Rebecca Kenney was an author I tried out in 2024 with Beautiful Villian. It ended up being one of my favorite books of last year.
When I heard she was releasing another book in the Gilded Monsters series, I was here for it and was so excited to pick up Charming Devil. Let me start by saying that this is a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray.
If you’ve read The Picture of Dorian Gray, you might realize how everything is connected but as someone who hasn’t read that, it still made sense. Basically, you don’t have to read The Picture of Dorian Gray before reading Charming Devil unless you want more context.
With that being said, I’d like to thank Sourcebooks Casablanca for putting this one on my radar so I can share my thoughts and feelings with all of you.
Charming Devil is another stunner from Rebecca Kenney.
Charming Devil is Rebecca Kenney’s take on The Picture of Dorian Gray. Given how she retold The Great Gatsby, I was here for it. This story follows Baz who moves into her aunt’s house upon her death. She’s mostly just floating through life until she ends up meeting Dorian and from there, her life becomes a rollercoaster.
With a title like Charming Devil, you can probably imagine just how Dorian is. He’s an influencer who is looking to party, have fun, and generally not care. If you’ve read the classic, you’ll know why he acts like that. Honestly, I wasn’t loving Dorian’s character at first but as the story went on, I came to know and appreciate who he was and why he made the choices he did.
Baz was also an interesting character who had a tragic life but still found a way to channel her feelings into her art. Baz has such a complicated relationship with her art and it’s fascinating to see how everything is woven together. The same can be said about her relationship with Dorian as these two were slightly toxic for each but it worked.
Once these two finally admitted their feelings and acted on it, it felt like my Kindle was going to catch on fire. Rebecca Kenney made sure you knew how much chemistry these two had. If there’s one thing this author’s going to do, it’s try to make you blush. She also doesn’t shy away from adding to the plot and making you want to keep reading.
Whether you’ve read Beautiful Villain or not, I think Charming Devil is a great one to pick up especially in the colder months. It’s the perfect book to read while snuggled up under a blanket and enjoying being indoors. Once again, I think that Rebecca Kenney is going to end up writing one of my favorite reads of the year again.
Charming Devil by Rebecca Kenney is out now where books are sold.