I couldn’t get beyond the prologue and the first chapter. So technically this is a DNF. The characterization was ham handed and clunky, but I could have gotten over that as I liked that it started with Thorn watching Alana and her seeing his eyes in the shadows. But the description of Alana’s charities and good deeds that came next was too much for me. First she and her staff discuss putting a hit out on a senator and she casually suggests that she could do it herself— to be fair he is an abuser, but the awkwardness with which she suggests this as if it’s any old routine item on her to do list is off putting, as is her staff’s response “you’re not a killer, and that’s a good thing.” Seems they put a hit out on subtlety and as well. And then the staff bring up another “personalized rescue,”- a random sibling pair in Chicago whose parents have been taken to court for abuse but may regain custody. How Alana has come to know of these two children out of the thousands in similar predicaments across the country and decided they are worthy of her intervention, the text does not say. As to how she will support them, Alana states calmly that if they can’t pay the parents off to drop their suit, then they will steal the children and take them to a safe house. As if removing children from their homes and lives is not in itself another trauma. It’s like Zanetti was envisioning a movie capturing Alana in one of those single camera walking shots a la west wing, signing papers and checking good deeds off her to do list; showing us in a flourish what a great person she is. But all it actually does is reveal how little Zanetti knows about philanthropy, social justice, or the issues of domestic or child abuse. Unfortunately I’m a social worker and so just could not push past these mental blocks to keep going with the story.

This is a retelling of beauty and the beast. Alana is our beautiful and smart Belle and Thorn has his eyes set on her.

Alana is the sole heir to Aquarius Social that is coming in last on the social media ranks. To save face, her dads solution is to marry her off with a rival to create an alliance and make a comeback.

Too bad an assassination attempt cuts those plans.

Ok, I had some issues. There are four family’s and each has its own social media empire but they run off of crystals and this confused me. There are no real explanations of how the system works and it made it hard to follow. Honestly, the whole world building could have been done much better.

I also didn’t love Alana and Thorn. Their love story took too long to unfold, the book ended and I felt like they JUST connected. Too much time was spent on the back and forth between them. There were some good spicy moments that showed they had chemistry but then it would end in them going separate ways.

There were some interesting storylines, but they weren’t fleshed out well and too many. There is the mystery of Alana’s childhood, the social media/crystal problems, Thorn being a vigilante and trying to save kids from trafficking, trying to save Thorn with all the coding and hacking. It was a lot to take in lol

While I'm always a fan, this was a book by Rebecca Zanetti that I liked but did not love. I found the world building a tad bit confusing. I give Zanetti props for thinking outside of the box. This novel's world is wildly outside the norm. Families who make money using crystals, (gems), to accumulate power, wealth, and influence is a unique view.
The main characters are opposites. He, Thorn, shuns any kind of social media attention and she, Alana, generates lots of followers and therefore money by her daily video posts.
This is a dark read. The whole book takes place in a couple of days. Thorn is a very alpha male and he wants to dictate her every action. Not my favorite male characterization. I think that this trope has been used too many times.
Alana the media darling who hides just how intelligent she really is, is a bright spot in his otherwise bleak existence., also has been used quite frequently..
The world building is unique, Zanetti's take on this "influencer" age is done well.
The relationship between the main characters did not resonate with me. It was too instantaneous for my liking. There was no slow burn. It went from zero to scorched in no time.
This is a 3 star read for me. Beauty and the Beast retelling? Good bur not great.
Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for the Advance Reader Copy.. Opinions expressed are strictly my own.

This story is based on four families who run popular social media programs powered with crystals. Each family is powered by a different crystal. Fans and their posts also strengthen the crystals. One of the family businesses is Aquarius Social. After the death of her brother, Alana Beaumont is the sole heir to Aquarius Social. To try and save the family business, her father's solution is to create a partinership with a competing family in marriage with Alana.
Another family business, is Malice Media owned by Thorn Beathach. There was a virus installed in Malice Media computer systems which is freezing his crystal, the garnet that powers his network. Due to his connection to the garnet, he is also freezing from the inside out.
After seeing Alana’s postings, Thorn finds himself obsessively following and watching Alana. Thorn intervenes and kidnaps Alana when he uncovers an assassination attempt. He considers Alana his to protect and keep.
Besides the mystery of who installed the virus, there are additional mysteries woven into the story. There is the mystery behind the death of Alana’s brother as well a possible serial killer killing Alana lookalikes.
Enjoyed reading this in the dual points of view which provides a better insight into the main characters, Alana and Thorn. The sex scenes are spicy (light BDSM) and provocative. Action packed and suspenseful, it kept me on edge and did not want to put the book down till the end. The power of crystals was a little hard to follow for me, but I just went with it and used my imagination. Would like to learn more about the power of crystals. Wonderful secondary characters and looking forward to reading the next book in the series and finding out what happens next for each one.
Thank you, Kensington Books, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was really excited to read this book and let me just say it did not disappoint. The MFC is a funny independent smart a** with a penchant for bad boys. I’m not usually a fan of sci-fi but this book is the perfect blend of fantasy and sci-fi. Throw in a dominant love interest and you seriously can’t go wrong. I’ve always love fairy tales and retelling especially about Beauty and the Beast. You’re going to want to check this story out. To the author… please let there be a spinoff about Justice!!!!

This first book in this new series was really different. Interesting characters, mystery and lots of action. I'm interested to see what happens with the rest of these characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of One Cursed Rose by Rebecca Zanetti This is a dark beauty and the beast retelling focusing on two heirs to competing social media companies, Thorn and Alana. This was a really entertaining read.

Alana is consistently underestimated, after the death of her brother she is now the heir to one of the four major social media companies. She is also the obsession of Thorn, owner and heir of malice media, one of the other four social media companies. When he takes her it is both for her protection and his obsession.

I loved the interplay of crystals and technology and found the balance really interesting. I wish there was more on Alana’s friends and the work they do because I thought it was such a fun concept. I’m not always a dark romance girl but this was a fun read.

This novel was out of my usual genre of books, but keeping an open mind. The uniqueness of the power crystals and the tech ideas were fascinating. I was engrossed in the technology aspect of the story initially, but it just went nowhere. The characters needed more complexity and depth to create a rich storyline. I wasn't engaged in the characters' story. The dialogue was absurd, and I did not think the tension between the main characters worked. The story had some exciting pieces that needed to be flushed out.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Netgalley and Kensington Books.

“That's what she does. She haunts my days and my dreams, and she hasn't a clue.”

"You're in danger, and nobody threatens what's mine."

"You and I are going to be so close you won't know where you end and I begin.
Even more importantly, you won't fucking care."

Loved it!!! Fans of the Never After series, this book might just be right up your alley!!! A dark romance with some fantasy traits with some very wicked and evil tropes. We have rivals to lovers, he is a stalker and he has an obsession with her. He kidnaps her to protect her from harm but he is evil. He is Thorn and he is the villain. He is as morally grey as they get and he has made it hai life’s work to make her submit to him. The relationship between Thorn and Alana is unhealthy and obsessive and possessive and twisted and complicated. And I loved every second of it. Add to that the overall plot of rival agencies and crystals and a bunch of other bad guys wanting to ruin the situation and you have a dark romance worth the name!!! The spicy scenes were … intense, to say the least and the narrative was quite action packed so I truly have nothing to complain about!! And the way he behaves … it is truly acceptable only in books because at least he would never let anyone hurt her. Let’s just say that the “I’ll unalive everyone who hurts you” trope was quite real this time around !!! I’m obsessed myself it seems and I can’t wait for more !!!

"You're with me so long as I'm alive."
One of her eyebrows arches. "Why?"
There are many answers I can give to her, but I go with the simplest truth. "You're my reason for breathing, and you were meant to be mine."

"Hate and love are but two sides of the same coin, forged in the same mixing of metals. Like pain and pleasure."

"You're the fucking reason for everything in my entire universe. I'll worship you until I die, and most probably after that as well."

Such a fun retelling of the classic beauty and the beast brought to modern times, complete with a swoon-worthy library! The MMC gave all the right obsessive morally grey vibes that I needed without it being cringey.

Normally, I'm all in on fairy-tale retellings, and I'm generally fine with dark romantic fantasy, but overall this just left me feeling, "Not It!" Zanetti built a magic system that was rather interesting and unique, particularly in its play of social media-as-power, though the computer aspects just felt more like, "if I say the word <i>algorithm</i> enough times, it'll sound all computer-y and hacker cool." I love Zanetti normally, but the trope of the dominant alpha-male who kidnaps the heroine and knows better than she that submissive sex is the solution to everything just feels overdone, boring, and insulting. For those that are into that kind of thing, there's enough additional complexity to the story to make this worth picking up. For me, I was willing to look past the kidnappy sexist parts to enjoy the surrounding story, but I still rolled my eyes for the majority of it.

2⭐️
"For her? It's already too late. She looks up, and our eyes lock. Hers widen. Her pupils contract. Definitely too late."

I was excited for this one but ultimately, it just wasn't for me. It felt like it was trying too hard to be too many things. A Beauty and the Beast retelling, a mafia story, an obsession-filled stalker romance, with ultra-modern things like the crystals. It was just all over the place and didn't end up being any of those things well enough.

It doesn't seem that I'm alone in not understanding whatever the hell was going on with those crystals. They were powered by social media? But made people live longer?

This is billed as a dark romance, and I think that stands. It has a obsessed, dominant male and some kink, s&m style scenes- if that's not your thing, beware. But I think it failed to show any actual connection between Thorn and Alana. I just didn't feel any genuine romance.

Thank you to Netgalley and publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to note that I received this ARC with the mindset that I would provide an honest review.
I want to begin this by saying that I am already a fan of Rebecca Zanetti. I’ve read most, if not all, of her dark protectors series. So I am super thankful that I was granted the opportunity to read this arc.

One Cursed Rose by @rebeccazanetti is scheduled to release June 25th!

🥀Enemies to Lovers
🥀Beauty and the Beast Retelling
🥀Possessive MMC
🥀Kidnapping
🥀He Falls First
🥀Morally Grey
🥀Dual POV
🥀Dark Romance

The shopping list of tropes should tell you already that this book was well worth the read. Overall I rated this book 4/5 stars.
We begin this story with an arranged marriage with a mafia theme. The families are rivals and have that engrained in their blood so the romance that develops between the two is strong. They turned the passion of hatred into a passion of love.
I really enjoyed the character of Thorn our MMC. He has a lot of mystery behind his character and that leads the reader to wanting to discover more about him. He falls first and is morally grey, two of my favorite tropes all in one. I enjoyed the romance between them but please know that this is a darker romance and I would advise that you remember that going in. I also enjoyed Alana’s character. I love a strong and smart FMC!!
The writing is wonderful but I am a fan of Rebecca Zanetti’s writing style and I have always been a fan. I think new readers would enjoy the style as she does a great job of keeping the readers engaged. The suspense that is found within this story is written so well that you want to read more to find out what happens.

This book was fun and worth the read. I would definitely recommend this book to those who enjoy reading dark romance books and to those that just enjoy a story that leaves you wanting more.

Thank you to Rebecca Zanetti, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book!

This is an author that I normally just know automatically that I will love anything she writes. So before reading the description, I got this book, even though it is not a genre I enjoy. Fans of fantasy romance will probably love this, but I just couldn’t get into it.

This is an extended version of your review that incorporates some extra material:

I recently finished reading Rebecca Zanetti's One Cursed Rose. Whoa! I don't know what took me so long (yes! life)
This fresh interpretation of the fairy tale absolutely pulled me right in. Ms. Zanetti's retelling of this famous tale is new, thrilling, and completely engrossing. With none of the grating clinginess that can be so irritating in romance books which instantly becomes a DNF for me, both of the main characters were powerful but not overwhelming. Rather, they were unwavering, relatable, and hard to not cheer for. Their romance was one of the book's highlights because of their incredible chemistry. Zanetti's rich world-building and deft story turns enhanced the enchantment. I found it impossible to put it down once I finally got a chance to start reading and I can't wait for the next book in this new series. Anyone who enjoys a fantastic fairy tale retelling with lots of action, passion, and romance should read One Cursed Rose.

If you want to read a book that will have you panting and squirming in your seat, this is the book for you! When you first start reading it’s kind of confusing but keep reading I guarantee you, you won’t be disappointed. It has a supernatural aspect to it. It’s a dark romance but who doesn’t love a hero that will kill anyone that harms the woman of his dreams. When she misbehaves well oh yeah your going to want to read! Can’t wait for the next one!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you for allowing me to review.

The mafia-style, dark romance Beauty and the Beast retelling we’ve been waiting for!

Follow FMC Alana, the last remaining heir of Aquarius Social, and MMC Thorn, head of Malice Media, in this Beauty and the Beast retelling dual POV. They both belong to one of the four top social media families who are fueled by crystals and the power created by their users. Alana needs to step into her new role and take responsibility to support her family, whereas Thorn is just trying to survive, remain out of the public eye, and finally get the girl he’s been obsessing over for years. As technology grows, these media giants sabotage, marry, and even kill to rise to the top.

This was such a major change of pace from other fairy tale retellings I’ve read. The world around these four families could have been a story totally separate from the romance (but why would we want that!). It was a beautiful mixture of technology, fictional ancient culture, and alchemy, and I was fascinated. Their long rivalries explains character personalities, priorities, and grey morals. The romance building between Alana and Thorn is comparable, in the most dark delicious way, to Beauty and the Beast. Alana’s struggle to understand their dynamic, trust her feelings, and give into his dominance is believable for their situation. Overall, I enjoyed the futuristic-technology spin and the darker romance in this retelling!

📚 Summary: Alana Beaumont is thrust into a world of magic, power, and dangerous games as the heir to her family's business. With an unseen enemy dismantling her legacy, her father arranges a marriage to form an alliance. An assassination attempt and an unwanted rescue by the mysterious Thorn Beathach, the Beast behind a powerful social media empire, complicate her plans for revenge.

👨‍👧 Main Characters: Alana Beaumont is a strong, determined heroine grappling with duty and vengeance. Thorn Beathach, a powerful and enigmatic billionaire, adds layers of mystery and intensity to the story. His complex persona oscillates between wanna-be-sweet and extremely controlling, making him a compelling yet controversial character.

💞 Romance: The rivals-to-lovers plot is intriguing, with their relationship starting off with animosity, defiance, and misunderstandings. Alana's stunning and smart character is a joy to watch as she embraces her power. The bond between Alana and Thorn grows in an unorthodox way, making their dynamic intense. However, some BDSM elements, including moments of what were to me non-consensual pleasure moment, may not resonate with all readers.

👧 Side Characters: The supporting cast adds depth to the story, enriching the narrative with their own subplots and motivations. They contribute to the high-stakes world and I can't wait for Ella's story.

✍️ Writing: Rebecca Zanetti's writing shines with suspense, thrilling twists, and engaging storytelling. Her ability to weave romance into a suspenseful narrative is commendable, making the book a gripping read despite my misgivings. The fantastical elements, particularly the magical gems, add intrigue, even if their full powers remain a bit unclear.

🌟 Overview: "One Cursed Rose" offers a fresh take on "Beauty and the Beast" with a modern twist, blending magic and social media intrigue. While the story captivates, some elements, particularly the dark romance aspects and the rushed ending, may leave readers divided. The darker aspects of the narrative and mafia-esque elements make it a unique and interesting read.

4.5 stars

At first Alana seems like a rich airhead, but we soon realise that she is so much more. Thorn is drawn to her the first time he sees her and he becomes obsessed with her.

Alana is a kind hearted, intelligent, beautiful soul but she cannot help being drawn to Thorn who seems to be her complete opposite. He is dark, dangerous, broody and literally fighting for his life. Alana does not understand why she is drawn to this man who seems at first to be evil, but she soon learns there is so much more to him than violence. He looks out for those he cares about and those who are being targeted by the real evil.

Their relationship is full of passion, but it completely surprises Alana how she feels about this brute of a man. He is obsessed, demanding, bossy but will do anything for her. She sees past the beast everyone else sees and knows that he is a special person. He eventually sees past her airhead facade to see the intelligent, resourceful, skilled woman that she really is and his obsession becomes even more intense.

This is a dark Beauty and the Beast retelling and I loved the little nods to the Disney version. The intimate scenes were definitely not pg and were on the dark side. Lots of pain with the passion. It also had hints of Mafia and magic which added to the story.

There is a dark back story and I originally thought I had worked out who was behind elements, but then I was completely thrown and I went off in an entirely different direction. I did think one part of the conclusion was a little simple and could definitely have done with more explanation and did felt like the story ended quite abruptly.

This story was full of passion, intrigue, love, betrayal and I really hope there are more books to follow.

Reader she lost me. I know this is meant to be a modern retelling of beauty and the beast but I was confused with the gems and social media. And I didn't like Thorn one bit. Or Alana really. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I know this will have readers than adore it but it just wasn't for me.