Thanks Netgalley and Jade Linwood for allowing me to read this arc.

So to begin with I didn't realize this was book 2. I ran to kindle and bought Charming immediately.

The gender flipped Beauty and the Beast is right up my alley! The romance was soo charming I really enjoyed the dynamic and chemistry between the characters! It's cozy and fun and full of great laughs!

Definitely recommend for fairy tail loving fans!

This is a strange book really. It's the sequel to a book where a bunch of princesses get their revenge on Prince Charming after he's robbed them all and more. So, as a sequel, we get to watch him actually fall in love?

Ish, the Princesses, let him keep some of the gold because he needs to hand it over to a demon, or else he and a bunch of others will die. So this book follows Charming getting trapped in an enchanted manor with two other suitors, and everyone has to work out how to find him before the date arrives when he needs to give over the gold. No problems, right?

Charming and Beast are sweet, the princesses and the rivals are cool and honestly, the book is a lot of fun. Maybe a few too many storylines, but it's a fun book.

Thank you netgally for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not it for me, it was also not at all what I expected of it. That being said, I did not know this was the second book in the series. At the start I felt like I was missing a little bit of backstory but that didn’t really matter in the story telling. I expected more main story and less side characters and side story lines. Most of the time I was confused about what was going on. All the characters felt kinda flat to me.

If you liked the first part you’ll probably like this one too.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-ARC for an honest review!

Beast is a follow up to Charming - in which 3 fairytale women pull a John Tucker Must Die on Prince Charming. As a sequel it followed the same vibes very well, so reading back to back feels seamless.

Beast is a multi POV story where Charming stumbles upon a manor which hosts a beast, so it’s a gender swaped retelling. The retellings do not stop there, and I love that there are so many references to other fairytales (Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, etc).

The main issue I have with it was that I just wanted to focus on Charming and Beast during their time together, it slowly built and with every new chapter we went back to Marie Blanche (Snow White), Doctor Emilia (Rapunzel), and Bella (Sleeping Beauty) I got annoyed. While I didn’t hate their plot, I just really wanted to focus on the gender swapped Beauty and the Beast part of the story more. I'd love to rate it higher, I feel like it's a solid 3. It's a fun story that is a good book to read when you want to get lost, quick and quirky!

I had no idea this was a second book in a series before I requested it. You kind of get the gist reading the beginning, but I do feel like I missed a bit.

I'm a sucker for fairytale retellings, especially Beauty and the Beast. This one is a reverse gender role retelling which had me intrigued. Unfortunately I was underwhelmed by it. Maybe because I didn't read the first book, but I felt like the writing was a bit chaotic. It's an adult series, but reads very young to me. I liked all the fairytales coming together in this, but that's really the only thing. There was so many side characters that the beast and prince charming felt more like a side story.

Overall, I ended up DNFing this one. I'm not interested in going back and reading the first book or continuing this series.

Thank you netgalley and Rebellion publishing for this eArc in exchange for my honest review.

I am a sucker for retellings so the premise of a gender swapped Beauty and the Beast was incredibly intriguing. While there were entertaining parts, the story is a bit too chaotic and does not give enough time with Charming and Beast for you to fall in love with the characters.

Beast starts where book 1 ends, with Charming stumbling through the woods on his way to a demon. While on that journey he finds himself stuck in an enchanted manor, playing a bachelorette style game with two other trapped contestants, as they try to solve the "riddle" to break the curse.

Beast is a multi-PoV story and brings back several of your favorite characters from book 1. While I typically like multi-pov, it felt disjointed and left you wanting more of the main plot line. While there were enjoyable parts, I likely won't be picking up book 3.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and opportunity to read this book.

I did not read the previous stories in this series, but I don’t think I’ll go back to them based on this. It clearly wasn’t for me. It felt convoluted and muddled with how many characters and plots the author was juggling and I wasn’t really satisfied with the resolution of all of them. Nor did I really care if they got resolved because I felt invested in none of them.

That said I enjoyed the writing style and I think further in their career I’d give this author another chance in a different series.

I did not read the first book, so I’m not sure how the three storylines are connected to the previous arc if they are at all. I felt that it was fairly easy to understand what was happening as the first chapter explained the plan Marie Blanche, Bella, and Doctor Rapunzel have formed in regards to Charming and Beast, but I did miss out on how they first met Charming and how some of these pieces fit together. I’ll probably reread this one after finally reading the first and will do so before the third if this becomes a trilogy.
Beast by Jade Linwood is a third person multi-POV humorous romantic fantasy reverse gender retelling of Beauty and the Beast. When two princesses and a witch want their revenge on Prince Charming, they force him into a Bachelor-esque situation where he must compete for the love of a young woman cursed with the form of a beast. But is Charming’s self-centeredness going to get in the way of maybe finding true love?

I was initially very excited for this book, but it just fell very flat overall. Parts of the book were interesting and funny, but calling it a gender swapped beauty and the beast retelling was about the only thing accurate from the description. The bachelor aspect of the book was extremely lacking. There were also too many side plots and characters to the point it was almost like what is even going on. There are actually a few things that feel completely pointless and just thrown in for plot points for almost no reason.

The beast and Charming were barely even characters in the book due to everything happening. The ending felt extremely rushed and yet nothing was actually wrapped up or concluded. It just sort of has a climax and ends. Overall very disappointing read.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Beast by Jade Linwood is a third person multi-POV humorous romantic fantasy reverse gender retelling of Beauty and the Beast. When two princesses and a witch want their revenge on Prince Charming, they force him into a Bachelor-esque situation where he must compete for the love of a young woman cursed with the form of a beast. But is Charming’s self-centeredness going to get in the way of maybe finding true love?

I did not read the first book, so I’m not sure how the three storylines are connected to the previous arc if they are at all. I felt that it was fairly easy to understand what was happening as the first chapter explained the plan Marie Blanche, Bella, and Doctor Rapunzel have formed in regards to Charming and Beast, but I did miss out on how they first met Charming and how some of these pieces fit together. I’ll probably reread this one after finally reading the first and will do so before the third if this becomes a trilogy.

There’s a lot of different fairy tales being mashed up: Snow White, Rapunzel, Goldilocks, Beauty and the Beast along with werewolves and a character called Red Cap. Because there's a lot of playing with the stories (such as Goldilocks being a bear witch and her brother, Hans, being one of Beast’s suitors), a good working knowledge of fairy tales is useful to have. Of all of the classic characters, I was the most interested in Charming because he felt so much like the princes in Into the Woods who aren’t really thinking of others even if they could slowly learn and grow.

The romance between Beast and Charming has a forced proximity dynamic and both are very cautious around each other. Charming’s chapters sometimes show him being more concerned about clothes or more invested in the lives of his competitors, Hans and Will, and their backgrounds. Beast is not particularly enthusiastic about any of them or the situation. When she falls for Charming, she’s convinced he won’t go for her and keeps her feelings to herself.

I would recommend this to fans of humorous fairy tale mash-ups for adults and readers looking for a Bachelor x fairy tale set-up

A cute romance, but the plotting is a little disjointed. There were a lot of different threads and could've done with a little refining. Nice prose though,

That one was unexpected. I wasn't expecting anything specific but wow. It's super funny, original, outside the normes. Loved it, great characters, great writing and great plot.

A fantastic follow-up to a fabulous fairy tale fantasy! Charming was already a fantastic exploration and deconstruction of fairy tale tropes, but Beast takes it to the next level, all while maintaining the wit and heart that made the first book so enjoyable! Seeing Charming himself finally undergo some character development was oh so gratifying, as was the continued buildup of intrigue caused by the machinations of the Good Folk. All in all, a superb sequel that left me even more excited for the finale! Thank you to NetGalley and to Rebellion for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Jade Linwood’s Beast promised an intriguing gender-flipped Beauty and the Beast retelling with Bachelor-esque drama, werewolves, and enchanted woods. While the concept held a lot of potential, this novel, unfortunately, just missed the mark for me.

One of the primary challenges was the sheer number of characters and interwoven fairytales. The complexity could have been engaging, but instead, it became confusing. Admittedly, I hadn’t read the first book in this series, and I suspect that might have made a difference in understanding some of the broader context.

The main plot—a gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast—was promising. Jean-Marc "Charming" Arundel as the reluctant guest in the Beast's cursed mansion was an intriguing setup! However, as the story unfolded, the focus on subplots, backstories, and secondary characters began to overshadow the central narrative. For such a brief novel, the sheer volume of side plots made the pacing feel scattered. I found myself longing for more time spent in the Beast’s castle, savoring the chemistry and tension between the leads. Instead, the novel shifted its attention elsewhere, and by the end, my craving for a deeper exploration of their dynamic remained unsatisfied.

That said, Linwood’s writing is atmospheric, and her creative ambition is evident. The blending of fairy tale elements with dark, brooding magic is a compelling idea that many readers might enjoy. If you’re drawn to intricate, multi-threaded retellings, this book might work better for you. But if you’re looking for a straightforward, character-driven Beauty and the Beast reimagining, this might not scratch that itch.

I’m sorry but I couldn’t get into this book, when I read the “about” I got really excited - a Disney retelling! But it felt like it was trying too hard. Too many characters that sort of remind of Disney but really really don’t. It fell flat.

This book offers a fun twist on Beauty and the Beast with the addition of Prince Charming and a mix of werewolves, bears, and fairytale princesses.

I particularly enjoyed the idea of Prince Charming not quite living up to his title, and the humorous element of him accidentally rescuing princesses. It’s a fresh and fun change for this character.
That said, I struggled to get into the story at the start. While the writing is good, I found it difficult to connect with the narrative early on, perhaps due to the pacing or the initial setup, which didn’t immediately grab my attention. However, the story did pick up later, and I could see the charm and potential for readers who enjoy fairytale retellings.

Thank you to Rebellion, NetGalley, and author Jade Linwood for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️ ⭐️ .5
I’m sorry to say but this book was not for me. It was a relatively short book, but I was often forcing myself to finish it despite the fact that I loved the description. The writing style, the story, and the multiple POVs were a lot different than I’m used to. I hope that another reader can find joy in it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jade Linwood , and the publisher for an ARC for my honest review.

I recall really enjoying the first book. And while I did like seeing the same fun and clever characters again, this one felt quite drawn out due to the repetitive nature of some chapters, and the ending seemed very rushed.
I did really enjoy the discourse between characters, and the weaving of as many fables and fairytales as the author could fit in there (in a good way), but this one didn't capture my attention as much as the first. Still a pretty quick read and lots to like about it.

As someone who is always on the hunt for a good fairy tale retelling, I was thrilled when I came across this book. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me.

This is the second book in the series, but the author did a fantastic job recapping the major events of the first book, so I can’t say my disconnect was due to missing context. While I admired the characters’ wit at times, I struggled to care about them or the plot. The story felt scattered, with subplots pulling it in too many directions, leaving me confused and struggling to keep up. I usually enjoy epic fantasies with intricate lore and magic systems, so I can’t blame those elements here either.

That said, if you love fairy tale retellings, I’d still recommend giving this gender-swapped Beauty and the Beast a try—it might resonate with you more than it did with me.

**Thank you to Rebellion and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Beast by Jade Linwood is the second book in her ongoing Charming series and as I really enjoyed the first book I was looking forward to relaxing with my copy of this one. Picking up from the ending of book one, we follow Charming as he finds himself caught up in a magical Bachelor style competition in a gender swapped retelling of Beauty and the Beast. While this story had a lot of potential there were a distracting number of side plots and POV shifts that kept pulling me away from the parts of the book I was most interested in. I feel like the addition of several new characters along with the desire to give old favourites a chance to shine just stretched the author too thin when it came to the storytelling and the humour which was one of my favourite things about Charming. The humour is still there and while it sometimes works there are times when it just seems forced or overworked. I love the world the author has created with its strong fairytale vibes and I think that readers who grew up loving the tradtional fairytales will find something to enjoy here.
As I mentioned I really enjoyed the flipped Beauty and the Beast idea , I just wish that there was more time for us to see Beast's character develop and see the relationship with Charming progress a little more believably.
While I did not love this book quite as much as I was hoping to, I did still like it overall and given the way the book ended I look forward to seeing where the author will take us next.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.