Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Cruel Seduction

I'm sooooo glad I enjoyed this one! I was put off because compared to how much I enjoyed the first three books, the fourth book let me down. It was just lackluster for me. But this one! I don't think I could ever rate any of these books five stars, because they're just so silly and the world-building and character development is too subpar for me. However, this book is probably the closest to my rating of these books five stars. I really enjoyed this one!

I've been loving why choose/poly books lately (something I never thought i'd enjoy). This book has more depth to the characters and we learn more about our main two especially (Aphrodite and Hephaestus). I really enjoyed the characters' dynamics with one another. Loved the Aphrodite and Hephaestus dynamic the best, their 2nd spice scene was everything. Honestly, they're the type of enemies to lovers that I enjoy. I'm hoping to find more books where the characters are actually enemies and hate each other. Although I enjoyed the dynamics, I wish we got more Adonis and Aphrodite scenes because I feel like we were told about their relationship instead of shown. Also, I thought they were going to all be crazy for one another and sadly that wasn't the case.

Aphrodite is the common denominator amongst the foursome.

Something else that I enjoyed but that was lacking in the previous book was the plot. There were a lot of things going on in this book that made me want to keep going and see what happens. Lowkey wish Hercules gets a book. This is the 2nd book where he's been mentioned.

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 (one of her least spiciest in the series in my opinion; also love how much consent and protection is prioritized in these books)

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literarymary95's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-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? Yes

3.25

This wasn't my favorite of the series, but it was slightly better than Wicked Beauty.

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socialpsysteph's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

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

3.5

I enjoyed this installment but so far, it was definitely my least favorite. I felt like the relationships progressed way too fast into love, felt almost insta-love like, which is not a trope I typically enjoy. I was more invested in the broader story around Olympus and Minos's plan than I was in the relationship(s) in this one. The main focus here is Aphrodite who has been "forced" into a marriage with Hapheastus thus leading to her ending her relationship with Adonis. The relationships in this one are super messy in a fun, reality show kind of way, and I did enjoy that. Will definitely be continuing this series!

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bookmarkedbybritt's review against another edition

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adventurous tense fast-paced

3.0

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withlivjones's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this book! It delves more into the politics of the city since two of the MCs are members of the Thirteen, and the overarching plot of the series is getting exciting. I also really enjoyed all four POVs equally, which is quite a feat! Aphrodite is wonderfully morally grey, Pandora and Adonis are both delights, and Hephaestus… I really didn’t like him in the previous books, but after exploring his past and his motivations in this book, I definitely found him a lot more likeable and sympathetic. The spicy scenes are still the weakest part of the book in my opinion, I swear some of the positions these characters take defy the laws of physics, but the romance is actually really sweet.

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