I'm running from a faceless hunter, right into the lair of three beastly men. Will they be my salvation or my ruin?
Savage, deadly, and heartless. That's all I know about the three mafia bosses who hold my brother prisoner. These ruthless monsters are going to murder him over a petty crime--stealing a rose.
Given no other choice, I offer my life in exchange for my brother’s freedom and they take the deal.
Now I belong to three mafia beasts. Lucas, the wolf shifter, truly is a monster. Cade is the Fae enforcer whose scars tell the story of a brutal past. Their boss is a vampire. Zane wants more than my blood. He wants to own me—body and soul.
I don’t belong here, caught up in this turf war between the bosses and a savage wolf shifter syndicate.
Worse, I have a secret. One that could get us all killed.
But so do the bosses. And their secret? It’s the real reason they took me as their captive.
“My mind is screaming no but my body says yes” I hate this toxic crap. The story is dull/flat. No real thrill or draw to any of the characters. It’s going nowhere and I was almost halfway through it! It’s essentially beauty and the beast but instead of a beast who is willing to grow as a person you get three toxic a$$hats with no real personality traits outside of their supernatural designations. You get the rose scene and the dungeon scene. You also get the library scene. The supernatural aspects of this story are not really explained. I think it’s supposed to keep the reader hooked and anxious to find out but by 30% I’m over it and don’t care to. It gives major twilight vibes 🤢 which was bad enough on its own but to add beauty and the beast and ruin it?!… absolutely not.
Captive Beauty brings a dark erotic twist to the classic Beauty and the Beast theme. Although nods to the classic are prevalent that do not capture you and make you compare.
Captive Beauty follows Emma a witch, who is tormented by hunters, who finds herself on a self sacrifice mission to save her brother. What she discovers when she finds him and subsequently learns what lead to him being captured makes her being to question everything.
Captive Beauty is a dark RH where the steam builds along with the tension between the MCs Emma, Zane, Lucas and Cade, I have no doubt book 2 will really turn up the heat. There are strong mafia/gang vibes which help to pull you in further to Emma's journey and the story of the 3 heads of penumbra.
It's dark, exciting, full of twists you don't expect and betrayals you never saw coming which lead to a heartbreaking cliff hanger.
Cassia words have pulled me in and I am waiting to see where she'll take us in book 2.
It was a slow start for me. At first I was slightly put off by the similar story line of beauty and the beast with a twist. You have reverse harem, mafia, more supernatural characters, and of course a lot more R rated content 😍. However to be completely honest I ended up loving it soooo much that I took every moment I could to finish reading it and now I can't wait for book 2 to come out. I have always loved vampires but I would have to say my favorite of the guys is Lucas. I also enjoyed the bond of different supernatural characters to be able to work together the way they do.
When it comes to the way the book is wrote. It one of my favorite styles. I enjoy seeing the different points of view of each character throughout the book.
This is a lovely Beauty and The Beast retelling with a supe twist.
I felt all the familiar moment from the tale, plus twists with the mafia/gang theme.
You have three men who all have aspects of our normal Beast behavior at various times with complex histories that I’m eager to find out about. There are nice tie-ins to the previous world of Academy Obscura, and a lovely Mama Bear— literally.
The mystery surrounding Emma is intriguing and I’m super excited for the next book. I want to see where that cliffy goes!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I loved this dark, mafia, paranormal twist on Beauty and the Beast. This story is steamy, entertaining and completely captivating. I loved getting the POV from all 4 of the main characters. The characters are all unique and their story had me at the edge of my seat from start to finish. After that cliffhanger ending I can't wait for the next book. This is going to be a fantastic series!!!
Oh!! I have always loved the beauty and beast story line and this one really delivers! I am in love with the story and characters. I cannot wait till the next book comes out!
IF you think this is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, I am here to tell you it's not ... Great characters and very imaginative story ... Looking forward to more ... Well Done!
OMG! Was not expecting this! “Captive Beauty” is an exciting reverse harem, action-packed reimagining of Beauty and the Beast that I could not put down. Emma, Zane, Lucas, and Cade encountered drama, betrayal, violence, bigotry, hate, and black magic on the road to true love. The twists at the end before the cliffhanger will leave you blindsided. I absolutely loved this tale and am impatient for the next installment, “Beastly Desires”! I received a free copy of this book for an honest review
This retelling of 'Beauty and the Beast' is smoking hot with not 1 but 3 men. Emma has definitely lucked out...kinda. Until you realise she's fallen into a messy situation with stalkers, crime syndicate and being held captive. I mean what more can you ask for...
I absolutely adore Cassia Briar's writing from the 'Academy Obscura' Series which I totally binged and ate up like it was the last piece of chocolate cake. However, this book didn't have the same initial draw of 'Academy Obscura' despite sharing the same world, if I had not read that series it would have been underwhelming.
Cade is a troubled guy, I understand that. But he is truly rinsing and milking his scars and his inability to trust and love. I would of liked to see more character development.
Harem of Redemption Series Book One follows Zane, Emma, Cade, and Lucas. Our paranormal, reverse harem novel starts off nine years earlier as we follow Zane, Cade, and Lucas near Seattle, Washington in the middle of a mixed party. Mixed meaning fae, werewolves, vampires, and more mingling with celebrities, politicians, and leaders. At least until the old crone steps into the storyline twisting it into a delicious Beauty and the Beast(s) retelling.
The witch gives them 10 years to find, to be, and to receive love.
Orphan, Emma Graves is a witch who seems cursed herself as she has been hunted down for 7 years along with her brother, Orion. One fateful evening she gets told her brother is missing in the woods. Instead of going to a mandated dinner with her horrible excuse of a fiance, Garrett. Where within, she stumbles upon a mansion hosting three paranormal men.
So the start of our reversed harem begins swirled in magic, lies, secrets, and pain. Between The Syndicate and their curse, Eclipse, 5th Circle, and Emma's unknown, dark, hidden past...
Emma has the most POV chapters, but Zane has several with Lucas a close follow up, but Cade only had a few.
Written in such a way that you're able to touch each of the characters and generate your own emotions based off of their individual dark pasts without even knowing the full ones. With each of the following books in the series. Each one is specifically designed give you a deeper read of all the characters has the race continues towards the end of their 10-year curse, death, destruction, and perchance love and their HEA.
Book 2, Beastly Desires Book 3, Brazen Hearts Book 4, Twisted Fates
Holy moly! This book was insane! I really enjoyed reading this book. I rated this book 4 stars because of that, even though I did catch typos/errors.
Mix in supernatural species, crime syndicates, darkness, twists, and beauty and the beast, and you get this book!
The FMC (Emma) was interesting. She had many different quirks and personalities. Naive and strong, hesitant and confident, wanting and not trusting. She was an interesting character.
Potential male harem: Zane - sexy vampire. Strong, broody, very intelligent and cunning. Lucas - very strong wolf shifter. Flirty, protective, possessive. And Cade - a scarred fae. He is broody, damaged, and full of negative emotions, but wanting more. Wanting light and love. All males have a dark past that has affected into the cruel males that they are.
Emma is supposed to help them and lift the curse (beauty and the beast theme here) but shit hits the fan! And a lot of enemies and chaos happens.
But the ending!? That cliffhanger!!??? And what Emma’s brother did to her!!?? WTF!!!
Let’s just im very interested and anxious for book 2 to come out. Note: apparently author mentions their will be 4 books in this series… so yay!
In a twist of the fairytale, Beauty and the Beast, this author has made a captivating story of her own~ Emma and her brother Orion have been running from hunters and a stalker for years. She will get a message from someone who killed her mother it claims and it tells her to run or die. Once Orion reaches the Academy, things change. Emma decides to keep running never knowing for sure who they want. Orion gets into some trouble and she comes to the rescue once again~ Three supes, a vamp, a werewolf, and an angel or demon hold him in prison for stealing from them. She makes an offer to trade her life for his, they accept! The three are linked through a curse; find true love or perish…they are running out of time~ They believe Emma is the one but convincing her is where the trouble lies~ She had been forcefully engaged, but they got the ring off. Now, they will deal with those who hunt her and discover a deeply hidden secret about her~ She is let go…but at what cost? She is warned not to trust her brother…but why? Now, the enemy takes her…what will happen? Was she a fool? Find out in the next book, this one ends in a cliffhanger…I want the new book now~
Beauty and the Beast meets the supernatural world in this book, with a dash of mafia intrigue. This is a reverse harem starring Emma, a witch who may be something more, and three men (a fae, a shifter, and a vampire). I am providing a review based off of an ARC and all opinions are my own.
I'm a pretty big fan of Beauty and the Beast, so it was cool to read a darker, more mature story with themes from the fairytale. The three leading men are cursed and must find love, else suffer a terrible fate. Problem is, none of them have found a woman who can move their heart in such a way until Emma comes along.
Emma is trapped in their home as part of a deal to save her brother and comes around to the idea of liking these three men before she learns about their curse. Things don't just magically fall into place for them all, which I liked a lot. The author leaves us on a cliffhanger, wondering if everything will be okay for the budding reverse harem.
Emma and her brother Orion have been on the run from unknown danger since their mother was killed. They get mysterious warnings and soon they are hunted and attacked. Emma has been able to stay one step ahead of them, but only barely. Sometimes she has gotten hurt or her friends have gotten killed. After traveling from town to town, Orion is now 18 and is away at the supernatural university so he should be safe for a couple of years. Due to an unsuccessful dare, her brother is captured by one of the local crime families. Emma trades herself for her brothers release. Things go on from there. She is now owned by a vampire, a werewolf, and a fae. She has no idea if her brother is safe and she’s still being hunted. She can’t use her magic to help herself. The characters have great chemistry, even if they don’t all like each other. There are a few hints of Beauty and the Beast throughout the story. Can’t wait for the next book in the series. Will definitely read more from this author.
This was such a fun read since it was a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a more supernatural, steamy adult twist. You can see the definite draws from Beauty and the Beast so it's interesting to see how those tie into this story. It still works as it's own story cause like I mentioned is a very steamy adult version with more supernatural elements. Love getting the different supernatural representation with our mobster men, a vampire, werewolf, and fae. Then of course you got the witches as well, included our main girl Emma.
The book ends on a big cliffhanger that leaves you craving the next book. I can't wait to see where we pick up and get to dive into more of everyone's backgrounds. The men all have their own dark past and Emma has secrets uncovered in Captive Beauty but we still need answers. I'm excited to get more of this story and not to mention more of the spice (🌶🌶🌶🌶).
I was hooked from page one. Cade, Zane and Lucas are each flawed in their own way, but suffer the same curse. Unless they find someone who can truly love them they will die.
Emma is a witch on the run. Always trying to avoid being killed by those who hunt her, though she doesn't know why. An excursion to find her missing brother brings the four of them crashing together.
Each of the characters were real and relatable in one way or another. The vampire who has dark desires, the Wolf who just wants to be loved, and the fae who believes he's so ugly that noone could want him. I loved they way they all interacted and the climax of this story was just awesome.
Emma was such a strong character despite what she'd been through and I found she was really relatable. The passion was real and steamy.
I loved this book, it had a great mix of Beauty and the beast and mafia, with twists/ betrayal. One of my favorite things was the development of characters. Every chapter revealed a bit more, making you want to learn more about the past and what is to come. You feel for the charters and want them to experience the love they think they can never have. This book draws you in and keeps you wanting more, I can not wait to see what happens in the next book. I highly recommend this book, especially if you like dark fairy tales. I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Captive Beauty was an enchanting tale and a wonderful start to a new series. The main character Emma has been hunted for years and barely mange’s to escape and run to a new place, but each time a “stalker” send her a message to run. Then one night while she is out searching for her brother she ends up at the mansion of Zane, Lucas and Cane. These three have been cursed and need to find their true loves or they will die. I loved this story! It held my attention from the first page to the very last. My only complaint is it ended on a cliffhanger so now I desperately need the next book!
This was such a great book. The mystery of Emma and her brother hooked me instantly. Why are they being hunted and who is the stalker? Then you have a brother making a bad decision and she takes his place to save him. Zane is smoldering heat. Lucas is wild and untamed. Cade is the quiet brooding one who just wants her gone. It was action and heat all the way through. The cliffhanger was a shock and you just want to scream because you want more of the story. I am anxiously awaiting the next book so please hurry with that release.😊
Nice RH fairytale retelling of beauty and the beast. It includes the most crucial elements of the fairytale (except for Lumière; I did miss him a little) but is still a completely different story. It has a modern twist with a looming gang war, a fantasy twist with shifters and fae and vampires, and a more ancient twist with witch hunts (or in this case hybrid hunts). There is steam, but not too much so it doesn’t overwhelm the interesting story line. Good beginning of a new series, and I’m looking forward to the rest of this series.
I enjoyed this book, it was intriguing and unique. You are kept in total suspense, with lots of twists that keep you guessing what will happen next. It’s got interesting characters, that as the storyline unfolds you learn more and more about them. This book has a beauty and the beast element to it, loved the library. I love books like this, that give you tiny cookie crumbs throughout and you are always kept guessing. That cliffhanger ending was a smack in the face - can’t wait to read the next book.
Cassia Briar is a very talented author. I devoured her Academy Obscura books and was thrilled to get my hands on this little "beauty" ;) I was NOT disappointed!
A loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast with just enough nods to the original tale to satisfy even the die hard fans' hearts! I am waiting...somewhat impatiently...for the next in this series! This is more than just a must read...this is a must love!
This is not you average fairytale retelling. It’s dark and twisted grown in some mafia themes,supernaturals (witches, shifters, and the fae) and it’s an RH. Plus it’s Multiple POV.
Follow Emma as she’s on the run from hunters and through a series of events she ends up at a mansion with 3 cursed beasts. This is my new favorite retelling of a fairytale I can’t wait till book 2 comes out!
A fantastic debut for the series! I loved everything about it!! That characters are all so unique, the storyline sucks you in with a familiar but all new theme, and I stayed on the edge of my seat the entire time! The interactions between the characters is absolutely perfect, and it feels like a movie that I’d love to watch! I can’t wait for book 2!!!
I loved this different take on the beauty and the beast story with a twist. It was very good and kept you intrigued from the very beginning because you had to know what was going to happen next. I can't wait for the next book. Highly recommend this book. It was entertaining, steamy, witty, action-packed, great characters even though you wanted to punch a few lol, and kept you on your toes.
Fae, vampires, wolves and witches in a story similar to Beauty and the Beast, sign me up. Once I started reading I was hooked till the end. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series. Definitely recommend giving this book a try if you are looking for a more adult fairytale.
I loved this take on beauty and the beast(s)! Emma's sass and take no BS attitude is everything that will be needed to correct the behavior of the three syndicate leaders. This is a page turner for sure.