Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark is the second book of her Brutal Birthright Series. I kept seeing this book recommendation pop up all over Instagram. It made me extremely curious. I haven’t read the first book yet, so I am hoping it was okay to read it as a standalone. The story follows the romance between Nessa Griffin and Mikolaj Wilk.
Stolen Heir focuses on the youngest Griffin sister Nessa, belonging to an Irish mafia family, and Mikolaj Wilk. The Griffin family is responsible for the murder of the Polish Mafia head, Miko’s father. Now, he wants revenge, and he kidnaps the youngest Griffin, Nessa. The main draw for me about this book was that it is a Beauty and the Beast retelling with a Mafia twist.
Nessa is sweet and kind. She is an exceptional ballet dancer and is pampered and protected by her family. Miko wants revenge for his father and his family. He believes that Nessa’s kidnapping will throw the Griffins and Gallos off, and he can get what he wants. Miko and Nessa are drawn to each other from the start, but given their circumstances, there is an air of mistrust, and rightly so. Nessa’s innocence and sweetness bother Miko in a way. It reminds him of all he lost at a young age. You understand the reasons for him being the way he is because he has been through very difficult times.
I didn’t count on liking Miko’s character as much as I did because you don’t really get to know a lot about him. He is an enigma; intriguing but distant. He is smart about what he hopes to accomplish with Nessa’s kidnapping, but he doesn’t count on caring for her. Nessa sees Miko at his worst in the beginning. But slowly, starts to uncover his layers, and what she finds fascinates her. He doesn’t want her hurt, but she is worried about her family. Their chemistry and their romance is amazing and passionate. They start to understand and trust each other. Their individual character arcs make them strong as a couple.
Stolen Heir by Sophie Lark is a passionate yet sweet romance book. There is action because it is a mafia story but is more character-driven. Miko and Nessa are characters you will remember. They make you care about their story and their romance. It’s enemies to lovers’ book, but the similarities to Beauty and the Beast definitely added another layer to it, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved reading this book; I couldn’t put it down. I cannot wait to read the other books of this mafia Brutal Birthright romance series.
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