The Auction ⭐⭐⭐💫

The Auction by Sadie Kincaid

NetGalley

Beauty and the Beast meets organized crime in this tense slow-burn romance with scorching spice, thrilling suspense, and life-altering secrets.

I was trained to be a pawn, but I will rise as a queen.
My life has never been my own. After the death of my parents, I was saved by my grandfather, with the promise that he would turn me over to the Brotherhood on my twenty-first birthday.
I was kept away from the outside world so I could one day be sold to the highest bidder—pure and unsullied. Penance for my parents’ alleged crimes.
That’s how I come to be sold at an auction.

And who buys me but the reclusive billionaire, Lincoln Knight?
Some say that he’s a monster, more dangerous than any of the evil men from the Brotherhood. That he wears a mask to cover his scars. But I believe he’s hiding more than just his face behind his mask.

My fate is sealed when he takes me to his crumbling mansion deep in the woods. I’m trapped. Entirely at his mercy.
I have to escape.
But something here isn’t what it seems.
Lincoln isn’t what he seems. Maybe he’s not a monster at all. I’m drawn to him in a way that I can’t explain. Until I discover that his secrets go far beyond his mask.

He’s everything I’ve been taught to fear, but what if everything I’ve ever known has been a lie?

Genre: Dark Romance, Mafia Romance, Fantasy, Smut 

The How/Why: I saw this one advertised on SM and it said Beauty and the Beast meets organized crime and thought "Mafia Romance, I'm in". Since it hasn't been published yet I checked NetGalley and it was an available title. I submitted my request for an ALC and it was approved. 🥳
THEN in the opening it outlines triᵷᵷer warnings. EiYiYi! 😱Due to the content warnings I checked a couple of reviews, mostly because I just finished one that was over the top with Vi0lɇncɇ and T0rturɇ. Is it too soon? One said she never felt like the topics were there just for shock value and that the dark scenes were handled in a very sensitive way. Okey dokey then. Putting on my big girl panties and fastening my seatbelt! 

⭐⭐⭐💫

🎉 Overall Enjoyment? 🎉🎉🎉🎊

🎣 Did it grab and keep my attention? 🎣🎣🎣🎣🎣

🗣️Would I recommend it to anyone? Maybe 🤷 if you enjoy a super spicy book

🕮 Would I want a sequel? Maybe 🤷 This ends with a wicked cliffhanger

📚 Would I want to read more books by this author?  Y Maybe 🤷

💣💥 📢 Content Warnings? Google says: Humån Tråⓕⓕickinᵷ, Vi0lɇncɇ and T0rturɇ.
Update: The Tråⓕⓕickinᵷ content was her and other young women being sold at auction. You didn't have to endure them being ki𖤀naꝔꝒed or held in undesirable conditions. The V&T was him getting revenge and those scenes were tolerable and not over the top.

🌶 Spice? 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶At the half way point it turned into a Sizzling Scorching Smutfest! 

🌪 Plot Twist? No but a big cliffhanger 😟

👟 Pace? Good

💻 Tidbits ~ SOLD to the masked man and taken to his hidden fortress. She had been raised by her grandfather and governess for this moment. We are told that Gramps was giving her over to pay a past debt to the almighty brotherhood. 
She's incredibly naive on one hand, but on the other hand she told him her training included watching p0rƝ so she'd know what to do for her master. 
She sure seemed to adapt quickly to her new environment and overly protective owner. 

Beauty and the Beast? Who is the beauty and who is the beast? Oh what a tangled web we weave. Call me skeptical but I don't trust her. I'm Team Lincoln all the way. :swoon:

No HEA here. The cliffhanger ending classifies as Cruel and Unusual Punishment!  You'll have to wait at the edge of your seat until November 2026 when The Game (Book 2) is scheduled to be released. 

🎧 Narrator: Grayson Owens and June deBorahae ~ both excellent

🎧11.41 hours 🕮 384 pages

Not yet published. Expected April 14-2026

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Audio, and Harper Collins for the free ALC in exchange for an honest review.
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