Illustrated by Isabelle Follath.

Published by Farshore, 2021.

Bethany and Ebenezer are two of the most wickedly brilliant characters I’ve encountered in recent years. I absolutely loved the first book in the series (The Beast and the Bethany) and so I was delighted to get a chance to review the sequel.

Since the first book, wild child Bethany and 512-year-old Ebenezer are reformed characters. Ebenezer is no longer hell-bent on his pursuit of eternal youth and Bethany has given up on her prankster ways. Instead, they are determined to Do Good. But Bethany finds that having been such a notorious prankster now makes it hard to get taken on for voluntary work, and Ebenezer is secretly missing the beast’s elixirs of youth. And neither of them is all that sure what ’good people’ do anyway. And then there’s Claudette the parrot who’s acting very strangely indeed…

Revenge of the Beast is told with Jack’s trademark wit, and is a riot of fun. It’s deliciously dark with plenty of gruesome details that will satisfy children’s love of the macabre. The series is a joy, full of larger-than-life characters, mischief and colour, and and so it comes as no surprise to discover that the film rights have already been snapped up; The Beast and the Bethany will translate brilliantly to the big screen.

Isabelle Follath’s illustrations are wonderful – capturing the characters perfectly – and adding a gothic flavour to the book.

Rating: 💙💙💙💙💙

Suitable for children aged 8+

Thank you to Farshore for sending me this book to review. I reviewed this book as part of The Write Reads Ultimate Blog Tour.