| Title | : | Wicked Beauty (Dark Olympus, #3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 402 |
| Publication | : | First published June 7, 2022 |
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?
Wicked Beauty (Dark Olympus, #3) Reviews
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almost positive that my following thoughts wont reflect the vast majority of readers feelings for this one. so fair warning.
its awesome the KR has continued to create her own unique world, but this series has taken too many liberties that i cant call these books retellings anymore. this one specifically just borrows the characters names, so i guess, if anything, its a very loose inspiration. i know this wont bother most readers at all, but it KILLED me that this is about helen instead of briseis. i understand why - helen is needed for the connection to olympus - but still. i personally dont think helen should have any part of the relationship between achilles and patroclus.
i also wasnt a biggest fan of the romance. not my kind of trope, like at all. but the writing has a quality that is very easy to read, to the point of being bingeable. i mean, even though i knew i wasnt quite enjoying the story, the dramatics of it all made me want to finish it.
but in the end, this just made me wish i was reading ‘a song of achilles’ instead.
so take this review with a grain of salt, because all of my issues with the book are personal ones. KR still does a good job with her world-building and drama so, if you enjoyed the previous two books in the series, then i think you definitely have something to look forward to with this installment!
thanks to sourcebooks casablanca for the ARC!
↠ 2 stars -
Source of book: NetGalley (thank you)
Relevant disclaimers: share a publisher & I think maybe an editor? Social media moots.
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author.
And remember: I am not here to judge your drag, I mean your book. Books are art and art is subjective. These are just my personal thoughts. They are not meant to be taken as broader commentary on the general quality of the work. Believe me, I have not enjoyed many an excellent book, and my individual lack of enjoyment has not made any of those books less excellent or (more relevantly) less successful.
Further disclaimer: Readers, please stop accusing me of trying to take down “my competition” because I wrote a review you didn’t like. This is complete nonsense. Firstly, writing isn’t a competitive sport. Secondly, I only publish reviews of books in the subgenre where I’m best known (queer romcom) if they’re glowing. And finally: taking time out of my life to read an entire book, then write a detailed review about it that a handful of people on GR will look at would be a profoundly inefficient and ineffective way to damage the careers of other authors. If you can’t credit me with simply being a person who loves books and likes talking about them, at least credit me with enough common sense to be a better villain.
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My God, KR has some solid brass bollocks (non-gendered brass bollocks, physical bollocks not required to possess brass bollocks) and—whether one of her books is working for me or not—I will never not adore her for that.
So this is a mainstream book. A trad published mainstream book. Of which the first two books—focused on queerish m/f couples—hit several bestseller lists and created a very, uh, shall we go with opinionated? expressive? fanbase.
And what did KR do next? An mmf triad. For which, I’m sure, a non-zero percentage of the reactions will boil down to “how dare she insert a woman into this beautiful m/m relationship” or alternatively “how dare she insert another man into this beautiful m/f relationship.” It’s a lose/lose from page 1.
But, romland, I would love it if you proved me wrong.
Because this book deserves to win. It is an absolute fucking barnstormer.
The deal here is … oh God, I can’t believe I’m going to have to try and explain the nonsense premise on which these books are founded. Err, I don’t mean that a criticism of the books. It’s just, it’s a truth universally acknowledged that one does not read KR for the plot. So these are books are set in a kind of alt-reality neo-modern city of bonking, gossiping and politicking. The city is called Olympus and is ruled over by The Thirteen, who are all named after the gods of ancient Greece. Anyway, the old Ares (did we know the old Ares? We were supposed to care?) is dead. And apparently Ares is the only one of the Thirteen positions that’s open to any and all candidates. This is because in order to win the title of Ares you have to compete on an episode of Ultimate Beastmaster: I mean, not literally, but it’s basically an episode of Ultimate Beastmaster. Why is this? Seriously why? Why does being able to run an obstacle course make you a good military leader? I HAVE LITERALLY NO IDEA.
Anyway, the present Zeus—Helen’s brother, Perseus—announces at the Ares Position Opening Tournament (or whatever it is) that he’s throwing his sister in as a prize, and that whoever wins the Ares title, gets to marry her too. Helen, needless to say, is highly unthrilled about this and was always intending to run for Ares anyway. Zeus has like politics blah blah politics reasons for treating Helen like chattel that are disrupted by her—no pun intended—self entry. But self-entered she has, so the competition moves forward. Two of the other entrants are long-term (non-exclusive) lovers, Achilles and Patroclus, with Patroclus only entering the competition to support Achilles, who has long dreamed of becoming Ares. Patroclus knew Helen when they were kids, Achilles assumes she’s a sheltered, selfish princess type.
Ultimately everyone wants to bang each other.
Polyam romances are super hard to write—just in the sense that the number of relationships you have to write in the same page count increases exponentially because not only are you writing everyone’s individual relationship with each other, you’re also writing the relationship of the grouping itself—but KR seems to have a knack for them. I don’t know if I liked this MORE than I liked Learn My Lesson (my second favourite KR book of all time) but I definitely didn’t like it LESS. I think it’s certainly more ambitious because, while we get other POV segments in Learn my Lesson, the dominant voice and emotional arc is ultimately Meg’s. In Wicked Beauty I felt both the voices and the perspectives of all three central characters fully realised and sufficiently distinct that I’m pretty sure I could tell which chapter belonged to which character from a random sample.
Though Helen still stole the show. Not that I’m complaining. Something I remember struggling with very slightly in Neon Gods in particular was that the narrative kept insisting on this sunshine persona that Persephone was forced to inhabit within the world of Olympus … except she was in extremis and in flight almost immediately so the tension between her public and private self never really manifested on page. This is a little bit true with Electric Idol too: the person Aphrodite made Eros become is in flux from his first meeting with Psyche. Having seen Helen in fully Party Girl mode in Electric Idol, however, prepares the ground beautifully for us to meet the “real” Helen in Wicked Beauty: a woman only too aware of the paradox of power and powerlessness created by her own physical attractiveness.
She’s one of my favourite KR heroine types, complicated and damaged and betrayed, and yet undaunted when it counts. But, while the fact I read far too much KR—seriously, my Mastermind specialist subject or PhD pitch is something something the novels of Katee Robert—makes me unduly conscious of recurrences in her work (either in terms of themes or dynamics or character beats), Helen still felt notably like her own person, even though aspects of her character reminded me why I love Meg and why I love Tink. I know the way this series uses its mythological references is divisive in that the stories aren’t exactly re-tellings (probably a good thing, all told, because otherwise Neon Gods would be a romance about a guy who kidnaps and assaults someone – unfun) and the characters map thematically rather than more literally to their namesakes. Maybe Helen isn’t the obvious choice to menage up with Achilles and Patroclus but if we think about Helen herself it’s hard to come up with a better option. Anyone who has any sort direct “relationship” with her in the historical/mythological sense is also directly involved in stripping agency from her: Theseus literally abducts her, Menelaus wins her in a competition, then Paris steals her from Menelaus after Aphrodite tells him Helen belongs to him now. Exactly how shitty a time of it Helen had varies from account to account, some say she was happy in Troy, others say she was miserable as benefits a treacherous woman, some say Menelaus kills her after the Trojan war, others claim she was too hot to kill. It’s not even certain whether this poor woman—after spending her entire life being re-gifted from one man to another—gets to spend her afterlife on Mount Olympus.
My point is, in romance terms, every man in Helen’s story is a fucking villain. In this story, Achilles and Patroclus are a CHOICE she gets to make for herself. Let’s not pretend KR didn’t know what she was doing by choosing “she was never theirs to claim” as the tagline for this book.
Although blah blah some accounts blah blah Helen hung out with Achilles in the underworld blah blah: I am not a classical scholar, I have no idea what I’m talking about: all I’m saying is that while Helen doesn’t necessarily seem like the obvious fit in a story about Achilles and Patroclus, they very much make sense to me as participants in a story which is also about Helen.
Her whole arc—whether it’s about taking part in the competition for which she’s supposed to be the prize, or banging Achilles, Patroclus, or Achilles AND Patroclus—is about her claim to personhood. It’s impossible for her not to be shaped by the ways other people perceive and treat her, and she’s clearly very damaged by the constant objectification to which she’s subject, but it’s so satisfying to watch her fight her way to agency. To being someone who can allow herself to be imperfect and messy, and for those qualities to not only be accepted but celebrated by the men who love her.I’ve never been cherished. I’ve also never been tossed around like an equal, my strength taken as a given instead of a fantasy.
I liked Achilles and Patroclus, the former is an impulsive solider with a chip on his shoulder, the latter a thinker to a fault—but, while Achilles at least has his own stakes in the tournament, they have less going on, emotionally and narratively, than Helen. Their relationship with each other is pretty stable, at least until their mutual desire for Helen starts causing conflict. I liked the exploration of jealousy that initially characterises Helen’s introduction to the couple (even comfortably non-exclusive relationships can sometimes faces challenges) but I half-wish it had been resolved verbally as well as sexually. Early on Achilles, in a fit of jealousy, forbids Patroclus from seeing Helen, only to then hate-bang Helen himself because he can’t resist her either. This genuinely hurts Patroclus and I never felt Achilles truly got to grips with his own fucking hypocrisy here: he just sort of concludes they should be a threesome in a scene that initially has Patroclus and Helen interacting sexually while Achilles watches and directs, while feeling all sorts of complicated things about being involved but excluded. The dynamics here are extraordinary sensitive, with all three partners needing to transition from trust-damaged conflict to sexual unity, and I personally felt some of the necessary emotion got buried in the sheer hotness.
I am not, I hasten to add, complaining about the hotness. One of the things I love about KR as a writer that the sex IS the emotion and vice versa, but in this particular case I think I needed them to have at least one more conversation. I don’t know if the reason they don’t is because Achilles and Patroclus have an established history of working out their emotions between the bedsheets – like their first sexual encounter is Patroclus giving Achilles an apology blowjob which, err, struck me as a little peculiar. I mean, is this a thing? Have I been saying sorry wrong all these years? Or it might just be because they’re both sort of action-orientated dudes but, if anything, that’s even more reason for them to learn to use their words. On top of which, before Helen gets involved, they’re both convinced the other is going to leave them because reasons at some point. This concern seems to just … go away in the latter of the half (maybe after Achilles goes back for Patroclus during one of the trials?) and it was never addressed if their relationship was going to remain non-exclusive when it became a threesome instead of a twosome.
None of this meaningfully damaged my belief in or appreciation of the love story. Given the participants—Achilles and Helen, at least, who are both messy benches—it’s quite a bombastic dynamic in general, so it makes a degree of sense that sex and emotion would overshadow pragmatics. But they keep saying they’re going to have a serious talk … but distracted by drama, assassination or lust, they never quite manage it. Maybe that’s going to be a newsletter special? The three of them sitting at the kitchen table with cups of tea and a notebook, negotiating the emotional boundaries of their relationship, and talking about their feelings.
The only other thing that mildly bothered me, and I suspect this is personal, is that … okay. How can I say this? So. As we all know because I’ve written about it 3937383 times now, I love the way KR writes about sex, and sexual dynamics, and in particular … she has what comes across to me as a really expansive understanding of female sexuality. As in, her women characters are allowed to like what they like, and be confident in liking what they like, and what they like never has to mean anything beyond the fact that they like it. You can be confident woman who wields power effortlessly in her own domain … and you can still enjoy calling your lover ‘Daddy’ as he spanks you like a naughty schoolgirl. The man you’ve entered into a marriage of convenience with can gift you a fivesome to show how much he truly care about you. You can crawl to a man as an act of power, not as a display of weakness. I’ve seen KR approach this with characters like Hercules in Lesson My Lesson but, in general (and, again, this is just me – I’m not the queer dude pope, handing down infallible decrees of righteousness) I find her men, especially when they’re interacting sexually with other men, more … constrained than her women in terms of both the sexual acts and the sexual dynamics they’re willing to embrace, or that the text is willing to let them embrace.
Achilles, for example, is equally rough and exuberant with both Helen and Patroclus, and definitely touches Patroclus as much as he is touched by him. Their sexual encounters together express a range of emotions, including sheer mutual affection. But it’s still taken as almost axiomatic that Achilles will be the sexually penetrating partner, and Patroclus sexually receptive, the same way that Beast is the penetrating partner with Gaston, and Hades with Hercules. Of course, it’s absolutely fine for characters (and, indeed, people) to have preferences: some people prefer to top, some people prefer to bottom, some people don’t like anal sex at all, and that’s coolbeans. But my nagging feeling with all of these characters is that it’s less about preference and more about … ack. Both Achilles and Gaston are the most physically imposing (the most conventionally masculine) of the men they interact with, Hades—for all his geeky glasses—is the most socially and politically influential. Basically, it feels that there’s an unquestioned connection between penetrative anal sex and power when it comes to male characters in KR books that is exactly the sort of unquestioned connection she consistently deconstructs when it comes to the women she writes.
And, of course, it’s fine. These are the sort of dynamics that lots of writers (and, indeed, a lot of porn—but then erotic romance isn’t porn and is governed by a more complex series of interactions than simply the quickest way to stir and satisfy genitals) either take as read or actively prefer. And I’m not here to tell anyone they’re doing it wrong because they aren’t writing things in ways that specifically interest me.
However, it does make me a little sad that KR can allow her female characters such generous vistas of sexual self-expression whereas her men don’t seem to be quite as liberated.
My slight, personal discomfort around KR’s m/m dynamics aside, I enjoyed the hell out of Wicked Beauty. In some ways it’s the most plot-driven of the Dark Olympus books, on account of Ultimate Beastmaster is going on in the background. Because I’m a sucker for fictional competitions (I still feel bad by how much I fucking loved The Hunger Games, I mean, I know it was a dystopia where children were murdered for public entertainment, but I was GRIPPED) this is a rare occasion of KR book where I was as interested by the excuse to get the protagonists in proximity as I was the protagonists themselves. Well, almost as interested. There’s also some bigger arc stuff about the barriers around Olympus weakening and Zeus, therefore, seeking political alliances with a nation of literal misogynists which … I wasn’t at all interested in.
But, then, I do not come to KR books for world-building and I don’t mean that as a jab. I come for complicated, self-actualised heroines with plenty of agency, consent-focused, communication-driven sex scenes, nuanced power dynamics, and plenty of swoony romance feels. And on these fronts, Wicked Beauty delivers in SPADES. Perhaps my favourite of the Dark Olympus books so far? -
Wow! You think the previous two books of the series were tempting, extremely hot! Think again! Third book will exceed your highest expectations! This book is not hot! It’s fiery! It’s explosive! There are so many explicit, intense scenes make you hyperventilate! The chemistry between ménage a trois can burn the entire Olympus!
The power balance between the trio is fantastic! Normally I’m not into MFM books! So this was quite surprising and highly intrigued me because this book is more than erotic romance. The action packed big race between opponents to become the next Ares was truly heart throbbing and exciting. Bring out your popcorns and start stress-eating while you’re flipping the pages, your heart in your mouth, sweating, praying your team wins the vicious tournament!
The secret schemings, Olympus politics, mansplaining, sexism, power games blended in heart pounding action scenes and extra steamy, saucy, delicious sex scenes!
I loved the power dynamics and sexual attraction between Helen- Achilles and Patroclus.
Helen and Achilles are both dominant, stubborn, determined, ambitious and pretentious characters. Helen knows politics, using her beauty as weapon, abandoned and used by her family and she’s definitely more than pretty face. She’s smart, calculating, bold, tough, strategist as Achilles is quiet brilliant warrior who doesn’t know much about politics and how to rule the empire.
Patroclus perfectly balances those two fiery, impulsive characters with his calm, intelligent, patient, diplomatic characteristics. He’s caring, sweet, nerdy, putting the others first!
Trio’s high chemistry is incredibly! They’re not only physically but also emotionally fitting each other’s needs!
Overall: I loved the bleak, bloody, dangerous competition theme to become the next Ares!
-I loved the powerful characterization!
-I loved to see cameos of previous books’ characters and welcome Hermes and Dionysus with open arms!
-Those freaking hot scenes were so naughty! Of course I loved them!
Yes, this is my favorite book of the series! I wish I can triple up my stars!
So many thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts. -
Is this... MENAGE?
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ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley
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Neon Gods ★★
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Electric Idol ★★★
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*Thank you to Sourcebooks and the author for an ARC of this book.*
Well, well, well... I didn't quite know what to expect from this book. I have been reading Katee Robert for about 5 years now, and there are some things that always hold true about her books. Like how the heroine will always have her vindication and that the romance will always make me swoon. This book was no different and I don't know if I have ever wanted a heroine to bust through expectations more than with Helen.
Helen is finally free of her horrible father, Zeus, who was responsible for her mother's death as well as many other of his wives. Only to have her brother take his place and offer her up as a prize to the next Ares. A new Ares that they are holding a competition to find. A fierce Battle Royale that will test all the hopefuls to the best of their ability. But Helen refuses to be a trophy for any man or woman who would compete. She gives her brother the finger and enters the competition herself, much to the chagrin and shock of Olympus.
Also entering the battle is Achilles and Patroclus, long time lovers and best friends. Achilles is determined to win and has his eyes on the prize. The title of Ares. Helen will make him a good trophy wife and be someone to warm his bed now and then. Patroclus is there to back him up and is fully aware that helping Achilles win may mean the end of the most important relationship of his life.
This book was brimming with animosity, smoldering chemistry, forced proximity, and a little bit (a lot) of hate kissing... and other things... as we would expect from Katee Robert.
I will be honest, that the first half of this book had me so angry. The way Helen is treated by her family and her ex-boyfriend Paris, and how she is seen as a joke by her fellow competitors, including Achilles... was heartbreaking. I was so frustrated for her and it was dragging on me. I didn't know if I could forgive Achilles enough to believe a relationship. Patroclus was wonderful, but I kind of wanted to drop-kick Achilles.
However, as I have previously stated, I've been reading Katee Robert for a long time. I knew she would not put Helen through this if there wasn't going to be an amazing pay off. Every slur and disrespect would come home to roost, I knew it. I was cheering during certain parts of this book and it made me feel so full when it was through.
I am so excited that this book is going to be traditionally published. Katee Robert is on fire with these Dark Olympus novels and I am so happy this book featuring a Poly Triad will be on mainstream shelves. One of the first books I ever read by her, after her O'Malley series was a Poly Triad. I still hold that story very close to my heart and I love to see her beautiful romances reaching a larger audience. I hope it leads other author's works to getting attention too.
Anyway, I loved it. I can't wait for others to get there hands on it.
5/5 Stars
4 Chili peppers on the spice scale -
Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert
3rd in the Dark Olympus series. Romance with erotica elements. Premise loosely based on mythology. Can be read as a stand-alone bit characters from the prior books do make a couple of cameo appearances. Alternating chapters, first person between Helen, Archilles and Patroclus.
A new Ares must be assigned the title and tradition has a series of challenges for the competing. Helen decides to compete for the title even though her brother Zeus has declared her the prize for the winner.
Archilles is confident he will win the competition and brings his best friend and lover Patroclus for strategy. Games are not simple athleticism.
Power and politics rule.
It’s a dramatic story that will hold your attention from start to finish. It’s also a very sexy and steamy story when Archilles and Patroclus team up with Helen both on and off the arena. A la ménage or triad. Danger and villains are around ever corner.
Spicy, exhilarating and satiating. LOVED the ending.
4.5
I received a copy of this from NetGalley. -
4/5 ⭐
3/5 🌶️
Wicked Beauty is the 3rd installment in the Dark Olympus series. If you are ever in need of a decent dose of smut laced with dark romance in your books, Katee Robert has the perfect one’s for you! I loved the power dynamics and sexual attraction between Helen, Achilles and Patroclus. I feel like this probably goes without saying, but the spice is fantastic. I was a bit disappointed with the ending. I needed/wanted an epilogue. I felt like the ending was rushed.
Quotes:
“There’s nothing sexier than competence, and the woman has it in spades.”
“Vengeance isn’t for the victims. It’s to make the people around them feel better for not doing anything to stop it in the first place.”
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I received the first 5 chapters of this as an ARC preview. I CAN'T wait to read the rest! The Ares of Olympus has passed and now there is a competition for who will be the next Ares with Helen as the winning prize—a wife to the victor. Only, she doesn't want to be wedded. Scheming, she enters herself.
Achilles enters as well with the help of his boyfriend Patroclus. Unbeknownst to him, Patroclus and Helen have a history and she has eyes for him now. This only complicating the already obstructed game. Thank you SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca! Book release June 7th, 2022! -
Content warnings:
Going into WICKED BEAUTY, I was understandably jaded and wary. I had read two Katee Robert books, one had gone really well and the other, not so much. So this one could have gone either way. But I am happy to report it was a massive hit. Like its predecessor, it had the issue of repetition, which I’m now suspecting might be part of the author’s writing style. It could get annoying at some points but since it had so many things going for it, it was easy to disregard.
Let me put you in the scene: We have Achilles and Patroclus who have been in a non-exclusive relationship for over a decade. We have a competition they both enter. And whoever wins it not only becomes one of the thirteen, but also gets to marry Helen. Only problem? Helen enters the competition too. And is determined to win. And the main conflict is that both Achilles and Patroclus are deadset on Achilles winning. So we not only have conflict of interest from the get-go, but the minute both men set eyes on her, they feel an immediate and irresistible attraction towards her. So she becomes off limits to the both of them. But that obviously doesn’t last for long. And yes. Yes, it is a menage à trois.
Read the full review on my blog
Word Wonders -
I needed this to be more polyamorous.
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This is easily my favourite of the series so far. I know that maybe isn't the big statement it might seem considering this is only a three star but this series has been a strange ride because I continually want to enjoy what Robert has created, and occasionally do like elements of things, but I ultimately feel like it's overruled and spoiled by other things. And that's not all gone. I still really struggle with comprehending how this world works but for once I was completely distracted by the plot. Because for once we h a d plot.
I had such a good time with the Ares trials and really enjoyed how they were set up. It certainly wasn't as well thought out or complex as a fantasy might have made them out to be but lest we forget (we cannot) this is a romance first. And we had a good mix of action to move the players forward, romance and sexy times and emotions, and also a subtle little side plot to add some conflict to the world itself and set up something (hopefully) interesting for book four.
Now, as for that romance. I definitely wavered in my liking and disliking of the men; initially I was put-off by Achilles -- but we're supposed to be, there's good reason for it. And then later.. he wins you over and it's Patroclus who was maybe a little too hesitant, a little too overthink-y. Helen ended up being the perfect solution. Watching these three bounce off each other, resist each other, give in, bend.. it was fun. Sexy, yes, but mostly fun.
I also realllyyyy loved how the main plot point resolved. I had hoped but I wasn't sure it would go that way. I was pleased.
So, yeah, colour me really surprised with how this one shook out. I am still very shaky on this world and how it all works but clearly I'm just going to have to learn to stow that and turn my brain off and focus on the immediacy of it all.
As for who and what's next couple-wise, I had no idea until I went to investigate because nothing is set up in this instalment and I already know the Zeus and Callisto match-up is likely to be the last one. So I'm not going to spoil anything but if you're curious, you can definitely hunt it down!
** I received an ARC from publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
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This review can also be found at
A Take From Two Cities. -
Sorry. It's just not for me. Plus one of our hero's cheated on our other hero with out heroine so bye.
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Wicked Beauty is the third steamy and suspenseful paranormal romance with a plotline that reminded me of an adult Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter.
This book is a little different from the first two books in the series, in that it doesn’t feature an MF couple, but an MMF couple. Achilles and Patroclus have been together for over a decade. Achilles wants nothing more than to become the new Ares, so when the current Ares dies and trials are set up to appoint someone to replace him, he’s eager to prove that he’s the best for the job. The problem is that anyone can enter these trials, including non-Olympians. Patroclus also enters the competition as an ally for Achilles, so that he can help him as far along as he can. But what they don’t bank on? The beautiful Helen Kasios entering the trials, especially when part of the prize is supposed to be her hand as a wife.
Helen is the sister to the new Zeus and her other sister is Aphrodite, and she’s tired of being a pawn and viewed as nothing more than an object because of her extreme beauty. She wants to become Ares–not just to prove herself to her family and everyone else in Olympus, but because she wants to have a meaningful impact on the city she loves.
I loved the dynamic between Helen and the couple, though I did get a little bit of whiplash and feel weird about it at first, because Achilles and Patroclus have been a couple for so long, and their jealousy of each other and Helen gave me cheating vibes. Fortunately, that clears up rather quickly, and all three of them end up becoming the perfect throuple. However, the book does end rather abruptly, and it might have benefited from either an epilogue or a scene set a little while after the end of the main events of the book to cement their relationship as a success.
The trials reminded me A LOT of the Triwizard tournament in Harry Potter, though they were far more vicious and intense. I absolutely loved the intensity of the dynamics between all the candidates and all their rivalries, along with the personal histories that some characters shared. For instance, Helen’s ex-boyfriend, Paris, is competing, and I just loved to hate him. I also appreciated following how all three of the protagonists dealt with the challenges differently. Helen, being physically smaller and not nearly as strong, comes up with clever ways to persevere. Patroclus is a strategist, and sometimes he doesn’t act quickly enough. Achilles is physically strong, but his biggest weakness is not wanting to see Patroclus or Helen hurt.
Just like with the first two books in this series, there’s a lot of political intrigue to get lost in. I love how, while Helen isn’t physically the strongest, her strength lies in her ability to read social situations, figure out people’s motivations and ambitions and act accordingly. She’s a politician at heart. Her skillset perfectly meshes with Achilles’s physical brawn and fight instinct and Patroclus’s ability to always be thinking one step ahead.
All in all, this is another unputdownable installment in the Dark Olympus series!
*Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ebook to review*
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My 2022 Reading Challenge -
3.5 rounded up
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2.5 stars?
After reading and loving the previous two books, I was so excited to get an early copy of this one. Sadly, I'm a bit disappointed.
I liked Helen from the glimpse we got of her in book 2. I loved her crunchy personality and couldn't wait to see what she was really like. Achilles is brash and acts before thinking, where Patroclus is all intellect and strategy. Together the three of them have so much potential and for me, it fell so flat.
Plot wise, it was a bit boring. The trials felt like an afterthought to focus on the sex scenes. And those scenes are not something I'm complaining about, but some real conversation would have been great. Instead, it was Achilles telling everyone what to do, Patroclus trying to interject some options, and Helen just going along with whatever. It was all telling, not showing and it got old real fast. I found myself skimming more than reading and that's pretty telling.
Overall, this story had such promise and just didn't deliver. There's a good attempt at setting up some general conflict in the world at the end, but again, it felt like something that was thrown in to set up the next book.
**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge** -
I really enjoyed Wicked Beauty. How much one loves either this book or Electric Idol might come down to your personal mileage for Katee Robert stuff that isn’t characters flirting, banging, or working through their feelings. What I mean by this is that in books 2 and 3 in this series, there’s a lot of external conflict happening that’s not relationship-building, which I enjoyed in Book 2, but which I felt slightly robbed us of the couple’s HEA establishment Book 3.
In Electric Idol’s third act, after Eros and Psyche are solidly committed but still working out ongoing personal issues and their relationship’s trust level, the plot shifts to “us against the world” mode. In which Eros and Psyche have to live out the cliché of fighting for their relationship and for each other: putting their lives and reputations on the line for their marriage, with the stakes including literal gun duels and attempted murder. I’m a sucker for characters standing up for their love in a way that feels self-sacrificial, and when the manner of doing so demonstrates their personal flaws, rather than “and then the whole room clapped” verbally-murdering the baddies. Mild spoiler: Eros fails at what he sets out to do in proving his love and loyalty. A happy outcome is achieved in another way he couldn’t have imagined, thanks to Psyche’s cleverness. Successful failure that gives the characters not what they want, but what they need? Give me that all day every day.
Wicked Beauty’s external conflict is a “Hunger Games because Reasons” plot. Which makes a silly kind of sense: all the series’ books all involve fantastical takes on contemporary media, PR, and celebrity, in a cartoonish vaguely mafiaesque AU. So, of course, rather than a literal PR war between Olympus’s inhabitants that’s all darkly serious, the plot-driving conflict takes place during The Iliad: American Ninja Warrior Edition. I tend to enjoy a silly game-show premise more when it’s not set in a realistic world, but in some sort of dystopia or fantastical alternate reality. Where it might not be reasoned or coherent, but its entire purpose is to produce great character work. But does Wicked Beauty produce great character work through its Game-show plot? Uhhh…I’m not entirely convinced it does, much as I love the rest? More on that later.
The central idea of Wicked Beauty is that the title of Ares, god of War, is vacant. And there is going to be a Triwizard Tournament (obligatory statement of non JKR endorsement) where you submit your name to theenchanted gobletAthena’s office register to compete to become Ares. For political reasons of Helen’s brother, who makes these decisions, being a dickhead, the prize for winning Ares is Helen’s hand, a plot point which has just enough congruence with the original idea of the Trojan war being about winning Helen to be perfect. I also appreciate that KR didn’t involve Briseis in this plot: I don’t think the idea of a war-captive would have sat well with a fun reimagining vaguely about the Trojan War published in 2022. Making the character someone from disempowered circumstances compared to the heroes would’ve made the central relationship much more unequal and difficult to work through, especially because KR has invoked the “woman as war prize” plot specifically to give a cathartic "fuck you" to the idea.
Though some readers expecting something closer to Song of Achilles may take umbrage at the liberties of calling this book a "retelling," there ARE ancient stories about Helen running off with Achilles after the Trojan war, and a 20th Century epic poem written about this called Helen in Egypt. Anyone who isn’t aware of Katee’s whole approach to reimaginings of Disney stories and mythology, who isn’t on-board for her brand of imagination and eroticism and fun, might be in for a rough landing. But as the third book in a series that has well-established that tone, I think the books’ popularity will be enough to overcome that.
Canonical Iliad Helen, though she comes across more sympathetically in the text than you might think, spends all her on-page time regretting her decision to run away with Paris, weaving a literal tapestry of her regrets via a depiction of the war. I’ve read a fair amount of fiction about the Trojan War, and Helen does get a pretty rough treatment in all of them. In Atwood’s Penelopiad, Helen is a monster who makes Penelope’s life utterly miserable, even though she’s literally dead and should be past caring. In Barker’s Silence of the Girls, she’s selfish and inscrutable for the brief time she appears. In a bunch of YA titles I’ve read whose names escape me, Helen is typically selfish, awful, hated, miserable, and terrorizing of others. And sure, Wicked Beauty is not contributing to a canon of Serious Takes on Helen as an Idea – it does not aim to do that at all. But Helen with Agency, Competing For Her Own Hand, is the kind of pop culture fanfiction rewrite that I and a lot of others want to read right now.
In Wicked Beauty, Helen, none too pleased at being handed off as a prize to someone she has no say about, sneaks into Athena’s office to submit her name for the tournament and compete for her own hand. In the running are Helen’s ex-boyfriend, Paris, who was abusive to her; some other people we don’t really care about (though badass side-character Atalanta certainly made an impression on me), and of course, Achilles: ex-military dude and competition front-runner, and his best buddy Patroclus. They are a committed couple in an open relationship.
While it’s definitely not Song of Achilles adjacent in tone or concept, the broad strokes of the characters are obviously influenced by SOA’s massive popularity and cultural presence. I think Katee nicely establishes some basic congruences between those characters' dispositions and these heroes. Achilles is self-centered and bossy with a movie-star presence, yet nevertheless is a caring person who wants to do right by those he loves. Patroclus is tender-hearted and overthinking, devotedly loyal, and made insecure by his longtime status in Achilles’s shadow. This does not make him resentful, but does make him feel undeserving of Achilles’s ongoing commitment. Their relationship has profoundly shaped them since youth and been foundational to their ideas of themselves, but at the time of the War (Games), it is on the verge of disintegrating under accumulated strain and lack of communication, despite their very deep love for each other. That’s the very basic idea of the guys from SOA that has been borrowed and reworked here: that’s what we culturally “know” about these characters.
In its early stages, the the war-games competition is great for producing silly scenarios leading to character interactions and then directly to character banging. There’s a bunch of ridiculousness about adjacent rooms with Helen inserting herself literally in the middle of the two of them. There’s a bunch of good-matured banter about everyone underestimating Helen, who, it must be noted, is a trained gymnast, so not someone totally without a chance in a Ninja Warrior type competition. Achilles and Helen are constantly antagonizing each other in a flirty way: I don’t even like this trope, but I loved it here, because the mutual respect and “I see you as an equal” attitude shines through, even if they never say it in words.
Our first moment of major conflict leading to banging For me, this is the crucial sex scene that gets to the heart of their trio’s dynamic, and it’s absolutely scorching. I tried to read this scene in a hotel lobby, and my facial expressions had a few things to say about it.
There’s real tenderness and care that emerges in their trio. Patroclus crushes on Helen in this self-restrained and respectful way that conveys he’s the sweetest guy (not too far distant, actually, from the vibe of SOA Patroclus interacting with Briseis, though in much more consensual circumstances). Being around Patroclus brings out a tenderness and vulnerability in Helen we don’t get to see in her interactions with Achilles. Even when they’re tearing each other’s heads off, Achilles and Helen really do respect and care for each other, never crossing lines into cruelty: they are true intellectual equals and natural sparring partners in a battle of wits. In the original couple’s relationship, Patroclus’s overanalyzing is balanced by Achilles’s get-‘er-done zeal, while Patroclus reins in Achilles’ impulsivity. Except, uh, when it comes to banging Helen, and the system failure of their relationship rules propitiates a new dynamic entirely.
What I did wish for more of was a sense of what competition success or failure meant in the real world of Olympus. I didn’t dislike the War Games plot: I thought that the eventual competition outcome might happen, but was genuinely surprised and intrigued by the way it played out. And it was enjoyable to see Helen compete cleverly and surpass everyone's low expectations of her, for her to put everyone in their place. But there was a lot of Helen navigating the games as a solo warrior, which sacrificed time from working out how Patroclus, Helen, and Achilles would operate as a team in the outside world beyond the competition, and how their relationship plays out in the world of Olympus beyond the competition?
As a point of reference, I’m going to compare this to another “the Hunger Games, because Reasons” plot, the one in Strange Love. Through that book, we are given various subplots which take us through the hero’s family problems and involve our MCs in a vengeance attempt by a wronged alien, which cumulatively demonstrate the various aspects of that world. From all the problem solving they’ve done together through the novel, from the bedroom to the competition area to parties and political backrooms, it’s totally clear that theirs will really be a happy life together, in which we know how they work together and what specific types of trust and closeness their relationship is built upon. In Strange Love, as much as having a competition for breeding rights on a heavily depopulated alien planet where failure to win often means instant death makes zero sense, the other rules governing alien life are also similarly capricious and arbitrary. So I felt like “The Hunger Games Because Reasons” was pretty much the way the entire world worked via that example.
And perhaps I’m not quite being fair in wanting to see real-world impacts: one could argue that the War Games is also a distillation or microcosm of Olympus's wild rules. In the Dark Olympus Series, we have already been given two books of social media politicking, arranged marriages, people arriving at balls having just murdered someone, semi-public sex in a sex club to prove some sort of point to high society, multiple armed shootouts, all of it wrapped in an aura of instagram influencer gossip and glamour. Characters are always crafting reputations, chasing love, breaking the rules, and risking life and limb due to nebulous and random threats: this isn't THAT far removed. And here, the obstacles are a bit more tangible, the competition labeled as such.
But beyond whether the War Games plot works in the context of the rest, I wanted Helen and Achilles and Patroclus to have to work together on some more consequential problem outside of the sphere of the Ninja Warrior Trojan War Games. At the book’s conclusion, it’s a bit as though Helen As in, I believe Helen is actually capable of being a brilliant politician, and with Achilles and Patroclus’s help, they could cause a real shift in power, a disruption to the political order, with impact well beyond what happens in the war games, but we don't have a demonstration of what that'd be like.
We know that Helen can be politically clever as well as seductive, Achilles would likely brazen his way through any scenario with his charisma and physicality, Patroclus would pull back everyone to strategize and act carefully before acting hot-headedly, as the other two tend to do. And we get a very short summary of that possibility at the end. But all their interaction to that point has been banging each other while trying to defeat each other inside the constraints of the game, until very near the conclusion. I’m into that dynamic, but I slightly felt the lack of an “us against the world” phase to their relationship, compared to my enjoyment of that aspect of Electric Idol.
Do check it out for the way Katee writes menage intimacy, which is so worth the price. It’s not as wildly subversive as what she does in Learn my Lesson in the Wicked Villains series, but it’s emotional, hot, consensual, a fun pop-culture take on characters with a very longstanding pop-culture presence, and above all: a very good time is had by the characters in bed. -
Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I have no idea how it's possible but each Dark Olympus book keeps getting hotter?????? Katee Robert simply doesn't miss! I loved the previous two books in this series, but lemme tell ya, Wicked Beauty does not disappoint. This follows Achilles, Patroclus, and Helen as all 3 of them enter a competition to become one of The Thirteen. As they prepare for the competition, things starts to heat up between all 3 of them...at the same time... several times. *heavy breathing* I really shouldn't have been listening to some of these scenes at work.
Katee Robert continues to expand the world of Olympus in Wicked Beauty. The politics become more nuanced and character motivations start to become more apparent. I loved the competition aspect of this but I couldn't ignore the fact I was anxiously waiting for the next spicy scene to happen. The chemistry between Helen, Patroclus, and Achilles was unmatched and unspeakably hot. If you loved Neon Gods and Electric Idol, there's no reason why you wouldn't love Wicked Beauty. -
Wow what a damn ride, i love this book so much 😍 Y’all already know that I’m a Katee Stan, and the Dark Olympus series has just been banger after 👏🏻banger👏🏻 and Katee somehow outdoes herself with each new book! Wicked Beauty is probably my new favorite of the series, and among the pantheon (haha) of my top KR books🙌🏻
this book picks up right where Electric Idol left off (omg every Eros cameo made me melt🥹) and immediately amped up— the momentum of WB was so exhilarating, it almost felt like it mirrored the competition! The immediate chemistry between all three leads was incredible, and the way Katee plays them off each other was utterly delicious👌🏻and I also really loved the competition! It was giving Hunger Games that fuck, which👀 a vibe
It also really gave a fascinating backdrop for the progression of the triad! I loved how fiery every relationship was— with immediate sparks between Helen & Patroclus, loathing between Achilles & Hellen, and the comfortable yet still sharp between the Boyz💖truly every moment between them was so charged!! The Beast remains my favorite KR book, but these three gave it a real run for its' money
I’ve loved every book in this series, but Katee really outdid herself with Wicked Beauty and I’m so glad its out in the world today😍 I cannot WAIT for the next installment in the Dark Olympus series!! This book sets up some really interesting story threads and I’m desperate to find out what happens👀 in the meantime, I’ll tide myself over with a series reread i guess. thank you to Netgalley & Sourcebooks for my advanced copy, and thank you ever so much to Katee for your work, i remain a faithful worshipper at the altar of your books🙏🏻
Initial Review———————
ohmyGODDDDDDD😍🤯🥵🥹 utter perfection
full review to come, but this is easily the best book I’m the Dark Olympus series (which I’ve adored, so that’s saying something) and definitely lands in the pantheon of my favorite Katee Robert books!! The plot & pacing is so well done, it’s steamy as hell, and sets up some really interesting story threads for future books in the series, I can’t fucking wait🙌🏼 Katee you GENIUS how the hell am I supposed to wait for Radiant Sin?!??? -
Katee Robert has done it again. Wicked Beauty is dazzling, sexy, and everything I didn't know I needed in this world. Achilles, Patroclus, and Hellen make a show-stopping triad, one that could only come from the brilliant mind of Robert. The Dark Olympus series has completely sucked me in, and I will read anything and everything that comes from it!
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The best of the Dark Olympus books so far, and a damn good angsty poly romance besides. If anything, I wanted more of the world and less of the romance? Can't believe I'm saying that for such a clearly relationship-driven erotic romance.
Pacing: ★★★★
Romance: ★★★ 1/2
Enjoyment: ★★★★
Wicked Beauty is the third book in a series, and frankly despite its status as a "romance series," which usually means you can pick them up at any point, I would say this one does best when you start from the beginning. So please check out Neon Gods first if you're new.
My review of Neon Gods here.
In Olympus, you either have the power to rule...or you are ruled.
Achilles and Patroclus are lovers doing their best to climb to the top in a cutthroat world of politics and might. They work under Athena, one of the Thirteen ruling figures in the city of Olympus, and they want to make into the coveted inner circle of the Thirteen.
So when Ares, another member, dies, Achilles and Patroclus realize now is their chance. Ares is the only role within the Thirteen that is open to anyone, regardless of class or connections. Its a physical Olympic-Games style competition to the final figure standing. The two men know that they can get Achilles to the finish line if they work together.
Neither Achilles or Patroclus expect Helen Kasios, sister of the current Zeus and the final "prize" to the Ares competition, to enter the games herself.
Helen is tired of being the useless prize of the Kasios family. She's grown up in a toxic world, she's pretended her fake persona for every single day of her life, and now's she been mercilessly thrown to the dogs by her own brother when he announces her hand in marriage is the bonus prize for the newly crowned Ares competition winner.
Helen is furious, to say the least. So she enters the competition herself.
Helen, Achilles, and Patroclus find themselves essentially roommates during the weeks of the competition. Can these three ignore the blazing fires of attraction between them and keep their eyes on the prize? At some point, the three of them start to wonder what the actual prize even is...
This was a steamy, polyamorous triad romance that did not disappoint on the romance side of things. Definitely the best in the series so far when it comes to the literal steam on my glasses while reading it. However, I must say—given the fascinating politics and upheaval bubbling in this story, I wanted more than the romance this time around. I was INTRIGUED, and frankly the drama happening beyond the scope of Helen, Achilles, and Patroclus was fascinating and I hope a future book really explores the situations beyond the bedrooms. Fingers crossed, anyway. Maybe Zeus' book?? (Please, please Katee - I am ready for the all-out brawl waiting for us in a Zeus/Callisto book.)
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four stars! *:･ﾟ✧ while i’m not a fan of the cover, i definitely enjoyed reading this book, which kind of caught me off gaurd! i really enjoyed the first installment, the second one wasn’t bad but it kind of fell short for me, and so i really had no expectations going into this one, but i was pleasantly surprised! i really loved helen’s character, and while totally not myth compliant, i did enjoy the way achilles and patroclus’ characters were portrayed. it was a very interesting set up! i’m also a sucker for trail based stories, so the whole fight for ares competition was right up my alley and i loved it! this is probably a tie for my favorite book in the series, i think! i’m very excited to pick up the next installment! <3
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SO FUCKING EXCITED
tho was it weird that i wanted to know what happened to all of the sisters? I was thinking this was gonna be about Zeus and callisto and how she seduced him or smth or they fell in love yk?
anyways im still super pumped -
~1.5 stars~
I am disappointed. honestly by now I should have figure out the dark Olympus series is just a dramatic read for me with only smut. there's no plot and even if it is, it gets faded between pages of pages smut which is boring. I really like the twist of Greek mythology in here, but that is also a small issue.
I don’t read a lot of books about poly-amorous couples for somewhat personal reasons, but I didn't like the relationship here at all. so no. also the ending was to rushed and unanswered that again, I thought i only read smut. I might be reading the other books but only for the sake of knowing what another myth is going to be. that's it! -
Like most humans in the world, I’m a sucker for Greek Mythology.
I'm a special sucker for all things Achilles.
Obviously, I was going to like this book.
The ending was pretty underwhelming, but overall it was an enjoyable quick read. -
Ehhh, 2.5 rounded up, i GUESS.
Hmm, I wish I could say better things but unless a compelling fave from mythology shows up, I'm probably letting this series go.
Ugh, I hated Achilles in this, and it was thus very difficult to enjoy anything about this book. Absolutely arrogant, overbearing character and that does nothing for me.
His frequent overrides of Helen's physical autonomy chafed; he picks her up without asking and removes her from a room against her will, picks her up and moves her on a whim by his own judgment several times. IDK, that's not hot for me and it squicked the same way it does in Cdramas.
I think the polycule had a really unhealthy beginning, with rampant jealousy and almost competitive behavior between Patroclus and Achilles to grow closer to Helen. That's...not a healthy foundation for such a relationship. At one point Helen admits she's a "pawn" between them? Ew.
I was disturbed by how quickly Patroclus bought into the whole 'Helen is the prize of the tournament'. He had thought lines like "Achilles fully intends to win Ares and that means marrying Helen. Demanding that he not sleep with his wife is a ridiculous ask and unfair." What. W h a t. If I had a dollar for every foregone conclusion the characters thought they'd figured out in this book.
The sex scenes were okay I guess. The tournament felt undercooked, those scenes, the highlights of excitement for me, over far too quickly. It became like reading a Porn Without Plot fanfic which is exactly what I'd pick up if I wanted that. Ugh. And then the mentions of the "barrier falling". I've discussed this before, that the Is It Supernatural Or Not elements of this world bother me strongly. Pick a lane, Katee, please.
For now, adios, Olympus.
Original Netgalley Excerpt Review from March 2022:
Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced preview of several chapters to review!
Again, this is not a full book review, yet.
I want to enjoy this one. I'll try the full version when it's out, since we didn't get anywhere near threesome action yet, but...Barring a really interesting plot or something, I think this one's gonna be the last straw for me in this series. I can't take it seriously anymore and there's some serious contorting to make the loose lore fit. I also don't care for the narration style - half of Achilles' POV was swearing, lol.
There's some uneven storytelling here, too - like, the couple-paragraphs on-page we got of Eros early in this book endeared me to him more than his entire book?
And the plots. The arranged marriages just...The dated concepts from the old myths just aren't working anymore for me in a modern setting. The setting of this specific book - some sort of combat competition to be the new Ares? just belies a contemporary setting.
The repetitive, overdramatic monologues about "how this city works" in every book have become grating. We get the vibes of Sin City with some smut, but I rarely feel the high stakes of the world. It's unfortunate I recently read song of Achilles, too - people will certainly be dismayed that it's Helen and not Briseis in the throuple with Achilles and Patroclus.
I'm interested to see how both the polyam romance, if it is indeed such, will play out, and also how the actual competition will go. Three stars for the remaining allure of this one's plot. -
Eh, it's no Electric Idol.
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Are you looking for a mashup of Greek mythology and the Hunger Games except make it sexy and you don't have to decide between the members of your love triangle? Then Wicked Beauty is probably for you.
Helen is the daughter of the last Zeus and sister of the new Zeus & Aphrodite (this makes more sense if you've read the first two books in the series). Her entire life she has been treated as a pawn - in this book, she is literally part of the prize to be awarded to the winner of the tournament that will determine the next Ares. But Helen has other ideas: she plans to compete on her own merit.
Also competing are Achilles and Patroclus. Achilles is a warrior champion, and Patroclus is only competing to support him in his ambitions rather than with a plan to win. The two of them are longtime lovers who still, after many years, haven't had the "define the relationship" talk.
So we've got an element of enemies to lovers, since all three participants are competing against each other. We've also got an element of forced proximity, since all competitors have to live in the same dorms. And since Achilles and Helen both have legitimate reasons for competing to be Ares, as a reader it's hard to take sides and decide who to root for! The relationships between Helen, Achilles, and Patroclus work independently and as a threesome, and are definitely the highlight of the book. As with other entries in this series, this is not a one-to-one retelling of the Greek myths. That said, Wicked Beauty is our favorite so far, partly because we know what to expect and partly because the characters' development and motivations are the best to date!
32-Word Summaries:
Laine: Having Ares appointed via battle royal is a terrifying commentary on political appointees. Mixed-up mythology and more shitty siblings are very on brand for this series, but a cinnamon roll is hot.
Meg: Helen, Achilles, and Patroclus are competing against each other in an American Gladiator-style tournament. They’re also real hot for each other, so rooming in the same dorms sounds like a great idea.
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel. -
*I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review*
3/5 ⭐️s
Listen, this was good. I enjoyed the trials and am loving the political games the thirteen play in this world. I still wish we were getting more world building - the only real progress we got in this book was off page and relayed to Helen at the end. It’s such a passive approach to the over-arching scope of this series, and it can get a little boring because of it.
The central relationships were a mixed bag for me. I genuinely hated Achilles for 98% of this book. He’s hypocritical, selfish, domineering, and just an overall ass. But Achilles in myths is always a bit self-focused, so I’m giving Katee the benefit of the doubt and assuming she wanted to portray him like that for accuracy. Still. I hated him for most of the book. His best moments were entirely to do with his love for Patroclus. I never really got the love between him and Helen. Patroclus and Helen, on the other hand, had their whole shared past and feelings. I wish that had been explored a bit more.
Overall, I think I enjoyed this more than I disliked it. I don’t have a lot of interest in the upcoming couples in the series EXCEPT for Zeus and Hera. And as long as we’re getting little hints of their relationship like we got in this one, I’m sticking around until the end!
Spice: 4/5 🌶
Audiobook Review: Y’all, Alex Moorcock sounds like Ewan McGregor. I love it so much!
