Thank you to @netgalley for providing me with an e arc.

This book sounded right up my ally but I have to say I was a bit disappointed. The premise was great but it did not keep me interested.

Crystals, gems and diamonds that run four elite families. powering computers and the people who can draw those powers. a group of elite social media influencers who are trying to out rank each other. There was a lot missing as to where these gems fit in to the story. There was a lot going into one story line and I found it hard to follow along.

I also wouldn't call this a dark romance although there was some dark elements it didn't have the romance element I was looking for.

I do believe this book has great potential as the charters alana and thorn were well described and I did quite enjoy their personalities.

One Cursed Rose is our first glimpse into a lush and succulent world of mystery, danger, and surprise. Nothing is as it seems in this world. What the eyes see and the heart feels are not always the same thing to the detriment or benefit of an unsuspecting person. When magic and normal meet, strange things are brought forth. Around every corner both wonderous and deadly things are unearthed and brought to light.

Thorn is either a deadly opponent or a welcomed conspirator to those who know him. Which one depends on who you are and what you do. The shadows hide more then just the absence of light. They hold secrets both deadly and beautiful depending on your heart. Alana loves her life in the spotlight. Her every move watched and captured on the screens of her followers. She live her real life in the shadows. They protect and comfort her enough to allow her to be herself. When Thorn swoops in and captures his heart in human form, what good will come from the shocking revelation? Will it brings his dreams closer to reality, or will it shatter what it left of his heart?

Alana lives on a vicarious balance of show and real. Life is a very real challenge when we can't see evil when it stares us sweetly in the face. Assuming she knows who to trust, she is shocked when Thorn forces himself into her life. Confused and disoriented, she runs at the first chance sure that he is not the right one for her. However, no matter how smart we think we are, we always miss things when we make assumptions. There is more to people then we can see at a first or even a second glance.

My heart has been completely overwhelmed and wonderfully surprised by this magnificently lush work of art. This world is filled with incredibly complex characters that will take your breath away. I found myself shocked and in awe of the wickedly twisted plot that proved to be a constantly moving target. Oh how delightful and extraordinary is the deadly beauty and cutting grace within these pages! Whatever you do, don't forget to add this book to your library ASAP.

This is a new series a little bit darker that we are used from R. Zanetti. All in all great story, funny, intriguing, and a story with suspense. What bothered me or to say what I had a problem with was understanding all about his "rocks/gems" and how they manipulate and give strength.
I volunteered to review an ARC of this book for Netgelly

Thank you so much Kensington Books for sending me this ARC!

One Cursed Rose by Rebecca Zanetti is the first book in a series of interconnected standalone retellings of popular fairytales. This one was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and a truly unique mix of fantasy romance and romantic suspense set in a modern world, I was hooked since the first and loved Alana and Thorn’s story!

After the death of her brother, Alana becomes the heir to her family’s business and the new target of her family’s enemies. When her father arranges for her to marry to strengthen their company, Alana is kidnapped by Thorn, a business rival who has been stalking her for a year and who is obsessed with her. Forced together, Alana and Thorn can’t ignore the growing attraction between them, but with Thorne’s curse threatening to take his life soon, they need to find a way to trust and help each other before they both lose their businesses and their loves.

The setting and the magic system of this book must be one of the most unique I’ve ever read, mixing fantasy elements (the magic based on crystals was so fascinating) with a modern setting and adding a bit of suspense was an excellent idea and Rebecca wrote it all perfectly, I can’t wait to explore even more of this fascinating world in the next book. The plot was perfectly paced and interesting, I was always on the edge of my seat and read the whole book in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. Alana and Thorn were amazing as the main characters, she was really smart and strong and I loved her banter with Thorn and how she didn’t just go along with everything quietly. Thorn was the kind of morally grey MMC we all love and OMG I know he is a stalker but it was so amazing to see how obsessed he was with Alana from the very beginning, there was definitely the case of he fell first and I just loved his POV and the twist on the ’beast’s curse’ here definitely made things more interesting. When it comes to romance Alana and Thorn were explosive together, I could feel their attraction from their first meeting and when they finally gave in the spicy scenes were *chief’s kiss*, I love these two and really hope we will see them again in the next books in this series.

One Cursed Rose is a really amazing read that I definitely recommend to everyone, it’s an interesting mix of different genres with amazing characters, interesting plot and scorching romance that will leave you wanting more, I already can’t wait for more books in this series!

I am not the target audience for this book, but I was intrigued with the premise of a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and the publishers kindly let me read an ARC. It reminded me of books I've read by Christine Feehan, maybe a bit like Sherrilyn Kenyon and Gena Showalter, although their females tend to be more kick-ass, which I prefer. If you like that, this will likely also be your jam. It's a mash-up of BDSM, apps and AI, and crystals that are somehow tied in to everything. A quick read.

This fairytale retelling of Beauty and the Beast is set in current time. There are four companies who run popular social media programs. The trick is, they use gems and emotions to get people to follow their sites. Thorn and Alana are from competing companies and the story really starts when Thorn realizes someone is killing women who look like Alana. Thorn had been following Alana long before the killings started, both online and from the shadows. So, he kidnaps her and takes her to his private island to keep her safe.

I liked how Alana loved his library and surprised Thorne with her knowledge of multiple languages and interest in his diverse selection of books. Thorne seemed a little too eager to hurt others, and the moat around his island has a man-eating fish. But he also had a sweet side. Alana was very intelligent and educated, which was nice. She was my favorite character.

I would like to know more about the gems and their powers. And I really liked that I couldn’t guess who the villain was. I’m looking forward to another book in this series. Rebecca Zanetti is one of my favorite authors, and this is an interesting new direction for her.

I received a copy of One Cursed Rose from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.

An interesting twist of beauty and the beast meets fantasy and social media royalty. The spicy level is 5/5 so proceed with caution

Captures the mystery and intrigue of the original Grimm tale, while weaving a whole new spin that’s enchanting and mesmerizing.

I'm into it... for a mystery

Throughout the story, Alana tells Thorn about her nightmares and her family's story. This is not just a two-dimensional story that involves falling in love and a "Gaston" who is silly and an airhead. In One Cursed Rose, the characters feel real with motives and intent. There is a mystery to unfold, and a life to save. Will our Beast's curse be broken before time runs out?

I like this retelling or using the elements of The Story of the Summer Garden and the Winter Garden (that's the original name for Beauty and the Beast). There are some plot holes, but for a series, it gives the author some leeway because I will definitely come back for more. If I have to say, the ending felt a little rushed, and it does not fit the flow of the story. While I am glad it has an ending because I hate cliffhangers, I feel that it could have been better planned. Overall, I am sure Rebecca Zanetti's fans will not be disappointed.

I was very excited about this Beauty and the Beast retelling from a favorite author of mine and the blurb sounded promising too, but after reading it I have mixed feelings about this.

Set in a world where four major families have social media empires that are powered by different crystals and in turn are recharged by the user interactions on these platforms, all of these families are competing with each other for power and the benefits that these crystals give them. Alana Beaumont is a very popular socialite and heir to Aquarius Social after her brother's death, but her father is set on marrying her off to another family to cement an alliance - and this is something that she's not interested in. When she discovers that her brother's death might not have been an accident she's keen on unraveling this mystery, even though her father isn't supportive. When an assassination puts her in danger, she's rescued by Thorn who owns Malice Media - her company's main competitor, and now she has been kidnapped by him🫣

I think the basic setup was quite unique and fascinating but the world building felt very vague. Though we get an idea of how these crystals work, a lot of things are left unexplained till the very end, and even then some of the things don't add up completely. And though this was supposed to be a dark romance, it just had a few dark elements and I felt like it didn't completely fall into dark romance territory? We're told that Thorn has been stalking Alana for a while but I never really understood what was it about her that caught his attention in the first place. And the chemistry between them was amazing but sometimes it just felt more like insta-lust rather than a relationship because their relationship never really developed beyond a certain point. Some of the actions of the characters didn't make sense either, and I think my main problem was that I couldn't really bring myself to like the MMC - Thorn. The stuff about his 'curse' is also built up for sometime but it's resolved in the end very quickly.
Some of the secondary characters were quite interesting though and I think the next book might be a Cinderella retelling but I'm not sure if I would end up reading it.

I didn’t get the the whole crystal thing but I can get over that as it is “just” a plot point and world building which is explained more as the series goes on .

I didn’t like any of the characters . Thorn was morally corrupt which is normal for “dark romance “ but u didn’t see anything that would make him a good romance hero .
And the social media and Irish mob thing was very confusing .
I understood why in the beginning his relationship with his brother was what it was but no explanation for it being fixed .

Alana was also confusing , she was doing good in the world but in secret . Why ? Her family wasn’t the bad family it was it ? I didn’t feel the chemistry between the characters that would have made her overrule her hate for him or what he does

Give me a good beauty and the beast retelling any day. This was a unique spin on a classic. I love how tech focused this read was, it gave it a sci-fy feel with a touch of Mafia. Each social platform was owned by a family who would fight each other to stay on top and at times take out the competition if needed.

A cool mix of science and magic. Zanetti took AI and put it in a fairytale. And it worked! It worked reallllll good. I am eagerly awaiting Ella’s book!

I sought this book out I received the opportunity for an ARC thanks to Netgalley. Trust me you won’t be disappointed, there’s even an epic library.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington for letting me read this e-arc. This is my honest opinion.

So modern dark romance with a touch of magic. It's a interesting play on beauty and the beast but the world they live in was confusing. The plot was okay but it was totally about the romance most of the book. I would definitely look into trigger warnings for this book. Overall spicy and kind of entertaining. 3.5 stars.

This was pure perfection. Beauty and the beast is one of my all time favorite fairytales so I love retellings. This one is on my top 5 retelling reads that I’ve read. It was fantastic, It has the perfect mix of darkness, suspense, fantasy, romance and magical elements and the most satisfying ending.


* if you liked a certain scene with a weapon in haunting Adeline, you’ll love a scene in this book *

But please make sure to read Trigger warnings. ♥️

I really loved the FMC in this, Alana was such a good character to follow and I really loved everything she stood for.

She was so interesting and I loved her dynamic with the MMC.
Thorn is definitely morally grey, he’s protective and fierce. I really loved seeing their relationship blossom.

The magic system is this was complex, the premise was so cool and it really intrigued me. I loved finding out the little side plot reveals as well as the huge plot to do with Alana’s brothers death. This was such a good romantasy read, it was spicy, dark and fun! I would definitely recommend to a friend for sure!

This is the most unique story I’ve read in a long tine. I have to admit at first I was confused about the crystals and social media by that didn’t keep me from enjoying every minute of this story.

Alana Rose Beaumont is the darling of Aquarius Social.

“I swear, you’re more contrary than a country cow.”

“There’s a gene that creates a tendency to obedience,”

“Researchers have identified it on the Y chromosome, which I do not have.”

Thorn Beathach is a recluse head of Malice Media. He is obsessed with Alana and will do anything to protect her even kidnapping.

“It’s a rare form of synesthesia where people’s voices trigger certain tastes in my mouth. You’re all honey, baby.”

This story is described as very dark but don’t let that stop you from reading this suspenseful adventure. Some people’s dark is another’s superb.

We’re in a world parallel to that of the Dark Protectors as a Kayrs is mentioned. In this world there are four powerhouse families that run social media, but no one (except them) know that likes, follows, hearts, etc grant these families literal power. Each family has a stone (diamond, garnet, aquamarine, etc) and popularity online generates power that feeds their family stones. These stones allow for the four families to amass wealth, health, and power. Each family has someone who feeds the stones and starts the process. The four families are competitors.
Thorn Beathach is the head of the family whose stone is garnet and is also the stone feeder for the family. Alana’s family stone is aquamarine and she is the stone feeder for her family. Unfortunately, her family has fallen to the bottom of the tier of four. Her father has plans for a merger to the Sokolov family through marriage of her and the youngest Sokolov heir. Little does anyone know that Alana is being watched and coveted by a mysterious man who has plans for her that do not include her marrying anyone but him.
I enjoyed this book wholeheartedly. There are multiple side stories running at the same time as the overall “love story” between Thorn and Alana. There is a mystery surrounding Alana’s childhood. There’s a mystery surrounding the recent death of Alana’s brother. And most importantly, there is a mystery surrounding Thorn Beathach and his beastly ways.
I will definitely continue with this new series of Zanetti’s.

Retelling of a fairytale. Beauty and the beast dressed up,as dark sex. And danger. Look for other possible tales as secondary characters are part of the problems and solution. Interesting story with,plenty of dark and light in the story.

Heat Index: 8/10

Vibes: dark romance, fantasy x Black Mirror, stalker/virgin, dudes who speak Gaelic (if that's your thing)

Alana, heiress to a social media giant (in a word where tech and magic collide) is being forced to marry the heir to a competing family. That's derailed by an assassination attempt... and Alana being kidnapped by Thorn, head of a rival company. Obsessed with Alana, Thorn refuses to let her go. What he doesn't know is that she has no plans to submit; but she'll welcome the pleasure he offers.

So... yeah. I have really mixed feelings on this one, and I want to add a few caveats. First, I think there is an an audience for this. I'm just not that audience. Second, I think that Rebecca Zanetti has a style that for sure fits the fast, snappy pacing you want from a dark romance. And the sex scenes (while I have a quibble) are hot. I enjoyed how this went full camp in terms of the kidnapping, and there were some really cool touches.

However, this one has a LOT of world stuff happening. The world is run by social media! I mean, timeline. The social media is run on crystals! Kinda meta, I can see it. But there are mafia vibes, and a subplot about like, Thorn killing bad guys including pedophiles, and I think this suffered from Zanetti having to keep too many balls in the air at one time. If this had been a couple of those things versus all of those things, I think we could've focused more on the couple, and really developed the good things there.

Quick Takes:

--This actually got off to a good start for me! Thorn is a stalker. I love a stalker hero. (By the way: Zanetti offers content warnings at the beginning of the book; I did not take issue with any of them myself, and they do not impact my view of this book.) And you know what? I loved that he kinda stayed a creep. Thorn? Was weird as hell. We just went with it.

I do wish that Thorn hadn't been like... so hypercompetent with Alana, and so self-aware. When a hero's inner monologue in first person is like "I'm a sociopath, I guess"... it just feels very... edgy. It's not that I'm against a sociopathic or psychopathic hero. I just feel like that kind of awareness and acknowledgment is tough to sell in the first person. Maybe through dialogue? Not through the inner monologue.

--Alana is a nice heroine, but I don't think she was nearly as distinct as Thorn. A major part of Alana's personality seemed to be responding to Thorn and being a virgin. (More on that later.) I think that for me, a lot of the issue was that she really responded to him sexually far too early in the book, while at the same time being so inexperienced.

Now... I'll acknowledge that the "virgin jumps into shit after being kidnapped" thing has worked for me in a couple of books. However, it is a HARD sell, and it's a harder sell when a heroine is as inexperienced as Alana seems to be (I didn't get the vibe that she was a totally inexperienced woman, but I also didn't get the sense that she was an "everything but" girl, the way one virgin heroine who worked for me in this scenario was). She just moves REALLY fast on accepting Thorn and the type of sex he wanted to have. The sex he wants to have isn't crazy, but it's a lot for a girl on Alana's experience level.

--Now, the world here is interesting and high stakes. But again, I think there was just too much going on. I never really got what the magic system... was. And I kind of couldn't help but feel like Zanetti wanted to write a mafia romance (this read in a lot of ways as a mafia romance) but also wanted to connect it to fantasy and a higher concept. It's not a bad idea, and I can always appreciate a big swing. It just didn't really work for me.

--This is a very clear Beauty and the Beast retelling. I love that. But there is a character named Coggsworth here. I've gotta tell y'all: it is kind of a pet peeve of mine for retellings to directly reference Disney, versus doing a new spin based entirely on the actual fairy tale. It just takes me out of the story, and it definitely did here.

--Thorn has Lexical-gustatory synesthesia. It basically means that he tastes voices, and I REALLY liked that. It was unique, it added texture (he chews mints a lot when he's around shitty people because their voices taste bad, Alana's voice tastes like honey which also adds to why he wants to do Certain Things) and I haven't read it before. Do I know if Zanetti portrayed it accurately? I don't know. But in terms of the way it was portrayed, it was really interesting.

The Sex:

The sex was hot. I wouldn't say it's intense BDSM, but there's definitely flavor there--you have edging, orgasm denial, lots of spanking (and I did appreciate that Thorn used lotion to try to prevent bruising, I don't know that it was effective but the boy tried) and some rough sex with light dubcon vibes. It's well-written, and I won't lie, the sex scenes were probably my favorite part of the book.

What I did struggle with was the fact that this was set in a world pretty much like ours but with magical social media stuff... and there was SO much emphasis on the hymen. Like, I kind of let it pass when it was a part of this virginity test situation mentioned by the bad guys. But then Thorn continued to reference it, there was an anatomical reference during the first penetrative sex scene... I don't know. I don't mind some virginity fetishization, especially in dark romance, but the emphasis on the hymen SPECIFICALLY felt kind of dated. Couldn't he have just talked about her tight pussy or whatever?

Anyway--this wasn't for me, but I do plan on trying more Rebecca Zanetti stuff. She came highly recommended to me, I can tell she's talented, and I'd like to see a less crammed plot or world from her.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you love a possessive stalker then you’re gonna love Thorn! This modern day beauty and the beast retelling had such an interesting and unique story line that focused on social media, influencers, AI tech, and the power of gemstones. There were crazy plot twists and super hot spicy scenes that kept me highly entertained 🥵 I’m talking clit torture, edging, all that good stuff 😝 I loved the cute fairy tale bits and pieces the author snuck in aside from the obvious Beauty and the Beast aspect. I look forward to reading the sequel!

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC! Even though I’ve already read it, I just preordered the gorgeous hardcover sprayed edge edition for my library 😍