Beena Khan

I was a beauty who witnessed a murder and the beast took me as his hostage. Amazon Bestseller in Fairytales and Top 50 in Gothic Romance and Vigilante Justice. Once upon a time... A Don by the name of Vlad Vitalli ruled New York. He's a mafia man. The leader of one of the five ruling families, La Cosa Nostra. He's a monster. A trained killer and a cold-blooded murderer. He's tall, mysterious, with icy gray eyes, and he rarely smiles. He's a criminal. Ruthless, cold, dangerous, and he is going to kill me. I was the wrong person at the wrong time. An innocent at the masquerade ball but I witnessed a murder. I become a target to the mafia who have a rule of no witnesses left behind. To save my life, I made a deal with the ruthless beast. I handed myself to the cruelest man in the kingdom. Just as Don Vlad was about to order the hit, I threw off my masquerade mask, revealing my face, and offered myself to him. One look and I was doomed. He took me as his hostage. His captive. He didn't know that by taking me, Dahlia Hadid, he sealed his own fate. Welcome to New York's Underworld. Loosely based on the Beauty & the Beast fairytale. A Gothic Romance of an notorious gangster and the woman who will bring him to his knees. It is not a standalone and part of a duet.

A Dark Hostage Mafia Romance (Beauty and the Beast)

A Beauty So Cruel

Sara Uribe

I have mixed feelings about this book. I’m not sure how to or what to say in this review. I thought the overall story was good and engaging, but I thought the writing was strange and a bit jarring. It just didn't flow the right way for me. I also didn't connect with either of our main characters Dahlia and Vlad. Vlad was too vanilla for me. I wanted more from him. Dahlia was alright, but I just couldn't connect with her on a deeper level, which frustrated me. The story kept me on my toes for sure and I was constantly trying to figure out where things might be heading. It wasn’t a difficult book for me to actually get into, just the writing felt weird. I don’t know how else to explain it. Overall, I did enjoy this book. It got me really intrigued to what might happen in the next books in the series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ashley

** spoiler alert **
           4.5/5 

okay

i need to breathe

gurl i just finished this book. the ending killed me. literally. 

idk if thats considered spoiler but shsjhs

anyway idk what do now 😭 i feel like crying

Janna Niemi

So, I was in love with this book until the end ruined everything! 
The plot is quite similar to most mafia romances but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I like how you can see the relationship grow and how there’s less cruelty when the story moves along. I absolutely HATE the ending. So so much. It ruined the story for me and now I don’t think I want to read any more books in the series because I’m so disappointed.
The characters are good. I really like Vlad. He is a gentle man in a tough place. I liked Dahlia until the ending. Now, I have a very big dislike to her and I kinda wish I didn’t read the ending. I could still wish for some happy, dream like ending to the book.
Overall, the book was very good until the ending happened. 

*Free copy received from BookSirens and review was written voluntarily

Yami🌷

OMG! I don't know where to start, I really enjoyed it from the first page, Vlad is so cute I love him ❤️ and Dahlia is a warrior with a horrible past, I admire her.

I was a beauty, a stray orphan until the beast took me as his hostage. Once upon a time...A Don by the name of Vlad Vitalli ruled New York. He's a mafia man. The leader of one of the ruling families, La Cosa Nostra. He's a monster. A trained killer and a cold-blooded murderer. Tall, mysterious, with icy gray eyes, and he rarely smiles. He's a criminal. Ruthless, cold, dangerous, and is going to kill me.I was the wrong person at the wrong time. Just an innocent at the masquerade ball but I witnessed a murder. The mafia has rules: no witnesses left behind. To save my life, I made a deal with the beast. I handed myself to the cruelest man in the kingdom. For him, It was supposed to be an easy kill. I'm an orphan raised in poverty. No one would have missed me. Just as Don Vlad was about to order the hit, I threw off my masquerade mask, revealing my face, and offered myself to him. One look and I was doomed. He took me as his hostage. His captive. He didn't know by taking me, Dahlia Hadid, he sealed his own fate. Welcome to New York's Underworld. A Valentine's Day special, A Gothic Romance! Loosely based on the fairytale. A Beauty So Cruel is the first book of the Beauty & The Beast series. It is not a standalone and part of a duet.

Dark Hostage Mafia Romance: a Modern Day Beauty and the Beast Billionaire Fairytale

Sven Test

I honestly expected to love this book. It has literally everything I would normally enjoy: dark mafia romance with a Beauty and the Beast retelling added to the mix and enemies-to-lovers trope. Unfortunately, it didn't hit the mark.

Anything that is beautiful, people want to break.

We have Dahlia who encounters Vlad, the Don of one of the 5 ruling families in New York, and as soon as Vlad sets his sights on Dahlia, he knows he wants her, but lets her go. It isn't until Dahlia witnesses a murder by Vlad's men that he takes her as his hostage turned captive. I did like Dahlia's character towards the middle of the book. I liked her fierceness a lot and how she wouldn't just give in to Vlad--she kept fighting him. 

Unfortunately, I quickly realized this book didn't really have much a plot. Now, let's take a pause here. I am all for some smutty romance novels to not have a plot, especially when the "banging is the plot", like Katee Robert likes to say. When it came to this novel, everything was boring. The sex wasn't interesting, the plot was monotonous, and the characters were basically dull.

It wasn't until the 78% mark that things picked up and my interest was piqued, thanks to Salvi's character, another Don of one of the ruling families in the mafia. There was a plot twist towards the end that blew me away! I honestly wasn't expecting it and the author did a wonderful way of tying everything together.

Will I ever continue the series? I don't know. The way that it ended, especially alluding to more of Salvi's character, has me super intrigued! But if the plot continues to be monotonous and boring, I may stop all together. 
--
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Batool Zainab Suleman

Review to Come

3.15/5 + 1⭐ for Lebanese FMC

Review to come. I'm on a book high right now and I need some time to consolidate my thoughts.


In short, I wasn't planning on giving this book more than two stars until the last ten percent when everything fell into place.

Tatiana Alvarez 

Actual rating 3.5!

Honestly, I am a sucker for any beauty and the beast retelling, so sign me up. I also never realized how much I enjoyed mafia romances until I read Den of vipers, so I'm definitely hooked on the mafia motif.

Before I get into my review, let me warn you about a few triggers. There is mention of sexual abuse and rape. There is acts up violence and light torture. Please do not read this book if this will trigger you.

Dahlia was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She did not mean to witness a murder by the mafia, she just happened to stumble upon it. Not wanting to end up dead, she offers herself up to the Don, Vlad - one of the most feared men in NY.

Dahlia is taken prisoner and is on high alert. She is surrounded by evil men and she has had to deal with evil men her entire life. She had been abused and feared that Vlad would be the same. She's heard of his beastly ways and knows it is only a matter of time before he takes her.

Except...Vlad is different from what she thinks. She knows she should hate him, but she also can't bring herself to do that. However, this is not a fairytale, this is real life. She knows neither of them would get a happily ever after.

This book is definitely a quick read. It is fast paced with spicy elements. The sex scenes are not overly graphic, so if you aren't a fan of over the top smut, this is definitely a good book for you. 

Dahlia is an interesting character, I did not always agree with her choices though. I wish she fought back a little more, but i also know she went through great amounts of trauma, so she would not react how I would react. She always thought she would push Vlad to far and always thought it would be the time he would snap. Though...I did not ever think she pushed that much.

The cliffhanger at the end was unexpected. I did not feel like there were enough signs for that outcome, but it did not bother me much. My only other critique comes from the grammar. There were a few times when I felt the sentence was constructed awkwardly or punctuated oddly, but it did not distract from the overall story.

Overall, I had fun reading this book and plan on diving into book two now.

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

I honestly expected to love this book. It has literally everything I would normally enjoy: dark mafia romance with a Beauty and the Beast retelling added to the mix and enemies-to-lovers trope. Unfortunately, it didn't hit the mark.

Anything that is beautiful, people want to break.

We have Dahlia who encounters Vlad, the Don of one of the 5 ruling families in New York, and as soon as Vlad sets his sights on Dahlia, he knows he wants her, but lets her go. It isn't until Dahlia witnesses a murder by Vlad's men that he takes her as his hostage turned captive. I did like Dahlia's character towards the middle of the book. I liked her fierceness a lot and how she wouldn't just give in to Vlad--she kept fighting him. 

Unfortunately, I quickly realized this book didn't really have much a plot. Now, let's take a pause here. I am all for some smutty romance novels to not have a plot, especially when the "banging is the plot", like Katee Robert likes to say. When it came to this novel, everything was boring. The sex wasn't interesting, the plot was monotonous, and the characters were basically dull.

It wasn't until the 78% mark that things picked up and my interest was piqued, thanks to Salvi's character, another Don of one of the ruling families in the mafia. There was a plot twist towards the end that blew me away! I honestly wasn't expecting it and the author did a wonderful way of tying everything together.

Will I ever continue the series? I don't know. The way that it ended, especially alluding to more of Salvi's character, has me super intrigued! But if the plot continues to be monotonous and boring, I may stop all together. 
--
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Monri

Review/Reseña en Español/English 


  Español


Este es el primer libro de la autora que leo y me pareció bastante interesante aunque tuve algunos problemas con él. El libro se encuentra inspirado en La Bella y La Bestia, sin embargo, no es un recuento para que lo consideren.


  Personajes principales


Nuestra protagonista Dahlia Hadid es un personaje complicado para mí, para empezar, ella ha sufrido demasiado en su vida debido a que creció siendo huérfana y viviendo en diferentes casas sufrió ataques por parte de sus guardianes. Al principio del libro se encontró en el momento equivocado, ya que vio como mataban a un hombre por esto decidió ofrecerse a manos del Don para que no la mataran. Sinceramente no me agrado mucho su personaje, era demasiado estúpida en ocasiones e incluso un poco infantil, y juro que si vuelvo a leer que se sorprendió y se sonrojo otra vez me voy a sacar los ojos (no solo ella, al parecer todos son así).

Ahora nuestro héroe Vlad Vitalli, otro personaje complicado, él es un personaje que se supone debe ser muy cruel y malvado pero personalmente no se sintió para nada así, de hecho era lo contrario y respetaba mucho a Dahlia dadas las condiciones en las que se encontraba. No sentí que su personaje tuviera mucho impacto pero me gustó, al igual que Dahlia su personaje se sintió inmaduro en algunas instancias.

Su relación fue complicada, para mí se sintió algo forzado y realmente no hubo chispa entre los personajes, también peleaban por tonterías, no se comunicaban y era difícil ver cómo eran adultos dado a que no se comportaban como uno. Esperaba más de su relación, aun así tuvieron momentos lindos y me emociona saber que pasara ahora después del final del libro.


  Trama


La trama del libro es bastante sencilla, chica ve un asesinato y se ofrece al líder de quien termina enamorándose. Me gustaría recalcar que la escritura fue algo rara y en ocasiones no fluía como debería. También hubo varios diálogos sin sentido y que a mi parecer quedaban de más. El plot-twist del final era obvio pero aun así sentí que no tuvo fundamento, por lo que, se vio algo obligado y pensé que se explicaría un poco más pero no fue así.


  Personajes secundarios


Gabriele, el primo de Vlad, es creo mi personaje favorito por el momento, me agrado su relación con Vlad y que de alguna forma respetara a Dahlia, aunque realmente no vimos mucho de él, espero que tenga su propio libro. Leo, fue uno de los personajes que aparecieron al inicio y vaya si lo odie, me encantó que haya recibido su merecido y manos de nuestra protagonista.

Salvi Moretti, es simplemente un personaje raro, todo en él es detestable y no sé qué pensar respecto a lo que nos dijo el final sinceramente, pensé que no sería un personaje importante pero que equivocada estaba. Por el momento lo odio y juro que si la historia llega a tornarse a un triángulo amoroso lo odiare.

Se los recomiendo a los que les gusta la mafia y a los que les gusta la Bella y la Bestia, también me gustaría mencionar la nota que dejó la autora al final del libro donde habla del maltrato hacia los niños huérfanos que no son adoptados, Dahlia es una muy buena representación de eso y cómo salir adelante definitivamente. Me agrado ese toque a su personaje.


  ¿Es este libro para ti? 



  Perfecto para: 
 Amantes de la mafia y, La Bella y La Bestia.

  ¿Lo recomiendo?
 Si.

TW: violencia, asesinato, esclavitud, secuestros, abuso sexual, violación, trata de personas, abuso infantil.
Heroína: 6/10
Héroe: 6/10
Romance: 5/10
Tipo de relación: F/M
Escenas sexuales: 6/10
Violencia/ escenas turbias: 5/10
Trama: 7/10
POV: dual 
Tipo: serie
Portada: 6.5/10


  English


This is the author's first book that I read and I found it quite interesting although I had some problems with it. The book is inspired by Beauty and the Beast, however, it’s not a retelling.

  Main characters  

Our protagonist Dahlia Hadid is a complicated character for me, to begin with, she has suffered too much in her life because she grew up an orphan, and living in different houses she suffered attacks by her guardians. At the beginning of the book, she found herself at the wrong moment, since she saw a man being killed, so she decided to offer herself to the Don so that they wouldn’t kill her. Honestly, I don't like her character very much, she was very stupid at times and even a bit childish, and I swear that if I read again that she was surprised and blushed I'm going to rip out my eyes (not just her, apparently everyone it’s like that).

Now our hero Vlad Vitalli, another complicated character, is a character that is supposed to be very cruel and evil but personally, he didn’t feel like that at all, in fact, it was the opposite and he respected Dahlia a lot given the conditions in which she was. I didn't feel like his character had much of an impact but I liked it, just like Dahlia his character felt immature in some instances.

Their relationship was complicated, for me it felt somewhat forced and there was really no spark between the characters, they also fought over nonsense, they didn’t communicate and it was difficult to see how they were adults since they did not behave like one. I expected more from their relationship, they still had beautiful moments and I am excited to know what will happen now after the end of the book.

 Plot 

The plot of the book is quite simple, the girl sees a murder and offers herself to the leader with whom she ends up falling in love. I would like to emphasize that the writing was somewhat strange and sometimes it didn’t flow as it should. There were also several nonsensical dialogues and in my opinion, there weren´t necessary. The plot-twist at the end was obvious but still, I felt it was unfounded, so it was somewhat forced and I thought it would explain a little more but it wasn’t.

  Side characters  

Gabriele, Vlad's cousin, is I think my favorite character at the moment, I liked his relationship with Vlad and that he respected Dahlia in some way, although we didn't really see much of him, I hope he has his own book. Leo was one of the characters that appeared at the beginning and boy did I hate him, I loved that he received what he deserved and at the hands of our protagonist.

Salvi Moretti is simply a strange character, everything about him is detestable and I don't know what to think about what the end told us sincerely, I thought that he would not be an important character but how wrong I was. At the moment I hate him and I swear that if the story turns into a love triangle I will hate it.

I recommend this book to those who like the mafia and who like The Beauty and the Beast, I would also like to mention the note left by the author at the end of the book where she talks about the abuse of orphaned children, Dahlia is a very good representation of that, I like that touch to her character.

  
     “The one thing I can’t stand in the world is betrayal… I never allow anyone to get close enough to hurt me”
  

  Is this book for you?  

  Perfect for:   Mafia and Beauty and the Beast lovers.
  Do I recommend it?   Yes.

 TW: violence, murder, slavery, kidnapping, sexual abuse, rape, human trafficking, child abuse.
Heroine: 6/10
Hero: 6/10
Romance: 5/10
Type of Relationship: F/M
Steamy Scenes: 6/10
Violence/dark scenes: 5/10
Plot: 7/10
POV: dual 
Type: series
Cover: 6.5/10


  My thanks to the author Beena Khan and BookSirens for the opportunity to get this ARC for an unbiased review.

A Beauty So Cruel A Dark Hostage Mafia Romance (Beauty and the Beast)

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