ell.

What I didn’t like was (minor spoilers):
Miko kills an innocent woman in the prologue because she was at wrong place in the wrong time. And why did he even give this much importance to Zajac when his gang members was the reason for Anna’s death. He admitted himself that he didn’t care about his father anymore after he meets Zajac. That was too much apathy. In a month he transformed from an innocent teenager to the ilk of these cruel men and stays like that till he meets Nessa.
And Nessa, god, she was a mess. I liked her but I believe she was too much in to him when she had no reason to be. She was kidnapped! instead of worrying about her family and friends and plotting to getaway or at least fight back what the hell was she doing? This what I hd problem in the first half.

Also the book wasn’t safe for me. There is a non detailed oral s** scene (before he meets Nessa) and a s** scene (after he meets Nessa). Yeah, I get that he was thinking about Nessa and it was very unemotional on his parts but it was still 🤢.

Loved the epilogue.

I LOVE SOPHIE LARK! Mafia Romance + Beauty and the Beast? Immediate swoon! I loved this even more than Brutal Prince. This was fast paced and I devoured it so quick! I cannot wait to continue this series!

I saw a reel on IG about a year ago with an out-of-context plot point for Brutal Prince (hint: it had to do with strawberries), and I immediately went to KU and binged the entire series. Stolen Heir is my favorite of the BB series for many reasons. I love the Beauty and the Beast vibes, the revenge plot, and just how hard Mikolaj falls for Nessa. Obviously, the banter and spice are the same level of incredible that we have come to love and expect from Sophie Lark. 

Thank you @Netgalley, for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The only thing better than Sophie Lark’s Kingmaker series is her Brutal Birthright series, and The Stolen Heir is my favorite of the Brutal Birthright novels.

I’m a sucker for a good Beauty and the Beast retelling, but pair that with a mafia romance and I. am. HERE. For it.

I love Nessa and Mikolaj’s story. Nessa has been sheltered from “the family business,” and Mikolaj is hell-bent on revenge, so he kidnaps her as a way to make her family suffer but falls in love with her instead.

This is book two in a series. I read book one for this series a while back and enjoyed it well enough. It's by no means the best romance or mafia romance I have ever read. Beauty and the Beast in a dark romance setting, and definitely some decent spice. I enjoyed this retelling and intend to read book 3 as well.

If you love a dramatic and dark mafia romance, this is the book for you. It also happens to be a loose, contemporary, Beauty and the Beast retelling. The fairytale aspect is subtle enough for you to know where the inspo comes from but not too heavy handed to be cliche.
After reading Book 1 of this series, Brutal Prince, I think I like Miko and Nessa's story better. They really are light and dark - complete opposites who bring out new aspects out of each other.
The first chapter was a bit of a surprise/shock and if you are someone who doesn't normally read darker books, you might want to check the trigger warnings first. The rest of the book was tense, dark, and romantic- all my favorite things! Lastly: as someone who has lived in Chicago for a few years, some of the city specific details aren't perfect but the rest of the plot makes up for it.

STOLEN HEIR, second in the Brutal Birthright series, is an enemies-to-lovers mafia read.

Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction

Complete review: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=83672

This was just mediocre to me. Kidnapping trope and falling in love doesn’t really do it for me. I thought Nessa just gave in to quick and didn’t put too much fight into her situation. While I appreciate that there was no insta love, it was still too quick the jump to love and then the ending was just rushed. Miko went from 0 emotions to loving her just because she was kind. There was no backbone to it in my opinion.
There is nothing that will make your twist your mind, everything is so expected. Don’t get me wrong it’s not all bad, but I think I just had different expectations and this didn’t really cut it.
A huge thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC! All thoughts in this review are honest and my own.

Wonderful read! I really adored the character development in this to see Nessa come out of her shell and find who she is as a person. I also really love Miko and wish we could have read more of his past.

I love every single thing Sophie Lark writes. And the fact that these have illustrations in them is so fun to me! I’ve now read three of the Brutal Birthright series, and can’t wait to finish the rest. I love the Beauty and the Beast vibes, and the smut is always 👌

I love Sophie Lark & her writing style! She cannot write a bad book. Stolen Heir is the 2nd book in the Brutal Birthright series & it was FABULOUS. Nessa is so sweet & innocent. I love how holy she is portrayed. Sophie does a fabulous job writing enemies to lover trope books!

This was a great re-telling of Beauty and the Beast, with a sprinkle of mafia romance. I found out after I started reading that this is the second book in the series, so I will have to go back and read book 1. The tropes include mafia romance and opposites attract. This is my first mafia romance and it is not the best, but good enough to keep me interested to read the other books in the series. The writing is ok, but not great. There is definitely better writing out there, but since it's my first mafia romance, I would give it four stars. I feel like once I read the first book in the series, it may change my experience with this book.

This was a Beauty and the Beast retelling Mafia style! Nessa and Mikolaj? OMG HAWT HAWT HAWT!! I loved this book so much! It will absolutely be a repeat read down the road for me. For sure! Sophie Lark puts magic in her books!

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. This review is honest, unbiased, and completely my own.

This was a great mafia meets beauty and the beast story. An enemies to lovers story of two warring mafia families. One out for revenge, the other sees the him for the kind loving man he can be and not the monster. The book was very well rounded, with conflict and heartache and spice and a happy ending. Can’t wait to read the next one.

Stolen Heir is the second book in the Brutal Birthright series by Sophie Lark, which can be read as a standalone. I started to become a fan of Sophie's work after reading the Brutal Prince.

It's a plot driven mafia romance featuring enemies to lovers, spice, revenge, beauty & the beast vibes! Mikolaj captured his rival's daughter--Nessa for revenge, but what he never expected is that she will become his weakness. Even though Nessa grew up in a household of mafia, but she's pretty much innocent in the cruel world her family is involved in. I'm way too obsessed with this standalone series, looking forward to read more of her works!

I have heard nothing but good things about Sophie Lark, and this was my first book that I ever read by her. And let me tell you I was not disappointed. It was such a good book! I loved the story and the characters. From the first page I was invested, and didn't want to put the book down. Sophie Lark's writing style is really nice, and I truly enjoyed this book. Even through all the twists and turns.

Thank you Netgalley for an arc of this book.

While I'm not a huge dark romance fan I appreciate Sophie Lark's stories and world building. I love retellings too and actually enjoyed this!

Not a big fan of dark romance though I love some dark romance books. This book was alright. Like all the mafia romance books. Not my favorite but I enjoyed it.
Thankyou natgalley for the arc

I didn't actually expect myself to like this book so much, Sophie Lark has written this story brilliantly. I pretty much went on an emotional journey from "nope, this story and trope aren't gonna work for me" to shipping the MCs big time. The last 100 pages were esp amazing 🥲

TWs - kidnapping, murder, violence, gun violence, rape, suicide (please note that these two TWs are in the first chapter itself - the MMC's sister gets assaulted and later kills herself)

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

Stolen Heir is the second book in the Brutal Birthright series. I loved this one too. It’s a stand alone enemies to lovers. I realized that Stolen Heir is a Beauty and the Beast retelling.

Stolen Heir follows Nessa Griffin, the youngest daughter in the Griffin family who is sheltered from the mafia’s going ons. Nessa just wants to dance for Lake City Ballet and finish college. Nessa is not naive she is very aware of the danger that surrounds her daily.

Mikolaj Wilk struggled to keep food on the table for his family, after his father had an accident at work. He works at a deli and saves money so his twin sister can go to college. After Mikolaj loses his sister he vows to get revenge. What happens next leads him to so much more than he expected.

Mikolaj kidnaps Nessa as a punishment and payback for her family killing his father. While held captive Nessa finds a strength in her that she didn’t know she had and he finds a love for her that he never thought he could give.

I have a couple of favorite parts in the book, one is when she figures out what all of his tattoos mean and tells him, he’s shocked that she has figured it out bc nobody ever has. The second is the ballet she creates from her kidnapping experience. The way he watched it and spoke about it made you fall in love with Mikolaj. I am becoming a Sophie Lark fan!! Can’t wait to read the next book. Thank you to NetGalley and BloomBooks for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review

Thank you Netgalley and Bloom Books for the e-book. I must start by saying that I love the Sophie’s books have art in them. I’m a visual person so that’s always a highlight for me.
This is a very literal retelling of Beauty and the Beast. She literally refers to her captor as “the beast”. Now I’m not ashamed to say I love me a morally grey MMC but Miko is not grey at all. Miko is a straight up bad guy so if you are thinking “oh he does bad things but for a good reason” that is not this character, that is not this book.
And while this is technically a standalone book, you definitely get the sense that this is a story in a series. It doesn’t have a lot of depth and development. I feel like Miko went from soulless mafia boss to head-over-heels, protective love interest way too quickly.
All that said, the smut was delicious and Marcel and Klara were delightful. On its own, this book is somewhere between 2-3⭐️ for me.