"Tonight, I'm going to be her hero. Even if tomorrow I have to be her Beast."

When my father decides to auction off my hand in some twisted Mafia version of The Bachelorette, I want to believe my once-upon-a-time crush might swoop in to save me. You know, the guy I shared a house with for a few years? The one they now call the Beast? Yeah, him. Spoiler alert: he's not here to play Prince Charming. He's out for revenge.

At twenty-one, I should be nailing fouettés on stage, not being paraded around like a prized show pony. Funny how life works out, huh? One minute you're a promising ballerina, the next you're battling cancer and family betrayals. Now? I'm just a chess piece in my father's ruthless game, stuck between power-hungry men who see me as their ticket to the top.

Enter Antonio, my former step-never-brother and leading man in my teenage fantasies. The boy I crushed on has morphed into this scarred, intimidating beast of a man. Seeing him again? It's like a sucker punch to the gut – fear, anger, and this annoyingly persistent spark of desire I can't seem to squash.

His touch? Let's just say it sets off a fireworks show inside me that puts the 4th of July to shame. It's raw, it's consuming, and it leaves me gasping for air... and maybe for more. Okay, definitely for more. Damn it.

As D-day (or should I say A-day for 'auction') approaches, I'm thrown headfirst into this cesspool of power plays, lies, and alliances shadier than a forest at midnight. My heart does this stupid little pirouette every time Antonio's near, and suddenly, I can't tell where love ends and hate begins.

Can I trust the guy who used to play piano for me or will his vendetta drag us both down? In this funhouse mirror world where loyalty's as rare as a unicorn and passion's just another weapon, I've got to find a way to dance to my own tune.

Time to see if all those years of ballet have prepared me for the performance of my life.

Love's notes:
I love love love Beauty and The Beast retellings and writing this one had me on the edge of my seat. This book contains a lot of angst. In addition to, well, being a dark (ish) mafia romance, it also shows what it means to have early menopause due to cancer treatments. This is the first book in a trilogy and this first book is a hate-love-to-love-hate :P, with a growl-y alpha-hole who says things like "You're mine", "Touch her and...", and a female main character who is so much stronger than she realizes.