One Cursed Rose (Grimm Bargain) by Rebecca Zanetti

 

Summary

Information is power, and those who control it live like gods.
In my world,
billionaires play deadly games of insult and influence where magic is the dirtiest weapon of all. Here, even a powerful princess can be swallowed by the darkest of shadows . . .

My name is Alana Beaumont, and due to a recent tragedy, I’m the sole heir to Aquarius Social, a family business being systematically dismantled by an unseen enemy. My father’s solution is to give me in marriage and create a coalition with a competing family, so I’m torn between my thirst for revenge and my duty. Now I just have a week to finish my hunt before the wedding.

There’s nothing like an assassination attempt to cut short the best of plans—even worse is my unwanted rescue by Thorn Beathach, the Beast whose social media empire is driving Aquarius under. The richest, most ruthless of them all, he protects his realm with an iron rule: no one sees his face. When he shows himself to me, I know he’ll never let me go.

Thorn may think he can lock me in his castle forever, but I’m not the docile Beauty he expects. If the Beast wants to tie me up, I’m going to take pleasure from every minute of it . . .and we’ll just see who ends up shackled.

 

Review

I didn’t know what to expect of this story, but I was open. I knew it was a spin on the Beauty and the Beast fairytale and was curious to see how this author would handle it.

This is a new series and she is off to a great start!

We’re in a world parallel to that of the Dark Protectors as a Kayrs is mentioned. In this world there are four powerhouse families that run social media, but no one (except them) know that likes, follows, hearts, etc grant these families literal power. Each family has a stone (diamond, garnet, aquamarine, etc) and popularity online generates power that feeds their family stones. These stones allow for the four families to amass wealth, health, and power. Each family has someone who feeds the stones and starts the process. The four families are competitors.

Thorn Beathach is the head of the family whose stone is garnet and is also the stone feeder for the family. Alana’s family stone is aquamarine and she is the stone feeder for her family. Unfortunately, her family has fallen to the bottom of the tier of four. Her father has plans for a merger to the Sokolov family through marriage of her and the youngest Sokolov heir. Little does anyone know that Alana is being watched and coveted by a mysterious man who has plans for her that do not include her marrying anyone but him.

I enjoyed this book wholeheartedly. There are multiple side stories running at the same time as the overall “love story” between Thorn and Alana. There is a mystery surrounding Alana’s childhood. There’s a mystery surrounding the recent death of Alana’s brother. And most importantly, there is a mystery surrounding Thorn Beathach and his beastly ways.

I will definitely continue with this new series of Zanetti’s.

 

*thanks to Netgalley for an ARC 

 

Buy on Amazon 

Buy on Barnes & Noble

 

ARC : Jack & Coke (Uncertain Saint's MC #2) by Lani Lynn Vale

Title: Jack & Coke

Series: Uncertain Saint's MC #2

Author: Lani Lynn Vale

Genre: MC Romance

Release Date: May 6, 2016

Lies

Mig’s wife is a bitch.

How else do you describe a woman that lies, cheats and steals to get what she wants? 

That’s exactly what happens when she traps him into a marriage he wants nothing to do with, saddling him with a kid that he knows doesn’t deserve to be in a world like his.

He’s doing a pretty bang-up job at ignoring everything but his responsibilities as a DEA officer and a member of The Uncertain Saints MC.

Then his neighbor knocks on his door, and everything he thought he knew is blown out the window.

Deceit

Annie teaches Mig that not every woman is out to get him.

Her love for Mig stretches past what’s appropriate for two friends, and Annie soon straddles that invisible boundary between appropriate and inappropriate.

Annie’s not a cheater, though.

When she tries to say goodbye, Mig won’t let her leave, and soon the tiny town of Uncertain blows up with the news of Annie and Mig’s innocent friendship.

Betrayal

Matters of the heart are foreign to Mig, and it takes Annie being gutted for him to see the wrong he’s done.

He waits too long, though, and Annie’s heart is broken.

She wants it all, or she wants nothing. She can’t take anymore half-hearted attempts at being just friends.

The heart wants what it wants, and it doesn’t take long for Mig to realize that.

But just when Mig finally has it all in the palm of his hand, his life is ripped to shreds by a new player in the game, and it takes all of Annie’s love and devotion, as well as help from the men of The Uncertain Saint’s MC, to put Mig back together again.

Triangle! Can we talk about love triangle.
Mig is married, but he wants his neighbor. Annie knows Mig is married, but that doesn’t stop her from feeling the way she does about him. It doesn’t help that everyone knows their marriage is a joke.
I didn’t know how the author would make this triangle work out for the better, but I was confident enough in her skills and her character to know she would. And boy did she. I found myself chanting Make it work make it work.
And boy did she.
As per usual, Lani Lynn Vale has an array of sexy men, hilarious women, humorous situations, juicy love scenes and a love that we all wish to have.
I definitely think it’s important to point out that there is absolutely no cheating between Mig and Annie. We know he is married and their relationship does not go past the friendly neighbor stage. And for those that are familiar with Lani Lynn Vale’s writing style the two main character’s build to a romantic relationship is NOT the focal point of the story. There’s a whiny, clingy wife, a crazy ex-husband, and a complicated family dynamic (on Mig’s side). I love that there is more to this book, and all of her others, than just man meets woman & man and woman get together.
There is such an amazing build up in this story and once you hit the top you do not come down. There are continual beats of action, love scenes, glimpses into possible future heroes [and possibly a spin off Hail Raisers MC] and humorous interactions that give you a deeper insight into the main characters as well as characters from previous books.
All I can say, the plot is not as simple as it seems and it for damned sure isn’t predictable.

 

“Jack and Coke is a must read for fans of romantic suspense with a whole lot of competent humor mixed in, and a romance that's so real and raw that you can't help but relate to the characters and their struggles.” ~Literary Treasure Chest

“WOW! A totally engrossing, beautiful, hot love story! I have read every book by Ms. Vale and with each book she gets better and better, she has a gift for drawing you in and holding you captive.” ~Guilty Pleasures

“Go get the door for the policemen I can see outside,” I called. “And tell them you have a DEA Agent in your house so they don’t try to shoot me when they enter.”

“I already did,” I heard Annie say as she got closer.

I saw her only a few seconds before she disappeared around the edge of the hallway into the entry way beyond it.

Then the door was unchained, unlocked, and swung open.

Three cops were the next to enter, and I nodded at the one I knew.

“Hey there, Officer Kirkpatrick,” I called to my good friend.

We had drinks every week, sometimes multiple times a week.

I had to do some creative thinking to get away from my wife, and Officer Kirkpatrick, a.k.a. Bullseye, was one of them.

Well, I didn’t do him…but I hung out with him.

Often.

And Bullseye had a hell of a wife that didn’t care if I was over there as much as I was.

“What’s shakin’?” Bullseye asked.

“These two men here decided to break into Annie’s house. I’m just here making sure that they don’t get off with anything valuable,” I answered.

The other officer, Antonio Juarez, I didn’t know very well.

He was new, and hung out with the young’uns instead of us old folks.

Well, I was thirty-four, which wasn’t ‘old’ per se, but it sure as fuck wasn’t young, either.

“What’s that in his hand?” Juarez asked.

I looked down at Howard Ryan’s hand, and narrowed my eyes.

“That’s Annie’s purse,” I answered.

Annie’s ‘purse’ was more of a beach bag, and I didn’t know how the hell she found anything in it.

But I wouldn’t know what to do with her if she didn’t have it with her.

She’d been able to supply me with an ice pack, and a water on two different occasions, so I wasn’t one to complain when it was beneficial to me.

“Well, boys, let’s go for a ride downtown,” Bullseye said, walking behind Howard Ryan and handcuffing him.

Ryan shot me an evil look as he left, promising retribution, and I smiled at him.

Bring it, little boy. You can’t handle this, my look said.

Forty-five minutes later, the cops were leaving with both men in the back of two separate cars, and I was left standing on Annie’s front porch with her next to me.

“Thank you,” she said, looking up at me with all sorts of promises in her eyes.

I touched my fingertips to her cheek and smiled down at her.

God, she was beautiful.

Long, wavy brown hair that went down to her mid back. Beautiful, full lips.

A smokin’ ass.

Light brown skin that was nearly the color of mine.

She wasn’t Italian like me, though.

She was Puerto Rican, and she wouldn’t let anyone call her otherwise.

I’d give anything to be with her but my life, and name, belonged to my wife.

God, if there was any way I could rewind a year, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

I would’ve never invited my now wife, Jennifer, to the club party.

Jennifer was the exact opposite of Annie.

Rude, opinionated, and selfish.

Now she was six months pregnant with my child, and I hated every fucking second of my life.

“You’re welcome,” I said roughly. “I’m gonna have a few men over here in the next few days to install an alarm and make sure nobody can ever do that to you again.”

“Mig, what the ever loving fuck are you doing over there?” My wife screeched.

I winced and slowly dropped my hand, looking over at Jennifer like one would a pile of fish heads and vomit.

Then I turned around when I saw she was dressed in little to nothing.

How not surprising.

I’m a married mother of three. My kids are all under 5, so I can assure you that they are a handful. I’ve been with my paramedic husband now for ten years, and we’ve produced three offspring that are nothing like us. I live in the greatest state in the world, Texas.

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ARC : Whiskey Neat (Uncertain Saint's MC #1) by Lani Lynn Vale

Title: Whiskey Neat

Series: Uncertain Saint's MC

Author: Lani Lynn Vale

Genre: MC Romance

Release Date: March 3, 2016  
Photographer: Furious Fotog  
Cover Model: Chase Ketron

Griffin Storm wasn’t prone to violence, but when someone takes what Griffin holds dear, the world as he knows it is gone.

Retaliation, revenge and rage fuels him. His MC, The Uncertain Saint’s, do their best to offer support, but Griffin is beyond redemption. He’ll do what he has to do. Kill who he has to kill.

He doesn’t care if that means he dies. If it gets him what he wants, then it’s worth it.

He fakes it all until the night he walks into a sex shop for batteries and lays eyes on a woman that will change his life.

Lenore makes him think past tomorrow. Makes him want to see just what the future might bring.

But his life’s a dangerous one built around pain and deception, and not for the faint of heart.

He won’t give up the past, not until he’s done what he promised to do.

And if that means she’s not there when the dust settles, he’ll risk it.

Lenore, though, won’t give up on him. She’ll fix him, whether he wants her to or not.

You already know what I am going to say.

Lani Lynn Vale (LLV) writes awesome books AND she releases them often. 

Talk about smang that!

You, as a reader, can always rely on LLV to write SEXY SEXY men and hilariously independent women immersed in a world of realistic problems and situations.

Every time I start one of her books I know that I will be in for a hilariously heart breaking ride. The struggles in her books are never man/woman meet, he cheats, and the rest of the book is spent with the couple trying to reconcile. Oh no. There are crazy stalkers, dog fighting rings, former prisoners, blind heroines – it’s an array of plot devices. LLV keeps it fresh and interesting every time.

In this book we are treated to a most horrible occurrence at the beginning of the book. It so reminded me of the Cedric Diggory scene in the Harry Potter series Goblet of Fire. My eyes literally teared up and I knew from then on LLV had come for my heart with this book.

Griffin is out for blood and he’s not going to let anyone stand in his way of getting it. Not his MC club brothers. Not his job. And certainly not some chick he met in a sex shop. We are introduced to a whole new set of traumatized sexy men hell bent on revenge justice in any way that they can get it. What has to be the best part of this book is that the cause of Griffin’s pain is not cut and dry murder. There is more to it than just a criminal sending a message and Griffin isn’t the only one victim involved.

There is so much going on, but no so much that you can't keep up with the story. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and continually rooting for justice or revenge; heck, whichever one comes first.

“Come on, Doogan,” I urged, giving his collar a tug.

Doogan didn’t budge, which was why I had a front row seat as a man sailed over the railing of Mr. Marshall’s porch, and landed about ten feet away from where I was standing.

“Oh, my God,” I breathed.

I didn’t move, though, because the man was suddenly surrounded.

Men in leather were everywhere…but the one man that held my attention was stomping down the porch steps and heading straight to the man on the ground.

Griffin, the man who’d bought batteries from me just two days ago, was well and truly pissed.

When his eyes swung to me, I didn’t know what to do.

Should I run?

Stay where I was?

Question after question barreled through my mind, leaving me shaking in fear…and something else I wasn’t ready to admit to just yet.

“Go home,” he ordered.

I blinked, looking to my left and right to be sure he was talking to me.

Since I didn’t see anyone else around me, I decided he was talking to me, but I just couldn’t get my legs to cooperate out of fear.

Not to mention that I would have to walk through the lot of them to get to my house.

When I didn’t move fast enough, he issued the order again, only this time it was biting.

“Go. Home,” he snapped.

I turned on my heel and started walking, coming to a sudden stop when Doogan still refused to move.

“Mother of God,” I whispered.  “Come on Doog,” I whispered frantically.  “Let’s go.”

He did move, just not in the correct direction.

No, he walked straight up to Griffin and licked his hand, a hand that was stuck out, not in invitation to approach, but instead to stop the dog from getting too close to him.

“Can’t you control your fuckin’ dog?” He grated out angrily.

Tears were stinging my eyes, because, by that point, I had the attention of not just Griffin, but the whole freakin’ lot of them.

My heart was beating frantically in my chest as they watched me, and I just knew that if I didn’t get the hell out of there I’d get the hell beaten out of me…or worse.

“Where do you live?”  Griffin asked, taking a hold of Doogan’s leash.

It slipped from my hands, and I watched in helpless horror as it did.

And what did Doogan do?

He freakin’ followed him!

“Umm,” I whispered.  “Three duplexes down from here.”

“Be back,” Griffin said as he took my hand in his free one and started to walk me back to my house.

The men returned their stares on the man they were circling, and I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see one of the big ones kick the poor guy on the ground next to his feet.

He didn’t say a word, and neither did I.

I was too scared.

What if he beat the shit out of me?

Raped me?

What if…

“I’m not going to hurt you,” Griffin growled, interrupting my inner diatribe.

“I know,” I lied.

He snorted.  “Stop shaking.  I said I wouldn’t harm you.  I’m a cop.”

Yeah, but good cops didn’t beat the shit out of people in the dark of night.

I’m a married mother of three. My kids are all under 5, so I can assure you that they are a handful. I’ve been with my paramedic husband now for ten years, and we’ve produced three offspring that are nothing like us. I live in the greatest state in the world, Texas.

Title: Jack & Coke

Series: Uncertain Saint's MC #2

Author: Lani Lynn Vale

Genre: MC Romance

Release Date: May 6, 2016

Lies

Mig’s wife is a bitch.

How else do you describe a woman that lies, cheats and steals to get what she wants? 

That’s exactly what happens when she traps him into a marriage he wants nothing to do with, saddling him with a kid that he knows doesn’t deserve to be in a world like his.

He’s doing a pretty bang-up job at ignoring everything but his responsibilities as a DEA officer and a member of The Uncertain Saints MC.

Then his neighbor knocks on his door, and everything he thought he knew is blown out the window.

Deceit

Annie teaches Mig that not every woman is out to get him.

Her love for Mig stretches past what’s appropriate for two friends, and Annie soon straddles that invisible boundary between appropriate and inappropriate.

Annie’s not a cheater, though.

When she tries to say goodbye, Mig won’t let her leave, and soon the tiny town of Uncertain blows up with the news of Annie and Mig’s innocent friendship.

Betrayal

Matters of the heart are foreign to Mig, and it takes Annie being gutted for him to see the wrong he’s done.

He waits too long, though, and Annie’s heart is broken.

She wants it all, or she wants nothing. She can’t take anymore half-hearted attempts at being just friends.

The heart wants what it wants, and it doesn’t take long for Mig to realize that.

But just when Mig finally has it all in the palm of his hand, his life is ripped to shreds by a new player in the game, and it takes all of Annie’s love and devotion, as well as help from the men of The Uncertain Saint’s MC, to put Mig back together again.

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