I don't believe I've ever read anything comparable. This is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a very special twist. The reason some families are drawn to particular stones and the crystals themselves is a little enigmatic. Though there seems to be a lot of power associated with the stones, much remains unclear in this first volume. I liked the characters -- the chemistry and banter are fantastic. I was completely captivated by that. I adored these two when they were together.

Buckle up, readers! "One Cursed Rose" is a dark, delicious, and steamy retelling of Beauty and the Beast that you won't be able to put down.

Alana, our female lead, is a social media influencer with brains, defiance, and a stubborn streak that makes her a joy to root for. Even though her agency is constantly under threat, she fights to reclaim it, making her a solid and compelling character. Thorn, our male lead, however, is a bit of a mixed bag. He’s the quintessential dark romance hero—possessive, brooding, and problematic. While his behavior skirts dangerously close to abusive, he still manages to captivate, if not entirely convince, me.

The novel's world is a fascinating blend of Silicon Valley tech and fantasy, with four powerful families controlling social media empires through gemstone magic. This modern twist added a fresh layer of intrigue, even if some aspects felt underexplored.

The story is relentless, never letting up as it delivers twist after twist, mystery upon mystery. The retelling cleverly weaves in elements of other classic tales, adding depth and richness. The library scenes alone were worth the read!

Expect a hefty dose of steam. The chemistry between Alana and Thorn is electric, and their interactions will have you questioning your own moral boundaries right alongside Alana. It's dark romance done right—intense, thrilling, and a little bit wicked.

Despite my reservations about the male lead, I couldn’t help but love this book. It's a thrilling, page-turning ride with a unique premise and compelling characters. If there's a sequel, count me in. A must-read for fans of dark romance and modern fairy tales!

**I received this book from NetGalley for my honest review * *

One Cursed Rose is a spicy twisted hang onto the edge of your seat action packed retelling of a classic with a interesting cast of character's and a unique plot twist keeping the motivation for the killings, stalking and other grey area activities a closely guarded secret right to the end .
I received a advance readers copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

This was good, It started out rocky start but I was interested till the end of the book. This is a dark romance so please check the tw's before you read it cause there are a lot. It's a dual POV that follows the fmc Alana, a social media influencer, and the heir to a family business after her brother dies. The mmc who is some sort of mafia villain is obsessed with her and kidnaps her bit and as they get to know each other she realizes that she is attracted to his dark side despite his villain ways. There's also a fantasy element to the book because the mmc is infected by a bug that's killing him by freezing his insides and the crystal energy part. The romance worked for a dark romance, there's some non-consent, knife and razor play, light BDSM and it's quite spicy. There's also a mystery element as they try to figure out what happened to the fmc's brother. My biggest issue was the virgin fmc trope, it's icky especially when its a point that the characters discuss. Overall I liked it and if you like dark romance that's also loosely inspired by The Beauty and the Beast you should check this out.

One Cursed Rose was my first Rebecca Zanetti novel! I found the writing gripping, the characters well formed and the story really fast paced.
I enjoyed the dark Beauty and the Beast retelling concept, but I also enjoyed the ultra modern urban fantasy aspects too, I've never read anything like it.
The only part I couldn't really get into was the spice scenes, although there was definitely heat, I didnt feel like there was connection (or any real love?) - there were some scenes where there wasn't implicit consent, and some scenes that pushed the boundaries of pleasure/pain/weirdness too far.
I did enjoy the book as a whole, and really enjoyed the writing style, I will definitely be looking for Rebecca Zanetti reads!
Thank you to Net Galley, Rebecca Zanetti and Kensington Books for the ARC.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

One Cursed Rose by Rebecca Zanetti is a dual-POV high spice dark Romantasy mafia retelling of Beauty and the Beast. When influencer and heir to Aquarius Socials, Alana, is kidnapped by Thorn, the owner of Malice Media, she learns of his obsession for her and peels back parts of her past. Thorn is cursed to slowly freeze to death as the garnet connected to him was infected by another powerful family.

The magic system has some pretty interesting ideas. Four powerful families have had control over the world in the shadows for all of human history with connections to crystals, such as garnets or citrine or rose quartz, that they fuel. In the modern age, the power of social media clout and influence determines which of the four is the most powerful and likes and comments can boost the magical power of the family members. In the age of social media where it feels like everyone is online, it’s cool to see different interpretations of how that could be combined with a magic system.

Thorn is the head of an Irish mafia group and his right hand is his half-brother, Justice. Thorn is known as a dangerous individual with the scars and tattoos to prove it, but much of his violent history is linked to trying to protect children from predators. We open the novel from his POV and his obsession with Alana, a woman he has never spoken to, but he feels that knows from her social media content, paralleling parasocial relationships.

For her part, Alana calls Thorn out on the worst parts of his behavior and questions some of his possessiveness and the parasocial aspect to their relationship. Alana is intelligent, knowing multiple languages to read as many books as possible, and is being pressured by her father to marry someone she isn’t interested in. Alana is more likely to suggest compromises or talking things out which puts her in direct opposition with Thorn and most of the world she lives in as they believe marriage is the best way to form a strong union.

The sexual scenes are more leaning into BDSM, particularly bondage and submission and there are conversations around virginity that might make some readers uncomfortable. A lot of value is placed on Alana’s virginity early on though Thorn is not obsessed with it while Cal, the man Alana’s father wants her to marry, is.

I would recommend this to fans of dark romance looking for a fantasy twist, readers of Romantasy who want to try something more mafia-leaning, and those looking to sample a dark romance fairy tale retelling with social media aspects.

Such a good read! The banter between Anna and Thorn is hilarious! I like that through the story you can see the growth in both characters. The story line was great and interesting! The magic side of things is nothing I've ever read and was a really cool twist on how jems and stones are used. With the plot twist I definitely did not see that coming! Loved the different take on the beauty and the beast retelling!

When I first saw this was a Beauty and the Beast retelling and a dark romance, I was sold. I knew I had to read it. This author is pretty known for their writing and the world's they create, so I was equally excited about seeing if I'd enjoy their writing. I did enjoy the writing and suspense that was created, but this was a bit of a mess.

Now here's the thing, I didn’t find this to be a dark romance. I'm not sure if it's because of the type of dark romance I read, but this felt more like a romantic suspense with a sprinkle of dark elements. I felt misled and that this was trying too hard to be a dark romance. I feel this should not be marketed as a dark romance. I also found myself confused by the use of gems powering the computers. Although I did like the unique take on it, I just couldn't get into it. Unless I missed something, I just couldn't understand how it worked and the power they generate to their owner. I felt the world building was lacking and too many plot holes that were left oddly hanging.

I really couldn't get with the romance of this. I felt the chemistry between Alana and Thorn was not believable. Thorn was obsessed with Alana to the point of being her stalker (for a short amount of time), but nothing was ever explained as to why. What drew him to her? I just didn't believe that he was obsessed with her. Chemistry and swooning is very important to me in romance and unfortunately that was lacking for me. Another issue I had was the way this wrapped up and the person that "cursed" Thorn. Again, it just wasn't believable and I felt it didn't give me that OMG factor.

Obviously, I was a little invested since I finished the book, but felt it was lackluster and left me a bit disappointed. I'm not sure I'd recommend this, but if I do it would be to someone that's new to dark romance.

I should have known this book wouldn’t be for me due to the “dark romance”, however I am a sucker for Beauty & The Beast retellings so figured I’d give it a shot.

I should have stuck to my guns! I DNF’d. Don’t understand the “world”, the “crystal charging”. It makes zero sense.

Thorn was OBSESSED with Alana from the very first page - literally, with absolutely zero context as to why, how that started ect.

He PENETRATED her with a knife? Like, no. I’m out. Dark romance just is not for me 😂

This is going to be a hard one to give a comprehensive review to, mainly because the dichotomies are so pronounced.

On the one hand, Rebecca Zanetti is an amazing writer. Man, she can write suspense and thrillers while weaving fabulous romance in and add intriguing side-stories like nobody’s business! Whether it’s paranormal or just straight up suspenseful and scary, her books are always page-turners. And this one is no different. It is hard to put down, for sure!

On the other hand, this is the first book of hers in memory that isn’t completely tight and understandable. There are tons of plot holes that aren’t explained and just left oddly hanging. For instance, what is up with the odd mention of child trafficking, or the Italian Mafia mention? Or all the references to the crystals, how they power computers, how they affect people to the point of being able to kill them with viruses? It’s all part of the story but the holes in understanding are huge! Also, so many small threads that are never closed. And, that is weirdly unlike this super talented author.

On a personal note - the whole “dark” romance aspect didn’t work for me at all in this instance, either. I just can’t wrap my head around (and therefore accept) shoving a knife inside a woman, or whipping a woman’s private parts with a belt being a turn-on or for that matter ANY part of making someone fall in love. Nope, nope, nope.

So, while I love the writing style and the suspenseful aspects were top-notch, I would probably recommend other works from this author if one is taking a gander.

This is a dark retelling of Beauty and the beast, and I’ve read many retellings but this book had so much potential. The magic was so confusing with the crystals and modern twists that it really blindsided me to enjoying the book.

This was...ok. It didn't seem that dark to me? I do love a Beauty and the Beast retelling though and that mostly worked here, but I could not take the crystals thing seriously.

I loved reading this book so much. I haven't read any other books by Rebecca, but I loved this one so much I feel like I need to go see about her other books. The whole primase of this story of being a beauty and the beast retelling with a twist. The author threw in magic through crystals powered by social media which is distinctive and modern. These twists had me hooked from the beginning but then adding in Dark Romance, Kidnapped/Forced Proximity and Touch Her and You Die had my jaw dropping. This is so addicting to read, and I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed the writing style and the whole world that the author created.

Ok, I gotta admit... this was ingenious! I thoroughly enjoyed the play on social media. It did not take me long to get the idea and be caught up in what Alana would do to get herself out of the bad situation her dad wanted. The chemistry was there between her and Thorn and I felt their story was effortlessly written. Enjoyed this one!

While I found the conflict of this book to be a smidge weird/unusual, One Cursed Rose was exactly what I needed in my reading life. This play on Beauty and the Beast is incredibly modern and dark. It's fast paced and watching Thorn's obsession with Alana unfold and uncovering the truth between both of them together and individually kept me hooked and reading through a super busy weekend when reading should have been challenging. The pacing was great. The story was just steamy enough and the resolution was unexpected and satisfying.

This is for readers who like dark romance. It's for readers who love a bossy alpha hero. It's also for readers who like steam and conflict. The press sheet said it's Succession and a spicy take on Beauty and the Beast. That lands well.

I’ve read all of Rebecca Zanetti’s Dark Protectors Series and was so excited to see that she’s starting on something new.

This is darker than her other ones, so read only if you’re interested in dark romance. The magic system was a little confusing, as were the various social media sites. Regardless, I’m excited Zanetti is starting a new project.

This book is a romantic grown up Beauty and the Beast retelling and I loved every word of this book!!!! This was an absolute superb book. I loved it and I am totally obsessed with this book!!
I just reviewed One Cursed Rose by Rebecca Zanetti. #OneCursedRose #NetGalley
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The beginning dragged on longer than it should have with the over the top social media talk. But, once you got into the meat of the story it became a great and fast paced read!

Loved this sultry intense, sexy read between Thorn and Alana!

The chemistry hits you from the beginning. One obsessed alpha male who finds an equally obsessed woman in Alana.

There’s lots going on in this super storyline which will keep you guessing and entertained throughout the book!

A perfect pairing in this action packed steamy read!

Highly recommended!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Spoiler free review

F(bleep)CK this was good *drool*

I screamed when I saw I got approved for this arc. I already had it on preordered so my excitement was through the roof!!

This was a delightful and delicious dark romance and I ATE IT UPPP!

I will be recommending this book to my following and friends!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review