a fun, if slightly overwhelming, ensemble.

This time, it’s Prince Charming who’s in trouble—yes, the same conniving but oddly lovable rogue from book one. After a detour through cursed woods, he ends up trapped in an enchanted manor guarded by thorny hedges, an ominous presence, and, of course, a mysterious Beast. Only in this version, the Beast is a cursed woman—cue the gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast retelling that initially grabbed my attention.

The premise is genuinely fun, blending classic fairytale elements with a modern, feminist spin. There are Bachelor-style roses, a magical “production team” pulling strings, and cheeky nods to other stories—think Dr. Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, even werewolves and enchanted bears. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s part of its charm.

Where Beast shines is in its humor and creativity. The prose is breezy and vivid, full of whimsical energy. It feels like watching a clever, chaotic fantasy miniseries—equal parts fairy tale satire and romantic comedy. But that chaos comes at a cost. The sheer number of characters and interweaving side quests often steal focus from the main romance, which honestly never fully lands. Charming and the Beast have some sweet and funny moments, but the emotional depth isn’t quite there. I never fully bought why they fell for each other—it felt more convenient than earned.

The pacing also struggles. The first half sets up a great story, but the second half spins off into so many directions that it loses momentum. I was either wishing for more time to develop key relationships or less distraction from the main arc. The romance especially could’ve used more breathing room.

Still, even with its flaws, Beast is a cozy, clever, and heart-filled read. If you’re into fractured fairy tales, gender-swapped tropes, and ensemble casts that feel like a slightly unhinged group chat come to life, this series might just charm you—even if you occasionally have to flip back a few pages to remember who’s who.

While the concept of a gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast in Jade Linwood's "Beast" held initial appeal, the execution fell short. Although the author skillfully weaves in elements from various fairytales, a feature I appreciated, the pacing of the story felt sluggish, hindering my ability to become invested. Despite being the second book in a series, it seemed accessible as a standalone. Unfortunately, a disconnect from the characters ultimately made it a struggle to remain engaged and motivated to continue reading.

Beast is a unique twist on the classic fairytale Beauty and the Beast. In it we return to the story of Prince Charming, a twisted version of the stereotypical perfect prince. The Beast is not a woman, cursed for refusing the accept an arranged marriage. While unique and interesting to change the roles, the story does drag on, making it a bit difficult to enjoy. Charming has many secrets and there is one secret that continues to play throughout the novel with minimal context provided to the reader until the very end of the story. This information actually benefits the reader, but causes significant confusion until you hit the very last part of the novel. Additionally, there is a lot of perspective jumping with minimal time context. - it is hard to know if the story is going back in time or if the events are happening simultaneously. With a little polish and cohesive storytelling, this would be a solid fantasy novel. With too much information left vague, it was very difficult to muddle through.

So I absolutely love fairytale retellings; there's something about having the nostalgia of a tale that I know and love and seeing it in a different light. I like most book lovers, absolutely love Beauty and the Beast - it's one of my favorites! So reading the blurb for this one really peaked my interest - a version of Beauty & the Beast with the genders flipped? Say less!

Prince Charming is the one that sets out and comes across a lady in a manor in the middle of the woods. The lady is cursed and it's just got a lot from that point - it seemed like things were all scattered and a bunch of fairtales were all mixed in - I lost the basis of the plot more than once! So many princesses that I really struggled - it felt really disjointed.

I did mostly enjoy the overall vibes of the book - and enjoyed the Beast and Prince Charming relationship - it wasn't very intense as the chemistry wasn't there, but it was fun.

Overall this book wasn't for me, but it was a really cozy and funny story that I know will be loved by others.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Rebellion for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I did not read Charming so I was afraid maybe I’d be missing out of some things but I do believe this is fine as a standalone which made me happy to not be missing out on TOO much if you’re okay with being a *little* lost

With that being said - in this retelling of one of my favorite fairytales, Beast, is a gender swapped story of the original.

This was very “charming”, quirky and a cute fun read. Any fairytale / Disney lover will enjoy this book as something a little different

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

In this sequel to Charming, we got a spin on Beauty and the Beast, Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, and even Hansel and Gretal! Jade Linwood does a good job weaving all these fairy tales together, somehow finding a way to intermingle all of these characters into a sensible plot. I enjoyed how the threads connected and the way her characters interacted.
Curious to know if there will be more in the series!
*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley

This book was super entertaining and made me excited for all of Jade Linwood’s books to come!! While I enjoyed the characters, a lot of my enjoyment came from the style of writing and the interesting plot! Talking about this without spoilers is hard so let’s just say you should read it for yourself :))

I'm always such a sucker for fairytale retellings so when I saw this book available I had to have it. I, of course, made the mistake of not realizing it's actually the second book in the series, so I did a quick speed read of the first book.

I think my favorite thing about this story was that it was a gender-swapped retelling. There are a lot of different fairytale character cross overs and mash ups within the story itself. Sometimes I got a little lost in trying to follow the main plot.

All and all, a cute and funny read if you like fairytale retellings.

These are fun books based on fairy tales, but adding twists and humor. You don't have to read the first book to read this one. This story includes Beauty and the Beast (I was very pleased to see a female beast), Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, and Hansel and Gretel.

This gender reversed twist on Beauty and the Beast was an easy read. This is the second book in the Charming series and picks up from where Charming leaves off. Charming, the con man, is on his way to meet a monster gets side tracked into a self-aware house and becomes trapped. He meets his fellow housemates and The Beast who is under a curse that needs to be broken.

I loved the developing friendship and romance between Charming and the Beast and his ability to see beyond her appearance was heartwarming. The Batchelor style setting adds to humorous setting as does the gangland like wars between Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks.
The three heroines take a bit of a back seat in this book except for Rapunzel who has an enjoyable side hustle story and their feisty presence is missed.
The story between the Beast and Charming was endearing and flowed well but I found the a few chapters from additional side characters slowed the story down .I confess I did skip these chapters, and it made no difference to the overall story.
You can read this book without having read the first book but the story makes a little more sense if you had ( and it is a brilliant read).
Charming story continues in the next book, and I can’t wait to see what he gets up to next.
Perfect for Fans of
Fairy tale retellings and romances with happily ever afters

This is the sequel to the book Charming (LOVE both books' cover art). These are fun books based on fairy tales, but adding twists and humor. You don't have to read the first book to read this one. This story includes Beauty and the Beast (I was very pleased to see a female beast), Little Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, and Hansel and Gretel.

While I enjoyed the first book, this one left me a bit disappointed. I struggled to connect with the characters—something I also experienced to a lesser extent in the first book. However, since I ultimately liked the previous installment, I was eager to give this one a chance. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into it, despite usually loving fairytale mash-ups.

I received an ARC from NetGalley, but all opinions are my own.

3.5 Stars

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the eARC - this is my honest review*

Beast is the second book in a series about Prince Charming, con artist and thief, following the events of book one. In Beast Charming finds himself trapped, along with two other men, in an enchanted castle vying for the attentions of a beastly woman. It’s a fairytale mash-up with elements of the Bachelorette. It would make a great animated film.

There was plenty I liked and didn’t like here. I enjoyed the use of fairytale characters, the gender bending of Beauty and the Beast, and the warring wolf and bear clans. The story was at times witty, humorous and interesting, but at others a bit convoluted, confusing and dull. I think this series would be great for fans of shows like Once Upon a Time or book series like India Holton’s Tea and Treason trilogy.

"Beast" is the sequel to Linwood's "Charming" and picks up where the latter ended.

It's a gender flipped Beauty and the Beast meets The Bachelor story, which fans of the first book might enjoy. Unfortunately, i didn't like the novel. "Beast" has a lot of side characters with their own POVs and stories to tell, and the main plot got lost in this sea of subplots. I think getting many balls rolling for the third book in the series did "Beast" a disservice and makes it suffer from Middle-Book-Syndrome.

This book had a cool premise and a fun gender-bending twist, but it went in a lot of different directions. I found it hard to keep track of all the storylines and wished it had focused more on Prince Charming and the Beast—that part was the most interesting to me. Overall, a creative idea, but just a bit too much going on.

Huge thanks to Jade Linwood, Rebellion | Solaris, and Netgalley for the advance copy.
Beast is on sale April 1st 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rebellion (Solaris) books, and Ms. Linwood for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

This was fun - like Ocean's 8, if the lady criminals were instead a handful of reimagined fairy tale princesses and the treasure they were out to steal was in fact a reprobate... human. It had some really strong heist vibes, with a lot of moving parts and multiple storylines going on simultaneously. We revisit Marie Blanche (Snow White), Bella (Aurora), Dr. Rapunzel (Rapunzel obvs), and Nell (Cinderella) as they pick up the pieces left by Prince Charming and try to track him down to get him to his meeting with Mephistopheles (an upper-level demon). There's also charming imp Roland, and a group of amateur theater performers joined by Puss in Boots, and Hans and Will who are trapped in the Beast's manor along with Charming himself. Then we have the Red Cap (Thelise (sp?), leader of the werewolf pack, and Goldlockchen, Bear Witch, who are at odds in the forest around the Beast; Nell's godmother makes an appearance as well. I had no trouble keeping the characters straight until the theater troupe arrived: those were harder to keep clear.

I had a lot of fun reading this although I think the presence of SO MANY characters and story lines did a disservice to Beast (who got very little page time or resolution) and, surprisingly, to Charming, whose redemption arc was sidetracked by everything else going on. Nonetheless it was a fun story and I sincerely hope Ms. Linwood completes the stories (or at least some of them) in a book #3. I am particularly eager to find out if Charming's redemption will stick, what Beast's actual name is and what she plans to do now that she's free, and, let's face it, whether Roland will succeed with his inn.

⭐⭐⭐1/2

I’m thoroughly enchanted with this novel. It weaved characters from fairy tales into a colourful tapestry. Brought back fond childhood memories of reading fairy tales. The descriptions were vivid and I couldn’t get enough. The twists and turns kept me guessing.

In book 2 of the Charming series, Former con artist Jean-Marc Charming Arundel (a.k.a. Prince Charming) is on his way to an appointment with a demon that he has to keep no matter what, when he seeks shelter from a sudden storm in a beautiful mansion. There, he finds himself an unwilling guest of a fearsome beast: a noblewoman transformed by a fairy curse, as much a prisoner in the house as he. Charming and his two fellow “guests,” Johannes and Wilhelm, must attend the Beast in strangely romantic settings—reading books by the fire, picnicking in a menagerie, a formal dinner—for which they are rewarded with mysterious gifts of red roses. But to what end? And when will they be freed? The clock is ticking, and more than just his own life depends on it…

I love these fractured fairy tales, where Prince Charming is a smarmy con artist, and all of the Princesses in the kingdom that he has conned have turned vigilante and are out for his head. These are a very feminist take on the fairy tales we all grew up on, where the princess waits for the prince to come along and "rescue" her. These could potentially be read as a standalone, but I think you would enjoy the story much more if you had read the first book - Charming.

What happens when you, a fan of legends and fairy stories, come across the book number 2 in a series inspired by classic folk and fairy tales? You read the first book in the series to catch up. And immediately follow it up with Beast, the second installment in Jade Linwood's Charming series, incapable of resisting the siren song of finding out what happens after the cliffhanger.

Beast is the continuation of Charming and should not be read as a standalone. While Linwood quickly reminds her readers of the entire (and ever-growing) cast of main characters, the story lacks in substance and understanding without covering the first book in the series. In Beast, we are reunited with the sisterhood of duped princesses as well as the very pleasing and even more conniving Prince Charming. This time, however, the tables have turned and it's Charming who is in desperate need of rescue but who can be persuaded to care about the disappearance of a seemingly heartless grifter whose sole companion in the first book was but bound by spell to him? In Beast, Linwood takes us on a different adventure: the ever-escaping prince is imprisoned alongside two other unsuspecting bachelors in an enchanted manor with unforgiving rose hedges and a very big shadow lurking behind the doors.

The prose remains faithful to Charming: easy to read yet infused with delight and humour, enough descriptions to vividly paint the fantasy world we're exploring without being overbearing, a little dialogue-heavy (and still, those incessant "{character] said", no other verbs to signal who's speaking - one of my minor grips with the writing style) but also action-packed (no paragraph-skipping allowed in this series!) and distinct voices for each character (and there are many). Whereas Linwood followed the traditional role adherence in her first book: a prince coming to save princesses in distress, she dabbles in gender swap in this second book and makes the Beast female. I'm glad to report the gender swap twist is well executed and works. Other quirks are added to the mix: it would appear the Beast's curse is not the product of moral lapse, unlike the Beauty & the Beast tale we're all familiar with; the bachelors are dealt with in very, well, Bachelor/ette fashion with roses being handed out (I admit, I chuckled when the first rose appeared) and a certain "production team" being behind this unfortunate game (mere mortals being the playthings of those from the magic realm is a classic, after all). This fresh, feminist and vibrant modernisation is a seamless delight that kept me hooked until the very end.

Beast's main downfall is its construction: the story Linwood wishes to write requires a large cast with new members being added to the pack (another princess - and her fairy godmother, other fairy tale heroines like Little Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks but also werewolves and bears and other supernatural creatures - plus a travelling theatre group) and a side quest that seems to take over the main plot halfway through the tale. I found the book to feel both too long and too short in the second half: either Linwood should have doubled down on making Beast longer than Charming and added another few chapters to flesh out the budding love story between Charming and the Beast or some editing choices should have been made to condense the storyline and balance out the two plots better. In any case, I felt a little disappointed with the manner in which the developing feelings between our romantic interests was dealt with. I couldn't quite figure out why they were in love. On the one hand, Charming seems to develop a sense of empathy and morality a little out of nowhere, not quite connecting the dots between his captivity and his virtuous growth. On the other hand, the Beast was mostly lusting after a man she felt was out of her league, both in her cursed animal form and her once-upon-a-human life. Something deeper and truer was lacking, alas.

And yet, here I am, mere hours after having finished Beast, sitting with a certain grief at the thought that the wait commences. Linwood leaves us on another cliffhanger and I'm already lamenting the 1.5 to 2-year delay until the next book. The Charming series is, true to its name, charming. It's easy to point out its (few, mind you) flaws but this reads like a binge-worthy TV series, leaving you with the kind of sentimental attachment to the large cast of colourful characters and their many adventures that turns waiting in between volumes into a virtue, perhaps the moral of the Beast's tale itself.

"Even those who were fascinated by her, even those who thought they adored her, what they really felt was fear. She couldn't hide what she was, not really, not for long. But if all you have is fear, who will be there for you if you need help? In the end, there are pitchforks, or there is silence."