stars> The finale is here- can Beauty and Beast find a way forward, surviving the most precarious danger and thwarting a sea of enemies? This story begins right in the middle of the epic cliffhanger in Beast, as we see Aurora escaping immediate danger but she’s on the run, leaving behind a dying Beast. Her escape has her crossing paths with her slimy father- is he an ally or a foe? And can she leave behind the man she loves, when she doesn’t know his fate? Hugo and Vera Baas are powerful mafia figures, and they got there through careful planning and control. They have no sons, so their empire must pass on to their daughters, Jasmine and Jill. The girls are close friends. Jasmine is a few years older than Jill, and she is the only one that shows an interest in the family business. Both girls are introduced to it, but Jill is more interested in escaping the ugly life that she was born into. She is sweet and kind to all around her, very unlike the dark mafia world she lives in. She lives a protected life and spends her time making her own clothes so her wardrobe is rather original. The girls have known since they were young that their father would decide who they would one day marry, though that day always seemed too far off for it to feel like reality.

A wretched smile forms on my lips at the thought of making her mine. Of touching her, using her body, making her yield until she whimpers like before. So this was initially interesting but things did start to get a tad unbelievable after Ella escapes the compound.After their happy reunion they went to Ella's home, the one she had been kidnapped from. Apparently they never gave any consideration to the fact that their captor was still alive. They would have been easy targets by going to the first place he'd look for them. Also Ella didn't ask about nor was she informed by police that her captor's body hadn't been found. Eventually Cage spotted their captor. Immediately they went home, which was the stupidest thing they could do. Of course the captor was there. Yada yada yada he died. Beast was treated worse than an animal practically his whole after the murder of his parents at age 7yrs. then on the streets stealing scraps to survive then taken trained to kill he was such a compassionate person after everthing he's been through all the torture being treated like he was nothing more than a beast. But at the same time, she also finds herself falling for the gruff and at times naive male who is not surprisingly just a product of his environment. Also she wears gloves that her dad required her to wear for most of the book and it’s this huge deal apparently but also those gloves would be disgusting because I’m pretty sure she gives him a handjob with them on among other things. The fact that **spoilers*** her hands are disabled/disfigured is handled so poorly by the author. Like what was the point?? As a reason why other people would think she was disgusting?? It was gross the way other people were talking about her and that somehow she related to the beast because of them.

It snowballs from there. The author tries to make the relationship endearing, but I couldn’t see it. You find out the endgame for the sex and it does add to the story. **spoiler** when they get out the issues with this book really start. Her finding him again? Impossible. In the middle of some remote woods and he has no idea what’s going on around him, but makes it to somewhere close? Uh ok. Then there’s the paparazzi. Now you see them, now you don’t. They seem to be there when it adds to the story, then magically disappear when the H and h need space. Too inconsistent. The love story/ending? I can only shake my head. Then there’s his “career”. Plot hole. It’s mentioned and then basically gone. There are so many things mentioned in the book, one can only assume there will be a book 2. If there is, this reviewer will not be reading it. Initially published on the Kindle platform in 2018, this would be a stand-alone title released on the 26th of April. Featuring a lot of graphic content, it’s aimed squarely at adults, with strong depictions of sexuality featured throughout. The story itself features a couple finding themselves in the eponymous ‘Hotel O’ of the title, learning about each other and their own sexuality. My ARC copy included both CAGED and UNCAGED. I am not sure if they are going to be released as one long book or as a duet, but I have included a separate review for both here.While I very much enjoyed Caged, I felt that some parts were dragging in Uncaged. I also wasn’t very happy with the events that surrounded Caged. He was an unfortunate victim of circumstance, but instead of being treated as a victim, he was criticized, ridiculed and vilified as a monster. And because he didn’t know any better, he believed that he was unworthy. I loved this character so much and wanted better for him. I also wanted Ella to be a better person overall. I wasn’t a huge fan of hers but I was definitely a fan of their love. I recommend this story to those who enjoy romantic suspense with a touch of the dark side. This duet was so bad and yet I couldn’t put it down and had to finish it. It’s supposed to be based on beauty and the beast I guess but other than the names there’s no other sign of that story here. Aurora Blom has a hard time looking away when it comes to her father’s cruel and sadistic ways. In fact, at one time he told her to never look away. She might have taken over her father’s business one day if not for a single wrong choice when she was seven. Now she just needs to keep quiet, look pretty, wear her gloves, and play the piano on cue. Still, she has seen a lot over the years, and it never gets any easier. When the violence finally catches up with her father, chaos ensues. Her father escapes, but Aurora finds herself hauled away. She becomes a hostage, a toy, a reward – a lure to catch her father. She finds herself trapped in a cell with the same monster who stole her away, and the fact that she finds herself drawn to the beast terrifies her. Cage went to find Ella, but he didn't know where to go. All he knew was that she lived near the woods, which could have been a hell of a lot of places. So once he found a forest he decided to live in it since he didn't fit in in society. Somehow he knew how to live off the land although he'd never been outside until recently. Then Ella happened to find the woods where he was. The chances of that happening were so slim it was completely unbelievable. And to have the main character publicly ridiculed and shamed for her appearance, multiple times, was disgusting. I’m sure she ends up “learning to love herself” or another form of inspirational bullshit, but why have something like that used negatively in the first place? Scars and unique developments are so common and using it as a source of shame purely for a dramatic or tension filled plot point just seems lazy to me.

Lemon zest with a hint of honey. A perfume that wafts through the air every time she so much as flinches because of one little look. How does Aurora play the piano (“professionally” was used to describe her piano prowess) when her hands are as messed up as they’re described to be..? Because he takes it as an invitation to lean in even closer, practically smelling my skin. Goose bumps erupt on every inch of my skin. Beast eats a whole ass raw steak, thrown on the ground, and then goes down town on Aurora..? 🤢🤮🤢🤮 any type of hygiene would have been great in this book. I still don’t get the rationale of the raw meat only being fed to Beast one time. Yes I know it was to demonstrate him being less than human, but he was never fed raw meat again, and nothing was ever mentioned again about that, or his reaction when waiting in the cage acting like he had rabies or something (I.e. foaming at the mouth, biting the bars, etc.). Obviously it was all an act because he was doing what was expected of him, but to not discuss it seems a bit senseless.Also WTF is wrong with Aurora ? can she be more stupid and selfish ? how many times does her father have to betray her for her to understand ? yet she once again chose to put Beast in real danger to save him. It seems that she cares about him only when she needs saving. That was very ugly. First of all, why did beast even survive if he was shot multiple times?! And then he was chained up at the wall and could break free like the strong beast that he is. I had to laugh out loud, bc does this author even know what is and isn’t possible? She makes up so much ridiculous stuff, so much so that I’m asking myself if she was high when she wrote that duology. When it comes to novels with prisoner/captured theme I look for specifics. I look for story lines that have never been told before and I look for eerie realism that sends chills down my spine. Caged was just okay for me. I enjoyed the dark and gritty vibe to this novel but I felt this story has been told numerous times before. I was hoping it would be something completely out of this world that would literally blow my mind to pieces, but it was just okay.