I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Book is released today.

This book was interesting. I’m not always a fan of different takes on classic fairytales, but sometimes the twists of classics is what makes it interesting. A few things excited me about this book:

1. Twist on a classic
2. It is labeled as a Dark Romance, which is usually Mafia or gang related if you aren’t familiar. Sometimes it’s fun to step away from reality
3. Belle has two mysterious sisters

Not sure if the author intends to take the book down other routes with her sisters, but I’d be interested to read them if she did. The book was pretty solidly written. There are a few things to prepare yourself for though, there is a level of fantasy and mysticism that the author introduces, which is not my favorite, but there you have it.

One of the things I love about romance is watching the development of the character’s emotions and feelings develop…there was some of that here, but the instalust was pretty hard. It was one of those situations where the two protagonists were immediately infatuated and wanted to do it. The sex scenes were okay. You need to be good with a level of rough and name calling when you read this book to enjoy the sex scenes. There is a fair share of them as well, so be prepared for that.

The part that I wish the author had introduced earlier in the story was the mafia ties of Leo. It didn’t come until a little over 50% into the book, which in my opinion, is too late as it became almost the sole focus for the last 50% of the book. There were a lot of loose ends at the end of the book, but to be honest, they didn’t really matter unless you were hyper invested in the other characters.

All in all, it is a good read if you’re looking for a fantasy to escape into.