Moonlit Thorns

Midnight Manor, Book 1

By: P. Rayne

Narrated by: Rose Dioro, Marcio Catalano

Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

No one knows what happens up at Midnight Manor.

The home of the Voss brothers sits like a sentinel looking down on our small town, remaining a mystery. The four brooding billionaires rarely leave the confines of the iron gates, fueling rumors that have existed for decades.

When my father dies, all the security I’ve known is ripped away, forcing me to come face to face with the eldest brother, Asher Voss. His outward beauty is just as I’d heard—it belies a predatory nature, irresistibly drawing me in.

A bargain is made, and I have no choice but to live in the shadowy confines of his gothic manor to save my family. As time passes, it becomes harder and harder to deny our attraction.

Asher Voss might be too old for me, and he’s definitely cursed by his own demons, but an inferno of passion between us threatens to either consume or destroy us both.

MOONLIT THORNS is a dark contemporary romance Beauty and the Beast retelling.

©2024 Piper Rayne Inc. (P)2024 Piper Rayne Inc.

WOW!

This was a red hot, adult version of Beauty and the Beast. It was very enjoyable. However, Annabelles’ character was not the sweet innocent I was hoping for and neither was the MC. I love that it was also an age gap romance. If I had to sum it up, I would say that it was a good read but had very few references to Beauty and the Beast.

The dual narration is EVERYTHING!!

The overall feel of this Beauty and the Beast retelling was definitely my vibe. Between what happens in the basement, and the little bit of the suspense in the plot line, I was definitely intrigued. These two had quite the journey as well. I loved Archer's backstory, and I'm excited to see how it impacted all the brothers differently throughout the series. I'm always intrigued by characters that are grumpy and kind of mean, but actually can be very sweet to the woman they like. While it took him a while to warm up, there’s just something about "only nice to her" that I just really, really love! I also really loved Anabelle throughout the story. I feel like she was tested on many levels, for many reasons, and she showed up. I thought it was interesting how the authors tied in the different elements of the beauty and beast story into this one. I always find it really fascinating to see how authors do retellings, and I enjoy what they come up with. The whole vibe of this book was just totally on point for my style, which made some of the little cliche parts easier to deal with. I think this story set up a solid foundation for the rest of series. I’m feeling like it's going to get better with each book and I’m really excited about it. I do think that this would be a good introduction to dark romance for contemporary readers, because it’s not too dark. I really loved the set up for the series, and I cannot wait to get to know all the Voss Brothers! Next up is a Rapunzel retelling and I am here for it!

Great Read!

The story and narration were both good! The dual narration made it more enjoyable. I look forward to the other brothers stories.

worth it!!

worth the credit!
This audiobook is excellent and the narrators bring it alive.
it is hot and sexy.
I highly recommend.

A spicy Beauty and the Beast retelling!

This is the first book in three Midnight Manor series and it is so good! It is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but a gothic dark romance version.

Annabelle meets Asher Voss when she shows up at his estate to try to save her families home after her father’s passing. Asher makes a deal with her that if she works for him for a year then he will not take her families home. The twist though is she has to live at his estate and she can’t have her phone.

Annabelle and Asher have a bit of instant love but Asher tries hard to not act upon it. Annabelle eventually learns a huge Voss family secret which brings Asher and Annabelle together.

They both have intense chemistry and their journey and watching them both grow individually and together kept me wanting to keep reading to know what would happen next.

We are briefly introduced to the other Voss brothers and I can’t wait for the other books to learn more about them!

I really enjoyed the audiobook of this and loved the narrators! It was easy to follow along and kept me entertained!

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

🖤 dark romance
🖤 fairytale retelling
🖤 age-gap
🖤 dual POV
🖤 billionaire
🖤 BDSM