I thought this book was fun to read and easy to follow. i love a good kidnapping winnie's to lover trope. the plot is a little unsteady but, let's be honest that's not what what we're here for lol

It's been a hot minute since I've read a book by the author but this sucked me right in! I loved the Beauty and the Beast references, which obviously made this a modern day retelling. Nessa was the coddled and innocent one in her family. She was the only one not involved in their underworld dealings. But it was her innocence that made her attraction to Miko seem out of character and it played well into the Beauty and the Beast storyline. My only beef is with Nessa. I wanted her character to be a little more feisty, to have fought more. Just like the fairytale, Nessa was the one able to bring out the true Miko, giving him the safety and the space to to be his real self. Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite fairytales and this modern day retelling made me fall in love with it more.

I received an advance copy of the book at my request and voluntarily left this review.

Thank you so much NetGalley, Bloom Books and Sophie Lark for an arc of this book!
I don't read dark romances often; I am a mood reader and I really have to be in the mood for it to enjoy this genre. But I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, especially the Beauty and the Beast retelling elements. I loved the modern interpretation of the tale and how it was tied to mafias, and I loved Nessa and Miko together. I do however wish that there was a bit more interactions between them.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any dark romance lover.

I absolutely loved this book. It was good. I enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for the arc. I really appreciate it.

This book gave beauty and the beast vibes turned mafia and Belle is my favorite Disney princess so I obviously loved it. I was intrigued by Nessa in the first book and so glad I got to know her even better in this one. The smut in this book is so good and these two have the best chemistry almost immediately. I loved Miko and Nessa’s story even with the Stockholmy vibes. However, the banter was phenomenal and the humanizing experience of the dangerous bad boy. I’m a sucker for this series.

Stolen Heir is the second book in the Brutal Birthright series by Sophie Lark. This is a dark mafia/enemies-to-lovers romance with a Beauty and the Beast retelling vibe that can be read as a standalone.
The main characters in this story are Miko and Nessa. Miko is the head of the polish mafia. His plan is to kidnap dancer and daughter of his enemy Nessa and hopefully destroy her in hopes of breaking her family. Holding her prisoner in his home, he doesn't expect to fall for the sassy dancer. But the more he watches her, the more enamored he becomes.
Nessa is just a plain Jane. She works hard as a dancer and choreographer and just wants to be recognized. She is smart and knows what the family business is even though she isn't apart of it. Being captured by Miko, she doesn't expect fall for him. Is it stockholm syndrome? Will these two end up with their happily ever after knowing that their families are rivals?
I absolutely loved this story. The slowburn, chemistry, tension and passion was all on point. Sophie Lark wrote an amazing story and I loved the references to Beauty and the Beast.

Stolen Heir is the second book in the Brutal Birthright series by @sophie_lark_author & let me tell you; this series will COMPLETELY suck you in!

The romances, plot & writing are all so addictive and easy to get lost in.

The blend of fairytale and mafia was a much better combination than I thought it would be 😍 I loved how complex Miko & Nessa were and watching their characters develop throughout the story.

I do wish we had seen a little more build up to the romance as it did feel slightly rushed from them hating each other to wanting to be together but sometimes… you just need a fast paced steamy romance to binge 😍

When beauty and the beast meets mafia.

This book was a bit meh for me.
The idea of ​​the book is very nice, but through the story I started to get annoyed by things.

That it is a beauty and the beast retell was not to be missed. Nessa was really just a belle 2.0.

there were a few things that felt a bit unrealistic to me. Miko who said she smelled like lily, orchid and plum.. I don't know a single man who can define scents like that let alone a mafia man.

i missed the part where he really started to melt for her. It was quite fast from hate to love without really big events.
And once they had sex he was suddenly a completely different person.

All in all I thought it was a nice story and I read the whole book. Would i read it again ? Probably not.

Read if you like:

-Maffia
-Touch her and you die
-kidnapping
-a not to dark romance
-dancing

You can and will devour this in one setting!

You can expect:
▪️Second book in a series of interconnected stand alone’s
▪️Beauty and the beast retelling
▪️Mafia romance
▪️Captor / captive
▪️Gentle, ballerina FMC
▪️Domineering, morally grey (black?) MMC
▪️Dual POV

Some of my thoughts:
📍I was instantly pulled in to this story! The prologue was intense but very relevant backstory. As I was already familiar with the main characters (side characters from the first book) it was very easy to jump right into this book.

📍It’s in dual POV! I loveeee this in contemporary romances!

📍I find Sophie Lark’s writing snappy! The plot moved along briskly. There was never a stagnant, boring moment!

📍Look, a captor / captive romance is not for everyone but I love em’ 😂🙈
This one in particular ticked all the boxes for me! Darker elements and a slow (ish) burn that was equal parts fear and lust. I found it titillating and when love finally bloomed, satisfying!

📍It was very clearly a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Not especially original but I did enjoy it all the same!

📍As ever with Sophie’s books, I loved the art and music suggestions littered through out the pages! It just adds that extra something!

📍I look forward to carrying on with the series!

Memorable quotes:
✨ ‘I see her, and she sees me. I was death, and she was life.’

✨ “I was a corpse when I met you, Nessa,” he says. “No breath. No heart. No life. I felt nothing. I cared about nothing. Then I saw you, and you woke me up inside. I was such a fool at first. I was so numb that I thought that spark must be hatred. If I was a normal person, I would have realized it was love. Love at first sight. From the second I laid eyes on you.”

I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. This is my first dark romance and my first mafia romance but I loved it! It was very beauty and the beast which is what intrigued me initially. I loved the story and the way it was told. It wasn’t told in a way that was too unrealistically. Would read again

Sophie Lark does it again! I’ve loved every books of Sophie’s that I’ve read. This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling (which I loved in a mafia setting). Nessa was very sweet and naive and Miko was scary, but he had a soft spot for her. This was a story that shows you that opposites really do attract.

Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark
🔍Genre: dark romance
📱 Format: ebook
📄 Length: 430 pages
📚 Series: Brutal Birthright - Book 2
✔️Available on KU? Yes

🚨 please check triggers before diving into this book.

✨Read this if you enjoy: ✨
Mafia Romance
Open Door
Beauty & The Beast Retelling Elements
Insta Love

Thank you to Netgalley, Bloom Books and Sophie Lark for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I read Brutal Prince back in 2020 but I completely forgot, probably because it looks like I set it down about halfway through. So I actually thought this was my first Sophie Lark book...oops. Sophie Lark is a very popular author in the book community and highly recommended for her dark romances. When people recommend a book often enough, I listen. But I also picked up this book because....HELLO LOOK AT THIS COVER.

My biggest issue with this book was the lack of overall conflict. The whole point of the story is that Nessa has been kidnapped by Miko as a punishment between rival mafia families. I just didn't get any angst or build up because these two jumped at each other so quickly. However, I appreciated that Sophie Lark isn't afraid to get dark; there are several parts of this book that hit hard and don't shy away from getting ugly.

I haven't decided yet if I will continue with the series but I am interested in giving another Sophie Lark book a try.

I fell in love with Sophie Lark on TikTok, her series is a fun mix of romance, stuff, and a great plot!

I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. Initially, I was hesitant about the character of Nessa because the use of the innocent character in these sort of books can often make me feel uncomfortable. But this book perfectly executed it; starting to show a different side to Nessa.

Mikolaj was an intriguing character with a compelling backstory. He balances with Nessa well, with the chemistry between this pair being palpable.

Another treat in this was seeing things for Nessa’s perspective. The author certainly did her justice in this book- seeing beyond the innocent ballerina shown in Brutal Prince.

This was a fine book, it just wasn’t for me

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Mafia romance x beauty and the beast vibes? Yes please!!
I’m still new to mafia romance but I can definitely see the appeal!
Miko is the MMC who captures Nessa, the youngest daughter of the Mafia family that he is plotting revenge against. Miko is broody while Nessa is sweet and innocent and has been sheltered from the Mafia life from her family. I loved the character development for both MCs.

What to expect:
- Loose beauty and the beast retelling
- Mafia romance
- Captor / Captive
- Opposites attract
- Dancer FMC
- Fast paced
- Angst

Thank you netgallery and bloom books for my free copy of Stolen heir in exchange for my honest review

I rated this book ⭐️4/5, 🌶️3/5

A chapter for chapter mafia retelling of beauty and the beast. I’m a sucker for the plot no matter if it’s mafia or fantasy. This is number 2 in a series of stand-alones that follow various mafia siblings in Chicago. I really enjoyed the enemies portion of the enemies to lovers. I liked the cat and mouse game they played. I missed the part where the switch happened because they hated each other and then one second later they’re together. Their relationship needed a lot more development, because Miko folding and giving up his revenge scheme wasn’t believable. I was also very tempted to subtract a star for the “insanely aesthetic” line at the end, that was too cringe. Still, I enjoyed the book, I wish it were longer to develop more into how Miko and Nessa fall for each other.

Stolen Heir is basically a mafia version of Beauty and the Beast. Nessa Griffin, youngest daughter of the Irish mafia is kidnapped by Mikolaj, the new Head of the Polish mafia following the events of Brutal Prince. He's seeking revenge for his father and his piece of the pie, so to speak, and wants to hurt the Griffins and Gallos for snubbing them.

Nessa gets snatched leaving the ballet studio she practicially lives at. She is locked away in his house where it's only him and his maid Klara and his men. Nessa is forbidden from entering the West Wing where he resides. He keeps her captive while looking for ways to extort money and power from the Irish and Italians. He forces her to join him for dinner and they dance afterward finding they have an intense attraction to each other. While the 2 dance around and deny their attraction to each other, they slowly open up to each other and grow.

Nessa realizes how sheltered she's been and how sick of it she is. She makes friends with Klara the maid and teaches herself Polish much tothe surprise of everyone. Klara thought it was just afew words at first, but then Nessa finds a way to teach herself with English and Polish versions of the same book. She then starts snooping on everyone in the house letting them believe she doesn't understand them. After overhearing a plot to kill her brother she gives herself away and their relationship deepens and like the fairy tale he lets her go. His men loose their shit and mutiny. Through Nessa's interference his life is spared and they return to the Griffins together. Mikolaj proves himself to her father by protecting her from the Russians, whom he broke a deal with to claim more control of the city. They power dynamics shift again and I can't wait for the next book.

Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark is Beauty and the Beast re-telling with a mafia twist, I wavered a bit between 3 and 4 stars for this one and ultimately decided on 3.5. Overall I really enjoyed this book and read it all in 1 sitting. I loved the backstory we got to experience with Miko and the growth with Nessa. Nessa starts out very sheltered and naive, with a lot of people in her life either sort of ignoring her or walking over her. I loved watching her grow a bit more of a backbone and come into her own as a character. As a lover of ballet, I liked how it was used to further the story and how she used dance to communicate. The one thing that kept this from a 4-star read for me is, I could understand why Miko fell for Nessa, but I did not fully understand how Nessa fell for Miko. I love banter, and talks between my characters and I think a lot of their falling in love was more about watching each other and getting to know each other that way instead of talking to each other. Nessa did not really get much chance to either talk to or watch Miko. This book also has less spice than some other Sophie Lark books I have read (about 2 scenes) so they weren't quite falling in lust either. I love Sophie's writing though so even with me wanting a bit more communication and banter between the characters it is an enjoyable, darker romance read. I LOVE the new cover too!!.

Tropes
- Re-telling (beauty and the beast)
- Enemies to lovers
- Kidnapping
- Captured/capture romance
- Mafia romance
- Innocent FMC
- Scarred MMC

Another @read_bloom book to get a cover make over!
This is a dark romance that gives Beauty and the Beast vibes, with a mafia twist!
I knew I loved mafia romances but I kinda forgot how much! This was a nice reminder! I really liked Miko, he was the typical dark and broody mafia lead that we all love! I really liked that Nessa was a ballerina, I feel like I don't see that super often in romance books.
I know it sounds weird to say with a dark romance, but this was a really sweet book! I enjoyed it!
Thank you @netgalley for the ebook!