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Stolen. Broken. Corrupted

Being born a leader taught me one thing.
I take what I want.
Including the lone rose who’s struggling to survive on the streets.
Only I’m no knight and I won’t do any saving.
If anything, I’m the nightmare she can’t wake up from.
The monster she can’t escape.
The devil she can’t fight.
I’m the blood that’ll be coating her pure petals.

This book is a prequel to a trilogy and is not a standalone

55 pages, ebook

First published March 10, 2021

218 people are currently reading
23632 people want to read

About the author

Rina Kent

57 books61.6k followers
Rina Kent is a New York Times, USA Today, and #1 bestselling author of all things dark romance.
Better known for writing unapologetic anti-heroes and villains, Rina weaves tales of characters you shouldn’t fall for but inevitably do. Her stories are laced with a touch of darkness, a splash of angst, and just the right amount of unhealthy intensity.
When she’s not busy plotting mayhem for her ever-expanding Rinaverse, she leads a private life in London, travels, and pampers her cats in true Cat Lady fashion.


You can find her below:

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Community Reviews

5 stars
3,795 (28%)
4 stars
3,829 (29%)
3 stars
4,155 (31%)
2 stars
1,048 (7%)
1 star
360 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,030 reviews
Profile Image for Ꮗ€♫◗☿ ❤️ ilikebooksbest.com ❤️.
2,946 reviews2,674 followers
March 12, 2021
I don’t know what I just read!



This is going to be a hard one to write about without giving too much away, so this may have some minor spoilers because I have no clue what I just read. The H is Adrian who appeared in Rina’s Throne Duet. In that book he was married to Lia, whom he kept hidden away for the most part, but there was one time when she attended an event and there was gunfire, and it was like she had PTSD or was some sort of scared little rabbit.

This book has a short prologue which is crazy, you don’t know who it is but they seem crazy and may or may not end up getting murdered or possibly having murdered someone else. So there is that. The next section shows how Adrian took over from his father when Nikolai was the Pakhan. In the Throne Duet, Nikolai is already dead so this was a while ago, but it does show how tough Adrian had to be. He says he has no weakness because he feels nothing for his father.



After that, an alcoholic homeless woman named Winter is introduced and it shows how she meets Adrian. Though he has a wedding ring on so I assume at this point he is married to Lia. Winter is an interesting character though. She has a lot of problems that is for sure. I don’t know where Rina is going with this but can only guess. If I am right, the next book should be interesting.



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Profile Image for Lilyya ♡.
653 reviews3,722 followers
March 1, 2023
"People say death is the end.
For me, it’s only the beginning."


Honestly I wasn’t excepting much before going through the prequel but Holly Molly how wrong was I !

First of all, the prologue was too gory for my own taste but at the same time so well done and written.
Those few chapters have me hooked on the upcoming story and it will definitely be a wild ride!


“ I have an offer for you, Winter.”
How do you know my name? I want to ask that, but it’d be useless. He seems like the type of man who knows everything he needs to.
“What offer?”
His lips graze the shell of my ear as he murmurs, “Be my wife.”
Profile Image for Valkyrie ✨.
667 reviews1,045 followers
September 16, 2023
I’m guessing there was no point in reading this before the trilogy but I had to make sure 😭

Edit: Don’t bother reading this, it’s included at the beginning of the first book 😩
Profile Image for ➦Paulette & Her Sexy Alphas .
1,173 reviews341 followers
May 13, 2021
Title: ➳ ❤- Dark Deception
Series ➳ Deception Trilogy 0.5#
Author: ➳ Rina Kent
Publication March 10th 2021


Dark Deception is the prequel of a trilogy and is not standalone.
l


Great start to this Trilogy
You know there is Most Definitely Cliffhanger to this one:

Deception Trilogy: Reading Order
#0.5 Dark Deception
#1 Vow of Deception
#2 Tempted by Deception
#3 Consumed by Deception


⬇Always remember⬇


📚 💖 Hope you enjoy this read 💖& also always keep in mind this is just my opinion+ Also I wouldn’t never discourage anyone from reading this book.



Profile Image for Arini.
857 reviews2,148 followers
April 20, 2023
(why does my update for this book keep disappearing? GR please get your shit together!)

bloody (quite literally) & intriguing, but also very confusing prequel. tell me the guy (a MAFIA man) did not just kidnap & (fake) propose a random homeless girl on the street!! 🤯 there has to be more context than this. otherwise, it couldnt get any more bizarre. in any case, Adrian Volkov here i come! 💃
Profile Image for Grecia Robles.
1,696 reviews465 followers
March 1, 2022
AAAAAAHHH!!

Esto solo me deja con mas intriga.

Vamos por el primer libro.
Profile Image for Ri ♡ .
573 reviews2,202 followers
March 21, 2025
4.5 stars

People say death is the end.
For me, it’s only the beginning.


This prequel was a wild ride. It’s intense, gory, and unhinged, and I am so here for everything that’s to come in the next books of this trilogy. I just know this trilogy is going to be my all-time favourite by Rina Kent.
Profile Image for Hiba ✰.
113 reviews52 followers
March 17, 2021
I have no idea what I just read but I’m excited to read the next book.
Profile Image for Saranya ⋆☕︎ ˖.
990 reviews274 followers
August 12, 2025
I read this after completing the trilogy
There was nothing new to know. It was so similar to the 1st part of Vow of Deception.

Guess what? I should have read this before, therefore my reaction was-meh
Profile Image for Mila .
250 reviews359 followers
November 15, 2021
The most confusing prequel ever 🤣 idk who is who.

Am I still gonna read the series?

Of course😆
Profile Image for Abstract ♥ Books.
1,281 reviews1,765 followers
February 21, 2021



ALL MY REVIEWS CAN BE FOUND ON MY BLOG: ABSTRACT BOOKS

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Star Rating : 4.5 / 5 Stars

POV : Dual

Cliffhanger : YASSSSS!! HUGE ONE!!!

Hero : Adrian

Heroine : *Not Gonna Answer That (evil smile)*

Pace of the story : Moderate

Review :

Okay. So Rina literally took all my theories about Adrian and Lia and messed them up into something else. WHAT WAS THAT!!???? Trust me , you guys are in for a surprise with this one.

Throughout this whole book, My head was hurting and I was trying to figure out how and why The events in this book were happening! I don't know why but I really hoped that Rina would go easy on us , but damn she really mindfucked me 😂😂.

This book is something that you simply can't prepare yourselves for. You have questions about Adrian??! Wait till you read this one , You'll be overflowing with theories! It's a marvelous creation and I don't know how but Rina has managed to knock me on my ass with a mere few chapters and and I fully know that I will be dead somewhere after reading this whole series! And My Hubby , Adrian , holy shit. How can a man be this HOT!! This commanding??!! And so freaking sexy.

If I was excited for this series before and that is nothing compared to the level of anticipation I have for this series now. I NEED IT RIGHT NOW!!!

My-Post-3
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Profile Image for ApoorvaReads.
637 reviews428 followers
February 22, 2021
EXPLOSIVE.
This prequel had everything I wanted! I can already feel that this series is going to be the death of me! So so excited for the first book!
Profile Image for Pinky.
638 reviews662 followers
July 20, 2021
Trigger Warnings:

Damn is this off to a good start, at first I was a little confused as to what was going on but it was easier to follow the story later on. My lovely friend Apoorva recommended this trilogy. I decided to give it a go, it's a mafia romance so it's another dark romance book that probably has some content that isn't for everyone. So if you are bothered by that, I don't recommend it. I haven't gotten too far since this book was just a prequel and was basically the intro (sneak peek) to the book, but once I read the first book I will know more. So far I really like the characters and the writing style. This is my first Rina Kent book so I am excited to see what I think and I have high hopes because of the hype surrounding it.


Winter is living life on the streets, we don't really know much but she's been through a lot. She runs into a stranger and after she does, weird shit starts to happen. Adrian is a mafia boss who feels no emotions whatsoever. I think it's better if you just read this prequel and if you like it, move onto the first book, I wanna be as vague as possible since it might be better to go into this without knowing much. Just know that it is a mafia-dark romance book so there might be disturbing content that isn't for you. But yea, I'm gonna do a quick spoiler section and then start the first book!

Now for quick spoilers



That is all, stay safe folks :)
Profile Image for Rochelle ♡.
445 reviews354 followers
May 31, 2023
People say death is the end.
For me, it’s only the beginning.


I devoured the hell out of the Kingdom and Throne series, so my body is freakin’ READY for Adrian Volkov.

Follow me on: Blog | Instagram
Profile Image for Ms reads a lot.
498 reviews
Read
October 18, 2021
I legit have no idea what I just read 🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️
Profile Image for Надія.
29 reviews1 follower
November 18, 2025
Нє, ну вимушений шлюб з бомжем - ще такого не читала😁
Profile Image for ABookLover73.
375 reviews211 followers
February 23, 2021
FOUR DECEPTION STARS for Winter and Adrian ❤🖤❤🖤!!!

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I have to admit that this prequel to Rina’s new trilogy intrigued and confused me a bit at the same time.

I'm looking forward to read the next book in the series because I want to see which path Rina’s imagination took her and how Winter and Adrian’s story will develop.

If you're looking for a mafia romance book, then you should read this prequel!
Profile Image for Lisa.
264 reviews99 followers
June 7, 2021
Consider me intrigued 🧐
Profile Image for kavi.
315 reviews10 followers
November 5, 2022
No clue what’s happening-
Profile Image for Rose.
532 reviews1,164 followers
November 18, 2023
So confused but very excited to read this series!
Profile Image for sara.
808 reviews314 followers
Read
August 9, 2022
huh, im intrigued. So Winter is Lia right? She’ll change her name?

*it’s so hard for me to rate short novels, but because Rina’s are usually just the first chapters of the first book, I won’t rate this :)*


╭─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╮

Deception Trilogy

Dark Deception #0.5
Vow of Deception #1 — 2 stars
Tempted by Deception #2 — 1.5 stars
Consumed by Deception #3 — 3 stars

╰─━━━━━━━━━━━━─╯
Profile Image for Mariam,.
674 reviews563 followers
April 11, 2021
Just.... WTF.

Writing was okay. Plot was GREAT.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,030 reviews

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