Stolen Heir (Brutal Birthright Book 2) by Sophie Lark

🛑 Please Do Not Read If You Would Like to Avoid Spoilers 🛑

Ratings:

⭐️: 3.5/5

🌶: 3/5

Tropes:

- Enemies to Lovers

- ⚠️ Trigger Warning ⚠️

- Suicide

- S*xual Assault

- Mob Boss/Ballerina

Review:

This is the fourth book I have read by author Sophie Lark. I was introduced to her books by bookstagram account @lcsbookstagram with my first read being Brutal Prince part of the Brutal Birthright series. I can say her style of writing has been a new introduction because it has a sense of a modern-day feel. When reading, it seems like I can see the actual characters in real-life society walking amongst a crowd. After reading Brutal Prince, the first book in the Brutal Birthright series, I was intrigued and couldn’t wait to start Stolen Heir, the second book. I enjoyed the first book very much along with the characters in it. Since I knew the second book would contain new main characters, but would still possess characters from the first novel I was ecstatic. From the start of reading the book, it was different and had a different plot from the first book which impressed me, but as I kept reading, I knew this wouldn’t be my favorite.

The book starts in Poland which I love because most books don’t seek to tell a story outside of America. In Poland lives the main character of the book Mikolaj Wilk, also known as Miko, who financially takes care of his family. This time takes place ten years before the beginning of Brutal Prince and the book itself. His mother abandoned her family, and his father suffers from an injury that affected him mentally and physically. Not to mention he has a twin sister who he adores and admires. But, that is cut short because one day he comes home to find his sister in a bad state after being r*ped by three men. The men all are part of the criminal world having power behind them. Unfortunately, after her s*xual assault, she commits s****de and Mikolaj even though small and a young teenage boy seeks revenge. This aspect of the book even at the beginning speaks true to life. Many s*xual assault victims either tell or don’t talk about what happened to them. Even if they do tell people they don’t believe them often and justice is not served. It is an extremely hard process and I always feel sympathy for those that have endured such a heinous act. He does kill two of the three men with the last being killed by the man that he works for boss of the Polish Braterstwo, Tymon Zajac, also known as the Butcher. Due to his ambition and the potential,

he saw in him Zajac took Miko in. I was happy about him being killed, but if you commit such a violent act against someone, I believe you should be tortured 🤷🏾‍♀️. However, Miko was able to receive his revenge while joining forces and becoming a sort of a son to Zajac who eventually took him to the states.

Well, Tymon Zajac was in the first book and if you have read it, you know he dies in that book. So, it was prevalent the issues that would happen in Stolen Heir were due to his death. It was proven from the first chapter Miko who now runs the Polish Braterstwo in Chicago is seeking revenge. It is against those who killed or played a part in his boss and the person he looked up to as a father's death. That would be the Italian and Irish mafia which readers learn about in Brutal Prince. In response, he kidnaps the Irish mob boss's daughter, Nessa Griffin, who is the sister of the hero in book one Callum Griffin. Nessa was a sweet girl and a beautiful dancer, but she was naive at certain points, and for her to be the daughter of a mob boss she was careless. I understood at first because she was spoiled and sheltered from the criminal world and even the real world. There is common sense and she lacked it at times like when she walked in the middle of the night by herself and knows someone is following her. She keeps looking back to witness who is following her and even though she is not taken at the moment as a city girl I have been taught to be aware of my surroundings. When I read that scene, I was like WHAT THE F**K? I was thinking to myself is she that dumb to walk around Chicago by herself. Not to mention when she was kidnapped when the person came up to her who claimed to help, but in reality, was Miko’s brother and right-hand man Jonas. She let him come up to her right when her car stopped working and from the beginning, she should have known it was no coincidence. Eventually, she did when it was too

late. Not to mention she was a pushover which I understand can happen because at points in my life I am a pushover and it hurts me. But, she let the dance company owner she choreographed take credit for her work. There is no way I would do that as an adult, but since the man had power, it scared her. This speaks to true life as well.

From that point on she is Miko’s prisoner living in his old-style mansion home that is secluded from others in Chicago. At first, I was intrigued to know what will happen, but as the book continued it became visible the plot of the book. Man kidnaps women and they bicker and fight, but eventually fall in love. That is exactly what happened, and I call that Stockholm syndrome 🤢 because even though Miko never hit or abused Nessa he still kidnapped her. She fell in love with him even giving him her virginity, but before that, they were already sharing kisses and having oral s*x. I cringed at certain parts besides the s*x scenes like Nessa learning the Polish language and the way she was learning it which seemed unrealistic. Also, Miko has an attraction to Nessa and picturing her while having s*x with another woman. This book kind of missed the mark for me because Lark is an amazing writer, but I wasn’t fond of the plot 😢 or the characters. Not to mention the book was over 300 pages and to me, it didn’t need to be that long at all. Through this particular twist, I wasn’t surprised Jonas turned against Miko because it was noticeable from the beginning. The fight scene and many other scenes seemed to be rushed without detail provided as well. Then the Italians and Irish mob seemed kind of weak with all the s**t Miko was able to get away with. He kidnapped Nessa, stole money from the Irish, and set up Dante 🤣. Though he had the help of the Bratva he was still able to do a lot and I am surprised he didn’t get killed by them even when he set Nessa free and partnered with them.

Even though I had my issues with the book it was decent, and I liked that Lark made Miko blonde because when I read books it is rare to see blonde heroes., Some people look at them as pretty or weak, but Miko sure wasn’t, so I liked his character. Besides that, he has a sentimental aspect to him especially about, his sister and Nessa of course. I did like the characters and felt like they had chemistry and I like it when he called her, "My little ballerina." I however for some reason still see the relationship as a result of Stockholm

syndrome. I did see the Beauty and the Beast aspect of the book because at the end you witness Miko’s true beauty after he releases himself from the revenge and hatred he harbored.

Though this wasn’t my favorite book, and I gave it an overall low score along with a low score on the steamy scenes it was a good read. I don’t expect every book to be perfect, but I will be honest about the way I feel about it. I do recommend it and for you to come up with your own opinions because it wasn’t terrible. Now I will be starting to read Savage Lover which is the third book in the series 😊!

"Stolen Heir" Amazon Link