Review: Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert

Posted September 29, 2022 by Stephanie in 5 Stars, Retelling, Review, Romance / 9 Comments

Title: Wicked Beauty
Author: Katee Robert
Series: Dark Olympus #3
Publication: June 7th 2022 by Sourcebooks Casablanca
Genre: Romance, Retelling
Find it on: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Google Play | iBooks | Kobo
Rating: 5/5★

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?

Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! As much as I loved the two previous books in the Dark Olympus series, they weren’t quite five star reads for me. But then I read Wicked Beauty and WOW! Best book in the series so far. I was completely hooked and obsessed with Helen, Achilles and Patrocles. I loved them and the story so much!

The much-wanting role of “Ares” has opened up after the death of the old one. And as per tradition it will be decided in three trials where you’ve got to have both strenght and wit to succeed. As a bonus the winner will also win the hand of the beautiful Helen. Achilles is sure he has it all in the bag with the help of his partner Patrocles. That is, until they find out Helen is entering the competition as well, detemined not to be just a prize to be won.

The three main characters Helen, Achilles and Patrocles were so fun to read about. They all got their own points of view in alternating chapters. Helen and Achilles had a big enemies-to-lovers vibe going on and Patrocles was there to make sure they didn’t kill each other. So of course I was living for that. The three of them had scorching chemistry going on and the sex scenes were incredibly hot. Just… the chef’s kiss.

The romance was the best ever but my favorite part of the book was the competition. I highly enjoyed reading about it. All the three trials were different from one another and I especially loved the second trial because not only did Helen kick ass but she was also smart enough to use her gymnastic history. Yes, I’m a Helen stan now.

The author’s writing skill was, as always, on point and I couldn’t put the book down. She wrote all three characters so good and the fact that Achilles and Patrocles saw Helen as just Helen and really got her was just fantastic to read about. And in turn Helen fit so perfectly with them as well. Katee Robert just has a knack of writing characters that I can’t help but love and adore.

The next book, Radiant Sin, will be about Cassandra and Apollo and will include a fake relationship. I already can’t wait!

 

 

About the author:

Katee Robert is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. Entertainment Weekly calls her writing “unspeakably hot.” Her books have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and two Great Danes who think they’re lap dogs.

Katee is represented by Laura Bradford at Bradford Literary Agency.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads

 

 

9 responses to “Review: Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert

  1. Ooo… it sounds like the author has played all sorts of interesting games with the classical myth of Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships:). Thank you for sharing!

Leave a Reply

(Enter your URL then click here to include a link to one of your blog posts.)