This was a fine book, it just wasn’t for me

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Mafia romance x beauty and the beast vibes? Yes please!!
I’m still new to mafia romance but I can definitely see the appeal!
Miko is the MMC who captures Nessa, the youngest daughter of the Mafia family that he is plotting revenge against. Miko is broody while Nessa is sweet and innocent and has been sheltered from the Mafia life from her family. I loved the character development for both MCs.

What to expect:
- Loose beauty and the beast retelling
- Mafia romance
- Captor / Captive
- Opposites attract
- Dancer FMC
- Fast paced
- Angst

Thank you netgallery and bloom books for my free copy of Stolen heir in exchange for my honest review

I rated this book ⭐️4/5, 🌶️3/5

A chapter for chapter mafia retelling of beauty and the beast. I’m a sucker for the plot no matter if it’s mafia or fantasy. This is number 2 in a series of stand-alones that follow various mafia siblings in Chicago. I really enjoyed the enemies portion of the enemies to lovers. I liked the cat and mouse game they played. I missed the part where the switch happened because they hated each other and then one second later they’re together. Their relationship needed a lot more development, because Miko folding and giving up his revenge scheme wasn’t believable. I was also very tempted to subtract a star for the “insanely aesthetic” line at the end, that was too cringe. Still, I enjoyed the book, I wish it were longer to develop more into how Miko and Nessa fall for each other.

Stolen Heir is basically a mafia version of Beauty and the Beast. Nessa Griffin, youngest daughter of the Irish mafia is kidnapped by Mikolaj, the new Head of the Polish mafia following the events of Brutal Prince. He's seeking revenge for his father and his piece of the pie, so to speak, and wants to hurt the Griffins and Gallos for snubbing them.

Nessa gets snatched leaving the ballet studio she practicially lives at. She is locked away in his house where it's only him and his maid Klara and his men. Nessa is forbidden from entering the West Wing where he resides. He keeps her captive while looking for ways to extort money and power from the Irish and Italians. He forces her to join him for dinner and they dance afterward finding they have an intense attraction to each other. While the 2 dance around and deny their attraction to each other, they slowly open up to each other and grow.

Nessa realizes how sheltered she's been and how sick of it she is. She makes friends with Klara the maid and teaches herself Polish much tothe surprise of everyone. Klara thought it was just afew words at first, but then Nessa finds a way to teach herself with English and Polish versions of the same book. She then starts snooping on everyone in the house letting them believe she doesn't understand them. After overhearing a plot to kill her brother she gives herself away and their relationship deepens and like the fairy tale he lets her go. His men loose their shit and mutiny. Through Nessa's interference his life is spared and they return to the Griffins together. Mikolaj proves himself to her father by protecting her from the Russians, whom he broke a deal with to claim more control of the city. They power dynamics shift again and I can't wait for the next book.

Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark is Beauty and the Beast re-telling with a mafia twist, I wavered a bit between 3 and 4 stars for this one and ultimately decided on 3.5. Overall I really enjoyed this book and read it all in 1 sitting. I loved the backstory we got to experience with Miko and the growth with Nessa. Nessa starts out very sheltered and naive, with a lot of people in her life either sort of ignoring her or walking over her. I loved watching her grow a bit more of a backbone and come into her own as a character. As a lover of ballet, I liked how it was used to further the story and how she used dance to communicate. The one thing that kept this from a 4-star read for me is, I could understand why Miko fell for Nessa, but I did not fully understand how Nessa fell for Miko. I love banter, and talks between my characters and I think a lot of their falling in love was more about watching each other and getting to know each other that way instead of talking to each other. Nessa did not really get much chance to either talk to or watch Miko. This book also has less spice than some other Sophie Lark books I have read (about 2 scenes) so they weren't quite falling in lust either. I love Sophie's writing though so even with me wanting a bit more communication and banter between the characters it is an enjoyable, darker romance read. I LOVE the new cover too!!.

Tropes
- Re-telling (beauty and the beast)
- Enemies to lovers
- Kidnapping
- Captured/capture romance
- Mafia romance
- Innocent FMC
- Scarred MMC

Another @read_bloom book to get a cover make over!
This is a dark romance that gives Beauty and the Beast vibes, with a mafia twist!
I knew I loved mafia romances but I kinda forgot how much! This was a nice reminder! I really liked Miko, he was the typical dark and broody mafia lead that we all love! I really liked that Nessa was a ballerina, I feel like I don't see that super often in romance books.
I know it sounds weird to say with a dark romance, but this was a really sweet book! I enjoyed it!
Thank you @netgalley for the ebook!

"Love is the one thing you can't steal, you can't create it, either. It either exists or it doesn't and if it exists, you can't take it by force."

SOPHIA LARK HAS DONE IT AGAIN! I love her. This is a mafia meets beauty and the beast story, and I didn’t know I need that combination!!! Nessa & Mikolaj had an amazing opposites attract trope going on and I ate that stuff up. I love the character development in this book a lot. As well as a lil bits we got of Callum & Aida in the book, from the first book, which made my HEART SO HAPPPPYYY!!! I 100% will be continuing this series. ❤️❤️❤️
Also the artwork added into these books are everything and such a lovely touch!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Publication date: August 25, 2023

Stolen Heir is the second book in the Mafia romance series by Sophie Lark. I read and reviewed the first book a couple months ago.

The Griffins and Gallos have created a tentative truce in the Chicago Mafia underworld. The Griffins are head of the Irish and The Gallos are Italian. After the arranged marriage of Aida (Gallo) and Callum (Griffin) things are quiet on the mafia front but Miko hasn’t forgotten how the two families betrayed him and his father (the head of the Polish mafia).

Nessa Griffin is the youngest of the family and kept protected and away from the brutal life of the family business. Nessa is attending college but her passion is ballet and she has been working with the local ballet company for several years.

In an attempt to get back at the Griffins, Miko arranged to kidnap Nessa and use her as collateral to hurt the two families that betrayed him. After several weeks of being held like prisoner in Mikos home, Nessa finally gets the opportunity to explore the old house she is being held captive. She also gets a chance to spend more time with Miko.

Without warning, both Miko and Nessa start to fall for each other. Nessa is horrified that the person who kidnapped her and is out to destroy her family has also captured her heart. Can beautiful warm hearted Nessa melt the ice around Mikos heart and convince her parents that a marriage pact is the best way to bring all the families together?

This is an enemies to lovers mafia story with a decent amount of spice. Great follow up to the first story and I will definitely be reading the next instalment! This is a four star read for me!

#NetGalley #stolenheir #sophielark

Entertaining, spicy, fast-paced retelling of the Beauty and the Beast in the mafia world. Miko's switch from 'I hate you' to 'I love you' happened too sudden and a bit out of nowhere, the ending of the story is SO tooth-achingly sweet, and I missed the craziness and the humor of the "Brutal Prince", still I'm looking forward to read the rest of the series. By the way, I never knew I need illustrations in my romance books until now, it was such a nice touch to the whole reading experience. And I absolutely enjoyed learning Polish with Nessa.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange of honest review.

Another dark and stormy mafia romance! This one was a beauty and the beast retelling and had me captivated from the very beginning! I think I read this one in a day!

Thank you for the ARC. I just want to say that I loved everything about this story. I'm so in love with Nessa and Miko. Nessa is so sweet and cute. I love how Miko changed for better, how protective and soft he is with Nessa. My girl deserves the best. Only the best.

Their chemistry is chef kiss. I love when Nessa danced for Miko. Awwww, so lovely.

The storyline was good. I love the main characters, the side characters and the hot time between leads, so the final ranking is 5/5.

Beauty and the Beast has been one of my favorite movies since I was a child. This book was such a beautiful retelling of it - it held true to the storyline but was a modern interpretation. The blend of fairytale and mafia was a much better combination than I had anticipated! Usually, I am a mood reader and will jump from genre to genre, but I can already tell that I will be rushing into the next book in this series very quickly....

This was also my first Sophie Lark book and oooooooooh goodness, I can feel an auto-buy author coming on....

I did not read the first book in this series, and I started with Stolen Heir. I do not feel that this hindered my enjoyment of the book in any way and I do not feel like I missed any key aspects of the storyline or characters.

Big thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review!

I mean it's Sophie Lark. What's not to love? This book is amazing and I am so thankful that I was able to read this!

5⭐️

Stolen Heir is a beauty and the beast re-telling, and I loved every page of this book. I'm really enjoying this series and can not wait to read more.

Thank you to Sophie Lark and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Sophie Lark does not disappoint! This is my third read from her and she continues to surprise me. This author has such a compelling writing style that creates vivid characters you can’t help, but be compelled to love. The storyline of the book also keeps you on the edge of your seat and hoping for the best. We also can’t forget about the dark and angsty chemistry between the main characters, which had me completely hooked from beginning to end. I will definitely be continuing this series by the author! Highly recommend this read to anyone who is a fan of dark, mafia romance books.

Nessa has been kidnapped by Miko, who's hard for revenge because her family killed his father. But he's finding it hard to keep his eyes, and hands off of her.
This enemies to lovers mafia romance is book 2 in the Brutal Birthright series, a Beauty and the Beast loose retelling, and I loved it! I loved how beautiful and complex the characters are, and the development is on point. The burn is slow, but the spice is there! This is the first book I read in the series, and although it can totally be read as a standalone, I enjoyed it so much I'm definitely going back to read the first one as well as the rest of the series!
I received an advance review copy of this book for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was right up my alley. Loved it. I will be reading more and re-reading with my friend! She also enjoys this stuff!

This is dark romance done right. It wasn't dark for the sake of being dark. It was the perfect blend of a mafia romance and a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

After his adoptive father and mentor was killed, Mikolaj vows revenge on the families responsible. He sets his sights on Nessa, the innocent daughter of the Griffins and beloved sister-in-law of the Gallos. He'll be able to strike back against both families by kidnapping her. It's the perfect plan. But what Miko didn't factor on was Nessa's beauty and allure. She may be his prisoner, but she's capturing his heart.

This book was addicting; like seriously addicting. I didn't want to put it down. Stolen Heir was my first Sophie Lark book but it will not be my last. I really enjoyed all the unique ways she included nods to Beauty and the Beast throughout the book. For example, Nessa seeks out a library and then uses the books to secretly learn Polish. And speaking of Nessa, she was surprisingly brave and refreshingly smart. And Miko was strong and decisive. I enjoyed that he listened to both his heart and his gut throughout the book.

Sophie Lark’s books are always a good time to read! This series is so dramatic and entertaining and spicy 🥵

I’m absolutely obsessed with Sophie Lark’s works! This book is perfectly aesthetic. Think dark, gothic manor with ballerina beauty and the beast vibes. Super sexy and well written.