Week 22 Review: Cruel Seduction

From Goodreads:

He was my enemy. My lover. My husband.

And the one man I swore by all Olympus I would destroy.

*A scorchingly hot modern retelling of Aphrodite and Hephaestus (and Pandora and Adonis).*

Aphrodite has never flinched at getting her perfectly manicured hands dirty, and she's not about to start now—even if that means marrying Olympus's enemy number one, the new Hephaestus. She has a wicked plan to keep her deadly new husband off-balance, seducing the one person he seems to care about most in this world: Pandora, a woman as beautiful as she is sweet.

Two can play the seduction game, however, and Hephaestus is all too happy to put his new wife in her place. Her ex, Adonis, seems like he'll do the trick. It doesn't hurt that he's gorgeous in the way of fallen angels, either.

The only problem with using seduction as a weapon? Hearts are all too quick to get involved. With Hephaestus and Aphrodite trading venomous strikes that feel a whole lot like foreplay, lines become blurred and emotions entangled. But a broken heart may be the least of their worries. With unrest in Olympus reaching new heights, these bedroom games may have deadly consequences for themselves, their city, and everyone they've come to love.

My Review:
I loved reading this book! I love this series and Katee's writing, and this book, I knew it was going to be good, with enemies to lovers, and the whole I'll seduce this person close to you to torture you dynamic. I really enjoyed reading about this foursome! 

The hints and nods to greek mythology were really great. Like how Hephaestus has the limp, which in this series he got when he was competing to become Ares. It’s the kind of detail that proves that this series has been plotted out and I loved it! 

There are two main things about Aphrodite-that she has her son Eros (which was a previous Aphrodite in this series) and that she has her husband Hephaestus, but also has something going on with Ares. That things are changed that the relationship between Aphrodite and Ares is sisters, that was really great!

I was a touch confused, because I thought that Pandora and Hephaestus were romantically linked, but no, they're just friends. Which honestly makes things better by turning expectations on its head. We got all 4 characters perspectives, as they were dealing with their relationship problems, that were tied into that they were on opposite sides, with Hephaestus being on Team Minos, with Pandora being on the sidelines. Things were further complicated by Adonis having been hurt by Aphrodite, in that she chose the city over him. It was all just so entertaining and chaotic to read! Loved how things developed, and oh, that ending was fantastic and I'm so excited to see how things go from here!  

This was a fantastic read, and I can't wait for more! 

Author: Katee Robert
Series: Dark Olympus #5
Read: June 2nd, 2023 
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Love her writing so much and this series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book! 
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca 
Expected Publication: August 8th 2023 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars