Review: ‘Wicked Beauty’ by Katee Robert
Wicked Beauty
by Katee RobertSeries: Dark Olympus #3
Published by Sourcebooks Casablanca on June 7, 2022
SubGenres: Dark Romance, MMF Romance
Format: AudioBook, Paperback
Pages: 402
Narrator: Alex Moorcock, Zara Hampton-Brown
Length: 10 Hours And 56 Minutes
Source: Library, Everand
Audience: 18+/Adult
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She was the face that launched a thousand ships,The fierce beauty at the heart of Olympus,And she was never ours to claim.
*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Patroclus that's as sinful as it is sweet.*
In Olympus, you either have the power to rule...or you are ruled. Achilles Kallis may have been born with nothing, but as a child he vowed he would claw his way into the poisonous city's inner circle. Now that a coveted role has opened to anyone with the strength to claim it, he and his partner, Patroclus Fotos, plan to compete and double their odds of winning.
Neither expect infamous beauty Helen Kasios to be part of the prize...or for the complicated fire that burns the moment she looks their way.
Zeus may have decided Helen is his to give away, but she has her own plans. She enters into the competition as a middle finger to the meddling Thirteen rulers, effectively vying for her own hand in marriage. Unfortunately, there are those who would rather see her dead than lead the city. The only people she can trust are the ones she can't keep her hands off—Achilles and Patroclus. But can she really believe they have her best interests at heart when every stolen kiss is a battlefield?
There are times I don’t stick with my TBR for the month and get enticed by other books, and that is what happened when I picked up Wicked Beauty. I had this book on my TBR for a while, and it was about time to read it. It’s the third installment in Katee Robert’s Dark Olympus series, and this time, it’s a retelling of Helen of Troy, Achilles, and Patroclus.
I actually enjoyed this book in the series, and it had everything to do with Helen of Troy. I loved her character and how kick butt she was, and how she was willing to go up against her brother, the new Zeus. She was done being everyone’s pawn and was determined more than ever to put her name in the competition to become Ares, which derailed her brother’s plans to marry her to one of the competitors. She knows it’s going to be tough, but she can handle it, even though she’s going up against some steep competition that wants to marry her instead of compete against her.
Achilles and Patroclus were the two competitors that Helen had to deal with who was trying to convince her out of the competition. Achilles had a legitimate reason why he was competing; and he was trying everything to win and didn’t want Helen interfering, especially since he was supposed to be marrying her. She was also distracting him, especially when she was making obvious moves on his lover, Patroclus.
I loved that this book had both enemies to lovers and friends to lovers. Helen and Achilles were enemies to lovers, while Achilles and Patroclus were friends, but there was also a connection of friends to lovers with Helen and Patroclus since they knew each other prior. It definitely made an entertaining read when these three were trying to fight attraction for one another, but later, they were forced to room close to one another during the competition. It was inevitable by that time, and Katee wrote the steam between the three characters.
I did have issues with Achilles at first, how he tried to convince Helen not to compete, and how he was with Patroclus at times, but he won me over eventually. Patroclus was a sweetheart, and I loved how he reminded me of a cinnamon roll. He was the reasonable one.
Katee is one author who can write steam/spice in her books, and she also writes detailed scenes that involve politics in the world of the book and also brings on action-packed scenes. It felt like I was there during those competitions with the characters, and the whole time, I was rooting for Helen to win. She deserved it the most. I did feel it was rushed at the last competition, but other than that, this book is one of my favorites in the series. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
I’m thankful I picked up this book. After all, around the time, I was almost in the middle of a reading slump because lately, I felt like the books I’ve been reading were repetitive. I needed something different, and Katee delivered with this Greek Mythology Retelling.
Story Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Steam/Spice Rating: 🌶🌶🌶.5
Standalone or Part of Series: These books can be read as standalone in the series, but take it from me; you’ll experience it better if you read from the beginning.
Would I recommend this book/series? Yes.
Genre/SubGenre(s): Romance | Dark Romance | MMF Romance | LGBTQ+ Romance
Trope(s)/Element(s): Helen + Achilles + Patroclus Retelling | Enemies to Lovers | Friends to Lovers | Forced Proximity
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About Katee Robert
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Katee Robert learned to tell her stories at her grandpa’s knee. Her 2015 title, The Marriage Contract, was a RITA finalist, and RT Book Reviews named it 'a compulsively readable book with just the right amount of suspense and tension." When not writing sexy contemporary and romantic suspense, she spends her time playing imaginary games with her children, driving her husband batty with what-if questions, and planning for the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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