I have read the first two books in the series prior to reading this one. I preferred the first two, however the sex scenes in this one were very good.

Wicked Beauty was addicting from the very first page. With its compelling characters, dark and mysterious world, and the excitement of a Battle Royale-esque plot, Robert has done more than craft a sexy romance. Katee Robert weaves plot tension with sexual tension in an intoxicating way that gives her signature sex scenes extra spice, Wicked Beauty is my favorite book in the Dark Olympus series so far!

Katee Robert can do no wrong in the latest instalment of her Dark Olympus series, Wicked Beauty!
While I was a little hesitant at first after hearing about the romantic interests in this book, Katee executed it flawlessly, and always leaves us readers wanting more. Dark urban fantasy with the perfect amount of spice, and a story you can't put down, this series will continue to be an instant buy for me!
4.5/5 stars!

How am I just now discovering Katee Robert?!? Wicked Beauty knocked me for a loop with its spicy take on Helen of Troy, along with Achilles and Patroclus. Greek mythology retellings are a weakness of mine, but add that spice? Hot damn! I will now make it my mission to read the previous two novels in the series and any others to come.

I've heard a lot about Katee Robert and her work, and this was the first novel by her I read. Perfect for all romance lovers and I'm looking forward to her next book!

This series! So hot. Katee Robert continues to write absolute flames and I love it. These characters are complex and the romances are a lot of fun.

The only thing that is missing is the background on the city of Olympus. The end of "Wicked Beauty" was starting to hint at more of the world building. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series and getting a better picture of this dark society.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Loved it! I requested this book before I realized that it's technically the third in a series, so I used the opportunity to go back and read the other two before I dove into this one. It is absolutely not for people who don't enjoy some really descriptive sex scenes (that generally have nothing to do with the plot), but that's something I think a lot of readers want more of in their books! I love the twist of setting this series in the world of Mount Olympus, and when recommending them to my friends I'm sure to refer to it as the "sexy gods series." Big fan!

Katee Robert is a GOAT. This is an excellent series. I usually get very tired of the old- let me write a book from everyone's viewpoint- but Katee makes interesting choices as to which character she chooses. Helen was a great choice for this one, and to keep back filling on the story of The Thirteen has kept me interested.

I read Neon Gods at the end of last year and ever since then, I’ve grown to enjoy Katee Roberts as an author. I’ve read some of the Wicked Villains series as well as Neon Gods. Now that I’ve read Wicked Beauty, I can confidently say I loved WB way more than NGs.

I loved all three protagonists equally and how their poly relationship developed throughout the book. I even enjoyed reading about Achilles and Patroclus’ relationship (without the tragedy of course); I also loved their bantering and them acting like an actual couple (again, without the Trojan War looming over them).

However, I had a hard time telling the difference between the two in their respective POVs as their voices sounded extremely similar. On a slightly more positive note, Helen was also a great character and I loved getting to know her more through this retelling. We love reading about a badass female lead.

As for the sex scenes: THEY WERE SO FUCKING HOT!

The chemistry between the three of them was palpable and amazing and I couldn’t get enough of them.

Overall, I very much enjoyed my time reading this book and would highly recommend it. I for sure want to read more books from this series (definitely going to be reading Electric Idol soon).

Thank you to NetGalley, Raincoast and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a sucker for anything Greek god related. Do Katee’s book destroy my soul, yes they do. In a good way. This book was phenomenal as the first 2 in this series. Loved, loved, loved!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I had to google who Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom would play in this. To ground me, you know?

The thing I like about this series is I know exactly what I'm getting into. Apologies in advance if this doesn't match what others think, but for me these are a trashy, guilty pleasure that will be utterly ridiculous, yet I won't have to think too hard about it. They're enjoyable even though they are far from the best romances I've ever read. However, I'm a little disappointed by this one, and a favourite it was not. Not to mention this stepped very far outside of the definition of a retelling.

I am a sucker for books with competitions in them, so basing how the new Ares is chosen around a competition made this a must-read for me. Especially with how much agency it gave Helen, who is offered up as the prize to whoever wins and decides she'll win her own hand in marriage, thank you very much. Achilles was right there beside her in determination to win, and I really wasn't sure how the competition could end well. None of the options seemed like there could be a happy ever after attached to it. But in the end, Robert twisted it in a way that was absolutely the right thing to do, and I was quite happy with how it panned out.

As you've no doubt gleaned, this is indeed a polyamorous romance. Ménage à trois, explicit, and incredibly steamy. Which, honestly, I expect nothing less from this author. I cannot believe I saw a TikTok that said CoHo was the spiciest author they'd ever read when Katee freaking Robert is right there with just as big a backlist. Embarrassing, really. The romance delves into consent, control, submission, and equal participation with grace and tact. I appreciated how all three supported each other in and out of the bedroom, even though they were opponents in the trials themselves. I'm not ashamed to say that all the way through I preferred Patroclus to Achilles. If you're going to put them both in a room, a sweet soft cinnamon roll and a cocky bastard ... I stand firmly by my choice in that conundrum.

What wrecked this for me was how repetitive it is. I think it's part of Robert's style, but it bothered me a lot this time around because of the three POVs. A lot of the same thoughts and emotions are revisited over and over from each character, and it got a bit tiresome and dragged the plot down hard. I zoned out on multiple occasions or swore that I was reading the same chapter again. I also found that the individual POVs weren't very distinct. Being in first person, the voice of a character needs to stand out, but I often forgot whose head we were in until I saw two separate character names and could use the process of elimination. I couldn't quite click in at times.

I need to say that I have no fricking clue what the book cover is supposed to mean lol Two books in this series so far have gotten generic cover art that makes no sense, even after reading the book. Is the apple supposed to be forbidden fruit? If so, how? Because there was exactly zero secrets here that would make it taboo lol

Am I going to keep reading these? Absolutely. Robert seems to be laying down some bigger political dominos that look like they'll topple through the next few books with consequences and I'm looking forward to it.

An interesting version of a long ago tale.
Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

It is not a by the book who does who instead it is a fun sexy read involving Olympus and competiion. The was a good book and kept me entertained. Looking forward to the rest of the book in the series/group. Author is going on my to buy list.

**I received this book free from Netgalley.

I love this Dark Olympus series! A great story line and red hot romance make this a must read! Highly recommended.

I am obsessed with this series by Katee Robert. I mean this was the perfect trio and I could have continued to read about them forever.

This book features a threesome between Achilles, Petroclus, and Helen, as they all vie for the role of Ares.

I've been meaning to check out Robert's Dark Olympus books for a while and I figured why not start with one that sounded utterly brilliant, I do love a competition! Not to mention the poly rep! I don't think I've come across another book with it at all? That and, of course, as we all know...I'm a sucker for mythology, especially Greek!

The first thing I'll say is that despite me not having read the other books in the series, I didn't particularly struggle with getting to grips with the world of the book. I quickly gained an understanding of how it all worked and a curiosity for the stories of the other couples! I thought it was a brilliantly unique take, as was the idea that Ares can only be replaced by who wins this competition given he's the warrior out of them all.

I enjoyed the competition aspect, it kinda reminded me at points of watching Ninja Warrior or something similar but definitely on steroids! I also loved Helen as a character! She was a badass and perfectly capable of taking care of herself and was quite rightfully kind of pissed at her brother offering her as a prize. Hence why she decided to enter for herself though it was pretty obvious right from the start she was going to win.

I couldn't say how accurate of a retelling this is, given that this is actually the one story I'm not all that familiar with other than the Orlando Bloom movie, but it was definitely interesting to put Helen with Achilles and Patroclus.

I'll also say that the writing is pretty easy to read, like it was so easy to sit and binge read this and the spicy scenes were definitely that. If you're looking for massive amounts of spice, one might even say 'porn no plot' AO3 style, then this is for you. I don't mean that as a bad thing either, for the record! This is super spicy and while there is some plot there, it's not the most complicated or deep.

I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't quite so much focus on the competition, much as I did enjoy what we did get to see. It definitely felt secondary to the spicy scenes, as did the entire plot, but then I suppose that's to be expected with this series from what I've heard about it so I couldn't say I was too disappointed.

I adore Katee’s books. In my opinion, she can’t write a bad book. I loved this and the spice is perfect.

I recently met this author at a Con and she was so sweet. I’ve since read maybe 4-5 books of hers and they are definitely ‘escape’ your reality stories. This book is part of series and based on Greek mythology of Helen, Achilles, and Patroclus. It’s definitely dark romance and MMF relationships. What makes her retelling a bit different is character Helen knows she has to fight her way to the top to secure her own future; instead of being a pawn to be married off by Zeus.

I just don't think that this author is for me. I never really like the romances, which is the main part of her books. They never have much chemistry.