A futuristic play on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale this is a steamy, dark and riveting read with diverse and intriguing personalities.

Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction

https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=87214

One Cursed Rose- Grimm Bargains #1

By-Rebecca Zanetti-I love her Dark Protectors series

Publication date 6/25/24, read 6/26/24

📃 Page count: 368

Quick Summary: Alana Beaumont is the heir to Aquarius Social, her family's billionaire social media empire. Her father Mathias wants her to wed her to the competition, and create a coalition aimed at stopping anyone who would try to take them down. When an assassination attempt is made on Alana, Thorn Beathach, a wealthy and ruthless recluse who never shows his face rescues and kidnaps her. He is one of the opposing media companies, Malice Media, and he has been obsessed with Alana stalking her. Now he has her, and it will be up to them to cure Thorn's curse and change how they gain followers using magical crystals and their own gifts.

🤷🏾‍♀️ What to Expect:

⭐dark romantic suspense
⭐️ billionaires
⭐️ Beauty and the Beast retelling
⭐️ arranged marriage
⭐️ enemies to lovers
⭐ social media
⭐ paranormal magic
⭐H has an illness


🤔 My Thoughts: I liked strong and intelligent Alana even though she was a little naive for trusting her father and cousin Nico. I loved Thorn because he was the ultimate anti-hero. He was a violent killer, but knew Alana was his to claim. Their encounters were a bit aggressive for me, but he always protected her. Their banter in the library sold me on their romance. I even liked the mystery surrounding Alana's brother Greg and her mother Lanetta. I hope the books that follow will feature Justice (My MVP), Scarlett, Quinlan, and even Ella.

Rating: 4/5⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spice level 5/5🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 explicit s*x, spanking, bdsm, h is a virgin

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC🌹! I voluntarily give an honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

I love fairytale retellings, and this is a solid version of "Beauty & the Beast". I like how our MMC fell hard for the FMC & took what he wanted. Admittedly, there wasn't anything revolutionary about this book, but that doesn't change the fact that it is enjoyable.

It was hard to follow the basis of the gems and crystal and how they relate to the running of the media platforms and the power they generate to the hero and heroine. I think there needed to be a more detailed laying of ground work on explaining all the workings of how they all interconnected and worked. I think it would have made the story smoother and more enjoyable. I would have been even more invested.

"One Cursed Rose" by Rebecca Zanetti is a captivating read with its mix of dark romance, suspense, and intriguing characters. Alana, the sole heir to Aquarius Social, finds herself entangled in a dangerous web of assassinations and forced marriages to save her family’s business. The banter between Thorn and Alana is a highlight, and their dynamic keeps the story lively and engaging.

However, the gem-powered technology and its role in social media left me puzzled at times. While it’s an interesting concept, the explanation felt a bit murky, pulling me out of the story as I tried to grasp its significance. Despite this, Zanetti’s skillful writing and the suspenseful plot kept me hooked. If you’re into dark romance with a twist and can handle a bit of confusion, this book is worth a read!

This is a voluntary review of an advanced copy.

What a great twist on Beauty and the Beast! I love this supernatural setting and Alana and Thorn.

I am so drawn into their story and could not put the book down until I finished it! Now I want to know what happens to Alana's friends and the other media companies! I am guessing that Ella is going to be the twist on Cinderella and Rosalie - that one is harder - Rose Red or Red Riding Hood or someone else?

There was even a small note of looking to the Kayrs family for help that I had to smile when I read it.

Great read and loved the HEA!

I was looking forward to this Beauty and the Beast retelling and the heroine was definitely a great character to follow. However, I did not fully buy the draw between Alana and Thorn and the plot was a bit confusing at times.

Absolutely loved this story! The suspense! The romance! Just every aspect about it! Rebecca Zanetti has always been an author that I have read and this was no exception. I loved the beauty and the beast vibes to it!

This is the perfect blend of dark romance and Beauty and the Beast retelling. One Cursed Rose is the exciting first book in the Grimm Bargains series. I will definitely want to dive back into this world to follow the next couple.
I found myself falling under Thorne’s spell, so I get why Alanna overlooks his more murderous side and manages to fall in love with him.

Recommended for: dark romance readers

Content warning: morally gray hero; profanity; violence; murder; torture

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Dark. Witty. Retelling. GIVE IT TO ME!! Thanks NG)

This is one of the best BATB re-tellings I've ever read- and lemme tell you, I will be subscribing to anything the author puts out from now on bc this is FANTASTIC. I binged it all in one single sitting because I could not put it down.

Great story, Love this author, haven't read a bad book by her ever. A great start to a new series and I absolute love that it is set around beauty and the beast.

A contemporary romance with elements of beauty and the beast in the world of social media and information security. Whew! That's a mouthful!

Alana Beaumont is the heir to Aquarius Social and in order to survive the business environment she's got to merge with another company by way of arranged marriage. Only Thorn Beathach (aka the beast) decides he's not going to let that happen because he wants her. If only he wasn't ill with some unknown illness.

There's some intricate world building here that is a mash up of traditional sort of paranormal elements and contemporary delivery via the web. I found that to be fresh and kept me turning the pages. In spite of Thorn being a bit creepy at the start, I did like Thorn and Alana together.

Overall, I thought there were interesting aspects of this dark crime family-type rivals-to-lovers romance. This is the first book in a series, so I'm curious as to where this is going to go. There were some places where I was left scratching my head, so I hope these questions get answered in future installments. A good start to the series.

This is a dark Beauty and the Beast retelling where the MCs are part of rival families that run competing social media platforms; there's also a mafia element as well as a touch of magic. (Plus some easter eggs for Dark Protectors fans.) This series is set up as all fairytale retellings and you can pick on which side characters will star as which fairytales if you're paying attention. If that sounds like a lot, it's because it is. I felt like pulling one or two of those elements out would have made a stronger book instead of feeling like it threw together everything that could possibly trend on social media.

Thanks to Kensington and Netgalley for my copy to review.

I believe this was my first book by Rebecca Zanetti. I enjoyed this Beauty and the Beast adaptation. Thorn really embraced his inner beast. I could picture Alana being a modern Belle. I could see her love of knowledge and books. Incorporating the curse through crystals I thought was clever! Now, that twist at the end! I didn’t see it coming that’s for sure. I really enjoyed this book, the only thing that bugged me it’s that it felt rushed towards the end. Anyways I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved that this was a fairy tale retelling, with extra paranormal and magical elements. I was not expecting that, and I felt that it was very original and interesting to read.

Dark and delicious…

The social media elements of the story felt spot on and gave it a modern, fresh spin. We need more influencers like Alana! I admit I was confused about the four families and how the power/power sources all fit together but I think I have a handle on it now, lol. A minor hiccup, this was highly entertaining with strong characters and a mystic-tinged, deep and dark romance. An intriguing take on a beloved fairytale, I can’t wait for more!

A blend of romance, suspense and magic in this captivating fairy tale retelling. The prose is thrilling and kept me turning pages.
Many thanks to Kensington and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

ONE CURSED ROSE Grimm Bargains Book 1 by Rebecca Zanetti
Rebecca Zanetti is one of my very favorite storytellers. This time she has put her own spin on Beauty and the Beast with the thrilling, dark, romantic suspenseful way she is famous for. Four families are running competing social media companies. One Cursed Rose has arranged marriages, murders, mafia, and kidnapping. Thorn is a strong-willed alpha that has met his match in Alana, who is just as strong willed. I am looking forward to the next installment of this series. I could not put this down. This is 5 stars.

Highly unique and imaginative this story just didn't grab me like everything else I've read by Zanetti. I think that's because I didn't care for the characters. I still appreciate the talent to create such a new story.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a Beauty and the Beast adaptation quite like this one before! The aspect of adding precious jewels as a sort of life/energy source with the addition of social media being THE thing was quite unexpected.

I was slowly but surely intrigued and hooked on knowing more and thus dark romance/fantasy book kept me on my toes right through the end. As this is the first in what I’m guessing is a stand alone (but interconnected) series, I cannot wait to learn more about this world.

And! Trust me when I say, you will NOT see the twist in this book coming and it’s a definite worthwhile read!