Wowzers. When they said dark romance they meant DARK romance! I was wholly unprepared for the knife scene. Other than that I enjoyed this story and loved that it still had the classic Zanetti humor and witty dialogue. I hope we get books on Justice and Ella and the rest of the crew!

🥀 enemies to lovers
🥀 forced proximity
🥀 murder mystery
🥀 dark romance

It was interesting to read a modern spin on Beauty and The Beast. The story was compelling and I enjoyed the romance a lot. Thorn was a great character, his morally grey personality and the possessive 'mine' vibe he had going on, were perfect for a modern beast. The side plosts were entertaining, theyvbrought a lot of depth to the story. I really enjoyed not knowing who the villan was until the very end.

Saying all that, I struggled with the concept of crystals, coding and social media. Like I got the idea behind it, but the concept itself just didn't work for me. I also missed the connection between the story and the title. I think One Cursed Crystal would have been more appropriate, as other than Thorn sending roses to Alana a few times, and his mom liking yellow roses, there was no mention of them in the story.

I LOVED the loose ideas sprinkled within in terms of The Beauty and The Beast. I’m a huge fan of storybook retellings and stories with aspects of them. This high spice dark romance had my expectations high, and easily met them. After all — you can’t mention Scarlett St Clair and not deliver!

Romance, angst, suspense, and tons of spice — this book truly has it all. Thorn and Alana each have influenced companies and are competitors. Well, Thorn wants what he wants and gets what he wants. So, he squirrels Alana away after unearthing a potential assassination threat.

This was fast paced and an easy read with a lot of world building. Thorn ends up being this alpha male, dominating man who honestly may have met his match with Alana. He is absolutely over the top and pretty close to morally grey.

This was a marvelous, magical read that I not only would read again, but hope we see move in this world through other storybook retellings.


Thank you to Kensington Books. Rebecca Zanetti and Netgalley for the eARC!

This was a good dark romance read. I liked the vibe of a Beauty and Beast retelling but it wasn’t super obvious that it was that. Very smutty. Very dark. All around, an enjoyable read.

One Cursed Rose🥀

I was absolutely enthralled with this dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast and savoured this story for as long as I could, but it was just TOO good and I didn’t want to put it down❣️Such novel concepts are included in this story along with the “fairytale” aspect but also hints of other potential books down the track….which let me just say, I’m there with bells on for them😉

Long story short, Alana is the daughter of the owner of Aquarius Social, one of the four major social media companies and an influencer. Thorn is the owner of Malice Media and he’s developed an obsession with Alana…he plans to have her as his, but it appears many factors are working against him which he needs to overcome first😳

I’m sooo excited to have read this story and I’m holding thumbs for more..I received an advanced copy via Netgalley, I thank the author and publisher for the opportunity to review and willingly leave my honest opinion of this book❤️

This was a dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I enjoyed the angst and romance that Zanetti had us go through with Thorn and Alana. It has romance, suspense, fantasy, and much more rolled up into a great spicy love story. Alana works for the family business which is Aquarius Social and the more followers they have the more power they have. Thorn owns Malic Media and is in competition with Aquarius Social but is in love with Alana. Thorn uncovers an assassination attempt on Alana and kidnaps her instead to keep her safe. The longer that Alana is around Thorn the stronger her feelings are for her. Alana’s father finds out that Thorn has her and decides to trade his crystals for Alana back and Thorn agrees. Alana is devastated by this trade and tries to forget Thorn until she hears some bad news. Pick up a copy and find out what happens to Alana and Thorn’s romance. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The world of social media clashes with multi-million dollar intrigue in Rebecca Zanetti’s new, and imaginative, fantasy fiction.

Thorn is a man who makes his own rules. Someone is attacking his empire and it’s weakening not ony the company, but Thorn himself. He has a feeling one of his competitor’s, Aquarious Social, is also in trouble, but the patriarch isn’t playing nice with the exchange of information. Too bad the man isn’t as careful with his daughter, the Aquarious heiress, and the source of Thorn’s fascination. Guess it’s time to get to know the sexy influencers better.

Alana knows what her father expects of her; look beautiful and stay out of trouble. If he wants to think she’s a vapid female, let him. As long as the purse strings stay open so she can pursue her real passions, helping those less fortunate. But an unknown enemy attempts a hostile takeover of family’s corporation, and her father decides it’s time to pool their resources by marrying her off to the competition. Alana is not a commodity, and her father, fiance, and brutish kidnapper, Thorn Besthach, are about to find out just how strong the party girl is.

The concept for this series is interesting. Precious gems that power computers and connect to four powerful families of industry. I had a problem with the too-kinky sex, though. Spanking, belts, knives, to me is more about domination than love. Maybe that’s just me, but I felt like it took a great storyline and turned it into porn- too bad.

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

Oh..my..goodness! If you didn't think you needed another retelling of a fairy tale, you are so wrong. Pick up this book. Unique world building. Dystopian-ish??? Similar to present day but a different reality. 4 ruling families fight for power. Alana and Thorn are from separate factions but Thorn has been watching Alana for some time now.

Hold on an just go along for the ride. Some major twist that I did not see coming. Loved seeing familiar characters from the author's dark protector series mentioned. I I didn't look back but is the street gang the same one that is mentioned in the Scorpius series? I notice this book says Grimm Bargains #1. That bodes well for readers. I want more! Hopefully we see Alana's friends (I would guess Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella themes) and maybe Thorns little brother?? I would love any of those.

Great start to a new fantasy series by this author!

This is an amazing dark fairytale of Beauty and the Beast. It was slow for the first two chapters and I had to wonder if this was really Rebecca Zanetti’s book. Then chapter 3 hit and I inhaled the book to the end. It definitely turned into a page turner.

Thorn is the perfect beast. Bossy, authoritative and fiercely protective. He’s an extreme alpha. Alana is by far smarter than anyone thinks. They are opposites in every way. And they were so good together.

There was quite a twist in the story and I did not see it coming. I absolutely loved this story. I raise my glass to Ms. Zanetti for a job well done. I’m hoping there are more in this line.

First of all, thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books, for providing me an ARC of this book.

Grimm Bargains series #1

Vibes:
She is mine and don't you dare touch her.
It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and what a beast Thorn is. The beautiful Alana is a influencer that has not one mean bone in her body, very intelligent but very naive.

Theme & Plot:
There are four major Families that have the most or all power, they own media companies with different aspects on how they work. They hack they stream they try to be the most influential. Alana is top tier, Thorn is a mystery to everyone, lurks in the shadows. He has fallen in absolute love with Alana, and she has no clue, but she will soon enough. Many twits and very emotional. A bit of spice to round it off.

Writing:
It was easy to read, but not bland. The wording had me wrapped up and consumed, the description of various scenes were very visual and could spark my imagination so have pictures in my head while reading.

What I liked:
The dynamic between Thorn and Alana
The little brother of Thorn, I would love to see him more in part 2. Maybe with one of the sisters????
The break free of Alana being naive to reign her strength and stand up to be bossy and know what she wants.

What I didn't like
This book left me with so many questions!
How is it going to end with Thorns brother and maybe the sisters?
What is going to happen to Aquarius while Alana is away?
How does charging work?
And many more, I hate it when so many questions are left open.
I think the lack of knowledge of how this Media concept works what power the crystals have put me a bit off, I would like to know how this "new" world works, how can software be linked to crystals.

I will defiantly be reading part 2 of this series!

One cursed rose is a dark romance of beauty and the beast modern day retelling. Rebecca has once again done an amazing job with drawing in her audience with writing. This story is very different from her previous work but done well. There is magical elements, suspense, I’m normally not a dark romance kind of fan but Rebecca story pull me in from the beginning. The male character thorn took some getting used to since he was portrayed has “the beast “ in the story and was obsessed with Alanna but as the story move the character develops great.

One Cursed Rose by Rebecca Zanetti
Grimm Bargains series #1. Fairy tale retelling. Dark romantic suspense with paranormal / magical elements.
Alana Beaumont works at Aquarius Social using emotions to gain followers and power the network crystals. It’s a “family” business and ratings are everything.
Thorn Besthsch owns Malice Media in direct competition with Aquarius Social. He follows Alana, not only from her postings, but he’s also in the dark shadows wherever she goes. When Thorn uncovers an assassination attempt, he intervenes and kidnaps Alana himself. He considers her his now to protect, and keep. Unfortunately someone has loaded a virus to his computer systems which is freezing the garnet that powers everything. And that freezing from the inside out is having the same impact on Thorn himself.

Stalker much? No, it’s just the current trendy dark mafia romance where Thorn must dominate and protect Alana from everything including herself.
The best part for me besides the banter is Alana spending a lot of time in Thorn’s library. It’s huge and well stocked with ladders all around and comfy couches. She finds obscure books of poems, books on gems and so much more. It’s only later that Thorn realizes she can read over a half dozen different languages including his native Gaelic.
Thorn is probably considered an anti hero. He’s demanding, authoritatively harsh and dominating. Killing, or fighting or ordering those things done is just in his nature. There are pieces of humanitarian philosophy there, but it’s certainly not the reason he has hungry man-eating fish in his moat! Or how he tortures / questions others.
Additional mysteries are interwoven in the story including the death of Alana’s brother (which occurred before this book started) as well as a serial killer that seems to be stalking Alana lookalikes. Or is it just a miss from Alana herself?
Action packed and spicy hot spankings make this book breathtaking and provocative. You won’t want to put it down until the end.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. This is an author and book I will purchase all formats and more to share with avid reader friends.

Another amazing fantasy novel by the marvelous Ms. Zanetti! While a little hard to understand the underlying premise at first, once you get that there are four major social media companies that are fueled by precious gems, it all falls into place. Alana is a strong female lead for the story, and strong lead of her company, once she gains confidence and takes that control. Thorn is the epitome of his name - prickly, painful, but capable of producing beautiful things. The storyline includes some attempted murder, some kidnapping, some mild S&M, and, of course, a whole lot of action to keep you on your toes. A long time fan of her other series, I cannot wait to see where Ms. Zanetti takes this one next! I will definitely be tuning in for more!!!

Great New Series
I was intrigued by the premise of the retelling of the Beauty and the Beast. Alana is the Beauty and Thorn is the Beast. It did take me a couple chapters to understand what was going on but after that I was completely hooked. Thorn has been stalking Alana for a few months and is consumed by wanting her since he considers them to be soul mates. Even though he has "kidnapped" her from a dangerous situation and has saved her life, he wants her to want him on her own. He's not going to force her. Alana is attracted to Thorn even though she's fighting against it. Thorn wants to protect Alana even when she's away from him. There are several subplots to this story that involve Alana. The four families that are involved in this story are involved in social media and needs crystals to keep their platform going. Each one wants to control the popularity of their platform and really need each other to help them continue. I am looking forward to seeing how the next book is connected to this one.
I received an early copy from Netgalley to read. I'm leaving my honest review.

One Cursed Rose, a dark romance by Rebecca Zanetti, is A M A Z I N G!
First off, let me just say, I'm not into dark (or I didn’t think I was?), so I was worried. And it is dark. But not too dark. (Rebecca keeps you safe.)
Then, you know how when you a read favorite author and there's a common known flavor and feel to their stories, and you're like yes, I know this fictional universe, I feel at home here and know what to expect.?
One Cursed Rose is not that story.
I'm not saying that the overall Zanetti flavor isn't there. But I can say, I had moments where I forgot I was reading Rebecca Zanetti while reading Rebecca Zanetti. I was like, is this still really Rebecca?!
With this book, Rebecca has stretched herself as an author and/or grown because this story is still a Zanetti story but it's a Zanetti story on steroids. And yet, the overall feel, flavor and flow of One Cursed Rose is authentic and natural. It is AMAZING!

As far as the story goes, One Cursed Rose is loosely based on Beauty and the Beast, with elements of Batman and plenty of easter eggs.

One Cursed Rose has;
A cursed (and tortured) prince--Thorn
A smart (and independent) heroine--Alana
A castle (with a moat even!)
A magnificent library
A merry crew
kidnappings, murders, mafia and an HEA all wrapped up in an epically amazing and thoroughly captivating tale. ... And lets not forget steamy! Holy hotness Batman!
Do Not Miss Out!
I guarantee you want to read One Cursed Rose. Today!

Wow what a read!. Ok first off I love Rebecca Zanetti's writing style and all her series of books. I was so looking forward to reading her version of Beauty and the Beast. I don't know what I was expecting really but it wasn't what I read. I love how she has taken on an even darker writing aspect then her dark protector series has but there was a screen that was just a little too much for my taste. I really enjoy the book, the twists, the main characters and the secondary characters as well. I look forward to reading more in her dark world adventures.

3.5 stars rounded up because I am intrigued by this series. Fairy tale retellings are my catnip!!

Here's the good the bad and the ugly:

I am a huge RZ fan, and her books are all some of my favorites (especially Dark Protectors, Deep Ops, and Laurel Snow). While this one wasn't an instant hit for me, I feel invested enough in the side characters that I want to see where the series goes.

I am a huge fan of dark romance and fairy-tale retells, and this one had a unique twist.

I think the technical jargon and plot were hard for me to stay in the moment of the romance part (I'll get to that part soon). The AI aspect was a great way to talk about what's actually happening right now and the stance many people are taking for it or against it. I could tell a lot of research was put into this book, and I appreciate that!

Thorn was a possessive...with a capital P... hero (anti hero?), but I'm not gonna lie, I liked him. I like his honesty and how he always protected Alana.
Alana is probably my favorite character because she stayed upbeat and positive through everything she went through in her past and present. She was tough and not a pushover but also couldn't resist Thorn. I think I wanted a bit more romance between them while she was at his castle, but that's on me and my expectations.

Rebecca definitely delivers on the dark romance, so be aware and don't judge a book because you, the reader, don't understand the genre.
If you pick up a dark romance, expect there to be typical themes such as rough play, spanking, getting tied up, etc.

This book is a bit of a slow read, there are times while reading that I get so hooked that I don’t wanna put it down and then there are times when I don’t wanna read this book anymore, it does have a nice plot but it is also similar to the other dark romance novel I’ve read like predator or hideaway…there are times when I felt like it’s a copy of other novels. The author emphasised a lot on the romance part of the novel and little on the actual plot and twist. Overall it’s a 3 star because the fantasy part of this novel was pretty new and interesting.

I loved this retelling of my favorite fairy tale. The characters are captivating and intriguing. It encompasses a contemporary time frame with a touch futuristic. Readers will enjoy this spicy romance.

Thank you NetGalley for a free e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"One Cursed Rose" by Rebecca Zanetti is a tantalizing dark romance that presents a modern twist on the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast. Aimed at fans of Scarlett St. Clair and Sarah J. Maas, this novel is the first in a series set in a world where control over information equates to immense power. The story follows Alana, the sole heir to Aquarius Social, a media giant under threat from a rival empire, and Thorn Beathach, the enigmatic and powerful head of that rival empire.

Zanetti's storytelling is seductive and engrossing, creating a rich and complex world where media empires hold sway like ancient kingdoms. The character of Alana is well-crafted, embodying strength, intelligence, and a depth that defies her outward beauty. Her determination to change her fate and avoid an arranged marriage adds a layer of intrigue and defiance to her character.

Thorn Beathach, the Beast of the story, is a character shrouded in mystery and allure. His iron rule over his realm and the condition that no one sees his face add to his enigmatic presence. The dynamic between Alana and Thorn is electric, filled with tension, passion, and a power play that evolves throughout the narrative.

The novel excels in its blend of romance and fantasy, with elements of darkness that add depth and intensity to the story. The theme of power, both in the realm of media empires and personal relationships, is explored with a compelling balance of danger and desire.

However, readers who prefer traditional romance or lighter fantasy may find the novel's darker and more erotic elements challenging. The story delves into themes of control, power dynamics, and forbidden desires, which might not appeal to all audiences.

Content warnings for themes of dark romance, power dynamics, and sexual content are appropriate. "One Cursed Rose" will appeal most to readers who enjoy dark, seductive romance with a fantasy twist, particularly those who appreciate modern reinterpretations of classic fairy tales.

In conclusion, "One Cursed Rose" by Rebecca Zanetti is a captivating and darkly romantic novel that offers a unique and sensual take on Beauty and the Beast. Its combination of compelling characters, an intriguing plot, and a richly imagined world makes it a must-read for fans of the genre.