Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Cruel Seduction

This is the fifth book in Katee Robert’s Dark Olympus series. While they can be read as standalone books, I would recommend reading it as a series. Dark Olympus is a Greek retellings with plenty of spice. Katee Roberts has a way of integrating spicy into the plot in a way that feels natural. They are one of my favorite authors for a spicy read. I love the multi POV. This is one of my favorite installments of the series.

This polyamorous romance is MESSY and very political. Aphrodite and the new Hephaestus are forced to marry to try to stabilize the unrest in the city. When Pandora and Adonis get pulled into their games the lines begin to blur and none of it feels like a game anymore.

While I did not love these characters from the beginning, by the end I understood them better. This book felt high stakes and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I can’t wait to read Midnight Ruin.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

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missdewza's review against another edition

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dark hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Listened to the audio book. One challenge for this one for me was that there are four POVs in the book, but only two narrators. The narrators obviously tried to have different voices for each, but sometimes they blended together. If you missed the brief name mention at the top of the chapter, it could be difficult to tell who was narrating just off the cuff.

I love the Dark Olympus series - definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. I find the plot-to-spice ratio to be relatively well balanced (both are buck wild, so it evens out). I also love the variety of relationship types that Katee represents in her stories. This one is heading towards a polyamorous throuple +1.

As with all Katee Roberts books that I've read so far, check trigger warnings on her site. Some notable triggers for this book include: mentions of abuse, violence, murder, blood

Spice notes: FMM, FF, MM, dual p-in-v, rough

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juliana_reads's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I think this was the weakest of the series so far, because it served only to set up the next big part of the Olympus storyline and had four POVs (so not a lot of forward movement). Pandora especially felt underdeveloped to me. But I still ate it all up! I love this series.

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abitbetterbooks's review

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emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Maybe my favourite Katee Robert so far???? Although I’m not sure anything could top Wicked Beauty for me I do think this was potentially objectively the best book, especially in regards to plot!

My biggest complaint about this series so far is that the world building is quite weak, and while I’m totally willing to overlook some major holes (how was Olympus formed and how does it fit in with the rest of the modern world? Is it a city state? Where is it physically and how is it not beholden to any international laws?) the intrigue and tension of this novel was really fun and had me turning the pages as fast as I possibly could!

I really enjoyed the 4 alternating perspectives, which is a new high score for Robert, and I think she did really well with keeping the voices distinct and giving unique spins to each characters point of view.

I can’t wait for Midnight Ruin!

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kylasmv15's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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ronan_lesh's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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shaykay's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

4.0

This is one of the few series I develop every time a new book comes out, and I constantly need the next one ASAP. Even though this one isn't a new favorite in the series, I still really enjoyed it. There is always so much going on in these books, but I wanted to focus on the big mystery that involved the whole series more. Regardless, Aphrodite, Adonis, and Pandora were so much fun to read about! Even Hephaestus was all right. I just can't wait to see what happens in the next book, and we're getting so close to the end of the series!

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