A review by rosemaryandrue
Cruel Seduction by Katee Robert

adventurous 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

4.0

Eris must wed Theseus, who made his way into the Thirteen through murder, to keep a closer eye on him. To irk him she takes up with his best friend Pandora; to irk her he takes up with her ex-boyfriend Adonis. But it soon becomes apparent that there’s greater dangers out there than each other.

This is quite a complicated romance – it involves four individuals, but they are not all in a relationship with each other, so this messy polyamorous knot consists of both romance and friendship, most of which must develop from scratch over the course of a single book. I certainly don’t envy the author her balancing act!

Even with this tricky premise, I found myself swept up by the characters and their story. It was fun to see all the relationship dynamics that were on display here and how the knot was eventually swirled together. Of the leads, Eris and Theseus get the most development, probably because it is their power play that drives the plot. Both are important and willing chess pieces in their families’ plans, and both come to realize that there is a life to lead outside them, which was satisfying indeed.

However, I did wish that we got more from Adonis and Pandora. They are also lead characters in this romance and the relationships they have with Eris and Theseus did seem to have equal weight to the other ones in the story. But their character development felt shallower and their stories seemed to play second fiddle to those of Eris and Theseus. I was also confused why it was Pandora who was the fourth member of the romance – I had hoped to get some clarity when I read the book, but Robert did not bring forth any mythological link that explained things to me.
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