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.

This book is so good! I loved book one but this one is even better! I have unlocked a new trope...dark Mafia romance. Loss and shutting yourself out from the idea of love only to be awaken by someone completely unexpected. A true nod to Beauty and the Beast. Sophie Lark is the queen. Thank you for the opportunity to read this!

Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark

“I see her, and she sees me. I was death, and she was life. I thought I’d had stolen her, brought her down to the underworld. All the while she was waking me up. Stirring the blood in my veins. Breathing air into my lungs.”

4 ✨ Review
I really thought it was going to be terrible but I devoured this book in one setting.
The writing - as is usual with Sophie Lark - is engaging and there is plenty of action to hold the reader's interest. She always creates these badass strong female MCs and as a woman, I will always stand by this and say thank you!! The Enemies to Lovers/Beauty and the Beast storyline in this one is a winner.

I loved their push-and-pull relationship, it was so realistic how emotionless Miko was towards Nessa at first, she really was his revenge. I found it charming and intense at the same time. I loved the whole "if you really love something you must let it go" nod to the original story. This definitely is a book I got completely lost in and I loved it. Stockholm syndrome at its finest!

The amount of history research for all the rival mafias in Chicago and attention to detail was great.

Nessa was a total sweetheart, she was just so kind and good-hearted you can't help but fall in love with her, she really grew and developed herself and I pretty much enjoyed reading about it! Loved to see her flourishing and beating her own wings. Miko had a traumatic experience that really changed his life and in turn made him into the emotionless robot that’s just surviving rather than living, until little Nessa falls under his attention, suddenly sparking him back to life.
My only negative point was that I wish we got a few more intimate scenes and conversations during Nessa's captivity where she learns about his history.

This edition comes with some brand-new illustrations by Line M. Eriksen (@linemeriksen) and they were just stunning and incredibly beautiful!

So, if you like: 
- mafia romance 
- forbidden love
- revenge missions 
- Beauty and the Beast  
- dual pov 
- ballet/dancing 
- gothic homes  

This is definitely the book for you but please make sure to read the TW before reading!
 
TW’s: captive/Stockholm syndrome romance, rape, graphic physical violence , suicide, loss of loved one, and kidnapping  
 
Overall this was a really entertaining book! I had a great time reading it and I'm looking forward to seeing the other siblings find love!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebook Bloom Books for providing this eARC.
This book follows Callum's sister Nessa and the criminal Miko. It's sort of a Beauty and the Beast retelling. I really liked how the characters started to trust each other. Even though they should hate each other.

Everything I want from a mafia kidnapping romance. Sophie Lark held my mind captive from the very start. I will definitely continue reading this series.

I loved this so much and it is definitely my favourite of the series so far. I completely fell in love with this story from the beautiful writing style and intricate, complex characters. I loved the between Miko and Nessa and they reminded me a lot of the 'Devil's Night' characters especially with all the tension. I think if you are a fan of dark romances this will be a massive hit for you and I really recommend, I didn't want to put this down and I can't wait for the next instalment.

4⭐️

I like this one better than the first book. I feel like the writing style is so much better and i love how intricate and beautiful in a way. I usually not a fan of mafia romance, but i think i can devour this series just to see how everything tied up in the end.

Miko & Nessa chemistry is just so palpable and i love the build up and tension from the start of this book, the kidnapping, the close proximity and the way Miko shed all of his layers for Nessa!!

I’m quite excited for Nero book too!! I feel like he’ll be my favorite from this series!

Enemies to lovers?

He falls first?

Touch her and die?

Completely smitten guy?

Beauty and the Beast vibes?

Hell yeah. My fucking favorites.

Bloom y’all never disappoint. Your authors are some kind of magical, I swear, cause I always DEVOUR your books and I love it. Thank you for the eARC. It’s muchly appreciated.

Ooooooh weeee now we get the Polish Mafias side of the story. And with a little cat and mouse tension! Bestill my heart.

I love when a sequel starts off with just enough review of what went on in the first book - because let’s be honest after reading several books between, I can never keep it straight. But at the same time, there is a point where the review can become overdone and redundant. This book handled it really well, and mentioned a major event that had happened, and then continued right on with the new storylines. Very seamless. And let me say, this book was action packed from the jump. I was actually kind of scared that the whole thing would be more darker honestly.

At the end of the day, I’m not sure I entirely bought into the true love aspect - seems a little too close to Stockholm Syndrome for me - but I enjoyed reading the book!

Sophie Lark's Stolen Heir is the second in her Brutal Birthright mafia romance series. It's not-so-subtly inspired by the classic Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. In this version, Nessa Griffin (the baby of Chicago's Irish mafia family) is abducted by Mikolaj Wilk, one of the most vicious gangsters in the city as retribution for the murder of his adoptive father. His plans of revenge go awry when he falls for the Irish ballerina, and she falls for him right back.

I enjoyed this one, but perhaps because of how obviously it followed its source material, I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did book one, Brutal Prince. It was like I could predict every twist and turn in advance because of how religiously I watched the Disney Beauty and the Beast movie as a kid. I will give Lark this--she writes good steam. I loved how she took what could have been a bit skeevy--she's 19, he's older than her, and you know, the whole potential Stockholm syndrome thing--and made it believable and romantic. And Mikolaj is a truly morally DARK grey hero. He's violent and terrible in the beginning and he's still violent and terrible at the end--he just has that one beautiful soft spot for Nessa. This dark mafia romance definitely doesn't shy away from the dark part of its description.

I did like how the characters from the first book made appearances in this one, specifically Callum and Aida. Thank you to Bloom Books and netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“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 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞.”


Grumpy x sunshine ✔️
Enemies to lovers ✔️
Beauty and the Beast-mafia version ✔️

A fast paced mafia romance between sweet Nessa , the youngest daughter of the Irish mafia leader and Miko, the lead of the Polish mafia .
Even if they didn’t meet in the most conventional way, the gentle ballerina broke down his walls and made him feel something else besides hate for the first time.
Also we talk about the new cover and the illustrasions?
Thank you Netgalley and Sophie Lark for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sophie Lark for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

I love a dark mafia romance, especially with Beauty and the Beast or Hades and Persephone references. Enemies to lovers is pretty much always a good time, and Mikolaj and Nessa were so fun to read. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series!

Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark

This is my first book outside of historical romance. But dang, this is absolutely an amazing book! It's like a mesh of beauty and the beast meets .... yeah from the first chapter until the end, this was definitely a gripping book to read and page-turner once you sit and read.

Stolen Heir is Beauty and the Beast meets the Mafia meets swan lake, with spice all bundled into one. This is a quick and fast paced read and I enjoyed the storyline along with the characters.

Tropes include:
enemies to lovers
Mafia bosses
grumpy x sunshine
slow burn ish

Triggers:
Suicide
blood/gore

Miko and Nessa are a very unlikely pairing, but I loved their slow burn romance. I found the pacing to be good up until the end which felt a little rushed. There were a few too many loose ends to tie up that could have probably been paced out better. Other than that, I loved the storyline and the characters, especially the side characters Klara and Marcel (I wish they got their own book!). This book kept me up till midnight last night because I couldn't wait to finish it.

This is the 2nd book in a series but can be read as a standalone (I have not read the previous book and did not feel that was an issue at all but for optimal experience they should be read in order).

Overall, fun modern retelling of beauty and the beast. Definitely recommend this one and the series for those that want a fast paced, quick read romance that will melt your heart and leave you wishing for more.

Beauty and the Beast romance retelling that was actually really, really good! I don’t care for retelling and wasn’t aware that this one was so it was nice to go in blindly. I adored this couple. I love how their story fell into place and how they in a way developed a friendship that developed into a beautiful love story. Great job!!!

I went into the first book of this series Brutal Prince blind, not knowing it was dark mafia series. Well now I’m just devouring these books and can’t wait for more fromSophie Lark!
I knew this book was going to become my favorite as soon as book 1 was complete. I needed to know more about the sweet and innocent Nessa that was always protected by her big brother. She becomes the captive of Mikolaj from a rival family in his creepy house in this Beauty and the Beast retelling. This story was a sweeter mafia romance but it worked for me. Nessa’s sweetness and creativity thaws Miko’s heart. The only issue I had was that this story relied more on the physical and I didn’t feel their emotional attachment as much and didn’t feel that they truly got to know each other during her captivity. All in all it was still an addictive and fast read.

Interesting and exciting book. Loved Miko and Nessa and their connection. Creative retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Loved the artwork in between. Great time pass. Romantic and heartwarming.

4⭐, 3.5🌶️

"To brutal men, love is a liability. I discovered his weakness."

I absolutely loved this dark mafia captor romance, with Miko and Nessa! This book is a great balance of both romance as well as mafia madness/ action and keeps to heavily involved the entire book - Miko's history and growth throughout the book with Nessa was written and definitely had me falling a bit for the definitely morally grey man. The spice scenes are quality, and just overall a GREAT book 2 to the series!

"There's no way on God's green earth that my first kiss was with my kidnapper. I could not possibly be that stupid. And then to touch myself afterword!"

Tropes:
💙Mafia Romance
💙Beauty and the Beast-esque - Captive Romance
💙Enemies to Lovers
💙Grumpy/ Sunshine

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for an eARC of Stolen Heir, book two of the Brutal Birthright, by Sophie Lark. This is my honest, free review!

I loved the first book in this series and Im so glad I continued the series! Beauty and the Beast retellings can be hard to do, but Stolen Heir does it so well. Nessa and Miko have an interesting relationship but it keeps you hooked the entire time as you wait for the feelings to flip.

The suspense of Miko’s plan to kill Nessa’s whole family was also a great addition to the mafia side of the story, as you are never quite sure how far Miko will go! I can’t wait to read the next book!

Sophie Lark has become one of my favorite romance authors! Stolen Heir is a modern-day retelling of Beauty & The Beast in a mafia. I ATE IT UP! I just loved how the male main character was so taken with his little ballerina! And how she grew throughout the story into something else...