🔥🎧 Audiobook Review
"Dark, Dirty & Absolutely Delicious"

Okay, who gave this book the right to be so addictive? I listened to it in one sitting as if my life depended on it—and, honestly?

It kind of did. If you're into dark romance with morally ambiguous men who'd burn the world simply to keep their sweetheart safe, this one will tickle every itch you didn't realise you had. 🖤

We have Alexei, who is just out of prison, framed for a crime he did not commit, carries a grudge, and has no patience for the woman who helped him get out.I enjoyed how rapidly the tale moved there was always something going on, a new surprise, and I never guessed where it was going.

Every time I thought Rosalie was about to get ruined, the plot changed the script, and I LOVED the unpredictability. 🙌 What about the spices? OH. It isn't simply hot; it's volcanic. Like, "Someone call the fire department" levels.

If you want lawyer vs. convict tension, Snow White retelling vibes (with morally corrupt dwarfs who are actually lovely), a found family that strikes you in the feelings, and a male MC who is the definition of morally ambiguous, this is the one.

Honestly, this audiobook captivated me. I was blushing, gasping, crying "GIRL DON'T GO IN THERE" and then quickly saying "nvm, I trust you."

I really enjoyed this book—the narration was great, and the accents were very well done! The fairytale twist of the main female character (MFC) living with seven lodgers was super cute.

The spice level was definitely tasty. However, a trigger warning: there are scenes of non-consensual spice, and the male main character (MMC) is morally gray—definitely a villain.

If the gangster, macho, controlling bad boy trope is your thing, this book is absolutely for you. The MFC brings a great sense of humor, and her two best friends are definitely a highlight.

Overall, 5/5 for the book and story, and 4/5 for spice. Highly recommend!

Rebecca has done it again. Her fairy tale inspired stories but make em dark captures everything you could want them to be. Gritty gripping spicy and delicious! Well done!

This was a decent romance. It was a slight play on Snow White only with the Russian mob. My favorite characters were the 7 men who were boarding and represented the “dwarves”. They were all old men who were previously in higher positions. The storyline was okay. A lawyer has to represent a Russian mob member and they get romantically involved.

A Russian mobster, a hard working attorney, and a little fantasy = the recipe for a great dark romance! Full of action from start to finish, this is the second in the series (which I did not realize prior to reading it).
Looking forward to book 3!

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for this arc in return for my honest review!

Pub Date: 24 June 2025

I really enjoyed the narration of One Dark Kiss. The narrators did an excellent job of making the story come alive using different accents and voices for characters. They were super expressive and it made the book easy to listen to and kept your attention.
I loved Rosalie! Her reluctance to fall for the "bad boy" Alexei and her trying to deny the instant attraction to him was so much fun to read. The "I don't want to do this but it feels so good" kind of vibe really helped make this book, I just wanted to see a little more affection from Alexei. His character was great in terms living up to the ultra powerful mob boss who will stop at nothing to keep Rosalie safe, he just seemed a little cold in the beginning.
I also would have loved a little more detail about the crystals, (how they work, why certain people can charge them/charge them better, the origin of them). I know this isn't really necessary for the plot, but it got my attention and curiosity, and I think a little elaboration would have fleshed out a more fantasy type feel for this book.
Overall, One Dark Kiss was a great fun read with lots of action, great spice, and an undeniable chemistry between Rosalie and Alexei. I can't wait to read more of Rebecca Zanetti's work.

3.5⭐️ 2🌶️

Not sure how Amethyst crystals and the Russian bratva have anything in common. I appreciate the creativity of the plot however I feel like there was a lot on missed opportunities. I adored the relationship between FMC and her old gentlemen boarders. The MMC just didn’t convince me into believing he was the cold hard killer leading the mob. The audiobook is dual narration, not terrible, but the FMC sounded robotic at some points in the audiobook and I questioned the emotions portrayed in the book. Overall this book was a good story but pretty average not enough excitement for me. Keep in mind I’m a die hard dark romance girly, maybe it’s me not them. Either way thank you for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook prior to release! #onedarkkiss #netgalley #ALC

This book was bat shit crazy, but oh so good! Alexie and Rosalie were just sizzling. He is stalkerish crazy about her and she cannot fight his pull. They are both very protective of each other, add in the seven stooges, the magic, the mystery and the humor and you have your hours of entertainment.

The narration in the audiobook was not the best. I unfortunately did not like the female narrator much.

#netgalley #OneDarkKiss

Book two in a spicy, dark, mafia romance between Alexei and Rosalie. He’s the mafia heir to a social media empire and she’s the attorney who’s been hired to represent him. He’s spent the last seven years in prison for murder. Now that he’s been released, Alexei is out for revenge.

If you’re a fan of:
Non-consensual spicy get togethers
Mafia violence
Calculating characters
Social media
Elemental magic through Gemstones
Touch her and die
Obsessive

The narrators made it fun to listen to! The Russian accent and Rosalie‘s voice were done really well and their performance was spot on. Using inflection and tone the listener could get into the funny back-and-forth banter of the characters thoughts.
Can be read as a stand alone but you’ll get more out of it if you’ve already read the first book, One Cursed Rose.

Many thanks to RB Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen and review this book. I look forward to working with you again.

Links to review on -

https://www.instagram.com/tayafagan?igsh=YnNrZG4zNG9uaDlo&utm_source=qr

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/168550668?shelf=read&sort=date_updated&order=d

https://www.amazon.com/gp/profile/amzn1.account.AHZSHJQKD2LR43B3K7G53BQTJKHQ/ref=cm_cr_srp_ma_gw_tr

I am usually not very into anything mafia related. But I loved this book! The forbidden romance was on point! Very entertaining and I finished this book in no time!

Rating: 4.5⭐️/5

This was a fabulous dark romance with some mystical elements and I thought that the crystal magic was really cool. Alexi was like a perfect villain and broody male main character all in one. He is such a morally grey character and unreliable narrator that worked so well! Definitely a grumpy/sunshine vibe.

I consumed this one within a couple days. The dual narration on the audiobook was really good as well. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC and ALC for this book.

One Dark Kiss by Rebecca Zanetti
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3🌶🌶🌶

This book was a great "villain gets the girl" read.

Alexei Sokolov has spent the last seven years in prison, framed and left to sit behind bars and plot revenge against those that took everything from him.

Rosalie Mooncrest is a damn good lawyer that was just tasked with getting Alexei out of prison. What she didn't expect was the immediate dark chemistry between them when she sits across from Alexei in the prison interview room.

Freed from prison, and with a mission to rebuild his power and get revenge on those that wronged him Alexei doesn't waste any time getting back to business. That business just happens to be the Russian mafia. Rosalie should care weather Alexei is innocent or not, but she finds it harder and harder to care. Unfortunately this puts her in the cross hairs of Alexei's enemies, and suddenly nothing is as it seems!

I loved this read l, I didn't care that Alexei was the "bad guy" I was rooting for him from the beginning. The spice is great and I love the supporting cast of characters. This is a fun spin on a Snow White story, and I can't wait to read more!

Sad to say, this book disappeared off my NetGalley shelf before I got around to listening to it. My heart is so sad.

This was a dark romance Snow White fairy tail retelling and I’m not a huge fan of those to start with.
I have a problem separating the 2 stories and then I end up disliking it.

Bad boy inmate, good girl lawyer = you do the math.
The banter was good, the magic system however baffles me and still doesn’t make much sense and if by book 2 I still have questions it means it wasn’t explained or thought through right a lot of plot holes in it.

The narration was ok however the mic began to grate on my nerves (sorry)

Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review

Dark romance with a fairytale retelling. I thought it was cute now they did show white and the seven dwarfs with 7 elderly men. If you like dark romance with a bad boy then you’ll love this. I give it a 3 star for the story. I like Rebecca Zanetti. Thanks to the publisher, NetGalley and Rebecca Zanetti for an audio arc in exchange for my honest review. The narrators did a great job.

A fun mafia tale with the bad boy inmate and the good girl lawyer who can’t refuse one another. Their banter was smart and sassy and each character had a good sense of who they were and what they wanted. While the romance is hot, the plot and mystery is even better and the author did a nice job balancing the two. Honestly, our bad boy was truly and unapologetically bad rather than just misunderstood and I really liked the honesty of his character. I would definitely read more by this author!

One Dark Kiss is the second book in Rebecca Zanetti’s Grimm Bargains series, a dark and twisted retelling of Snow White. It features a morally grey male lead and a smart (but occasionally clueless) female lead.

The absolute highlight of the audiobook was the narration. Lance Greenfield and Erin Mallon were fantastic and honestly kept me engaged far longer than I expected. Their performances added depth and emotion that really elevated the story.

That said, after reading both books, I still have no idea how the magic system in this world works. I was confused in book one... and that confusion has carried over into book two. 😂

Overall, it’s a dark fairytale with intriguing characters and top-notch narration, but don’t go in expecting a clear explanation of the magical rules just roll with it and enjoy the chaos.

Thank you NetGalley, RBmedia, Recorded Books for the ALC

First off thankyou to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to listen to the ALC of this book. I did not read the first book in the series as it was stated this book works as a standalone. I think that is mostly accurate however there are some concepts to the world building that I now wish I would have had a little more background on. I think the story line would have connected better for me. I don’t think it was necessary for the character building though however i feel like I got to know both Rosalie and Alexei. This is a dual POV book. I think I may have actually liked the book better if I read it rather than listening as the Russian accent for Alexei just did not hit for me. I would rate this book a 3.5 but rounded up to 4. I see it is supposed to be a dark romance twist on Snow White but I would say it’s a very loose interpretation. Overall I really liked how the emotional bond between the characters developed and watching both of their walls come down as the book progressed. Definitely a dark romance but there’s was nothing super wild about the romantic scenes. Definitely giving praise/good girl energy. He’s a criminal she’s his lawyer, there is mystery and suspense, and a nice plot to spice ratio.

What do you get when you mix the classic fairytale of Snow White & the Mafia with a healthy dose of spice?
You get One Dark Kiss 💋
This book was just iconic. I loved this book more than book 1 which I didn’t think was possible. The couple in this book, Rosalie & Alexei were 🔥🔥🔥 Lawyer falls for sexy dangerous client ❤️‍🔥
Especially Alexei, girrrrrrl he’s one hot man. Morally questionable but just straight up hot.
Rebecca knows how to spice up a fairy retelling into absolute perfection.
Mafia romance is my guilty pleasure and Rebecca hits it out of the park.
An original, engaging and pulse racing story.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves:
Hot Mafia Men
Fairytale Retellings
& heart racing storylines.
I loved the narrators, they brought these characters to life.

2.5 stars rounded down. I really wanted to love this, but I can’t. I didn’t like the relationship between the main characters. Something about the whole thing was just off. I really loved the premise. A dark romance putting a modern twist on a classic fairy tale. I immediately thought “sign me up”! The plot and the execution just fell flat for me. The first “spicy” scene was gross. For Rosalie being so smart, she made a lot of very poor choices. I wasn’t a fan. Don’t get me wrong, there were parts of the book I did enjoy. Rosalie’s tenant situation was sweet and some of the dialogue was really funny. However, the whole thing didn’t seem cohesive to me. The ending also felt very rushed. I do see why some people would like it. This one wasn’t for me. If the premise sounds interesting to you, give it a chance! I will add that the narrators did an excellent job bringing these characters to life. If you want to give it a try, go with the audiobook! Thank you NetGalley and RBMedia for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.