Blog Tour: The Beast and The Bethany: Revenge of the Beast by Jack Meggitt-Phillips

Synopsis

Once upon a very badly behaved time, 511-year-old Ebenezer kept a beast in his attic. He would feed the beast all manner of objects and creatures and in return the beast would vomit him up expensive presents. But then the Bethany arrived.

Now notorious prankster Bethany, along with her new feathery friend Claudette, is determined that she and Ebenezer are going to de-beast their lives and Do Good. But Bethany finds that being a former prankster makes it hard to get taken on for voluntary work. And Ebenezer secretly misses the beast’s vomity gifts. And neither of them are all that sure what “good people” do anyway.

Then there’s Claudette, who’s not been feeling herself recently. Has she eaten something that has disagreed with her?

Review

It feels like yesterday that I had the pleasure of joining the blog tour for the extremely entertaining The Beast and the Bethany, so of course I leapt at the chance to read the next book in the series. If you’ve read book one, then you have a pretty good idea of what’s to come in book two. That is, largely humour, mingled with a few stomach-churning moments. The Beast is back, slowly rearing its ugly head, before a final showcase that will be sure to delight young readers.

Bethany and Ebenezer are also making a return, and are just as charming as ever. Bethany is determined to prove she can Do Good, and her attempts to understand what that truly means were just brilliant. I did feel completely sorry for her at times. Trying her hardest to be accepted and forgiven for her past crimes, whilst no one wanted to trust her. I think in book one, at times I hoped that she would get fed to the beast, so I must surely have warmed to her in this next chapter?!

My favourite thing about Revenge of the Beast, was getting to see a little more of Ebenezer’s history, and how he ended up living alone with a revolting beast in the attic. He is easily my favourite character, of course he is wonderfully ridiculous, but that’s why I love him. Both his quirky history and his beastly possessions were truly unique and what I really enjoyed about the book.

Then of course, there’s Claudette, who is gradually transforming and seemingly no longer herself. I’m really looking forward to reading this series with my son in the future. As an adult reader, it was pretty obvious where the story was headed and why Claudette was behaving the way she was, so it’ll be super interesting to see if my small one picks up on those clues too!

The artwork in book two, once again compliments the words perfectly. Even as an adult reader, I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. I just know I would have completely adored this series when I was young. The ending was just brilliant for leaving you wanting more, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next for these two truly unique characters!