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

A huge thanks to Dave and crew over at #TheWriteReads for organising this ultimate book tour and to Jack Meggitt-Phillips, Egmont Books and Netgally for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis

Lemony Snicket meets Roald Dahl in this riotously funny, deliciously macabre, and highly illustrated sequel to The Beast and the Bethany in which Bethany and Ebenezer try to turn over a new leaf, only to have someone—or something—thwart them at every turn.

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?

Genre: MG Fantasy

Length: 288 Pages

Publishing: 30^th September 2021

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Revenge-Beast-2-Bethany/dp/1534478922

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58410828-revenge-of-the-beast

My Thoughts

If you aren’t familiar with The Beast, The Bethany and Ebeneezer Tweezer, check out my review of book 1 – The Beast and The Bethany.

I’m so excited to be back on an adventure with Ebeneezer and Bethany after book 1 was the most fun I’d had in ages.  My daughter and I are currently listening to it on audio too and I cannot recommend it enough.

Revenge of the Beast has two main plots and a dual timeline.  In some chapters we get to learn about Ebeneezer as a young boy (over 500 years ago).  In the present, Bethany, Ebeneezer and Claudette are trying to be good people and de-beast their lives but are struggling to figure out how to do so.  In addition, Ebeneezer is secretly missing having the beast around to provide for him and various issues are beginning to appear and then there is Gloria.

I enjoyed reading and how Ebeneezer came to acquire the beast as a young child.  I enjoyed finding out how he was manipulated, and it made me feel much more empathy for him, knowing how his childhood was.  It really pulled on the heart strings and explained a lot about his character as this wasn’t explored in book 1.  It was delightful to see Bethany maintain some level of her mischievous nature but was becoming more thoughtful and happier.  As they spent more time together their relationship also develops, and I loved watching them grow together as people.   

Full of little twists and loads of giggles,  Revenge of the Beast is a fabulous middle grade fantasy novel full of crazy illustrations and I guarantee it will delight children and adults alike.  I cannot wait for the next instalment.

Author Bio – Jack Meggitt-Phillips

Jack Meggitt-Phillips is an author, scriptwriter, and playwright whose work has been performed at The Roundhouse and featured on Radio 4. He is scriptwriter and presenter of The History of Advertising podcast. In his mind, Jack is an enormously talented ballroom dancer, however his enthusiasm far surpasses his actual talent. Jack lives in north London where he spends most of his time drinking peculiar teas and reading P.G. Wodehouse novels.