3.5 rounded up.

This would make a great gift for any middle-grade kid. It’s kid-friendly, funny, entertaining and light-hearted. Definitely had touches of Lemony Snicket and Roald Dahl, more Snicket I’d say, but just not as dark and sinister.

A grey ‘big blob of gone-off mayonnaise’ (with apologies, Monster sir, those were Bethany’s words not mine) with teeny weeny hands and legs lived on the top floor of Ebenezer’s fifteen-story mansion the size of twelve elephants (didn’t impress Bethany though who said it was a waste of space). This three-eyed monster had Ebenezer do his bidding. Ebenezer is a good bad sorta old man, who’d be turning 513 years old soon but still looking 20, thanks to an elixir which the monster rewarded him with, whenever he’s being fed whatever he wanted. It fed on anything from parrots and pianos, to old lanky ladies and necklaces and beehives. About where and why he had that elixir wasn’t revealed. Maybe in the coming series?

Characters reminded me of those from 'A Series of Unfortunate Events', even its illustrations. Bethany reminded me of Sunny Baudelaire, that feisty baby in Unfortunate Events. Ebenezer is the much, much milder version of Count Olaf. I grew to love Bethany just like Ebenezer did. Of all the characters, she, I felt was the most well-rounded. Snarky, sassy, loud, smart, bold and a little sensitive too, but in a good sort of way. What I loved most was how her friendship with Ebenezer developed. It started from the little tiffs they had to the checking off of Bethany’s bucket list which she remarked rather wisely when Ebenezer asked her if she had one.
“I don’t have any lists. And if I did, I wouldn’t write them on a flipping bucket.”
“No That’s not what I meant.”
“It’s what you said. You should think about your words more carefully next time.”
She later lent her two cents after Ebenezer explained what it is, and said it should be called a death list, not a bucket list.

A short novel about good vs evil, brain vs brawn and friendship. It would keep you turning the pages especially after the appearance of our spunky heroine, Bethany, because that’s when all hell starts to break loose. Will she and Ebenezer be able to save the day and defeat the monster? I can’t wait to get this for my niece. I think she’d enjoy it!

Thank you The Write Reads Tour and the publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Ebenezer Tweezer is a terrible man with a wonderful life. Five Hundred and Twelve years old, but looks like a Twenty year old lives in a huge home, fifteen storeys high and a few elephants wide. It is indeed a gargantuan place. He lives alone with only a company of a beast. A beast on the top most floor, with three black eyes and two black tongues. The Beast and Ebenezer have a pact and that is how they have mutually survived. The beast asks for food and in return has the power to get anything that Ebenezer wants, until one day the food request from the beast becomes something different and difficult.

Bethany is a little girl who lives in an orphanage. Having lost her parents in a fire accident, she has nowhere but the orphanage to live in. Roguish, prankish and troublesome, Bethany is always upto some mischief. One day, Ebenezer visits the orphanage to bring home a kid. He has neither a choice nor a preference as to what kind of kid he wants to take home. So when the Director, Miss Fizzlewick asks him to choose, he is flabbergasted. But then he decided to get Bethany home since she is the most troublesome.

– What is that food request the beast has made?

– How has the man survived for 512 years?

– Why does Ebenezer find that food choice onerous?

– Why is a kid required?

– What happens when Bethany comes home with Ebenezer?

Rating – 4/5 Stars

Recommendation – High

Conclusion,

This lovely book takes us through the story shared between a hungry beast, a vain immortal human and the irksome little orphan girl. With mellifluous illustrations, this is a delight to read. The beast has to have his hunger satiated. The man needs to keep his beauty intact. The girl needs to keep herself from dying. The characters are developed well and the plot is very intriguing. Overall a great read.

P.S – A Huge Thank you – The Write Reads Tours for organizing and Egmont Books UK, NetGalley for the ecopy in exchange for an honest review.

The book is aimed at children from 9 to 13. Nonetheless it is also much fun to read as an adult. The only missing main character in the title of the book is Ebenezer Tweezer. He is the „owner“ of the beast and will turn 512 years in a week. He kept his eternal youth by drinking an elixir the Beast provides in exchange for something special to eat. After all those years the Beast finally wants to eat a human child. First Ebenezer is shocked but then he tries to find the most awful child there is and he finds….

Yes….



of course he finds ….



Bethany!!!!

Bethany is everyone’s worst nightmare. She is everything a child is not supposed to be, which makes her the perfect food for the beast. She’ll certainly taste yummy….

I thoroughly enjoyed reading „The Beast and the Bethany“ and instantly fell in love with Bethany the first time she’s mentioned. She reminds me a lot about Pippi Langstrumpf as she also has a strong personality and isn’t easily scared. Isabelle Follath created gorgeous illustrations and really made Bethany and the other characters come to life.

The book in total is British down to the bone. If I ever have enough time to show my pupils what exactly British humor is, I’ll read „The Beast and the Bethany“ with them. But it’s not only full of British humor, there are also many other examples of Britishness to be found in it.

It’s a great book about friendship and its different aspects. Also it critically reflects on modern society with its need for eternal youth, like a mix between Pippi Langstrumpf and the Picture of Dorian Grey.

All in all I can recommend reading this book and I hope that it’ll also be published in German soon so my boys can read it too.

When the synopsis of this book flew into my inbox I already knew it was going to be a good one. With a main character called Ebeneezer Tweezer this book was never going to disappoint.

The Beast and the Bethany is the perfect grizzly tale. A cross between The Nightmare Before Christmas and the Mr Gum books with brilliant humour and silliness galore, as well as the sense of impending doom which thrills the reader at every turn of the page.

The premise is simple - Ebeneezer Tweezer keeps a horrifying beast in the attic of his house, he keeps it happy by feeding it what it wishes and in return the beast vomits gifts for Ebeneezer and helps to keep him youthful at the grand old age of 511. But when one day the beast requests a juicy child to chow down on, Ebeneezer finds himself in a bit of a pickle - he has to find a child horrible enough to justify feeding them to the beast.

Enter Bethany. An orphan, dedicated prankster, general all-rounder of awfulness and a prime candidate for beast food. Ebeneezer wastes no time in taking her home and fattening her up ready for the beast but as time goes on, Bethany turns out to be a little different than expected and soon Ebeneezer finds himself debating whose life is more important, his own, the beast or the Bethany...

The Beast and the Bethany is pacy and fun throughout. Funny books are so hard to get right. Often they are too slapstick or 'talk down' to children but The Beast and the Bethany is the perfect blend of darkness and light. There are brilliant quips and jokes to keep the adults reading entertained which are guaranteed to get full-on belly-laughs from children too. Coupled with the amazing illustrations by Isabelle Follath which I felt really captured exactly how I imagined Bethany to be.

This would make a brilliant read-aloud because it is just SUCH fun. Plenty of opportunity for different voices and I can't wait to actually share it in school and see how the children react to it. It's just the right side of sinister at times and always done in a humorous way, which makes it a perfect read from Year 2 upwards. There has also been a major film deal announced which I'm super excited for as well as a SEQUEL!

The Beast and the Bethany publishes on the 1st October, but you can pre-order now from all major bookstores and I wouldn't hang around as I reckon this one will be very popular.

The perfect blend of humour, friendship and a little bit of danger too.

The Beast and the Bethany was such a breath of fresh air for me. As most of you know, most of the books I read are super serious thrillers, so it was great to take a break and read something so fun and silly. Middle Grade is definitely out of my usual comfort zone, but I’m trying to broaden my reading range, and I am so glad I read this book.

There are quite a few references that children might not even realise, but us adult readers definitely will. For example, Ebenezer’s artwork that he has throughout his house is described, and the artist in me just had to work out what all of the famous works of art were, before they were shown in an illustration later on in the book (I got them all right, and was extremely proud of myself).

Despite the characters not having the most likeable personalities, this is what makes them so much fun to read about, and some of them actually have really lovely character developments. I don’t want to say much about the characters, because I don’t want to ruin it for the rest of you, but I will say that given Bethany’s past, and everything she has been through, you can’t really blame her for being a bit angry at everyone around her.

There is a great meaning behind the story too. Being nice doesn’t cost anything, but it certainly gives the greatest rewards. Don’t be greedy, always tell the truth, and always try to be a good person, you’ll be much happier for it.

Jack Meggitt-Phillips is a very promising new author, and I am looking forward to reading what he has to offer in the future, including the sequel to The Beast and the Bethany. To me, this book is what you would expect if Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket had a baby, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. This is a story that adults will love, just as much as children.

I give The Beast and the Bethany a 4 star rating.

I have to admit, “The Beast and the Bethany” is different than what I had expected. Of course, by now I’m not even sure anymore what I expected. The book has sweeped me off my feet and now I could not imagine it any different from what I got.

The main character Ebenezer Tweezer is a self-centered, egoistical and unlikable protagonist and it was great fun seeing him cope with his own emotions and conscience and the unruly orphan Bethany who is just as unlikable, egoistical and misbehaving like Ebenezer.
It was great to see how Ebenezer changes during the course of the book. Even though he is pretty obnoxious and oblivious to anything but his own selfish needs, I still found him very likable.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same thing about Bethany. While I know the whole purpose of the book was that Bethany was mean and misbehaved and just bratty, I still couldn’t bring myself to care too much about her.
I did understand why Ebenezer started to care for her, though, and I was very pleased with the ending of the book. You can watch the character development unfold as the story progesses and that was very satisfying.
The titular beast was mean and gross and I loved it. It was delightfully nasty and it was so much fun watching it slobber and sweat and be gross.

The book itself was fast-paced and fun. I basically flew through the pages and was sad when it was over. I could have read so many more pages of Ebenezer and Bethany’s highjinks. The writing style was quirky and had the right kind of flow. The themes and topics of the book were rather clear and straightforward but I didn’t feel preached at.

Some praise must be sung for the illustrations as well. The images are funny and lovely and I loved looking out for little details.

All in all, this book was a great and fast read. It had a ton of nasty characters with bad manners and bad attitude but that was one of the things that made this book so much fun. It’s just something new and different in my opinion. The plot didn’t feel like something I’ve read so many times before which made it wonderfully refreshing as well.

I am already looking forward to the sequel and this book is not even out yet. In the end, I’ve had a great time reading it, no matter how I felt about some smaller things and although it’s a book for younger children, I’ve had some very grown-up ponderings about it. That’s one more reason to love it.

Ebenezer is approaching his 512th birthday, although he looks remarkably young for his age. He lives a reclusive life of luxury, filled with the occasional odd purchase of rare parrots and trips to the zoo to gather food for the magical beast he keeps in his attic - the secret to his youth and wealth. But the beast has grown tired of his usual meals. He wants to try something new. Something much more difficult to get hold of. But when orphan Bethany moves in, Ebenezer and his beast discover they may have bitten off more than they can chew.

The Beast and the Bethany is a must read for fans of funny middle grade stories filled with dark twists. I was hooked from the very first page and devoured this story in one sitting, thanks to its superb voice and excellent characters.

I really liked both Bethany and Ebenezer, and I think children will too. Bethany acts without thinking and does some horrible (and hilarious) things. Ebenezer is selfish and thoughtless (and at times completely clueless!).

There were so many lines and moments which made me laugh out loud. But despite the laughs and the gruesome scenarios, there were also touching moments, filled with character growth and friendship.

My advanced copy only had a taste of Follath's artwork, and I'm really looking forward to being able to buy a finished copy to enjoy it properly, as the pictures which have been included are brilliant.

I'm so pleased there are going to be more books with Bethany and Ebenezer - this is a great concept with fantastic characters, which readers will want to return to again and again.

I was provided with an advanced copy for review.

The Characters:
The characters in this book were so interesting to read about! All of the characters are awful in their own way, even cruel at times. Let’s start with Ebenezer Tweezer, the 511 year old man who lives in a 15 storey house with a beast! The first thing I noticed about Ebenezer was his name – I love it! At the start of the book, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about Ebenezer, he was quite awful to begin with, but I started to really enjoy reading about his character as the story progressed. This was only a short book but Ebenezer changed a lot by the end of the book. I felt the same with Bethany too. At the start she was a horrible person but she changed a lot throughout. I really enjoyed reading about her and seeing what she got up to when she was with Ebenezer. And then there’s the Beast. This strange and magical beast can vomit up anything Ebenezer wishes for once he has been given what he wants to eat. This beast was also pretty awful, but also very interesting to read about.

The Story:
I loved the idea of this book, the blurb had me intrigued: I wanted to know more about the Beast and Bethany, and how they would meet. I likedthe pacing of this book, nothing ever felt too slow or too rushed. It was a nice quick read for me and it progressed really nicely. I loved the direction the story went in too, and I’m excited about the sequel coming out next year. The ending was great, and really enjoyed seeing how the character’s evolved throughout the book. This book was full of wonderful illustrations as well, done by Isabelle Follath, which I thought really added to the story. I’m looking forward to seeing a finished copy of the book in October.

Final Thoughts:
This was a really good middle-grade book that I think I would have loved growing up. That being said, I did still really enjoy it as an adult. There weren’t too many characters to keep track of and those who we did meet were always interesting. I was reminded of some of Roald Dahl’s books when reading this, it had a similar feel and humour to it. In the end I gave this book 4/5 stars.

I don't even know where to start with this bite sized piece of joy. I'm going to start with the most eye catching part of the novel, of course the illustration that have been created by the talent that is Isabelle Follath. Inclusions of these wonderful images brings more fun to the story, whether you're reading it for yourself, with a younger child or the younger child is reading it, what isn't fun about illustrated stories? The front cover is gorgeous and the same artistic attention to detail flows throughout the whole book.

The storyline of this novel is fun, menacing and utterly brilliant with lessons laced throughout, this is truly a special book indeed. We have Ebenezer Tweezer a selfish man who has gained many things from life by sacrificing morals and his childhood cat, to his only friend, a greedy beast that lives on the 15th floor of Ebenezer's house. When the beast requests a child to lunch upon, Bethany is chosen to be sacrificed - with no parents, or family to love her, this naughty child is a great exchange for an elixir that will keep Ebenezer young. It is this choice that completely spins everyone's world on its head and I adored every single second of it! The Beast and the Bethany was a five star read for me, if I could have given it more I would have, it made me smile and laugh (also made me want cake!), it's also something I want everyone to read when they are having a bad day! Reminded me of Coraline vibes with more humour and loveliness - I enjoy a read that has a masked 'moral of the story', one that fulfils all my bookish needs, one that leaves me wanting more. I am not usually one to read middle grade books, not because I don't think they're for adults, but because none have really peaked my interest. Thank you Jack Meggitt - Philips for opening the door to a whole new genre for me.

I devoured this book (pun very much intended). It was an extremely fun read, very Dahl-esq in its unashamedly gruesome tale. It really doesn’t shy away for the details about The Beast, who happily fills himself with all manner of things, from the beginning it takes on a very eerie and dark tone. All the characters are firmly on the morally grey scale, with no one being entirely good, or sweet. This allows them to grow through out the book as they learn from their wrong actions and selfish ways. Bethany herself is sassy, stubborn and a bully, Ebenezer Tweezer is selfish, inconsiderate yet very naive. Both make a great team as they try and tackle The Beast that lives in Ebenezer’s attic. The Beast itself is cruel and cunning and terrifyingly powerful.

Throughout all this, the book touches on various aspects from dealing with grief, greed, looking at yourself from another perspective, all of which our characters (with exception of The Beast) learn and grow from. It is so well written taking you through a roller coaster of emotions, it is dark, and sad, surprising and joyous, fun and silly. Its one of those unique books that spans any age range as it both perfectly captures this wonderful whimsical world but bring reality of the outside world crashing in with some very apt and humorous wording. A great example that captured this for me was the following:

"The feeling is not unlike the one you experience when you look in the mirror and find out that the leopard-print onesie you’ve been wearing all day doesn’t suit you at all."

While the plot is predictable for those with more experience, it is still fun and is very devilish at the end, teasing the reader as to the final outcome. I have to admit it is one of the most unique Author biographies I have every read. I really enjoyed the writing style. I am sure it will have all ages giggling or gasping out loud at all the write moments. It perfectly balanced these humorous moments with the darker more gruesome moments, and those that were more serious that the story just flowed beautifully. The illustrations, perfectly brought this detailed world to life, adding to the magic.

It is just such a fantastically fun read, worth all the attention it has been getting and more.

Thank you, Dave, at The Write Reads for organizing and inviting me to be part of this blog tour. Thank you, Egmont Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to start off this review by saying that I absolutely loved this book. I’ve been in a bit of a reading/blogging slump for the past month or two, and this book was a perfect combination of some things that I love, and it certainly helped pull me out of my slump.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if Roald Dahl, Lemony Snicket, and Neil Gaiman got together to write a children’s version of The Picture of Dorian Gray? If so, you need to pick up The Beast and the Bethany because that’s the best way for me to describe this fantastic book. I thought that this book was the perfect combination of whimsical, dark, creepy, and suspenseful, and I cannot recommend it enough.

My favourite thing about this book is that it kept me on the edge of my seat while reading it. There were so many moments where I didn’t know what was going to happen, and I was glued to the pages to find out what would happen next. I also found that during the scenes where I knew how they were going to end, the lead up was suspenseful, and it was almost like watching something terrible happen in slow motion.

I was a huge fan of the characters in this book, and I thought that Ebenezer and Bethany made an excellent pair. I like watching both of the characters grow into better people, and I liked watching them try to figure out how to deal with their hungry beast problem. I thought Bethany was a very clever character, and she’s definitely a character that I’m going to remember for a while.

Finally, I loved that this book felt like a combination of some of my favourite things. When I was growing up, I was obsessed with A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I devoured every Roald Dahl book I could get my hands on. More recently, I’ve read a lot of Neil Gaiman’s middle-grade books, and I love the creepy vibes that a lot of them have. It felt like this book was the perfect combination of these three authors, and I think it’s the kind of book that could get someone hooked on reading and stories. I also loved that it had similar elements as The Picture of Dorian Gray because that’s my favourite classic.

Overall, I thought this book was fantastic. It was dark and full of suspense while still having an element of whimsy. I highly recommend checking out this book, and I can’t wait for the sequel.

This novel shows that a book doesn’t need dozens of characters to be great. Only a handful is enough – when done right. Ebenezer Tweezer is over 5 centuries old and still kind of behaves like a child sometimes: he’s stubborn, wants what he wants when he wants it, has no sense of what’s right or wrong. Or does he? Bethany is one of the rudest and boldest children I ever read about. She lives in an orphanage and is probably the least favourite of all the other kids and the woman who looks after them (or, well, let’s just say is supposed to look after them). She is speaking her mind and never lets anyone censor herself, she’s brave and headstrong. We learn that back at the orphanage, Bethany was bullying other children, and at first she doesn’t see any fault with that. But as much as Ebenezer is bound to learn, so is Bethany. And the journey to where they are both heading together – wanted or not – was a very special one to follow.

The beast… well, that’s a different story. The beast is very charming, very eloquent, it could make the impression of being not much of a monster at all – if it were not for his three eyes, two tongues and IMMENSE hunger. Ebenezer did a good job of feeding the beast for the past centuries, but now the beast’s appetite has gotten out of control. I loved seing the conflicting emotions arise in Ebenezer, when he realises what’s good for him and what’s good.

This excellently written middle grade is funny, entertaining, shocking, sad, dark, deep, and touches upon some very important topics. I raced through it and couldn't stop before I hadn't turned the last page, and now I cannot wait for the next book!!! This was a 5 star read from start to finish! I hope you pick it up, it publishes on the first of October, so mark that date in your calendar!!!

I read this book for a blog tour, so thank you so much to the blog tour organiser, the author, the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

This is a middle grade fantasy with a really dark and sometimes quite sad atmosphere. We first meet the two main characters in a bird shop, where Ebenezer, a 511-year-old man has gone to buy a bird to feed to his beast. His beast isn't a normal beast, it's a magic beast and asks Ebenezer for special meals in exchange for presents and a serum he takes yearly to stay young and beautiful. This year, the beast has asked for something special to eat, and Ebenezer doesn't hesitate to go off in search of this meal and doesn't think anything of it, that is until he meets her.

This was my first time reading a book that was this dark and sometimes sad, but that also had such cruel, mean, badly behaved, morally grey characters and I loved it so much because of the evolution and growth throughout the book. Ebenezer is quite cruel and morally grey, the beast is downright evil and Bethany is very badly behaved. Bethany, our second main character is an orphan and is the worst behaved child you might read about, however, there is a lot more to his misbehaviour than you would expect. I really loved reading all about these characters and see them grow, most importantly, see them become better together.

This book has a really dark atmosphere and a lot of bad and cruel things happen, but there are also some very important and meaningful messages in this book and those are what really made this book special to me. Ebenezer has become cruel over the years, you could say he doesn't even have a heart or an ounce of decency and he has let himself be influenced by the beast for over 5 centuries, but Bethany's arrival changes everything and even his thoughts about right and wrong. This book also touches very importantly on themes such as the death of a parent, grief, greed, bad behaviour, and cruelty. It also shows that whatever bad you've done, it can be amended if you apologise and the wheel is constantly turning, so good will always win.

I loved the whole structure of this book and the illustrations in this book were just great and so much fun. It was so well-written, it was dark, it was even sad, but it was also funny, and snarky and had proper humour. I think that this was an absolutely great book, and I can't wait for book two.

I gave this book 5 stars, I loved it from start to finish and was hooked. I loved to see the characters evolve, the side characters were also hilarious and the house in which Ebenezer lives was so intriguing to me. I loved seeing how everything happened, the plot was so unique and great. I would highly recommend this book to children and adults alike, as long as you are aware of the cruel, sad and dark atmosphere at times!

A book that I absolutely devoured in less than 24 hours! A witty, smart middle grade full of humour and valuable lessons for children.

The Beast is a wonderful creature who is the perfect mix of evil and humorous, who charms and manipulates his way into Ebenezer’s life until he meets the wonderfully mischievous Bethany. She worms her way into his life with her pranks and squashed muffin sandwiches, causing Ebenezer to question his life decisions of feeding the beast everything that he wants.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a lovely, whimsical and incredibly clever middle grade. Perfect for mischevious children and good bad people.

Im back again with yet ANOTHER blog tour organised by @TheWriteReads, im starting to feel well and truly apart of the gang now!

The Beast and the Bethany follows the story of Ebenezer Tweezer who is a 511 year old bit of an aristocrat who has a love for fancy things. He lives in a grand mansion with the Beast, the Beast is as the name suggests rather beastly, slimy and all together a little gross. Ebenezer sources unusual meals for the Beast and in exchange the Beast conjures up (by vomiting) something that Ebenezer most desires, a potion that keeps him youthful and wrinkle-free. At the beginning of the story the Beast demands that Ebenezer finds a child for him to eat, when Ebenezer refuses the Beast threatens to stop producing the potion that keeps him young, without it he will die. Ebenezer is then faced with an impossible choice to either find a child and feed it to the Beast or die of old age.

Ebenezer then sets out on a journey to find a child after many hilarious failed attempts he finds himself as a local orphanage to adopt a child. Ebenezer decides to adopt the naughtiest child in order for him not to feel so guilty, he then meets Bethany. Bethany's parents died in a fire when she was a baby and she has been in the orphanage ever since, she has a few failed adoptions under her belt as shes so misbehaved that no one can handle her. Ebenezer decides shes perfect to feed to the Beast.

This story is super fun, a really fast paced read that i couldnt put down! The illustrations are gorgeous and really add to the story, i get disappointed these days when middle grades dont have illustrations. I was delighted when i got to the end and realised that theres a second book coming out in 2021. This is yet another perfect book that i will buy and pass on to my 8 year old niece when shes old enough, im sure she would love it and find Bethany really fun to read about.

My only criticism really is that i would have liked Ebenezer to have been a bit more villainous, i was hoping for a Count Olaf from A Series of Unfortunate Events or Gru from Despicable Me vibe. The stakes felt pretty high that he needed that potion and i wanted him to try and trick Bethany a bit more.

Overall i was really impressed with the pacing, there wasnt a dull moment. I am really keen to see what misadventures they get up to in the next book. Thank you very much to Dave (@TheWriteReads), the publishers @egmontbooksuk and to the author for letting us read this book early and review it. Also very excitingly Warner Bros are making this book into a movie!!!