
Dark romance, Modern Royal
April 02, 2020
Kindle
318
https://amzn.to/2yBk3jn

Every royal has their dirty little secret. His was… me. It should have been simple. Go to the ball, meet the prince, and secure his patronage for my favorite charity. But beneath the mask, the brooding beast of a man was not at all who I expected. He was dark and intense and eerily quiet. When I left, I could still feel the ghost of his touch branded into my skin. He haunted my dreams, but I never expected to see him again. Then he came for me. And he took me. And I learned that his darkness was a void I never could have conceived. He’s the crown prince of Norway. And, now, I’m his captive.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE A. Zavarelli’s work – so much so that she’s one of the few authors I have featured on my Instagram more than once. In fact, she wrote two books on my Top 5 favorite books list!
I will say this is NOT your childhood Cinderella story. It’s a dark twisted tale of a prince and his captive and the relationship that takes hold between two broken people.
It got a LITTLE weird for me at the end but I needed to remind myself that absolute power corrupts and sociopaths don’t think like normal, rational people.
The Story
After Ella’s father is brutally murdered while trying to protect her and her step family from being hurt during a robbery, Ella is forced to reside with her wicked step family. They blame her for her father’s death as does Ella.
She is not only treated as less than human, she suffers severe abuse at the hands of her step-sister who has left her with permanent physical and emotional scars. She is kept locked in her home as a prisoner but finds solace at a local animal rescue. Despite her best efforts, Olivia, the owner of the shelter, is damn near bankrupt and may have to close the sanctuary.
Because it’s her personal refuge, Ella is desperate to save it. Her best friend receives an invitation to an exclusive ball where princes from all over will attend in hopes if meeting their brides. Because Charlotte is already engaged, she thinks this is the best opportunity for Ella to get in front of the Prince to help save the rescue.
However, at the masquerade ball she gets in line for the wrong prince and comes face to face with the prince with a horrible reputation, Thorson Lykken.
Thorson is unable to stop thinking about the goddess he came face-to-face with at the ball, and when he finds, he isn’t willing to let her go and she becomes his captive.
The Characters
Ella: She is not your normal “woe-is-me” victim. What I love about her is she can find the good in people, even when they are dark and mean. She’s suffered significantly at the hands of her evil step sister and her ability to withstand pain and torture turns into something dark and sinful at the hands of her captor.
She’s a diety up on my alter, and it would be just as tempting to worship her, which leaves me feeling unsettled.
Thorson: Thorson is a broken shell of a man who has had his heart broken but two people he trusted. He endured a different type of torture during his youth that has scarred him for life. He’s the heir to the Norwegian throne but has no intention of taking the crown.
He’s a very complicated individual who fights internal wars in his mind on a daily basis. He’s extremely loyal to his twin brother and his mother, but detests his father and what his father stands for.
He is poetry in motion, and each angle never fails to capture my attention all over again.
Let’s Talk About (the) Sex, Baby!

WHEW! This has all sorts of BDSM vibes and I was IN NEED of a good XXXTRA Hot BDSM story with a good storyline. A. Zavarelli delivered again!
It’s super hot and I don’t want to spoil any of the scenes because they were all super hot, sexy, and SUPER dark.
I want to feel him inside me, the place where no man has ever been. The temple just for him. I want him to fuck me until his body gives out.
The Writing
I will say that this story focused way more on the sex than my experience with A. Zavarelli’s books in the past so the story was just “good” to me, not completely and utterly soul shattering like her other books.
But she can do no wrong in my book and despite some weird stuff toward the end, I couldn’t put this book down.
My body is his church. His place of worship. And he’s feeling especially devout tonight. We come together with a manic craving that will never be sated.
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