Thank you NetGalley and Kensington books for the opportunity to read this arc in exchange for my honest review.

One cursed rose is a beauty and the beast retelling that is classified as a dark romance. I personally think it’s more of a Sifi/thriller/romance. I didn’t see much in the means of “dark” romance, though that’s my opinion. I wasn’t a fan of the writing style for this book, I found it hard to read. The story was also missing information. The whole attention around the crystals is rather odd because you don’t know what exactly they do. But the story is heavily based around them. I also feel as though the ending was rushed. The romance aspect was also off setting because there really wasn’t any connection there, the Mmc was possessive but lacked real heart so to speak. This book just fell short for me.

Dark romance revolving around warring social media families. Crystals & colors some type of charging magic. Beauty and the beast. A lot of potential but the romance got snagged in everything else going on. Solid banter and fair amount of steam. However the “magic” was confusing and unclear.

One Cursed Rose
By Rebecca Zanetti

I preface this review by saying I am a fan of Rebecca Zanetti’s work. I have read everything of hers, across all genres. I have also read “dark” romance and romantic suspense and enjoyed it.

That being said, this was not one of my favorites of Ms. Zanetti’s books. The characters just didn’t work for me. The H was downright cruel at times and our heroine would get freaked out and then just forget about it. Also, she just seemed SO young (and dare I say dumb?).

As for the plot itself, that I enjoyed. The hero’s illness, the attacks on the heroine, trying to figure out whodunit, the plot twists…all quite involved and interesting. I just didn’t like either the H or h.

If this continues as a series, however, I will keep reading as my favorite character was the H’s brother!

I enjoyed the story quite a bit. I will say, I got lost in the parts of the story where the focus on the crystal’s or the computer tech parts, I just had a hard time during those parts. Overall I enjoyed the love story as well as the whodunnit story. Definitely worth the read! I was fortunate to be part of the early reader review opportunity for this book.

This book was really good. It was better than I thought it would be. It reminded me of the fifty Shades Of Grey Series. The ending was really good. I love reading books by Rebecca Zanetti. I'm grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

An alternate future type book with an emphasis on social media! I thought this was an interesting take on the power of social media and a future where the big social media companies control the power (which maybe the kind of do!). I wasn't super excited about some of the MMC's control-freak type attitude. So trigger warning if rough play without initial consent is a problem.

I loved this book! I honestly haven’t read very many dark romance books but this was so good that it opened me up to read others! I loved the mystery of this book as well especially with all the plot twists! I would definitely suggest this book. Morally grey mmc, he falls first, forced proximity, beauty and the beast retelling, dark romance.

Rebecca Zanetti is my all time favorite author and this is a can't miss first book in her new Grimm Bargains series. A dark spin on Beauty and the Beast. The engrossing, original and supremely creative story sets up endless possibilities for more twisted tales. I may need to reread this novel to find all of the hidden meanings in this futuristic power struggle between good and evil. I can't help but compare the four families of social media to our current muddy landscape and wonder if the author is a soothsayer. Long time fans of Zanetti will relish the Easter eggs from her Dark Protectors and her friendship with author Lexi Blake.

One Cursed Rose by Rebecca Zanetti is Beauty and the Beast meets Dark Olympus in all the best ways.

In a world where four families harness power based on a combination of engagement with their social media platforms and crystals, Alana Beaumont finds herself at the center of a dark scheme for power. Thorn Beathach, heir of one of the four families, has been cursed, but nothing short of death will keep him from carrying out his own sense of justice. When Alana is the victim of an attempted murder, the two begin a hard and fast descent into a dark mystery with roots deeper than they could have imagined.

This book was dark, steamy, and extremely captivating. While I'm not a huge fan of the stalking/obsession trope, our girl Alana certainly is and I love that for her. I hope that One Cursed Rose is just the introduction to this world and that the other well rounded characters have their stories told!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

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.

First off, thank you NetGalley and Kensington for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, I am going to make this short and to the point. This was just not my cup of tea! I honestly thought this was a fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast and not an explicit dark romance with serious trigger warnings. The vague/confusing world building, toxic relationship between the two main characters, extreme graphic violence, and one scene in particular was especially disturbing, all contributed to why this book wasn’t for me!

Whoa! I was not expecting this wonderfully dark read when I started.

Thorn definitely lived on the dark side. He had all the fierce attributes that I crave in a hero including a bit of stalking and the “mine” mentality. He was a scary dude even to a reader like myself that enjoys mixing in a bit of darkness every now and then. Alana intrigued me as much as Thorn did. She was the complete opposite of him, bright and shiny hiding her intellect and true purpose behind her smile.

While I loved both Alana and Thorn as separate characters, when they were together they were explosive. Their interactions lit my Kindle on fire. They were white hot and went places that i never expected to see them go. I swear I had to turn the a/c down! This is not your vanilla retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

With all that was amazing with the main characters, it would have meant nothing to me without the wonderfully orchestrated storyline that went with them. This feels like a different world. One based on our current addiction with social media. I was definitely intrigued by the connection these characters had with their program servers and my interest continued to grow as the story progressed.

With the addition of suspenseful twists and turns, as well as amazing characters that I hope will receive their own stories, there is no denying that this book has superseded any that I’ve read by this author previously. Bring on the darkness Ms. Zanetti!

I really enjoyed this book! Dark romance is not typically my thing, but because of the author I really wanted to read it. It seems to me no matter what RZ writes I love! I wasn’t sure going into this one as there is a whole new world dynamic to understand, but just as she always does she helps you to understand it perfectly as you read. Now how to review without giving anything away because trust me, going into this without knowing anything is the best way. This dark beauty and the beast like romance is just an amazing story. The characters are wonderful and have very deep back stories. Lots of secrets and unusual family dynamics. Sexy and very entertaining.
At first I was a bit skeptical of our beast, Thorn, but somehow just like Alana, he managed to get me to fall for him. He is extremely alpha and dominant but it really works. Their relationship/story is complicated but so good and not predictable in the least. I highly recommend taking a chance on this one, it’s totally worth it!

As soon as I saw this book on NetGalley I knew I wanted to read this one. I've read Rebecca Zanetti's Scorpius Syndrome series and her Laurel Snow series en I really loved those books. And then I find out she wrote a fairytale retelling! A beauty and the beast dark fairytale retelling.
I'm happy to say that I really loved this book. The 'magic' system is really unique and modern and the characters are amazing and suprising. Thorn and Alana are perfect together.

'Call yourself whatever you want, I'm calling you mine'

I love beauty and the Beast inspired books, I really do. But there were too many things that were throwing me off.

One Cursed Rose is a dark romance, Beauty and the Beast retelling. Rebecca Zanetti combines elements of magic and romantic suspense too, making the story the perfect sizzling combination.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alana is the heir to the Aquarius social media empire. It doesn’t hurt that she has a special affinity to the magical aquamarine stones that make the whole endeavor hum. But when her father insists on marrying her off to a competitor to strengthen their company, Alana immediately looks for a way out of it. What she doesn’t realize is that secretive, beastly Thorn is obsessed with her, and will do anything, including kidnapping her, to keep her from marrying someone else. But Thorn is cursed, and he’s slowly freezing to death. Can the warmth Thorn feels with Alana save him? Or will she lose patience with his controlling ways?

I’m a longtime Rebecca Zanetti fan, and will read anything she writes. So while I don’t read much dark or mafia romance, I love a hot story with a morally gray hero and plenty of plot too. Alana and Thorn are intriguing characters, and far more than simply pieces of a fairy tale retelling. Alana has no patience for the patriarchal box people keep trying to put her into, but she can’t deny her connection to Thorn. And, along with their attest, their quips and banter are great too.

The world building here is the kind I like, where the plot runs full speed ahead and no one pauses to question any of the magical rules. Crystals and their powers play a key role, but I was so wrapped up in the romance that I didn’t fuss about the details.

Zanetti writes so well in so many different genres, it’s no surprise that she’s a natural with dark romance. One Cursed Rose is a fantastic story, and Alana and Thorn’s sizzling chemistry jumps off the page. If you are a fan of super hot fairy tale retellings, read this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A good dark romance story with a unique plot and character development.

I don't have read anything like this.
It was so good.

Sizzling, hot tension served up on a platter by a possessive and protective man 🥵

Thorn is cunning and observant, and he now has Alana who occupies all of his thoughts. Thorn is determined to claim what is rightfully his.

Thorn's filthy mouth, his grabby hands and smitten heart made for a good read.

Slightly miss-genred: this is less on the dark side, and more of a romantic suspense with some magic elements.

If you're a fan of Parker S Huntington, L J Shen and Sadie Kincaid (but slightly paranormal) then you will enjoy this beauty & the beast dark romance story.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. I read the book forgetting that it was beauty and the beast based. I was so into the storyline that I just kept reading and couldn’t stop! It felt like just a really juicy love story!! Well worth the read!

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! It is a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but only loosely in my opinion, Alana belongs to one of four families that control social media using crystals and magic. She is next in line and has a lot of responsibility, but little power. Her father actually controls everything and treats her like an employee. Alana is working with several friends to do secretly good.

Thorn is the head of one of the other families who control social media. Unlike Alana, most of his life is lived in secret. He has been watching Alana for a while. He takes Alana and claims her as his. But there is a lot going on behind the scenes. Thorn lets Alana go. Or does he? Betrayal and intrigue and twists all over the place!

I liked how the story focused on the main characters and their developing relationship. The side characters were interesting and I would be interested in reading their stories. I liked the action and the twists, I thought I knew what was going on, but I was definitely surprised. There was definitely some romance and hot, darkish scenes.