Beast

Beast & Beauty #1

by Clarissa Wild

He has a beastly instinct to devour everything in his path … until her.

I am the giant, menacing monster, known only as the Beast.
Sold to the mafia as a kid and trained to hunt, my life revolves around brutality and carnage.
My home is a cell made of concrete and iron bars.
And there is nothing I won’t do to be free.
Until her.

The innocent black-haired girl with pretty pink lips, whose father I was supposed to hunt, dares to get in my way.
But when I grab her and look into her eyes, I can’t bring myself to finish the job.
She makes me feel hope. Greed.
And a frenzied desire to touch her.
Taste her.
Make her mine.

I was supposed to destroy everything in my path.
Instead, I took her … and consumed her whole.

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Smut, Retellings, Contemporary, Mafia Romance

333 pages, ebook

First published September 1, 2022

About the author

**NOTE FOR LIBRARIANS: please check with me before making any changes - I generally make all necessary changes and updates myself. :)**

--- I generally do NOT check my messages on Goodreads, so if you want to contact me, please do so on my website: https://www.clarissawild.com/contact --

Clarissa Wild is a New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author with ASD, who was born and raised in the Netherlands. She loves to write Dark Romance and Contemporary Romance novels featuring dangerous men and feisty women. Her other loves include her hilarious husband, her cutie pie son, her two crazy but cute dogs, and her adorable kitties. In her free time, she enjoys watching all sorts of movies, playing video games, and cooking up some delicious meals.

Check out my books: https://geni.us/clarissabooks

Join my reader group on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/FanCl...

Reviews

[Alayna · Rating 1 out of 5]

don't even know where to begin

i need to stop reading tiktok recs

[AnnieMae · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book 😂😂
0.0004 ⭐️

Holy smokes. So couple things.

1. “Beast” doesn’t know how babies are made, but he knows what and where a clit is..? And calls his sperm “seed”, but still doesn’t know that planting seeds makes things grow..? 🙄🙄🙄

2. This author needs a new way to describe fear. Every five seconds it’s “my pupils dilate..” or “his/ her pupils dilate..” even when they were 8 years old, they knew when their pupils were dilating.

3. He’s been stuck with this collar for years. YEARS. And one day he just decides to rip it off..? What? This is a thick metal collar, on his neck, and he’s suddenly strong enough, and without damage to his neck, to rip this collar apart..? And the words describing it as it hits the ground are “CLING CLANG”?! Come on 😂 this can’t be real.

4. How does Aurora play the piano (“professionally” was used to describe her piano prowess) when her hands are as messed up as they’re described to be..?

5. Beast eats a whole ass raw steak, thrown on the ground, and then goes down town on Aurora..? 🤢🤮🤢🤮 any type of hygiene would have been great in this book.

This whole book was honestly juvenile. I won’t be reading the second one.

[Natalie ~ The Biblioholic · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't look away.
Seriously, I couldn't stop reading!

This story was ｒｉｄｉｃｕｌｏｕｓ and I shouldn't have liked it as much as I did.

I loved the idea of Beast. He was a boy, stolen from off the streets, kept in a cage, treated like a dog, raised/tortured to be a killer, and yet... he can't kill the girl.

Kill.
I like that word.
It's all I've ever known.
All I've ever understood.
The only thing that will ever get me where I want to be.
Out.

And the girl (Aurora) was a hot mess of ＥＰＩＣ proportions. I couldn't fall for her naive and sheltered routine. It was annoying and got on my nerves instead of inspiring sympathy. It's all her fault why I couldn't rate this any higher. Girl was no help at all!!

My owner gave her to me, and she is mine to play with as much as I want. And now that she's finally letting me get close, I'm not going to let this opportunity slide.

I'm over the utter insanity that comes from an (h) taunting her captors and facing no repercussions. That's just not realistic. Why did she constantly come away unscathed? And who was she to judge Beast when she herself acknowledged that he was as much a prisoner as she was???

I want her to know how badly I crave every inch of her skin.
Every breath, every lick, every moan.
I want to consume her very soul
I want it all and so much more.

And yet... I've already got book two downloaded. So two stars or not, it's obviously good enough to make me have to find out what happens next!

Heat - 4 out of 5
Format - Kindle Unlimited

[Lingonberry · Rating 1 out of 5]

He goes down on her right after eating a bunch of raw meat and she hasn't showered in days. "Lack of hygiene" should be listed in the CW/TW 😬

[Cas]

So many thoughts.

So. Very. Many. Thoughts.

Umm, there’s like a sex scene that is good.

The rest of the book just makes you wanna say: “what the actual fuck”

Because, what the fuck

SHE DIDNT KNOW WHAT AN ORGASM WAS BUT SHE KNEW HOW TO SUCK DICK/DEEP THROAT?!?

THEY FUCK AND HE COMES AND SHES LIKE “oh god I’m pregnant”

HE KNEW HOW TO EAT PUSSY BUT DIDNT KNOW HIS COME MADE A BABY?!?

I don’t. No words.

Do I regret it? No. Would I read it again? Also no.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got to the scene where the FMC and MMC passionately make-out right after he scarfs down a big plate of raw, red meat and couldn't keep reading. DNF at 26%.

[Nadine Bookaholic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read an Excerpt and enter a GIVEAWAY here ➡ https://bit.ly/NBReviewb

If you totally want to lose yourself in a book filled with steamy scenes and non-stop action this is the book for you.

Beast is a dark and twisted retelling of the Beauty & the Beast, but remember not everything is what it seems, like when Belle arrived at the Beasts castle it was enchanted because of a witches spell, well in this retelling the spell that has been cast is not one of a paranormal nature but one of organized crime which is much much darker.

Beast is used as a tool to hunt down and kill whomever his boss deems necessary and on his latest hit he encounters Aurora aka Beauty who he takes back to his boss, was it a smart move? Well, I'll leave that up to you to decide.

I highly recommend this book to those that enjoy Steamy Dark Retelling's or Organized Crime Romances.

Happy Reading!!!






**I have voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers Copy of this book for my Blog, Nadine's Obsessed with Books
**I also pre-ordered a kindle copy
You can find me here:  https://linktr.ee/NadineBookaholic

[Miccaeli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unreadable. Nevertheless, I persisted

[Kelly_Reads_Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beast is an extremely exciting story and was so hard to put down, I could not stop reading.
Aurora is a young, naive, and sheltered young lady who always does what her papa says. Her back story is divulged throughout the book, and she has not had an easy life. At times my heart aches for her.
The Beast is held by his owner and used as a weapon. And when he is ordered to get Aurora and her father Beast does not fulfill the wishes of Lex.
Well written story that I really enjoyed reading but that cliffhanger, oh my goodness I need the next book now!

[Calatea · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels like a teenager wrote this. So juvenile, too superficial, childish even in places. Even with the smut in it, the storytelling and actions of characters are really silly.

Plus, a lot of telling, instead of showing. It’s in need of a lot of editing. It feels like the book was written in one go and then published as it is.

[dobpizzazz · Rating 1 out of 5]

when someone is shooting a gun the author writes “ BANG “ and i can’t stop laughing this is too good hahahahahahahahaha

[Clarissa Wild]

It's LIVEEE!!!!
Amazon: https://geni.us/beastamazon




EXCERPT

When our eyes connect, I instantly know …
I want to keep her.
I step forward, but that single move makes her crawl back until she hits the wall.
Still scared, even more than before.
I pause and watch her from my corner, tilting my head for a better view.
The door at the top of the stairs is closed, and what light remains filters through a tiny hole underneath the door, barely enough to illuminate even a speck of dust.
But I see her.
In the darkness, I come alive.
My eyes have grown used to the shadows that inhabit this cell. The scents. The sounds.
And I definitely smell and hear her.
Lemon zest with a hint of honey. A perfume that wafts through the air every time she so much as flinches because of one little look.
But I won’t stop looking.
Her soft breaths are like music to my ears, and I close my eyes so I can enjoy it more, the sound making me groan with delight.
Oh, I can’t fucking wait to hear more.
I lick my lips and approach her slowly. She’s cowering in the corner, desperately trying to get away, but there is no escaping this hell of mine I call home. This cell is where she belongs now. And maybe what that guard said was true.
Maybe she is a toy for me.
A plaything sent by my owner.
A gift to make up for his violence and to make me more compliant.
A wretched smile forms on my lips at the thought of making her mine. Of touching her, using her body, making her yield until she whimpers like before.
My cock tents in my pants, but I will it down as I inch closer. All she does is stare up at me with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights. And I can’t help but kneel in front of her and lean in to touch her face. There’s a red mark from her fall when the guard pushed her, and the mere sight of this blemish on my pretty toy makes me want to rip off his limbs and eat them while he watches.
But the guard is gone now, and we are all who remain.
I’m so close, I can almost taste her, my heart beating faster and faster. I can think of nothing else but to touch her, and I don’t understand why. Why there’s this need growing inside me.
My hand slides down her face, and she shudders in place as I grip her chin. She turns her head, but it won’t stop me from inching even closer and reveling in her scent right at the base of her neck. She smells so nice, and it makes me want to bury my nose in her hair and lick the salty droplets of sweat off her skin.
Suddenly, a hand rises out of nowhere to slap me, but I grip her wrist just in time. She glances at me through the corner of her eye, her body shaking underneath mine as I tower over her.
I don’t know why she tries to fight me.
Doesn’t she feel the very same thing I do?
Veins pulsing with heat, desperate to find out why?
She whimpers again as my grip on her wrist grows tighter. “Please …”
And for some reason, it makes me pause.
I never pause.
Not with any of my victims.
But she … she’s not my victim.
She’s a prize.

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

This duet was so bad and yet I couldn’t put it down and had to finish it. It’s supposed to be based on beauty and the beast I guess but other than the names there’s no other sign of that story here.

Both Beast and Aurora make no sense in the context of what was written about them. On the one hand he apparently doesn’t know the word “friends” or “parties” and he doesn’t know that not using protection will lead to pregnancy. However he somehow knows how to eat her out expertly?? She has never had an orgasm and starts out calling her privates “down there” but later she talks about how he made her “pussy tighten”. Like???

Also she wears gloves that her dad required her to wear for most of the book and it’s this huge deal apparently but also those gloves would be disgusting because I’m pretty sure she gives him a handjob with them on among other things. The fact that **spoilers*** her hands are disabled/disfigured is handled so poorly by the author. Like what was the point?? As a reason why other people would think she was disgusting?? It was gross the way other people were talking about her and that somehow she related to the beast because of them.

Honestly the whole thing was so convoluted and the H and h made consistently terrible decisions and yet I finished both books so 2 stars I guess.

[Breanna Stanley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was disappointing. I would say the blurb delivered on what the plot was about, but it felt like a something I’d read in wattpad or ao3. The formatting was weird. There was a new paragraph almost every sentence which made the writing seem even more juvenile. It was very short which left very little time for the characters to really bond and get to know each other.

I wasn’t a fan of the FMC. She was a super sheltered, naive, and innocent stereotype. She also was cruel to the MMC. He literally was raised in a pitch black cell his entire life. He was raised in captivity. He didn’t even know what the word friends was. She knew all of this, or at least had an inclination, and still judged him and made him feel embarrassed for not knowing certain things or whatever. She also judged his decisions he made in order to survive while she also had to make concessions with her captors to survive. She was hypocritical the entire book. She also knowingly manipulated him and his feelings for her (for protection, I understand), but did that instead of simply acknowledging that she was attracted to him. Also, she knew he was taken from the streets, so he wasn’t born there. Why did she never ask what his real name was? He had to have had one.

The MMC was an interesting character. I wish we got more detail about how he grew up. His treatment was absolutely disgusting.

The ending wasn’t great. I’m irritated with how the Helpless the FMC was the entire book, but especially at the end. The MMC is literally sacrificing himself for you and you can’t help at all? She couldn’t pick up someone’s gun and try to do something? Infuriating.

[Megan Imhoff · Rating 1 out of 5]

no.

[destiny · Rating 3 out of 5]

And I kiss her as hard as I can before that sparkle in her eyes is lost forever. Because it’s the only thing that keeps me from tearing a hole into my own body and ripping out my heart.

I LOVEDDDD THE PLOT OF THIS OMG 😩

this is a dark romance, captive x captive, a bit of mafia related, hitman x mafia princess, instant attraction, slow burn, kidnapping, cliffhanger, mistreatment, violence, and duo pov ❤️‍🔥

ugh beast is so adorable. yes. a fucking dorable.
he was taken off the streets at a very young age. he was sold and trained to become the man that he is now. he is unhinged and doesn’t know much about humanity / feelings. his owner and the men treats him like a dog. they tell him to go kill someone and he has no other choice to than to obey. or else he gets shocked by that electric collar around his throat. every mission he goes on he always carried out. he never misses his mark. but when he was ordered to kill aurora’s father, his whole world flips upside down the moment their eyes meets 🥹

i love this man so much. i feel like i would’ve rated this a lot higher if there was just some more to it. there is a second book though so i’m immediately running to start because THAT ENDING ???!! i literally cried because there’s actually no fucking way omg 😭

bye. i literally can’t even speak properly let only breathe. i need to know what’s happening next.

🌶️🌶️

[The Romantic Rush Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Beauty and the Beast inspired story, dark romance, AND a mafia infusion? Well, that sounds delicious. And Beast was certainly an intriguing and fast-paced page turner. Dark captivity, a primal hero and innocent heroine with a secret, forced proximity, and so much danger- it’s quite an experience!

If you are looking for something that is more closely inspired by Beauty the Beast this isn’t it- we have a hero named Beast who kidnaps our heroine, but we soon learn they are both captives of a more powerful man. And we have a seemingly innocent heroine but she’s far less optimistic and sunshiney than the original Belle…and her name is Aurora. Hm. Anywho- this becomes a dual captivity story, with a splash of mafia.

From what I understand, we meet Beast, the “monster,” in other books by this author as well as his handler/owner, a mafia boss. Here we jump RIGHT into the action with Beast on a mission that puts him in the path of his beauty- and he decides to keep her. From there a lot of the story takes place in captivity, with both of them being drawn to each other as things hit up in their cell. I wish I’d read the other stories just so I had a little bit of the back context, but it was easy to dive right in.

Beast isn’t just a monstrous man, he’s a man who has been deprived of social interaction, normal human living conditions, basic human knowledge. So, needless to say, he’s not just dark, he’s rough around the edges- but he catches on to things quickly. He’s been content in his captivity for a lot of reasons (most complacency and trauma), until his beauty comes along and suddenly he wants liberation and more freedom- to protect her while he also wants to keep her as his toy, a gift from his master.

The chemistry here is very much physical- a lot of instalust, and from Beauty’s unexpected kindness to him. We get a little bit of emotional bonding, but much of the story is them figuring out their situation- and it leads up to quite a big cliffhanger. There is a particularly salacious scene (following when we find out one of Aurora’s secrets) that was extra delicious.

If you’re looking for something darkly erotic and lusty, this is it. It’s fast and dirty, and an entertaining read. Towards the end, we have quite a few important character revelations that I’m hoping yield some more vulnerable and emotional moments between these two- and I’m excited to see just how they find their way out of the VERY imminent, perhaps fatal, dangers looming.

[Hasnamezied · Rating 1 out of 5]

I simply could not finish it.

[The.BlondeReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF 😔

The story had potential, but the writing style just wasn't for me, unfortunately 😕

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gloves not realistic

The gloves were not realistic and white to boot was worse. They would be dirty All the time and you would need a million pairs of them. There is no way she kept one pair on in a dirty cage with him. Second if her finger were misshapen you would still be able to tell that with the gloves unless they had additional fingers made into them. Plus they needed to be black to appear clean longer. So the gloves were stupid. And the money being used for her hands was stupid too considering her father hated her for real. So again nor realistic especially if that was the amount the bad guy needed back to keep his business running.

[TheBookPlatypus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aurora and Beast.

This is a dark romance with reverse beauty and the beast vibes.

Beast was snatched off the street as a child and horribly abused and conditioned to be someone’s murderous dog or enforcer of sorts. He literally wears a shock collar to keep in line. He stays in a dark prison cells under his owners home and only gets fed raw meat.
He doesn’t understand parts of normalcy.
He’s conditioned to kill and come home to his master.
That’s his life.

But when he is out on a job to kill a man, he comes across his daughter. And someone glitches inside him where he can’t hurt her… and drags her home. Even through punishment for doing so, Beast likes her.

“My owner gave her to me, and she is mine to play with as much as I want. And now that she’s finally letting me get close, I’m not going to let this opportunity slide.”

Beast and Aurora end up in the dark prison cell together and slowly learn about each other.

When these two are temporarily set free to find her missing father for Beasts owner, Beast must choose between two paths.

This book leaves off on a killer cliffie but book two is coming soon!

[Heather Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic re-telling of your favorite Beauty & the Beast. 

Aurora, is a shy, naïve and sheltered young woman. She's always done as she's been told by her father. She's never disobeyed, never objected, just always been that good girl and done what was asked of her.  

In this re-telling, The Beast has a boss, and the Beast does all the bidding the boss tells him to do.  Beast is used as a tool to hunt down and kill whomever his boss deems him to.

Will Beast be able to save himself and Aurora? Or will the Beast continue to do his boss's bidding? Will Aurora realize the Beast isn't all bad and horrible?

I did receive a free ARC copy of this book. I am freely leaving an honest review. 

[Beatrice Lindström · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great dark mafia romance story by Clarissa Wild. It was an interesting story about good and evil and the blurred lines of what is good and what is evil and who is good and who is evil, 'cause it isn't always as easy to know as you might think.
The story revolve around Aurora and Beast and I enjoyed the development of their relationship in this book. It's a fast paced story with flashbacks to both Aurora's childhood and Beast's childhood.
Check your triggers before reading this story and enjoy the twisted ride you are about to embark!

But beware that it ends on a freaking cliffhanger of major proportions! I am so invested and intrigued by the story that I just need to know what happens next!

[Malischa Nijenhuis · Rating 5 out of 5]

review

This book had me from begin till end on the tip of my cough. I love it a bit to much😝😘😍❤️

[vmar · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I set the record for latest DNFed book at 86 percent.

This was downright horrendous. I kept wanting to stop reading, but I convinced myself to continue. Obviously, wrong choice on my behalf.

I can look past immature writing, poor development, and cringeworthy dialogue. I can suspend my disbelief and put aside my knowledge of proper grammar and verb use. I can even stomach dark topics to a certain extent.

But this was just excessively inhumane and heartbreaking. I kept hoping that eventually it would turn around or improve in the slightest and it never did.

And to have the main character publicly ridiculed and shamed for her appearance, multiple times, was disgusting. I’m sure she ends up “learning to love herself” or another form of inspirational bullshit, but why have something like that used negatively in the first place? Scars and unique developments are so common and using it as a source of shame purely for a dramatic or tension filled plot point just seems lazy to me.

And then to further it by forcing them to have sex in front of their captors like animals? I stopped the book as soon as I read that line. Too much for me.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all, not bad. It was absolutely cringy, but I’m assuming if you’re into mafia books like this then you probably don’t care. It was a cool concept that I think could’ve been done better. I think the narration voice should have been more consistent with the education level of the characters. Like, Beast doesn’t know what friends are but he knows what asunder means? Come on now. Beast was precious. I love him. I know it would’ve defeated the purpose, but I still wish we had some sort of name for him. He deserves a name. Despite my critiques, I enjoyed it enough to start the second book.

Potential spoilers (I think it’s pretty vague but proceed with caution)

I think what was under her gloves would have been more interesting and impactful to the story if it was from a punishment for when she helped the boy when she was a little girl.

Beasts comments at the end about him knowing her really threw me for a loop. There was nothing in his pov indicating that he knew her. That’s the problem with reveals in 1st person pov. They generally don’t make sense because we were in the characters heads the entire time. I think this would’ve been better in 3rd person limited pov.

[L Powers (Bookish_Mum) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clarissa Wild will forever be my, "Don't ask questions, just buy her book," author. She has this magical way of weaving these dark, dark plots into something amazing that keeps you glued to each page.

This Beauty and the Beast retelling falls nothing short of brilliant. I am definitely not one for a mafia story, but when it comes to Clarissa, I'm all in.




Copy provided by the author & voluntarily reviewed.

[Kira · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars

First of all this was barely dark. It never felt like the heroine was in any real danger. The romance beyond ridiculous. There was no reason for these two to like each other.

[B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Beast & Aurora’s Steamy Mafia Romance Delivers On Dark & Dirty. It Begins With A Bang As Beast Brings Aurora Home To His Owner, Evil Mafia Boss Lex De Vos From The Debts & Vengeance World. This Book Ends In A Cliffhanger & Concludes In Book 2, Beauty.


This is the first book in the Beauty & Beast duet. It is part of the Debts & Vengeance world, although this new duet may be read independently. Those having read the earlier books will have already been introduced to the beast and his owner and therefore have more context.

This dark story has many triggers, including violence and captivity.

The Debts & Vengeance series includes:
1. The Wedding Debt (an optional prequel to Luca & Jill’s story)
2. The Marriage Debt (Luca & Jill’s story)
3. The Blood Debt (Liam & Jasmine’s story)

FROM THE WEDDING DEBT:

This story primarily takes place in the Netherlands. It opens when Luca and Jill are nine years old.

Hugo and Vera Baas are powerful mafia figures, and they got there through careful planning and control. They have no sons, so their empire must pass on to their daughters, Jasmine and Jill. The girls are close friends. Jasmine is a few years older than Jill, and she is the only one that shows an interest in the family business. Both girls are introduced to it, but Jill is more interested in escaping the ugly life that she was born into. She is sweet and kind to all around her, very unlike the dark mafia world she lives in. She lives a protected life and spends her time making her own clothes so her wardrobe is rather original. The girls have known since they were young that their father would decide who they would one day marry, though that day always seemed too far off for it to feel like reality.

Lex and Anne De Vos are the head of another mafia family. They have two sons, Liam and Luca, who are the same ages as the Baas girls. The parents have plans for their sons, so the ideas of freedom and choice are a luxury unavailable to them. Liam is the apple of their eyes. He stays out of trouble at school and keeps a low profile as instructed. As the eldest, the business will pass on to him, although he dreams of traveling before assuming his place as head of the family. Luca knows he doesn’t measure up to his perfect brother, and although the brothers love one another, Luca’s sense of not measuring up only pushes him to get into more trouble. Luca doesn’t care about happiness because he knows he can never have it. Instead, he turns his attention to money and girls. He is not perfect, so he doesn’t bother trying. Liam would always be the preferred son, the one to go on to inherit the kingdom. Luca is just a backup plan and nothing else.

The Baas and the De Vos families have run in the same circles for years, and the parents get together from time to time. The De Vos family moved to the Netherlands about four years ago. Recently the Baas family became new trading partners with those at The Ruin and moved to the Netherlands as well. For years, the parents have been in talks about a marriage joining their families, and they might just be getting close to making a decision.

Luca and Jill’s enemies-to-lovers mafia romance starts out with a bang in this quick read about arranged marriages and sibling rivalry. With their decisions made for them, the Baas and De Vos children are certain to be bitterly disappointed. This is an exciting read that will have you grabbing for the sequel. The story is nicely written. The plot is somewhat simple. The characters are complex and layered. The story is told in first person. The POV alternates between Luca and Jill. I rate this book 4.5 stars.

FROM THE MARRIAGE DEBT:

This book opens in The Netherlands when Luca and Jill are twenty-one. Tensions between the De Vos and Baas families remain high since the tragedy that took place three years ago.

As this story opens, Jill has come face-to-face with her family and the De Vos family for the first time in three years. She doesn’t get the reception she had expected, but then again, she didn’t expect much. Despite Jill’s choice to return, she is determined to keep certain things off-limits from her new husband. Her innocence and her heart are her most guarded secrets, but he wants her to hand both of them over to him. He wants everything from her in payment for what she did to his family. She hates him, but her feistiness has only ever made him want her more. The two go back and forth in much the same fashion as all their childhood interactions. He insults and demeans her, while she stands up to him in a way nobody else would ever dare.

Luca and Jill’s enemies-to-lovers mafia romance starts out with a bang in this angsty read about arranged marriages and sibling rivalry. Luca had been shaped by his near life-long obsession with Jill and the life he was born into. He, like Jill, knew his future would be dictated by his parents. Liam got everything that Luca wanted – his parents’ praise and attention, the family business, and the girl of his dreams. It had never mattered how much he wanted Jill, she would never be his once her marriage with Liam had been decided upon. He hated her for that, and in his jaded state of mind, he became a monster in her eyes. Jill had always been drawn to the more respectable and behaved Liam, the older brother. But it was always Luca that riled her up, and it was Luca’s kiss that her body craved. They are so set upon hating one another that their HEA seems unattainable. This story is nicely written. The plot is somewhat complex. The characters are complex and layered. The story is told in first person. The POV alternates between Luca and Jill. I rate this book four stars.

FROM THE BLOOD DEBT:

This book opens in The Netherlands as Liam attempts to get his revenge on Jill.

Liam De Vos, twenty-three, has lived a quiet life in a remote German cabin for going on three years now. He remembered almost nothing from his life before being rescued from a river three years ago. At that time he only had a vague sense of danger and the need to run. He likes living on his own and enjoyed a quiet life until his brother Luca tracked him down. That was when vague memories and the need for revenge turned him into a monster. Revenge against Jill was not enough for him, though. He wants more. He wants what should have been his, the girl he expected to marry and the only one he had ever truly craved. He had had many girls in his youth, but there was only ever one that was out of his reach: Jill Baas. No matter how long it took, he would make her crave him, too.

Jasmine Baas, twenty-three, has always done the right thing for other people, and in the end, it cost her. She had always understood that her parents would use her in an advantageous marriage and that she had no choice in the matter. It didn’t prevent her from hoping that her marriage might be to Liam even if she acted otherwise to protect herself from potential heartbreak. She had done everything to ensure that she was the best choice, but in the end, she had proven herself too indispensable to be handed over to the De Vos family. Liam’s death had been further heartbreak, and in the years that passed, she had given up on the ideas of dating and love. Liam’s surprising return three years later might have given her a glimmer of hope – especially now that Jill had married Luca – but there was nothing about the man he had become that resembled the well-mannered Liam of her dreams. This man was a monster. But Jill had sacrificed herself for Jasmine when she stepped forward to marry Luca, and now Jasmine would step forward to protect her sister from Liam’s wrath. She follows him to his cabin in Germany, but she is hardly prepared for the plans he has in store for her.

Liam and Jasmine’s dark enemies-to-lovers romance is a story of captivity and revenge. Jasmine’s captivity is partly voluntary, but it doesn’t take away from what Liam puts her through. He does not want his old life back, but he has no intention of giving her up. Their story also sheds new light on Luca and Jill’s story. Liam’s memory issues are sometimes confusing, as he often seems to remember more than he purportedly does. Even taking into account the return of more memories over time, it is hard to follow. He also wavers between being a monster and his old self, and the shift does not always feel natural. It is also never explained how he makes a living. He seems to do nothing, yet he has money and owns a cabin in the woods. The plot is fairly simple. The characters each have deep issues to deal with while under stressful conditions. There are a few surprises along the way. The story is told in first person. The POV alternates between Liam and Jasmine. I rate this book 3.5 stars.

IN THIS BOOK:

This story takes place in the Netherlands.

Beast doesn’t care much about his name. He also answers to Dog and Monster. He is treated with disdain by his owner, mafia boss Lex De Vos, who keeps him locked up in a dark basement cell. Deprived of light, human interaction, and kindness for years, Beast has been trained to be a perfect killing machine. Beast loves to kill – it gives him a taste of freedom. Since most of his time is spent in the dark basement hole he calls home, he has developed an endless supply of patience. He has perfected the art of existing. And he knows that if he waits long enough, he will finally have his chance. Beast’s owner gives him a new assignment. The target is Peter Blom, and he is told to kill anyone who gets in his way. Knowing what will happen if he fails, Beast sets out to finish the job.

Aurora Blom has a hard time looking away when it comes to her father’s cruel and sadistic ways. In fact, at one time he told her to never look away. She might have taken over her father’s business one day if not for a single wrong choice when she was seven. Now she just needs to keep quiet, look pretty, wear her gloves, and play the piano on cue. Still, she has seen a lot over the years, and it never gets any easier. When the violence finally catches up with her father, chaos ensues. Her father escapes, but Aurora finds herself hauled away. She becomes a hostage, a toy, a reward – a lure to catch her father. She finds herself trapped in a cell with the same monster who stole her away, and the fact that she finds herself drawn to the beast terrifies her.

Beast and Aurora’s dark mafia story begins with a bang. Beast brings Aurora home to his owner, and her future is uncertain. Lex De Vos doesn’t hesitate to take out innocents, and as the daughter of an enemy, her value could change at a moment’s notice. Little is known of either Beast or Aurora, who are thrown together by circumstances. They find themselves in the same boat, and tentatively begin to build trust. Their steamy story ends in a cliffhanger. It concludes in book two, Beauty.

Wow, Beast and Aurora’s story delivers on dark and dirty. It takes place in a mafia world where loyalty is demanded and betrayal has a steep price. It takes a special kind of evil to treat a human as Beast has been treated for years on end. How Beast has survived with any shred of humanity, no matter how deeply buried, is confounding. This is a story of survival, hope, and quiet perseverance. The story is nicely written and plot-driven. The plot is fairly simple but unfolds slowly. The characters are shrouded in mystery; it takes some patience for their stories to be told. The story is written in first person. The POV alternates between Beast and Aurora. I rate this book four stars.

I received an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kahea · Rating 5 out of 5]

***5 Stars***

Beauty and the Beast is my fav fairytale, so whenever I see a book stating that it’s based on/inspired by…etc, my interest is piqued. When it’s an author I already enjoy, well, I’m all in to see how they will take the tale and make it their own, and boy has this author made it her own and I gotta say that I really enjoyed it.

Now, as this is a duet and only the first book in the duet with a bit of a cliffy, this review is going to be short and sweet and vague. Overall, I love Beast and Aurora. Beast is brutal, but he is also protective…as a beast should be. Aurora is an interesting one. At times she is naive but is quite stubborn when she wants to be. As for their journey, there is something between them and they both have what the other seems to need in this world, so we’ll see how things evolve further in the next book.

As I said, I like the way the author has made this story her own. It is dark and there are triggers, but there is quite a bit of heat and a good dose of heart. I’m quite interested in seeing how everything plays out in Beauty.

~ Copy provided by the author & voluntarily reviewed ~