Valentina was brought into my home when we were teenagers, her virgin body sold to my father to pay a debt. She was meant to be his plaything, but I claimed her innocence for myself.My father discovered us together, and he exiled me from Colombia to America, where I was commanded to run his cocaine empire on the west coast. I bided my time, consolidating power until the day I was strong enough to … strong enough to take my Valentina.
I’d been consumed with plans to rescue her, but she didn’t wait for me. She fell in love with another man, and I loathe her for that.
My hatred doesn’t stop me from stealing her back for myself. After ten long years of separation, I finally return home to claim what has always been mine. Valentina will fight me, but she doesn’t realize that the cruelly possessive boy she used to love has grown into a sadistic man. Her cries for mercy will only fuel my obsession and my burning need to punish her for daring to love someone else.
Valentina has always belonged to me. I will make her mine, whether she wants it or not. I will own her forever, body and soul.
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Wow, this dark romance just blew me away! Hot, dark, and tragic-sweet in the best possible way. Highly recommend!
A beautiful original romance
Sold in her chilhood, as a pledge of debt, Valentina, 14, discovers the first moments of Love with Adrián, during her captivity.
Ten years later, things have changed.
Adrián has disappeared.
Hugo, horrible and vicious, married Valentina for the latter’s great misfortune.
Valentina is nothing more than a soulless doll who pretends until the day she meets Adrián again.
There, an immeasurable feeling of revenge overhelms her…
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A beautiful original romance with captivating, complex and varied characters, an intriguing story and a lot of unexpected events.
I wasn’t bored for a second and the novel kept me in suspense until the end.
Congratulations to the author !
I recommend.
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~~ 5 INTOXICATING STARS! ~~
“You’ve always been mine.”
STEALING BEAUTY by Julia Sykes was ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING! I have been coveting Valentina’s story for a long time and this exhilarating tale exceeded every expectation!
THE STORY:
First some backstory from the prequel, STOLEN INNOCENCE, which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND READING FIRST. At the tender age of 14, Valentina Moreno was brutally ripped away from her home when she was sold to Colombian drug lord Vicente Rodríguez by her evil half-brother, Cristian, to pay off outstanding family debts Trapped like prey in Vicente’s luxurious estate, Valentina was scared and alone, petrified of what lay ahead as her cruel captor waited for the virginal beauty to come of age so he could savagely claim her as his.
But there was an oasis in her storm of chaos. Adrián. Although she and Vicente’s teenage son initially got off on the wrong foot, they eventually became inseparable and forbidden love bloomed.
But in a cruel twist of fate, Adrián and Valentina were viciously ripped apart after they are caught in a compromising position. Adrián was banished to the United States, and as punishment, a “defiled” Valentina was forced into marriage to Vicente’s vile goon, Hugo. She prayed that Adrián would rescue her one day….
This brings us to the present story, STOLEN BEAUTY, which begins 10 years later. Adrián is now a powerful and ruthless drug lord in California and he steals back the woman that was always his . But this abduction is no act of undying love. It’s PAYBACK pure and simple Seething with hatred, he vows to never again open his heart to his newly acquired prize who he assumes willingly betrayed him with his worst enemy. And the animosity is mutual. Valentina loathes this cold, unfeeling man who she believes abandoned her to build his empire in America, leaving her at her cruel tormentor’s mercy…crimes she can never forgive.
However, there is a fine line between love and hate.
And as he spirits his her away on a treacherous journey from Columbia to California, can his beautifully broken captive submit to his rough, possessive dominance…and unlock the steel bars around her menacing master’s heart ? Or will old enemies destroy them both first?
MY MUSINGS:
Wow! STOLEN BEAUTY was everything I could have dreamed of for Adrián and Valentina’s sumptuous love story. It was HEARTBREAKINGLY EMOTIONAL. RAW AND GRITTY. DARK AND TWISTED. LUSHLY ROMANTIC AND RAPTUROUSLY SEXY. And teeming with so much PULSE-POUNDING DANGER, THRILLING ADVENTURE AND EDGE OF YOUR SEAT SUSPENSE, it stole my breath!
I loved the blistering intensity and explosive chemistry of this romance, stemming from Valentina and Adrián’s rich, tumultuous history, and there is the perfect blend of dark brutality and torrid BDSM exchanges throughout to satiate my wicked cravings.
To say this book is SCORCHING HOT is an understatement and I would willing submit to Master Adrián’s dark pleasures any day! Sighhh. He is so powerful and predatory, devilishly sexy and darkly menacing, he made me quake whenever he stalked into a room. And the devious punishments he meted out MELTED MY PANTIES and left me PANTING!!
But when he’s not prowling or subjugating his sweet prey, there is also another side to him that equally intoxicating. A gentler, softer side, where rare glimmers of the adoring boy Valentina once loved shine through. And when danger strikes, and her formidable captor becomes her dark avenging angel, it becomes abundantly clear that he will go to the ends of the earth to possess and protect his “conejita”! I thought the author did an exceptional job depicting the warring feelings Valentina sparks inside of him and how he wants to hurt her and cherish her at the same time.
“I craved him, even the darkest parts of his soul.”
Gah! My heart broke for what poor Valentina suffered through! But while she may APPEAR meek and submissive, a furious fire rages within her…and there is much more to her than meets the eye. Adrián believes she sold her soul to the devil for her own gain but playing the role of devoted wife to Hugo Sánchez, the second most powerful man in Bogotá, took an unbearable toll. However, she did what she had to in order to survive and despite all the torture and degradations she endured, she was “done being a pawn. Done being an object to be traded and stolen in power exchanges between cruel men.” And would fight for freedom no matter what it took!
I savored the evolution of this action-packed and achingly bittersweet enemies to lovers romance which starts out so hostile and antagonistic, but as past hurts and tragic misunderstandings bubble to the surface, raging hot passion reignite, scorching away the darkness that had blackened Adrián and Valentina’s hearts during their long, agonizing years apart ..
“Our ravaged souls fit together: two halves of a whole.”
But the battle between them is just part of their story as dangerous enemies must be defeated at all costs!
BOTTOM LINE:
I cannot rave enough about STEALING BEAUTY, which now officially has become one of my all-time favorite of Julia Sykes’ dark romances! And while I am elated that this long-suffering duo finally get their richly deserved HEA, I am now clamoring for Matteo’s and Sofia tale in PRETTY HOSTAGE!
I enjoyed this one for the most part. It was a relatively quick read that had me hooked right from the start. The writing was great. It was well paced. It was told in a dual POV format. The plot was engaging. The sex scenes were smokin’ hot and leaned towards some BDSM action. Neither were virgins. There wasn’t any OW drama. There was some OM drama in the form of her husband. There was only one secondary character of note, and that was Mateo. I can’t wait to read his and Sofia’s book.
Both the main characters were likable. I loved Valentina. She had been dealt a sh!t hand, but she still had some strength inside her. I liked Adrián as well, but I had a bit of an issue with his hatred for Valentina. It annoyed me a bit that it never ONCE crossed this dude’s mind that MAYBE, just MAYBE Valentina was being forced to pretend to be in love with her husband? He knew first hand how evil Hugo was, not to mention his father, yet it never occurs to him to maybe…I don’t know…have a conversation with her instead of just ASSuming??!! Ya…Ya…I know, it would have been a short book if they worked it out right off the bat, but I still found it annoying! (lol) Last, it was all wrapped up in a happy for now ending.
So that is about all I have to say. I enjoyed it, and I am looking forward to the next book.
This was an emotional ride from beginning to end that sucked me into Adrian & Valentina’s heartbreaking story: hopelessness, anger, rage, hate, suffering & a faint spark of a 2nd chance for the possibility of love, however dark, to bloom.
I think the reader would be well served to read the prequel: ‘Stolen Innocence’ as it gives the reader a better foundation for the original youthful relationship between Adrian & Valentina, although it isn’t specifically required.
This book starts 10 years after Adrian & Valentina were forcibly separated by Adrian’s Columbian drug lord father, Vincente~~~ Adrian is sent to California to create a drug cartel, while Valentina was kept in Columbia & given to Vincente’s loathsome & cruel strong arm man Hugo to marry.
For years Valentina had lived with a desperate hope that her hero Adrian would come & rescue her, but after 10 years of hearing nothing from him, she lives as a beaten & broken toy for a cruel & heinously abusive husband.
And Adrian has lived with a fiery hatred & rage for the woman he loved after finding out she married & presumably loved his father’s vicious 2nd in command who beat Adrian as a young boy & teen.
But now, in Columbia for his father’s wedding, Adrian realizes he has an opportunity to punish both Hugo & Valentina & with his loyal 2nd in command Mateo, Adrian kidnaps Valentina.
The decade away from Valentina has only intensified Adrian’s dark sadistic sexual urges & now that he hates Valentina, there is no longer any love to shield her from his darkness & punishments . . . .
There is raw & intense emotion that bleeds from both Adrian & Valentina, both were separated at a young age in a violent & abrupt manner, both too young to understand the manipulations the evil adults in their lives were perpetrating. The reader aches for the torment & physical pain Valentina endured silently, alone, as well as for an anguished Adrian who never got over the perceived betrayal by the only woman he’s ever loved.
Once they are together, the reader is given their alternating POV’s in every other chapter, allowing the reader to understand just how cruelly both Adrian & Valentina were abused mentally & physically by Vincente & Hugo & how confused & tormented their feelings for each other are.
While Adrian has grown into a hardened brilliant cartel drug lord, only his Valentina is able to curb his dark side, to allow a sadistic but safe release to calm his vicious beast.
And Valentina, now a beautiful & graceful woman, is confused by the man her youthful hero has grown into: huge, muscled, strong, brutal & yet in his eyes & expressions she sometimes sees her young but sadistic hero again.
There is action, tension & suspense as Adrian, Valentina & Mateo flee from Columbia to California, dodging & fighting Vincente & Hugo’s brutal allies along the way who are determined to return Valentina to Hugo. And as far as Valentina knows, she’s escaped one cruel captor for another.
While I did not find this book to be as dark as some I’ve read, there are reader’s for whom it may be. There are potential triggers of non-con, violence, abuse, some rough & intense BDSM.
An excellent & exciting story with action, suspense, tension, danger, steam & romance I thoroughly enjoyed. I look forward to Mateo & Sophia’s story!
The first third became repetitive to me when Valentina repeatedly meandered through the same set of thoughts every time she had a free thinking moment. I find that writing ploy to fill up space so the author has a certain # of required words to be boring and monotonous. I skimmed those sections. However, once Adrian actually escaped with Valentina to California, the whole premise of the story changed.
Adrian is a character you can tell is a bit off his rocker, in a sadistic way. Once he’s on his home turf, these BDSM tendencies come to the fore. I’m just glad it’s Valentina at the receiving end, because he would scare the poop out of me! This is where the use of their prior relationship is used wisely.
The author also manipulates the story well to continue the arc of the series into the next book. I’m gleefully looking forward to reading it. I’ve had the various books in this series in my TBR list for quite some time and am grateful that I was able to get this one at a time when it was free, as now I will gladly pay for the subsequent novels. Yeah!
OMG a must read. Love the story live in all the books .. great job
I couldn’t get through this book. Be forewarned that it’s fairly violent.
Very enjoyable
Good plot and characters. Spicy sex scenes but lead female lacked character. Male lead lacked intelligence.
well written, fast paced, good eroticism, but violent subject – should be noted as submissive/dominant subject matter – not really erotic romance.
Happy, loved it
Stealing Beauty is a dark, angry, violent, revengeful story that somehow, through Julia Sykes writing, managed to become a beautiful, hopeful, reclamation of love. Valentina always thought Adrian would return to save her from the cruelties she was forced to endure. Adrian was sure that Valentina would shun love with another and wait until he could return.
When Valentina was 14 and Adrian 18, he was sent to America to set up his own drug cartel. It is 10 years later, and Adrian is a success. He returns to Columbia to witness his father’s marriage and views the look of supposed happiness on Valentina’s demeanor as an affront to his past friendship with her. He has no substantive way to know the hell she has endured. The solution seems to be to kidnap and punish her for her betrayal.
As with Ms. Sykes other writing, this story engulfed my senses. I felt fear and anger and some very dark revenge. I also experienced anticipation, satisfaction, and the regeneration of love between these two damaged individuals. This is an absorbing and enjoyable story of second chances and forever love.
I jumped straight into this after reading the prequel for free on Kindle. This story was action packed and hard hitting with some very hot and steamy scenes. However, it did feel like Valentina and Adrian suddenly changed and all the hate etc they’d felt for each other instantly disappeared. I would’ve liked to see them work through their feelings and build up to being together as a couple and then discuss their future. As with the prequel, the story seems to be progressing well and then it almost becomes rushed to get to the end. I definitely think this story needs extending to show more of the couple working through their issues. However, this is a book I would happy recommend to anyone who has not yet read it
This is one powerful look at the darker side of life where one’s choices are taken away and has to learn to cope with a new reality. Although it can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading the prequel, “Stolen Innocence,” as it gives more background information on Valentina and Adrian’s lives. This story picks up ten years after Valentina was first brought to her new home with Vicente, a drug lord, and his son Adrian. He is later sent away to California to keep him away from Valentina. She is left alone and forced to live a life of submission to her abusive husband Hugo. Neither Valentina nor Adrian has forgotten the other. Valentina hoped for years that Adrian would come and save her but he never did. While Adrian was away, his hatred and anger grows. The two come into contact again as Vicente is about to get married. Adrian decides to get his revenge against his father, Hugo and Valentina. How far is Adrian willing to go to write a wrong? Will Adrian realize the truth about Valentina before it is too late? From the beginning this book will pull you in and not let go. Ms. Sykes has penned a well written storyline with dynamic characters, intense action, steam and suspense. I look forward to reading the next book.
I volunteered to read a copy of this book and all opinions are my own.
STEALING BEAUTY by Julia Sykes is book One in the Stolen Series, there is a Novella called ‘Stolen Innocence’ that introduces their characters along with the start of their circumstance. This is the story of Adrián and Valentina. Adrián and Valentina are in the present day have a hate / love feeling towards each other. Each thinks the other betrayed them which leads to the hatred but each can’t get past the love and desire they feel. This is a dark romance that does take a dark turn with some abuse the heroine has from a previous relationship and Adrián harsh feelings at first towards her do to him thinking she betrayed him. Overall this was a page turner for me since I like Dark Romances.
I hope to read more from Ms. Sykes.
First I have to say that this book is effing amazing just simply amazing! I love a dark romance but I love it when it has other elements in it as well. Let me tell you Julia did her homework because drug lords are ruthless arseholes that will kill you and your family to get what they want. Can I say that Hugo was a total douche bag. He had some serious issues with him and he was a total arse to Valentina. Plus Adrian’s father was a mother effer and a ruthless bastard that was willing to do anything he wanted to anyone.
Adrian I have to say that at first I hated him like really hated him because I could not understand why he was so effing mean to Valentina. She did nothing to him all he had to do was ask her what happened and everything would have been okay between them. Yes they still would have some hate and be angry with each other but it wouldn’t have been to the extreme like it was. Valentina oh my God did my heart break for her. She was used and abused and treated like a second class citizen if not even that but she stood strong and took it all and finally when she escaped she was able to handle all the craziness that was going on. This is a must read beginning to the series and I need book two like yesterday!
Oh my goodness!!! This book was dark, Intense, suspenseful, and cracked my heart wide I open!
I recommend reading the prequel Stolen Innocence before reading this book. It is not necessary but will give you more background on Adrien and Valentina. This story takes place 10 years later when Valentina comes face to face with Adrien at Vincente’s wedding. He didn’t keep his promise to come back to save her. Valentina has been through hell at the hands of her husband Hugo. Adrien doesn’t know about the things Valentina has been through with this man. He decides to kidnap her to have as his just as he always planned. This is a steamy, sexy read with BDSM elements.
A great dark mafia romance and a second chance story too. The couple is first introduced in Stolen Innocence when they were just kids. This story is about Mafia Lords so there are a lot of cringing scenes. It’s full of suspense non stop entertainment until the very end.
I was a little lost at some point because there are a lot of characters that play important roles but it was an amazing storyline.
For better enjoyment, read Stolen Innocence. You don’t really need to read that part in order to read this one. It does come with an HEA. I recommend this story.