NetGalley November - The Beast and The Bethany

I warned you guys that this NetGalley November attempt of mine this month is going to be a little erratic. But I didn’t think it would happen so quickly. I had planned to write-up my thoughts of The Survivors by Jane Harper or Karen M. McManus The Cousins before I attack this. But then, the UK Prime Minister announced a 4 week Lockdown on Halloween (aka Lockdown: The Revenge) due to a newspaper leak, and then with the US Election building up, my brain couldn’t handle these thrillers. So, on the first of November, I decided I needed something short, fast and fun! 

And this caught my eye! So… Hang on, info and affiliate link time! 

Title And Author: The Beast and The Bethany by Jack Meggitt-Phillips (Illustrations by Isabelle Follath)
Publisher: Egmont
Physical, eBook or Audiobook: eBook and Audiobook
Bought, Borrowed or Gifted: eProof gifted by publisher by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and audiobook borrowed from local library via BorrowBox
Length: 256 Pages or 4 Hours 33 Minutes

Ebenezer Tweezer is not a nice man. He is a youthful yet spoilt 511 year old, and he has a beast living his attic. Ebenezer feeds the beast and the beast gives - well, vomits - out beautiful gifts for him. 

And yet, the beast is greedy. And he’s growing bored of eating rare animals, dusty statues and and singing parrots. The beast wants to try a new meal. One not tried before… for the beast wants a child…

Ok, how do I describe this? Imagine a hybrid of Despicable Me and/or Dorian Grey written by Lemony Snicket or Roald Dahl. 

And it’s a delicious read. I devoured it over the course of two days. It’s dark, funny and a little twisted. And there’s something great fun reading about unpleasant people (both Ebenezer and Bethany are not nice people) who, at the same time, are flawed and, as the story progress, we see moments of kindness and both characters question their mortality and what it means to be good. 

I can’t really say much about this as I just had a blast reading this. I have’t had this reaction to a middle-grade since I read The Haunting of Aveline Jones. I had such delicious fun and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series (though you can read this as a standalone…)