One Cursed Rose

Starred review from June 3, 2024
Bestseller Zanetti (You Can Run) sizzles in this dark, fantasy-tinged retelling of “Beauty and the Beast,” set in a world where power is derived from gemstones. Beautiful social media heiress Alana Beaumont likes to play the ditz online, but privately she’s smart as a whip and passionate about social justice. Thorn Beathach is the craggy and somewhat ruthless loner at the helm of another of the four social media empires, which are all run via a connection to a specific jewel. Thorn is single-minded in his desire for Alana, whose father keeps her under lock and key following her brother’s death in a car accident. After an assassination attempt in a crowded restaurant, Thorn whisks Alana to his remote castle, where an unlikely romance builds between them. When Alana’s father compels Thorn to return her for a large garnet he needs to stay alive, Alana is livid. But as the body count rises and villains are unmasked, Alana learns that Thorn’s precautions are what’s keeping them both alive. Zanetti is a master of red herrings, keeping readers guessing as to who’s behind the violence until the very end. Her characters elicit fierce loyalty from the first page, and her plotting is spot-on. Fans of dark romance won’t be able to resist this.

April 12, 2024

Helping run a social media empire is just an average day for Alana Rose Beaumont, but she didn't anticipate being kidnapped and held by rivals. The kidnapping, however, was actually a rescue from an assassination attempt--and the perfect way to meet the brooding and obsessive Thorn Beathach. Being held at the seaside mansion of a man she knows nothing about--but who knows nearly everything about her--is not enjoyable for Alana, although reading from Thorn's bountiful library about the crystals and magic that fuel their worlds is almost as intriguing as learning about the scarred and brooding man who claims to own her, heart and soul. But bodies start piling up, and those who threaten Alana and Thorn, as well as any future they might have together, start getting bolder. It's up to the social-media darling and the beastly antihero to secure their futures and keep Alana safe from the threat chasing her. VERDICT Zanetti (Frostbitten) launches a new series with this shadowy and violent twist on "Beauty and the Beast" that will appeal to readers looking for a uniquely magical world filled with seduction and betrayal.--Jenna Harmison

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