Holy Hotness Batman! One Dark Kiss, Rebecca Zanetti's dark retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, is 100 percent delicious!

Rosalie is an attorney, and Alexei has spent the last 7 years in prison for a murder he may or may not have committed. Elements of Alexei's original trial come into question and Rosalie is assigned to his case.

Gripping from the very beginning, One Dark Kiss is a thrilling, fun, steamy ride.

Rosalie is smart, spunky and beautiful and Alexei is intelligent, patient and smoking hot. You can literally feel the chemistry between these two.

I don't want to say too much, but I loved every second of this book.

As mentioned, the chemistry between Rosalie and Alexei is off the charts, Rosalie's 7 elderly borders are a hoot, and the retelling of the story could not have been better or tighter.
So much fun I'll be going back for seconds soon.

I highly recommend reading One Dark Kiss ASAP!

OMG I loved this book. I rated the first book 5 stars last year and at the time didn't know it would be a series. I am SO happy that it is. I love Rebeccas writing, it grabs onto you and doesn't let you go until it's over. I HIGHLY recommend this series to anyone looking for a dark romance WITH plot. Thank you Rebecca Zanetti and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to arc read this book.

Rebecca Zanetti does it again!

I was sucked in to this book and devoured it in a single day. This may be a new favorite series for me. The paranormal aspect of this is new and rather refreshing. I love that it’s something current but a completely new and unique idea. Then you add in the mystery, and oh wow the spice.

The spice in this book is red hot. I mean honestly. Do not read this in public. Not unless you are ready for some serious blushing.

As a whole, the series is great and this book is another amazing read for the series.

This is a true and honest review in exchange for an Advanced Copy from NetGalley.

This story caught my interest from the first page and I couldn't stop reading. It's not what I normally read, but I love this author and all of her other series, so I find that I really enjoy this one, too. I especially loved the boarders! I'm looking forward to the next book!

Read if you like:
✨ modern fairytale retellings
✨ dark romance
✨ insta-lust to obsession
✨ morally grey billionaires
✨ forbidden lawyer/client dynamics
✨ revenge, secrets, and mob drama

📚 One Dark Kiss delivers a gritty, seductive twist on a Snow White-esque premise (though the fairytale nods are faint). Instead, it’s all about power, vengeance, and explosive chemistry in a world where the line between justice and sin is razor thin.

👨‍👧 Alexei is fresh out of prison and on a mission to reclaim his empire—and torch everyone who betrayed him. Dangerous, calculated, and magnetic, he’s a man who’s waited seven years to burn the world down. But one woman might just be the only thing standing in his way… or pushing him further.

💞 Rosalie, the ambitious attorney who wins Alexei’s release, is meant to remain professional. Instead, she falls—fast and hard. Their attraction is instant, all-consuming, and completely off-limits. He’s dangerous. She’s in over her head. Together? They’re a spark in a powder keg.

👧 While side characters are more functional than emotional here, the shady relatives, corrupt judges, and loyal associates add layers of intrigue and danger that keep the stakes high and the tension tight.

✍️ Rebecca Zanetti writes with the kind of urgency that keeps you flipping pages. The mix of mystery, spice, and high-stakes drama is addictive, even if the Snow White thread feels more thematic than literal. Think “dark billionaire revenge romance” with a fairytale flavor dusted on top.

🌟 One Dark Kiss is for readers who want a high-heat, high-drama story full of obsession, danger, and just a hint of poison apple. It’s a vibe read—moody, intense, and full of morally grey pleasure.

📲 QOTD: What’s your favorite fairytale retelling?
📲 ALT QOTD: Would you take on a case if your client looked like trouble… but also like temptation? 👇

#BookReview #OneDarkKiss #RebeccaZanetti #DarkRomanceBooks #ModernFairytale #MobRomance #PrisonToPower #Instalove #LawyerRomance #BillionaireRomance #RomanticThriller #SpicyReads #MorallyGreyMen #EnemiesEverywhere #Bookstagram #RomanceReview

If you are looking for a spicy lawyer/ mafia book with a twist this book is for you. Rosalie’s tenants are some of my favorite characters. I was also a fan of Alexei’s audiobook narrators accent work. The SE of this book is absolutely stunning! Thank you NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Damn! This book was so good!!
I have only heard the good things about the first book and I've made plan to read it soon but this book tied me tight enough to definitely read the first book and the other books continuing this series.
To be honest, I am not a big fan of fairytale retailing but damn Rebecca Zanetti surely made me say sorry many times to the universe that I had ever doubted this book wouldn't be as good as I expected. Scratch that! My mind was blowing the entire time of me reading it. It kept me on the edge so many times. I felt like there was no time for me to take a breath because this book was so intense. The plot twists were twisting right and left I barely stopped breathing. Well, so exaggerating on my side but that's what I felt ok.
While I loved everything about this book, I wish the ending contained more closure for Rosalie and Alexie.

Thank you to Rebecca Zanetti, Good Girls PR, and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the second book in the Grimm Bargains series. However, it could be read as a standalone. It is a Snow White retelling, and what a story it was. Lawyer Rosalie was brought in to help Alexi, a member of the Russian mafia. He was in prison for a murder, and he’s trying to clear his name. The first problem was that Rosalie was an excellent civil lawyer who had not tried any criminal cases.

I always enjoy books where the MMC falls for the FMC first. Alexi had two things on his mind upon his release from prison. Those things were getting revenge and making sure Rosalie knew she was his. While Alexi was ready to claim Rosalie, she wasn’t having it. We see the push and pull of their relationship as the story progresses. There is a bit of everything in this story: a revenge plot, the mob, crystals, social media, and lastly, the seven elderly boarders. Yes, no dwarfs in this story, just elderly men. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an early copy of One Dark Kiss in exchange for my honest review.

This was a quick read with plenty of heat and danger, but unfortunately, I had some major issues with the execution that kept me from fully enjoying it.

It’s pitched as a Snow White retelling, but aside from a pair of mirror earrings and seven housemates (a nod to the 7 dwarves, I assume), there’s not much fairy tale here. If you’re hoping for a creative reimagining, this isn’t it.

The story’s pacing felt off and rushed in places, with important plot points glossed over or barely explained. The setting felt modern, like a big city in present day, but we opened with kingdoms, magic crystals, and mafia crime lords with almost no context or worldbuilding. It left me feeling more confused than intrigued.

The romance? It starts off as instant lust, but then out of nowhere we’re told the male lead has been in love with the FMC for years... but that’s never developed or explained. Their entire dynamic is jarring. The sex scenes walk a very fine line, too fine honestly, and often crossed into deeply uncomfortable territory. For a book that isn’t labeled as taboo or dark romance, some of these scenes felt way more like coercion than consent. The MMC's behavior repeatedly came off as violent and abusive, and the FMC’s reactions didn’t track with the strong, no nonsense personality she was supposed to have. It gave serious whiplash. One moment she’s a fierce, capable attorney, the next she’s accepting being manhandled, manipulated, and watching people die violently... and still falling head over heels? Yeah I dunno, just didn't jive with me.

There were also a lot of strange narrative choices, like a sudden, seemingly pointless pregnancy subplot that ends in death with no emotional fallout or reflection. It all just felt oddly detached and, frankly, insensitive. The female characters were flat, inconsistent, or written in ways that didn’t feel authentic or grounded in reality. At times, it genuinely didn’t feel like it was written by someone who understands how women think or feel, especially when it comes to trauma and agency. Some of the scenes came across as just being thrown in for the sensationalism and shock value.

There are glimpses of an interesting idea buried in this story, but the lack of cohesion, inconsistent characterization, and troubling romantic dynamics made it hard to connect with or root for anyone.

Again, if this had been billed as a dark romance or taboo genre read, it might have been a different story for me. Im giving it 3 stars because it did hold my attention and had potential, but for me, it missed the mark in too many ways to go any higher.

One Dark Kiss is another fantastic steamy dark romance from Rebecca Zanetti. This time the story is a loose interpretation of Snow White, with a dangerous huntsman, a smart FMC, and of course, seven found family members with a variety of talents.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Attorney Rosalie Mooncrest meets Alexei Sokolov when he’s released from prison to and preparing for a new murder trial. Rosalie struggles to make ends meet, and even has seven boarders to help at her house. Alexei’s powerful and intimidating, but Rosalie can’t help being drawn to him. For his part, Alexei wants to know who set him up, and return to power at his family’s company. He instantly knows he wants his Peaflower, but he’s surprised to realize she’s smart and sassy too. As the two use different strategies to try to clear his name, though, the real culprit is targeting both of them.

This plot has lots of twist and turns that pick up in the second half of the book, and I kept reading way past my bedtime. I really like that Rosalie isn’t completely clueless and it’s her brains as much as her beauty that attracts Alexei. For his part, Alexei has a dose of insta love, and is ultra protective of Rosalie too. I also love the way his relationship with Rosalie’s borders develops.

There is a bit less focus on world building of the social media companies and their reliance on magical crystals in this installment, which worked well for this story. Rosalie’s relationship with her BBFs Ella and Alana is great; I love that they support each other even when they disagree, especially about Rosalie’s relationship with Alexei. And, I can’t wait to read Ella’s story!

One Dark Kiss is a dark romance with strong, smart characters, sizzling chemistry, and some sly fairy tales asides. I’m on the record as a huge Rebecca Zanetti fan, and I’m convinced that there isn’t any genre she can’t write.

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

I am absolutely OBSESSED with One Dark Kiss by Rebecca Zanetti! Easily a 5-star read for me. This book completely pulled me in, it’s a dark, intense Snow White retelling (which I totally didn’t realize at first until I saw someone mention it on TikTok 😅), but once I saw it… everything clicked. The parallels were so clever!
I had the chance to both listen to the audiobook and read it at the same time, and wow, game changer. The narrators were incredible. The accents? Spot on. The way they brought these characters to life made the whole story feel even more immersive. I honestly felt like I was living every moment with them.
This is a love story wrapped in danger, obsession, and revenge. Alexei, ugh, where do I even begin? He’s the imprisoned, outcast son of the Russian mob, and he’s not done fighting for what was stolen from him. He’s raw, determined, and absolutely magnetic. The moment he sees Rosalie, it’s over, he’s decided she’s his, and there’s no turning back.
And Rosalie? She’s everything. Smart, sharp, and stubborn with a fire in her that I LOVED. She has no business taking on a criminal case this high-stakes, but she’s doing it anyway, and when she meets Alexei, she knows she should run far, far away. But her body has other plans, and fate is just not letting her off the hook.
This book has everything I crave in a dark romance, danger, heat, emotional tension, and a storyline that keeps you hooked. Just a heads-up: definitely check the trigger warnings before diving in, because it doesn’t hold back. But if you’re like me and love a gritty, emotionally intense romance where you fall for the people you probably shouldn’t… this one is absolutely worth it.

Thank you net Galley

Really enjoyed this book, Loved the magic system and the romance! also loved the side characters.

Very fast paced and with a great plot.

Rosalie Mooncrest is determined to overturn Alexei Sokolov’s murder conviction and win his retrial. She has the best track record at her law firm and another high profile success could propel her to the top, translating into security for herself and her found family of seven elderly boarders living in her heritage mansion.

𝘚𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵.

Alexei is dangerous, dominant, and devastating. Maybe he’s guilty, maybe he’s not, but he is certainly a killer. There are lots of people to tell Rosalie she is in over her head, but she’s drawn to him. And amazingly, being close to Alexei feels as right as she knows it’s wrong.

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 …

This may be one of the darkest Rebecca Zanetti romances yet, but I went in prepared and loved every minute of it. There’s a perfect balance of lust, aggression, sweetness, magic, and suspense. The sexiness between Rosalie and Alexei sizzled from the very first pages. I loved how she couldn’t resist him. Her besties Alana and Ella urged caution while I was cheering her on!

… 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵.

The Grimm Bargains series establishes a unique mythology around magical crystals. I love this. I’ve always enjoyed sparkly things and I find this indulgence adds to my enjoyment of this dark romance. This has become one of my favourite Rebecca Zanetti series!

OMG!! The second installment is just as good as the first, maybe even better! This is a dark, twisted retelling of Snow White, and I absolutely loved it. Rosalie’s renters completely stole my heart. They’re adorable and gave off total Snow White vibes in the best way.
It’s intense, obsessive, dangerous, and absolutely addictive. Told in dual POV, the switches between perspectives kept me hooked from start to finish. There’s fantasy, mystery, murder, obsession, billionaires, a crime boss…seriously, it has everything!!
I honestly think this one could be read as a standalone. The author does a great job catching readers up without info dumping. I devoured this story and I’m so hoping there’s more to come!

Fast paced and addictive! Dual POV and the narration was superb! I loved the mafia aspect, it made the book that much more enticing and addictive for me. This was a loose retelling of Snow White and the Huntsman and I was honestly there for every minute of it. Erin Mallon is one of my favorite narrators and she did a fantastic job of keeping me engrossed the entire time.

This was an awesome story. I absolutely loved Alexei, totally alpha, and sarcastic and confident. I love it when he says something, and then he makes it happen. "Cute, definitely cute." I chuckled when I found out what an accountant really does. Rosalie has many, many protectors, up to the ages of 90, no less. I was thinking the story was going to one way, and it went the total opposite, quite a few times. This story kept me on my toes. I was hoping there was going to be some joining of forces, but not in this book, perhaps the next one? Business discussions will take on a new meaning to me in the future. Sizzle

4 stars (for the vibes) for this wild and dark story of Snow White meets the Russian mob meets some light scifi?? Sounds like a crazy combination of things - and yes, it's true - but what a weirdly darkly fun time I had with this one!!

Lawyer Rosalie Mooncrest (Snow White) is brought on to prove that Alexei Sokolov (the Prince) was framed for a murder he was just cleared from (after 7 years in prison). Of course, he's instantly possessive of this clever, talented lawyer and will stop at nothing to make her his. Even if that means implicating her in his nonsense, kidnapping her friends, bonding with her seven dwarves (elderly boarders), and putting her into some insane what would you do scenarios.

I had such a fun time with this one, which was exactly as expected after reading One Cursed Rose last year! While the romance (lust? obsession? stalking?) was heavy in this one, the plot was really jumping all over the place (complimentary). My only complaint was the pacing for the climax of the story - it happened so fast, and bam we were at the end of the story! I wanted more!! I will be excited to see more of what's to come from the world of the Grimm Bargains, and lean back into the scifi elements of the stones and the social media companies run through them, since we sadly didn't get as much of that here (and also tell me more about the mirrors!!!!). Sounds like Ella's story is up next and I would be surprised if we didn't get a dark Cinderella....


Thanks so much to Rebecca Zanetti, Kensington, and NetGalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 23%. I’m so bummed out. I was absolutely LOVING this book until non-consensual stuff started happening. It’s so unfortunate because I was loving the story till that happened. I wish I would have known there was something like this in the book before I requested an eARC of it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Publishing, for the eARC, but I refuse to try to enjoy a book that romanticizes sexual assault. 1.5 stars rounded up since I enjoyed everything until I got to that point.

This is a unique retelling of "Snow White" with the "hero" a part of the Russian Bratva. Alexei was released from prison after it was shown there was corruption involved in his trial. Rosalie was his new defense attorney, although she was not so sure about him. With multiple murder attempts and other mysterious happenings, they grew closer and ended up working together to bring down his enemies. The characters were multi-faceted and well-developed with the plot very creative, especially with the energy from the crystals as the basis for this series. I can't wait for the next book in this amazing series. Highly recommended.
#netgalley

his is the second in the Grimm Bargains series but can be read as a standalone. You are given enough of the backstory for you to totally enjoy this slight fantasy and mostly romance book. I really enjoyed this action-packed story which had plenty of twists and turns that kept you reading until you finished. Our two main characters are Rosalie, a lawyer, and Alexei, a convicted murderer who has spent 7 years in prison for a crime he might not have committed because of a corrupt Judge. Rosalie has been assigned to investigate Alexei’s case and try to show that he is innocent of the murder he was convicted of. Along the way Rosalie starts to have feelings for Alexei and really hopes that he is innocent. While Alexei is planning to return to power and take over his family's global social media empire. This books alternates between Rosalie and Alexei to give you each of their perspectives on what is happening. I highly recommend this book and anything else by Rebecca Zanetti. Thank you Netgalley and Kensington for the ARC in Exchange for an honest review.