5 ⭐️

Honestly, i'm not even sure i need to give Bea's mythology books a rating at this point. Just assume I will love it, and it is 5 stars.

The writing in this one is beautiful. Every time Pandora thought about being made wrong it hit me. Bea always approaches topics like this with care and this time is no different. I think the familial abuse was done very well too. It makes you angry.

When I read this was a romcom I knew we were in for some excellent banter, and I was not disappointed. These two are in a battle to be the ruler of snark (I'd say Pandora wins), and it creates some great tension. I liked the two of them together, and matheos loves a romantic speech.

This one is definitely more character driven, I'd say. The plot doesn't really kick in for a while. It's a very in-depth look at who can be trusted, what is the greater good, and what was Pandora made for.

I loved the little cameo from GGQ and I like to think styx and the nymphs would be friends if they ever met. I am very much hoping for a fourth mythology book from bea.

I received an advance review copy of this book, and this review represents my honest opinion. Thank you to netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

Beautifully bitter, wickedly funny, and mythically messy - Pandora finally gets her say.

✶ PRE-READING ✶
The myth of Pandora is so often reduced to “curiosity killed the world,” but there’s so much more to unbox - pun 100% intended. I was especially intrigued to see how Fitzgerald would interpret Epimatheos, the less famous but still crucial brother to Prometheus. After enjoying Girl, Goddess, Queen and The End Crowns All, I was expecting clever mythwork, sharp-tongued leads, and a fair bit of heartbreak. I wasn’t wrong.

✶ POST-READING ✶
As I thought... Fitzgerald’s signature blend of biting wit and mythological flair is in full force here. Pandora is clever, emotionally complex, and constantly searching for meaning in a world that tells her her worth lies in obedience. Her arc - from a wide-eyed creation trying to earn love to a woman forging her own purpose - is beautifully executed. And Matheos? Prime sad-titan material. Tragic, snarky, and frustrating in exactly the right ways.

It surprised me by... ...being much more about agency than romance. The love story simmers (and sizzles), but the core of the book is Pandora choosing herself - even when the gods, the world, and her so-called destiny try to tell her otherwise. It’s also sneakily funny: the divine dysfunction, petty sibling arguments, and dry observations land like modern satire, and the pacing keeps it all sharp.

✦ RECOMMENDATIONS ✦
📚 Circe by Madeline Miller – another reimagined woman of myth, seeking power in a world that denies it
🎬 The Sandman (Netflix) – divine politics, strange magic, and mortals caught in the wake
📖 Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe – for readers who love messy gods, complex romance, and mythic girlhoods
📺 Orphan Black – yes, hear me out: the question of what it means to be created, owned, loved, and free

✦ MUSIC PAIRING ✦
Because sometimes, the heart of a story plays out like a song.

🎵 Featured Song: “Control” – Halsey

“I’m well acquainted with villains that live in my head…” Pandora’s journey toward self-determination pairs so well with this moody, powerful track.

🎶 Vibe Album: WAX by KT Tunstall – full of punchy rebellion, shifting tones, and themes of control vs freedom.


🎧 Artist Recommendation: Florence + the Machine, especially her Dance Fever era - ethereal, feminine, dangerous.

✧ VIBE CHECK ✧
🎨 Colour Palette: copper, indigo, deep wine red, lightning-silver
🎬 Soundtrack: Clash of the Titans (2010) meets Fleabag Season 2
🍂 Season: late summer - when everything’s still golden but storm clouds are threatening
🌀 Mood: “What if I wasn’t made to be good?”
🌸 Scent: scorched fig, storm air, and cold bronze

★ TAROT CARD PULLED ★
The Tower – Storyteller’s Tarot
Pandora’s Box becomes the Tower in this myth-woven deck - a perfect, chilling match. The card shows ghostly skulls and insects pouring from the open box, with legs visible nearby from someone injured or possibly dead. It’s not just the crumbling of illusions - it’s the aftermath of divine recklessness.
In A Beautiful Evil, Pandora is both the spark and the fallout. She’s blamed for what was inside the box, but never asked whether she agreed to carry it. This card reminds us that the gods might have built the structure - but it’s Pandora who has to survive its collapse.

Thank you netgalley for an arc copy of this :) spoilers ahead!

I'm an avid fan of Bea Fitzgerald, Girl, Goddess, Queen was a five star read for me last year.

Pandora is created by the gods as a gift for Epimatheos and to be his wife. Unfortunately for Pandora Epimatheos doesnt want her.

Cue forced proximity, forced marriage, Epimatheos doing his best to push Pandora away and Pandora just doing her best after only just existing.

I really felt for Pandora, she's been forced into existence by Zeus and given attributes by other gods and is expected to thrive. She makes light work of creating a small family of herself, a robot dog, metal birds and a grumpy Epimatheos.

The overarching plot i found slow paced but interesting, I think I'll need a second go around to understand some of the concepts I think I missed. Her previous work was a hades Persephone retelling which I already know the story quite well and im not familiar with Pandoras story.

However what I love about Fitzgeralds work is how it feels like a lesson to be learned through-out and in this case its hope. Even when Pandora has nothing she still has hope in the bleakest of times.

5 star read she's an auto buy author, love what she does 💖

Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Pandora was made by the Gods, to be loved; made perfect for her new husband, Epimatheos, and delivered to him. Unfortunately, he doesn’t want her. His reason? She is supposed to bring about the end of humanity…

This is my second dive into Bea Fitzgerald’s work and after being absolutely obsessed with ‘Girl, Goddess, Queen’, I was beyond excited to receive this eARC!

‘A Beautiful Evil’ follows Pandora and Matheos, as they navigate their kinda arranged marriage while dealing with the fact their love may or may not end the world (?) which would be fine except they’re finding it pretty difficult to resist each other. We’ve got Grumpy x Sunshine, we’ve got forced proximity, we’ve got an autistic main character (!!) and we’ve got a cute dog who isn’t a dog.

Let’s start with the good: the representation was so great! As an autistic person myself, I felt so Seen with Pandora and her experience of the world. It was so beautifully done and I just loved her journey of self-discovery. I felt the real strengths of this book lay in Pandora as a main character. Her relationship with Matheos was very cute, with real stand out moments between the two of them that, for spoilers’ sake, I won’t go into, but to see two people accept each other for all that they are was just wonderful.

I think the romance ended up taking a sort of backseat as the plot came into play, which was a little disappointing. Not because the plot line wasn’t interesting - it really was - but because I felt we missed a bit of the relationship build up. With the main plot being pulled into focus a smidge too early, we lost an opportunity for more angst and yearning, and the relationship progressed a tiny bit too fast for me. It wasn’t InstaLove or anything like that, but I just like a bit more of a struggle.

As for that main plot, it took a hot minute for me to get my head around and to feel fully invested, but the back half of the book really cooked and as things ramped up, the pages really began flying.

Overall, I felt the first half struggled to find its footing, but once it clicked, I had a super fun time. And that ending? Beautifully perfect!

3.5 🌟

"I wish you'd never loved me. Not if this is what comes of it."

I was given an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Pandora's story has always been one of real interest to me, especially since there are so many questions around the role she plays in the gods' condemnation of humanity. I loved how this retelling acknowledged the roots of the original myth, while adding new elements.

I particularly liked how the gods and titans were portrayed, and how their war was integrated into the background of the plot. Epimatheos was an interesting character, and I loved seeing him grow and progress as he acknowledged the advantages of Pandora's more optimistic outlook on the world. Their story also did a great job of exploring Classics as a discipline, and highlighted the reconstruction process that myths undergo from their fragmentary - and often contradictory - forms. Nevertheless, it still felt like an accessible read, with a compelling romance at its heart.

I read this one really quickly, and the whole story moved at a brisk pace. Occasionally this did make the narrative harder to follow, especially towards the end, where the action ramped up. However, the whole book still felt like a fun "what if?" that showcased the complexity and variety of ancient myth.

Books with similar vibes - Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara, Hera by Jennifer Saint, Medusa by Jessie Barton, and The Daughter of Chaos by A S Webb.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this book to read for an honest opinion.

Wow immediately want to own the book just based on the artwork absolutely stunning excellent work.

Poor Pandora only created for a man’s use, she’s beautiful sweet and confident.

I love myths and I was invested in Pandora’s story her sadness , how lonely she is yet everyone wants a piece of her .

She’s got curious nature she opens a box it contained all evil , women being blamed for poor shoddy cowboys not putting a lock on the box or even on a height shelf..

This was my first Bea Fitzgerald and I was not disappointed!

This is a retelling of Pandora's Jar and going into this book I knew nothing about the myth so readers who don't really know either shouldn't be scared of that fact! I found the representation throughout the book was so refreshing to read about and Fitzgerald made it seem so normal? I liked the fact that there wasn't a huge emphasis on the differences between all our characters but still paid enough careful attention to each one. I found this to be so sensual (but YA friendly!) which I find it very hard to find as not only an adult but for also our YA readers. There was great discussion on finding your purpose, using your autonomy for what you believe in. I will definitely be going back to read the other books in this series!

Thank you so much to Rih at Penguin for providing me a physical copy as well as NetGalley!

A Beautiful Evil is a stunning retelling of the Greek myth "Pandora's Box" with a wonderful feminist energy and meaningful themes told with care and imbued with hope. The story follows Pandora, our unapologetically curious, curvy, neurodivergent lead as she is created and thrust into an arranged marriage with Matheos - a hard of hearing, stubborn titan. Together they are the definition of grumpy x sunshine and their dynamic is delicious with plenty of banter and tenderness as they find their way to exist together as well as face the trouble the gods throw at them.

Bea Fitzgerald is a mastermind in weaving impactful meaning into her retellings - every time I finish one I find myself longing they had existed when I was a teen. The messages they carry are so empowering, important, yet so easily conveyed within the flow of the story and easily accessible to any age group.
I highly recommend A Beautiful Evil to anyone looking for a thoughtful, yet swoony, YA read.

Thank you Penguin Random House and Bea for allowing me to join in the green era early with this ARC read.

I haven’t read much Greek mythological retelling, but after reading Girl, Goddess, Queen I knew I had to read more! Loved Pandora as she explores the meaning of her existence and potential fated connection that could lead to the end of the world 😱. Plus who can resist grumpy vs sunshine and they’re so amusing together!

Do you believe in fate?

Ahhh I’m so conflicted. I hate to do this because I do genuinely love the author, and she’s an excellent writer - but this book was just not it.

It was one of my most anticipated reads and I was lucky enough to get a physical proof and a digital arc (thanks NetGalley!), and I should caveat that the physical copy of this book is absolutely gorgeous and I’m glad it exists on my shelf!

But the story itself? It just tried to do far too many things and unfortunately I think it fell flat in the end.

The concept is fantastic and I love that there’s more inclusive Pandora retellings, but all of the commentary of sexism and expectations on women and marriage, and weight and looks etc etc was just so overly done, in a way that doesn’t make sense when Pandora is literally a brand new creation? I wanted to like her, I really did, but her character arc was just a bit all over the place, and Matheos was too much of an archetype MMC with nothing original or exciting to write home about. I found their relationship to be both contrived and forced - I felt like they didn’t know who they were the whole time. Maybe that’s the point, but it was hard to root for them.

I much preferred the story line of them going to find Prometheus and discover the prophecy but even that fell flat in the end - the idea seemed cool but just wasn’t executed well - by the end I was disappointed and cknfused - and sad that I felt that way because I really didn’t want to!

Bea Fitzgerald is a wonderful author and I’ll always be excited when she releases a new book, but this one was not for me I’m afraid! Hopefully other folks who love Greek mythology retellings will enjoy it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy!

Another great greek myth retelling from one of my favourite authors in this genre. The grumpy x sunshine dynamic between Pandora and Matheos was charming to read and I loved how it blossomed into something more

Thank you netgalley for an arc of this book. I absolutely loved every bit of it.
This is the story of pandora, the first woman, made to love and be loved by Epimatheos, but is all as it should be? I love the way Pandora was written and watching her come to find who she really is, and not just what the gods made her to be. Also watching her sarcasm and banter with Matheos was so enjoyable and amusing.
This was easily a 5 star book as always from Bea Fitzgerald.

Bea is in their Green Era and I am HERE FOR IT!

Bea Fitzgerald continues to gift us with some of the best myth retellings and the latest book, A Beautiful Evil doesn't disappoint.

This reimagining of Pandora is fresh, funny, and full of heart with a magnetic storyline that pulls you in, you'll be turning pages into the early hours.

First off, let's talk about Pandora. She’s such a vibrant character, fully realized with her unique quirks and passionate intensity. I love how she’s portrayed as a fierce and smart autistic protagonist, without needing a label. It's awesome to see such a rich representation in a romance novel! Her character development is truly a work of art. You can't help but cheer for her as she navigates the complexities of her journey.

The romance itself is a delicious mix of grumpy and sunshine tropes. You know I’m a sucker for that dynamic! The forced proximity angle adds a fun twist, making their banter absolutely *off the charts*. These two have such a witty back-and-forth that made me chuckle more than a few times. It’s that kind of humor where you find yourself grinning like a fool while reading.

Beyond just the laughs, there’s a heartwarming depth to the story. It really feels like this tale, their love, transcends time and space—like somewhere, Pandora and Matheos are out there tinkering away, blissful in their bickering, knowing their love got one over on the gods.

If you’re after a story that’s both funny and meaningful, full of vibrant characters and charming romance, this book should be your next read!

A Beautiful Evil is a delightful, clever, and modern twist on the myth of Pandora. One of the most overlooked figures in Greek mythology, in my opinion.

Bea Fitzgerald brings humour, heart, and a fresh perspective to the classic tale. The plot is engaging, the dialogue sharp, and the characters are memorable and fun to follow.

Perfect for fans of feminist retellings with a splash of wit and a lot of heart. A lovely tread through mythology reimagined!

I really enjoy this book.
It really flows, we get into the story right away and I really liked that.
I found it a bit slow paced sometimes and it was a little bit dragging at the end (but maybe because I kept being interrupted) but it doesn’t take away all the positive things of the books
I thought the plot and the FMC were smart and really well done and executed
I wanted to read a retelling of Pandora and Pandora’s jar for so long but didn’t know where to start.
I am very glad the author wrote it as I love her work.
It is a great book.
3.5 stars

Thank you to Penguin Random House and Netgalley for giving me this ARC (after I shamelessly begged for it.)

A Beautiful Evil is a retelling of Pandora’s myth, and one I loved very much!! Bea Fitzgerald has done it again ladies and gentlemen. I love Greek Mythology and Pandora’s myth so I absolutely enjoyed this retelling.

Pandora is very much ‘What Was I Made For’ by Billie Eilish coded. Matheo’s and Pandora’s love omgg I WAS OBSESSEDDD ‘You are not their ruination, Pandora you are mine.’ that line literally had me screaming

What You Can Expect
💚 Grumpy X Sunshine Dynamic
💛 Neurodivergent FMC and POC MMC
💚 A Cute Mechanical dog
💛 Arranged Marriage
💚 A Love That’s Beyond Worlds

GGQ and TECA were both amazing reads for me this year so far and after reading ABE, I can’t wait for ‘Better Than Revenge’ to come out!! Also now I need to read Then Things Went Dark lol.

A fresh take on the Pandora Myth.

I love Bea's books and this was no different. The writing was excellent, the story was well thought out, and although I knew the Pandora Myth before going into the book it was told in such a way that I was hooked and not sure what would happen yet. The ending- I loved it. My only criticism would be some parts felt a bit dragged out and I felt myself rushing them to get back into the good stuff.

Overall a very solid 4 stars!

I absolutely loved this book and devoured it! As someone who hasn't read much about the Pandora original story, and "Pandora's Box", this felt completely new and yet authentic! The way that you just get so immersed into Pandora's feelings, thoughts and thought process is honestly something I'm baffled by, because it's just SO good. I can't wait to read more

If I have one hope in this world, it would be that Bea Fitzgerald never stops writing these incredible tales.

This story truly shows the magic in her writing. She creates extraordinary characters in a world we have been told so much about and shows tales that should have been told for millennia.

Pandora is such a well rounded, thoughtful and wonderful character and the whole story is just beautiful. Clever and witty, dealing with some truly deep theories.

Thank you for this story. I’m better for reading it

2 stars : ̗̀➛ don't think this one was for me lads.

A Beautiful Evil is a greek mythological reimagining of Pandora's story. I went into this book knowing the basics of that tale: Pandora was given a box that contained evils and told not to open it, but then her curiousity got the best of her and she actually did open it and unleash evil into the world.

What To Expect
💚 Grump X Sunshine
🖤 Neurodivergent FMC and POC MMC
💚 Cute Mechanical dog sidekcik
🖤 Arranged Marriage
💚 A Beautiful Love

This book... it was a highly anticipated read for me and when I first read the blurb I was over the freaking moon because I was fully convinced this was my book. Until I read it. The only good thing I can say about this book is that the writing was beautiful, albeit a bit wordy and inconcise at times. One thing I looked forward to in the book was the creation of Pandora, which essentially I found to be rushed and an allegory which lacked subtlety. So many things were trying to be conveyed. Bea tackles consent, people pleasing, personal worth and being geared for a man's use. I think it should have been more subtle because it wouldn't make sense for a woman that has just been created in a bias way to be aware of these things. She should have been naive, in a sense. But she wasn't, yet at times it felt like she was.

The characters fell a bit flat, aside from Pandora, but even then Pandora took me some time to actually like. I feel like Matheos was just a carbon copy romance MMC at the start with how much he's randomly smirk. I didn't even feel like it was part of his character. Hell, I didnt even like him that much until after 60%.

This book was also just begging to be New Adult. It's categorised as upper YA as far as I know but... I don't even know why thats a category. Eventhough there were no explicit scenes there were still overly suggestive lines and lead up.

Now, when it came to the self discovery plot where Pandora tries to uncover her purpose in life I feel like there could have been so much more depth to that? Trying to find your purpose in life can be such a deep and complex experience and I feel like we didn't get that from this book. Instead I feel like it took more of a romcom focus which imo led to random events that made her question her existence??

The ending was... I don't know if it's because I'm stupid or it was just something really random added in the last hundred pages. However, despite how much I didn't like about this book, I feel like in the end, Matheos and Pandora had such a beautiful relationship— they loved eachother beyond worlds.

2.5 stars — "You are not their ruination, Pandora. You are mine."

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for this early copy in exchange for an honest review! :)