Reviews with content warning for Murder - Stolen Heir

I had to DNF this book. The writing felt very juvenile. The words don’t have weight. The prose is stiff and unyielding and the emotions felt dry to me. There was also a big lack of imagery. I tried to skip forward to see what the book would feel like later and I was not terribly impressed by what I found. This plot of this book is merely a vehicle for the smut. I say this as a reader who enjoys smut: I feel like each tool an author uses in a story should be carefully placed, crafted, and utilized. Smut just isn’t interesting when there’s a lack of believability and a real sense of tension.

I received the digital version of this book as a ARC books from NetGalley, which is interesting because Goodreads says this book was published back in 2020. Not quite sure why this available for review now in 2023.

Content Warnings

booksalacarte's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

2.5⭐️ 3🌶️

Mafia dark romance
Beauty and the beast retelling
Enemies to lovers
Professional ballerina
Opposites attract
“Touch her and die”

The writing is really stilted int he beginning. Maybe it’s the dual first person POV. And it’s needlessly repetitive. Something said in chapter 2 is almost verbatim in chapter 6.

The monotonous replay of a specific scene in the other POV in first person isn’t interesting, it’s boring.

The characters are under developed. There is such potential, but their character arcs are rushed and their relationship arc hardly goes beyond Stockholm syndrome. Their on page interactions are very few, making their relationship seem very immature. There is very little on page tension because they hardly ever interact.

But it was a quick and easy read.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books/Sourcebooks for an Advanced Reader Copy of the ebook in return for an honest review.

Content Warnings

carla20's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Content Warnings

a_libra_library's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

boomwormbrittany's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Stolen Heir is the second book in the Brutal Birthright series. This book follows Nessa, the youngest Griffin child who is kidnapped by another mafia boss, Mikolaj, who is bent on revenge against her family. However, as they start to become closer, it's harder to keep her captive.
I really loved this book. It gave me a darker Beauty and the Beast vibes and I loved that. I thought the writing was so well done. I love Sophie Lark's writing because it's so easy to fall into. I always find myself flying through her books when I am reading because it is so accessible and addicting.
I really loved Miko and Nessa as characters. I thought that they were really interesting and distinct from one another. I really loved that Nessa was a dancer and that she was very focused on her dancing. I thought Miko was really interesting to read from as well. He had a very rough start to it and the beginning of this had me heartbroken for him.
The reason this book got a four and a half stars was because the relationship between Miko and Nessa seemed to have developed really quickly without them being around each other as much as I expected. However, it was acknowledged in this book and I appreciated seeing the way Sophie Lark brought them together.
I would say if you want a very accessible and well written mafia romance, definitely pick up this series.

Content Warnings

elisabethsbookshelf's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Mikolaj is so sexy, I can’t even talk about it. Nessa is perfect.
I loved the sweet & innocent vs. bad boy vibes in this🥹

Content Warnings

More...