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...

While I was reading Brutal Prince I was so excited to get in Nessa’s head. Once I found out that this installment was about her I was ecstatic. I was even more interested to get to read Sophie’s take on the classic mafia romance trope, kidnapping.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
Characters: Nessa is the only daughter of the Griffin Irish mafia family, and she’s been kept out of the business until now. She is kidnapped by Mikolaj, or Miko the head of the Polish Bratva. His character is dark, and it stems from some messed-up familial losses. Like many mafia men, he is fiercely loyal and the Polish Bratva had more of a found family vibe than the Gallo and Griffin families did which I enjoyed. When we meet Nessa she is struggling to advocate for herself and has been fading into the background. Being locked inside Miko’s house actually helped Nessa fly free. Her confidence grew after getting out from under her overbearing family. I do love that family of hers very much though. Throughout this book, we got snippets of Aida and Callum as a married couple and that warmed my heart. Along with little teases of some of the Gallo boys to come and I am so excited for Nero next.
Setting: This mafia romance is set in Chicago, where different families are vying for dominance in the windy city. This time we got a deeper look at the Polish and Russian bratva which make the Irish and Italian mafia families look super chill in comparison. I love how this world expands, more characters get drawn in, and more people join the extended Gallo/Griffin crowd.
Pacing: I cannot help but engulf these stories, the first half in particular I just could not stop reading. I did find the story started to wrap up too quickly at the end, I would have especially loved a bit more time for our characters to fall in love. It’s natural though in these shorter novels that a few things are rushed to ensure you get a nice bow at the end.
Romance: This romance is structured as a Beauty and the Beast retelling, with Stockholm Syndrome and all. I love Beauty and the Beast retellings in any form, and a mafia kidnapping romance was the perfect setting. Nessa and Miko were hot together, and I want to ensure potential readers that Nessa makes the first move and Miko never threatens to touch her without her permission. Sophie writes mafia with a bit of an edge but keeps consent as key in this one. I felt pity for Miko from the opening pages, I am so happy his ballerina could sweep him off his feet and show him that he deserved love in his life. For Nessa, I loved that her relationship brought out the best in her, helping her grow into a strong woman in a chaotic mafia family.

Sophie Lark has done it once again, and I love the Brutal Birthright series!

Stolen Heir follows Nessa Griffin, who grew on me in Book One (The Brutal Prince). It was wonderful to reunite with the Gallos and the Griffins! I appreciated how her strength is demonstrated through her art and creativity as a ballerina and choreographer. Mikolaj couldn't be more opposite to Nessa. Fuelled by anger, revenge and duty as the head of the Polish Braterstvo, he has seen his share of torture, brutality and apathy.

Sophie Lark weaves her magic using Beauty and the Beast elements, and the character growth is believable. This book is about enemies to lovers and proximity with an age gap, and I loved every minute of it. The balance between dark and light is Sophie's strength, which shines throughout the book. The backstory behind the protagonist, complemented by a fast-paced plot, made it engaging. The elements of passion and spice are well-spaced. The only thing I missed was it being more high-stakes, for I never felt Mikolaj would lose. I can't wait to dig into book three with Nero's story!

Thank you, NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, for giving me an ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

This was really good. Even though it was a mafia romance, it felt very low stakes. I never felt like any of the main characters were in terrible danger. In all honesty, the most brutal part of the story was at the very beginning which gave readers the MMC’s backstory.

It stuck very close with the beauty and the beast theme, which I loved as that’s my favorite fairytale. Nessa goes through very similar things while captured. She’s even forbidden from going into the west wing, and after breaking the rules, she starts to break down the walls of her beast.

I think anyone who enjoys fairytale retellings and mafia romance will love this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for advanced readers copy of this book!

Happy Release Day to Stolen Heir by @sophie_lark_author!! I loved the first book in the Brutal Birthright series and the second installation was no different…such a great read!

We have a good girl ballerina FMC and a morally gray Polish mafioso MMC who are absolute opposites. We’re talking slight age gap, kidnapping, enemies to lovers goodness!

Sophie is an amazing writer and this story is developed so well. I loved that we get Mikolaj’s backstory right from the jump. It adds so much depth to the present day story without too many exposition dumps throughout our current day plot line.

The chemistry and spice are amazing without being over the top and as someone who danced growing up, I loved that Nessa was a ballerina!

Go grab this one asap! I’ll definitely be continuing with the series 🖤 thank you to @netgalley for the advanced copy!

#brutalbirthright #stolenheir #sophielark #mafiaromance

Many thanks to NetGalley and Source Books for my gifted copy.

So, I think I accidentally requested this one by mistake, so I thought I'd give it a go anyway. Wow, I had no idea what I was getting into, and I actually loved it! So hot and steamy with awesome Beauty and The Beast vibes! I just ordered the first book. I'm so happy for this accidental mistake!

An atmospheric, slow burn mafia romance with definite Beauty and the Beast vibes in Stolen Heir as head of the Polish Braterstvo, Mikolaj kidnaps Nessa Griffin as the first stage of his revenge against her family and the Gallos for the murder of his father in Brutal Prince, the previous book in the series.

With great characters and a strong storyline this was a great addition to the Brutal Birthright series. I enjoyed that there was no insta-love between the hero and heroine or abductor and hostage if you prefer despite the obvious chemistry Their relationship built up slowly with very little physical interaction until probably half way through the book with Nessa always aware of just how dangerous her captor was. It would’ve been so easy to have Mikolaj compare Nessa to his dead sister and compare the two, invoking doubts but he stayed resolutely firm on his path as he schemed to bring about the downfall of her family but ultimately, as with all good fairytales Beauty tamed the beast.