I am an absolute sucker for a fairytale retelling so this book had my interest right off the bat! The chemistry between Alana and Thorn was obvious right from the start, I just love when you can feel that a couple is meant to be together, their romance was believable and enjoyable to read. Rebecca Zanetti also included wonderful side characters, which added just enough to the story but didn't take away from the main plot lines. This was a fun read the entire way through, with it's twists and turns, I was entertained the whole way and never wanted to put this book down! This take on Beauty and the Beast is unique and a breathe of fresh air, you will be captivated the entire way through!

Show me a fairytale (retelling) and I’d jump all over it as soon as I cast off all my worldly goods and shackles (read: after I have some time to myself). ‘Rebecca Zanetti’s ‘One Cursed Rose’ came up on my Netgalley feed and since I always love Beauty/Beast incarnations, this was one I wanted to delve into, despite the warnings of a ‘dark’ romance.

The broad term ‘Dark romance’ is in itself, problematic to me—or at least, the definitions and boundaries that I have in my head about what I’d personally find palatable tend to shift from time to time. Whether these contain themes like dubious consent, stalking, abductions, barely-justified violence, anti-heroes and so on, the lack of consensus meant that picking up ‘One Cursed Rose’ was quite possibly setting up myself for a pairing and a particularly strange world that I couldn’t get into at all.

It not only took me quite a while to figure out the part of crystal-power, social media family empires crossed with mafia-like control over these power lines that rule the world, but also that the pairing boiled down to an unlikeable male protagonist—who has just one day decides he wants the virginal Alana Beaumont for himself and thus kidnaps her—and an easily-swayed female lead who melts at every rough touch of his from the get go. And while Thorn Beathach simply gave the term ‘bad behaviour’ a good name at every turn, I kept waiting for Alana to somehow become more than a hollering female locked in a massive castle bemoaning her lack of choices but ended up with a self-head smack when all she wanted to do post-kidnapping was lose her virginity to him.

There’re certainly some Zanetti reads in the past that I found easier to digest and even liked to the point where I highly anticipated their sequels. Unfortunately this isn’t one of them, especially when I found myself simply ploughing through just to get the gist of the convoluted plot and world-building while trying to wrap my head around characters whom I wasn’t sure I even thought were good together.

Fun retelling but WOW there was too much going on. Made the book a little hard to follow. However - Will I be continuing to read the series? Yes.

The writing was stilted and awkward, and I stumbled along the sentences and couldn’t find the rhythm. I stopped after chapter 1 (6%). Considering the author’s extensive backlist, I imagine writing style is locked down and fans will be pleased.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC.

Rebecca Zanetti's version of Beauty and the Beast left me wanting more - what a great start to a new series.

Alana and Thorn have chemistry - boy howdy, do they - and it was a joy to read their way to each other, even though it's got twists and turns and there really aren't any good guys/ladies ... or are there?

The secondary characters add so much to the story too and I was left guessing a lot if they were going to be true friends or enemies to our main characters.

This book kept my interest all the way through. There wasn't a clear cut hero, but definitely a dark hero.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own. I can't wait for the next in the series.

I was actually very surprised at how much i enjoyed this book Thorn was a very strong character with definite ideas on how things were going to be. Alana was such a sweet and loving character I truly enjoyed the storyline with its twists and turns it was interesting and fun i would definitely recommend this book.

One Cursed Rose by Rebecca Zanetti is a devour from start to finish in one sitting story…it is definitely the most seductive telling of Beauty and the Beast that I have read.

These are characters who burrow into your heart and soul...remaining long after the last page is turned. Thorn is the epitome of “Tall, Dark (devastatingly dark), and Handsome”…his essence is all power. Alana’s purity and light juxtapose his darkness. Yet her beauty and innocence camouflage an independence and intelligence that many underestimate in her.

Thorn and Alana together are power and chemistry that is palpable…and are a couple that burn through the pages. The unique retelling of their story has been reimagined to be relatable to the current environment.

This is a story that will intrigue your imagination…you will not be able to put it down.

This ARC book was complimentary…provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

Sexy, addictive, and sizzlingly hot. This love story is beyond the normal romance and certainly makes you root for the good guys. Or are there any?

Twisty, turning and absolutely has you questioning who done it until the very end. Read the story of Thorn and Alana.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A twisted retelling of Beauty and the Beast? I’m in. And boy, is there a lot of twisting here. The danger. The angst. The misery. The mystery. And…a bit of fantasy sprinkled on top? Sure, why not. Because trust me, this does seem to work. Thorn, Alana, and their merry bands of vigilantes keep you guessing from start to finish and nothing is as it seems.

Between the oddly sweet (and scorching) romance between Alana and Thorn, the questions of who’s behind what, and worries about both the past and present, there’s a lot at play. Even worse, not all friends are really friends. Maybe not all enemies are truly enemies, either. The question is whether or not everything can be solved and saved in time.

While I’m not always into the fantastical, this is wound up around what could easily be the real world so well that I’m looking forward to more time spent with this bunch of rebels. After all, I’m pretty sure we have an awful stepsister or two to deal with, along with a few other worries down the road. And the fact that Alana and Thorn are perfectly matched means that the whole journey from apathy to love is one worth joining them on, I assure you.

Personally, I hardly enjoyed this dark romance at all. I have abandoned other series for much less and this one will follow shortly. Rather I wonder why someone who writes the Albertini sisters so well should decide to write a series where the word "consensus" loses all meaning.

Personalmente non ho apprezzato quasi per niente questo dark romance. Ho abbandonato altre serie per molto meno e questa seguirá a breve. Piuttosto mi chiedo perché una persona che scrive cosí bene le sorelle Albertini debba decidere di mettere in piedi una serie dove la parola "consenso" perde di qualsiasi significato.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I've read this author before and enjoyed their books so was interested in reading this one

I really enjoyed it
Loved the style of writing and was engrossed from the start

An interesting take on the Beauty and the Beast tale, one of my favorites. I enjoyed the character development, the way the crystals/jewels were used...something I haven't seen before, and the story as a whole. A great weekend read!

"One Cursed Rose" is the start of a new series by Rebecca Zanetti. This first book is a twist on Beauty and the Beast featuring Alana and Thorn.

Okay, so here's what I enjoyed about the book. Alana & Thorn; I'm not the biggest fan of dark romances but I really liked the relationship between these characters. They're both interesting and I loved their banter. I also really loved the side characters and how the story unfolded (for the most part). I'll explain more about the storyline issue I had below but I absolutely loved the mystery surrounding something that happened to Alana in her past and the way the details emerged.

Here's where I struggled with this book: The premise of the story is that four families run social media empires. The platforms are powered by crystals and enhanced by the interactions of people using the social media sites. Okay, cool concept, but I was so confused during the scenes and it took until the end of the book before I figured out what I just stated before in two sentences. Another area I struggled was the three separate storylines. We get a bit of a story of Thorn rescuing children from trafficking (nothing wrong with this but what does it actually mean for the story as a whole?) then there's the mystery surrounding something that happened in Alana's childhood, and finally the social media/crystal issue. While I loved most of the book I found myself skimming the scenes talking about Thorn rescuing kids and the scenes talking about coding and saving social media platforms.

I've been reading Rebecca Zanetti for years. While this isn't my favorite book of hers, I've read enough of her books in the past to know that I'm not going to give up on this series. I had some confusion with the storyline but she has me invested in the other characters to want to see where this series goes.

Rival families that control the social media and have the power with stones (diamonds, quartz, etc). The bottom line is a Romeo and Juliet story of Thorn and Alana. Throw in a serial killer and attempted rape and drugs and there is a lot going on. Must admit the stone thing confused me a bit, and ended up skimming at times, but did like the controversial romance and such. Guessed the killer almost from the beginning, as he was always there, but otherwise enjoyed this one and would recommend it. Would be fun to see more with his brother and one of her friends.

One Cursed Rose by R. Zanetti, published by Kensington Books, is the first book in the Grimm Bargain Series.
And the book starts off right wild.
Alana is the heir to the family business. Undermined by competitors, her father has given her to a potentially ally to marry her.
Alana is a strong feisty heroine and she's driven by revenge on a timeline. Timeline being one week til the wedding.
In comes Thorn, her biggest competitor and soon fiancé to be.
A beauty/beasty-ish story well written, complex, unputdownable. 4,5 fantastic stars.