Yeah. I can live with that.
One Cursed Rose Playlist
Grimm Bargains #1
Rebecca Zanetti
Link on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/48MJevu
1. “What If I Was Nothing,” All That Remains
2. “Fiend,” Talia Shay
3. “Beauty and the Beast,” JAE
4. “Where It Ends,” Bailey Zimmerman
5. “Star Walkin’,” Lil Nas X
6. “Wicked as They Come,” CRMNL
7. “Cool for the Summer,” Demi Lovato
8. “One Last Breath,” Creed
9. “Don’t Cry (Original) 2022 remake,” Guns N’Roses
10. “Being Evil Has a Price,” Heavy Young Heathens
11. “Kings Never Die,” Eminem, Gwen Stefani
12. “Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish
13. “Angeles,” Elliott Smith
14. “Wildfire,” Demi Lovato
Acknowledgments
The idea of writing a dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast was a challenge I just loved, and I hope readers enjoy Thorn and Alana’s romance as much as I did. There are many folks to thank in getting this book to readers, and I sincerely apologize to anybody I’ve forgotten.
A heartfelt thanks to Big Tone for your understanding and support as I wrote at the lake during the summer and edited between football games in the fall. Even though the kids are in college, it seems like we’re busier than ever these days, and I love that you make sure we take some time for the two of us. I promise I don’t use anything you say in my books. Honest. You can trust me. For sure.
Huge hugs and love to the kids, Gabe and Karlina, who are patient and put up with my odd questions, like what’s a better way to describe the color green? It is a lot of fun to watch you in college, and even more fun to visit and take you out. You’re both doing so well, and I can’t tell you how very proud we are of you, and I work with words. A lot. I love you both so much.
Thank you to my intuitive agent, Caitlin Blasdell, who always comes up with the best twists, turns, and plots. I really enjoy bouncing ideas off you, and I hope we’re still doing so when we’re old, which is a long, long, long time from now. I appreciate your insights and great assistance in navigating this career.
I know I dedicated the book to my editor, Alicia Condon, but I also need to send a big thank you right here. You not only have great ideas for fascinating plots but you edit with a fine eye for every detail. I also appreciate your rare ability to handle stressed-out creative people . . . like me. When I was a lawyer, I just fired irritating clients. I appreciate you being so kind and understanding when I feel like my head is about to explode sometimes.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone at Kensington Publishing: Alexandra Nicolajsen, Steven Zacharius, Adam Zacharius, Lynn Cully, Vida Engstrand, Jane Nutter, Lauren Jernigan, Barbara Bennett, Elizabeth May, Steven Roman, and Carly Sommerstein.
I want to thank Liz Berry for helping me plot this one while we sat by a pool and relaxed as much as either of us is capable of doing. I love our time together—you’re a wonderful friend.
A thank you to my amazing assistant, Anissa Beatty, for your hard work with Rebecca’s Rebels, my FB street team, and for handling all of my social media. Also, a huge thank you to my Beta readers: Rebels Madison Fairbanks, Kimberly Frost, Heather Frost, Leanna Feazel, Asmaa Qayyum, Suzi Zuber, Jessica Mobbs, and Joan Lai.
Also, thank you to my constant support system. Special thanks to Gail and Jim English, Kathy and Herb Zanetti, Debbie and Travis Smith, Stephanie and Don West, Jessica and Jonah Namson, Chelli and Jason Younker, Liz and Steve Berry, and Jillian and Benji Stein.
Finally, a heartfelt thanks to you, the reader, for coming on this new journey with me. I hope you liked my first dark romance. (Yes, I know that the Dark Protectors and the Scorpius Syndrome were dark . . . but this is darker. Right?)
Keep reading for a special excerpt of the next Grimm Bargains novel,
One Dark Kiss.
Rosalie
Alone, I cross my legs again beneath the intimidating metal table secured to the floor, feeling as out of place as a raven in a nursery rhyme. The heat clunks and whispers from a grate in the ceiling but fails to warm the interview room, and when the door finally opens, the heavy frame scrapes against the grimy cement floor.
My spine naturally straightens and my chin lifts as my client stalks inside, his hands cuffed to a chain secured around his narrow waist. He doesn’t shuffle. Or walk. Or saunter.
No. This man . . . stalks.
