Written by Beena Khan
Warning- Some Spoiler Alerts Present
So if you do not want the entire book ruined for you, then do not read any further. Just know that is very well written and read it if you like retellings and not offended easily.
Well, Beena has done it again with weaving a web of beautiful dark words to trap us, her readers. Her newest book that came out, may I first say the cover is stunning! And second, this is a retelling I didn’t know that I needed. It is dark, it is mesmerizing, and it makes your heart stop in your throat any time the two principal characters are together. There is twist and turns that make you wonder if the two are going to fight, get along, or abuse one another, especially Don Vlad, the head of the mob group that takes the beautiful Dahlia.
But I am going to warn you right off the bat that this book is dark and contains abuse and rape, so if that isn’t your thing, then I don’t recommend this book. And Beena herself even has a trigger warning at the beginning of the book since she cares about her readers and wants to warn them before they jump into this retelling of Beauty and the Beast and find themselves in a world that they don’t want to be a part of.
I was bothered, but not so much that I had to put it down. In fact, I could not put it down and enjoyed reading this book immensely. It is a retelling but it also to me touches a bit of Fifty Shades of Grey in a way that makes the book more enticing, and I did not like Fifty Shades of Grey, but this…. this I liked. The struggle between father, the last Don, and son, the current Don, is staring right there in your face whenever the men are mentioned or in the same room with one another. Don Vlad’s men respect him and even fear him, but you can tell from some that they wanted Dahlia for themselves.
Dahlia herself is a powerful character who stands up to the Don even though she knows she shouldn’t, but she doesn’t put up with him and his beastly manners. She is an angel ready to fight for her life even when she is faced by Don Vlad or his men. Throughout the book, you can see Dahlia slowly chipping away at the beast Don, shaping the Don into a new character all together, one that he himself is surprised since he is supposed to be some heartless cold man.
Then there is Vlad, the man who wants to control Dahlia, forcing her into a new life after she had witnessed something she shouldn’t have. Another complex character who is always changing, surprising Dahlia with each meeting between the two, though she doesn’t know if the kinder side is an act or not. Vlad has to be this hard, uncaring person in front of everyone, but then you see him in front of Dahlia and he jumps between uncaring to caring to whatever other emotions he plays out, leaving you as the reader as confused at the poor Dahlia.
This first book in this series is well written, frighteningly beautiful, and if you can get past the violence and abuse, a good read that I am sure you will enjoy. I look forward to the next book to see how the rest plays out. But I have to say I really dislike the characters Leo and Vlad’s father, Enzo. But I won’t tell you the rest about these two or any of the other characters because I want you to buy the book and read it for yourself.
I will tell you this- the ending is very unexpected and has me reeling still, my mouth dropped and my eyes wide. I had to actually go back and reread the chapters to make sure that I hadn’t read it wrong. It is a twist I never thought of and I am floored. Beena did an excellent job, and I cannot wait to read the next three books in this series once they come out later this year. You can actually preorder them now, too. So I will leave the links to each one for you but make sure you grab this book if you love Beauty and the Beast and a twist that’ll make your mind spin, craving for more.
I love your review. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review 🙂
I cannot wait to continue this story. You did it again, Beena. Amazing writing hun.