Captured Beauty is a dark and twisted retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Azeriah is supposed to be a placeholder until her father can repay his debts. Everyone else sees Kairus as a ruined man who will go to any extreme to get back what is owed to him. While being held captive Azeriah learns of all the torture Kairus was forced to endure as a child. She grows to understand his ways and cannot stop falling for him.

Both narrators did a phenomenal job portraying the characters.

3 ⭐️ Super dark and toxic beauty and the beast retelling in modern day. Beast is a moneylender and Beauty’s dad owes him money. So much money that Beast kidnaps his daughter as collateral. Quickly he develops an obsession for her.

I wasn’t really feeling the odd connection they had for the first half. The second half I was slightly more convinced but their relationship was still lacking. I did like all the callbacks to the original story such as the use of the names (Beauty and Beast), the library, the rose, the chipped tea cup, and the yellow dress and blue suit.

The FMC audio was great but the narrator who voiced the MMC wasn’t my favorite. I would’ve liked it better if they used the female narrator for Azeira’s lines during the Beasts chapters. He did not make a convincing female voice. He also made her sound really whiny but during her chapters she wasn’t whiny at all.

Captured Beauty was everything I didn’t know I needed in a dark romance retelling. As a fan of
Beauty and the Beast, this version went far beyond the typical tale, diving into shadows and twisted desires that kept me hooked. Tay Mo’Nae didn’t just rewrite a fairytale, she reinvented it with raw intensity and depth.

Kairus Navarro, better known as Beast, is exactly what his name implies: dangerous, possessive, and deeply damaged. His upbringing left scars that shaped him into the enigmatic antihero we can’t help but feel for. On the other hand, Azeira Marks, the quiet girl with an undeniable inner light, is the perfect foil for Beast’s darkness. When her father’s debt brings her into Beast’s world, their connection ignites, and what unfolds is a captivating push and oull of control, vulnerability, and raw emotion.

What I loved most about this story was the way Azeira and Beast transformed each other. Azeira’s journey from the girl who always faded into the background to someone who fully owned her desires was incredibly satisfying. Beast, for all his cryptic and unhinged behavior, found a kind of redemption through her, though not in the traditional sense. Their love wasn’t soft or simple, but it was real and deeply consuming.

This isn’t just a retelling, it’s an experience. And the audiobook takes it to an entirely new level. If you love morally grey characters, tension that keeps you on edge, and a romance that’s as dark as it is addictive, it's a must read/listen. I’ll be thinking about Azeira and Beast for a long time, and hoping for more.

Thank you to dreamscape media and netgalley for a AlC in exchange for a honest review.

This one was Ok. The writing style was very different than what I am used to. The plot was kind of basic. It didn't really wow me. But I didn't hate it. It just felt like I had read it before, not memorable.

As for the audio, I loved the female narrator, she did an excellent job of portraying the emotions and attitude of the fmc. As for the male narrator he was Ok, I didn't really love his voice, I had to put it at 2.5 speed because of him but it wasn't horrible.

Captured Beauty by Tay Mo'Nae is an incredibly dark retelling of Beauty and The Beast.

The main characters, Kairus and Azeria, had a very uncomfortable dynamic. Honestly, I got 70% of the way through listening to the audiobook and couldn't bring myself to finish it. It just seemed too unrealistic to me and couldn't imagine how Kairus could change to truly love Azeria which left me feeling finishing the book was pointless. This story was so dark and cringey at times and left me feeling icky and tense after listening to it. I didn't hate this book though. I'm sure there are readers out there who would love this but I don't know anyone I would personally recommend this book to. Overall, just wasn't my jam and couldn't really get into it.

The narrators weren't bad, except when the male narrator tried to do Azeria's voice, it was awkward.

This was so good a dark beauty and the beast retelling this was dark violent and steamy this author is new to me this is the second book i have read by her and she's brilliant

I really had high hopes for this book. I love anything beauty and the beast and adding a dark romance element just sounded divine. The end result fell flat though. An attempt was made at a morally black beast. I’m not sure how to describe Belle in this instance. The plot was very choppy like reading Swiss cheese. Many of the scenes felt incomplete, the character would be doing one thing and next sentence something completely different and unrelated and it was confusing. The spicy scenes didn’t work out very well either. I feel if a lot of these holes were better fleshed out and more detail and character building was added it would be a much better book. Now onto the narrators. The female narrator was ok, the male narrator just sounded rushed like he was trying to read through it as fast as possible. I had to slow it down to .75 to even understand what he was saying, not much in the way of voice acting either. I really tried to like this book and I gave it 3 stars because a valiant effort was made, but it wasn’t for me.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

Excellent narration!

I think I am officially a super fan of tay monae. Captured beauty has such a talent for storybuilding. She uses such relatable themes and weaves in the magic of romance book right in there as well.
The steamy scenes in this book were so dang good as well. I love a MMc that knows how to treat a woman in and out of the bedroom!

Captured Beauty is my first book from this author and even though I listened to the audiobook I enjoyed this retelling story of Beauty and the Beast with a dark twist a lot. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that this story kept me captivated from start to finish. It was interesting with the dark twist to it, and I thought it was a very well-written story with the narrators doing a fantastic job with the characters that you will both love and dislike. Kairus possessiveness was what Azeira desired and loved when it came to her and if it worked for her character in this story, I was here for it and their ending left me satisfied. This story definitely left me looking forward to more books from this author.

Thank you to Tay Mo'Nae, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for an advanced listener copy of Captured Beauty in exchange for an honest review!

I usually LOVE dark romance, but this book was not for me.

A few things I struggled with:

There was very little build up of attraction between the MMC being a violent jerk the MMC and FMC falling for each other. There didn't seem to be a lot of s*xual tension or actions which would instigate one person falling for the other. Instead, the FMC and MMC just each thought the other was hot and decided to ignore all the sick twisted sh*t the MMC did.

I usually expect the writing for dark romance to be.... not great. It is incredibly hard to write quality dark romance that doesn't cross the line into too cheesy, twisted, or unbelievable. I found a lot of the word usage was repetitive. (i.e. The author used the word orbs in place of eyes a solid 10 times). The story was also hard to believe because the MMC did basically nothing to win the FMC's affection other than being good looking. He treated her poorly the entire time they were together.

Normally I love Myles Washington as a narrator, but in this book he didn't really do it for me. I think part of it was the writing. Tamika Antoinette did a wonderful job.

This was is a 1.5/5 for me - rounded up.

This was an take on beauty and the beast. It was a dark retelling with a lot of spice. I didn't feel an insane amount of chemistry between the characters, and the plot felt quite slow. But it was a good read overall And the general story keeps you hooked enough throughout. If I could give a half rating, I had to give a 3.5 stars If I could give a half rating, I had to give a 3.5 stars

The 2 stars are for the narrators.

I didn't feel any chemistry between the characters. I enjoyed dark romance and morally gray/black characters, but I feel as if the MMC wasn't redeemable in this story. When he literally left her chained so long to the bed she peed herself.

This is a dark romance Beauty and the Beast retelling. I liked the twist on Beauty and the Beast and how Azeira and Karius ended up in that dynamic. I also enjoyed the pacing of the story and the spicy scenes were intense.

As a dark romance this was good, however I don't think it was really for me. The characters have good sexual chemistry but there was little to no romance. I'm also not a big fan of knife play or blood play which are in this book a lot. I didn't like how violently possessive Karius was even after his and Azeira's relationship progressed, but I suppose that fits his character. ALSO he never said i love you back to Azeira????? How rude

At the end of the book it almost seemed that Azeira was suffering from major Stockholm syndrome but I can't fault her for that too much since that is the nature of their relationship, captor and captive.

The narrators were good and I liked that this was dual pov. I enjoyed the narration for Azeira more than Karius, but both narrators expressed the personalities of their characters well.

Overall, I appreciate that the book is strictly dark romance. It wasn't really for me but I would still read other books from this author since I liked the writing!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this audiobook in exchange for my honest review!

This Dark Romance Had Me Hooked! 🥵🔥

Tay Mo'Nae's "Captured Beauty" is the kind of dark romance that will grab you by the throat and refuse to let go. This is not your grandma's "Beauty and the Beast" – it's a deliciously twisted, scorching hot reimagining that pushes boundaries and will leave you utterly breathless.

Plot Summary:
Azeira, a young woman just trying to make ends meet for her family, gets caught in a dangerous web when she's kidnapped by the oh-so-brooding and ruthless Kairus Navarro. But as their captive-captor dynamic heats up, things get complicated – in the best possible way. 😉

My Thoughts:
I personally didn't love the narrators, but I still felt like it was an incredible story.

Kairus Navarro? Total alphahole. But like, the kind of alphahole you can't help but fall for. 🥵 His obsession with Azeira is intense, possessive, and oh-so-addictive to read. And Azeira? She's not just some damsel in distress. This girl has fire, and watching her embrace her own desires and challenge Kairus was seriously empowering.

The chemistry between these two? Explosively hot. 🔥🔥🔥 Tay Mo'Nae's writing is seriously evocative – I felt like I was right there in the room with them, feeling every stolen glance, every touch, every shiver.

Tropes:
🔥 Dark Romance
😈 Villain Gets the Girl
🥵 Captivity
😱 Enemies-to-Lovers
🩸 Blood Play
🔪 Knife Play

Content Warnings:
Just a heads up – this book goes there. We're talking captivity, violence, BDSM... the whole nine yards. So if you're looking for something light and fluffy, this is not it. But if you're like me and love a dark romance that pushes boundaries, then buckle up, buttercup.

Final Thoughts:
"Captured Beauty" is a wild ride from start to finish. It's dark, it's twisted, it's sexy as hell, and it will leave you wanting more. If you're a fan of dark romance, this one is an absolute must-read. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. 😉

Dark romance
Multicultural romance
Beauty and the beast retelling
Unhinged MMC
Stalking
Morally dark MMC
Opposites

Audio review
Narrated by:
Dual NARRATIVE
Characters were well presented. Story was easy to follow. The voices were well matched for the characters.

Kairus is a bad man. He was raised by a brutal father and a mother with mental health issues. He is cold and calculating. Brutal and unapologetic about everything. He is brilliant. Musically talented, reads the classics and will cut your throat without blinking. He takes what he wants and he wants Aziela. When the opportunity presents itself, he doesn’t hesitate to take full advantage.
He is brutal in his love for Az. Somehow she finds the good in him. He didn’t make it easy.

Az is supposedly the good girl. However, we did over some of her dark traits. On paper they don’t work. We can’t say she tamed the beast but she does calm him a bit.

If you are looking hot scenes, violence and a psycho MMC look no further. Perfect for those who love over the top possessive MMC who fall hard.

This was a spicy little audiobook I just finished about Azeira and Kairus. It’s a dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast, they even use those nicknames with each other. It has plenty of dark themes through it and they were just hot. At the same time I enjoyed the character development as they both tried working through their feelings for one another. I think what kept me from a 5 star was the way some things were redundant in the way they were described. He cut his eyes into slits, I found it a little distracting when there are so many other options, but I’d still recommend it.

I think I’ve tapped into a genre that I like. I think I like dark romance. I’ve read several retelling of Beauty and the Beast but this retelling from Tay Mo’Nae is by far the best. Kairus and Azeira relationship was very unconventional. I wanted so much to not like Kairus but after learning his background I softened for him just a little. Kairus did way too much with his jealousy and over protection. He loved his Beauty he just had a very weird way of showing love. I would say I’m very disappointed in the dad. He burned me up the entire book. Overall great job with Dark retelling.

I’m conflicted about how I feel about this book. I loved certain aspects of it, like how organically the author tied this dark romance to “Beauty and the Beast”. I especially love the chipped teacup scene & how their nicknames for each other are Beauty and Beast. However, I find the MMC to be completely unredeemable. I’m not against dark romances, and there are many that I like, but this one made me uncomfortable. Mainly because I couldn’t understand how she fell in love with a man this toxic, who left her chained to a bed to the point where she pissed herself. I just think this was too dark of a romance for me, to the point where I thought it was more abusive than love.

This is a dark fairy tale retelling based on Beauty and the Beast.
This book is so twisted, I just spent a lot of it wide-eyed, not believing what I was hearing. I'm sure this book is too people's liking, but I could not vibe with it.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.